Kim Kardashian is looking backward at a time when all four of her children were considerably smaller.
Her latest Instagram post gathers dozens of old family photographs, from naps and sibling moments to pictures of North West and Penelope Disick as little girls.
The Sept. 27 carousel features North, 13, Saint, 10, Chicago, 8, and Psalm, 7, across different stages of childhood. Kardashian kept the caption to one sentence, “The days are long but the years are short”, while PEOPLE noted that the collection includes the children sleeping, smiling together and growing up alongside one another over the years.
One particularly nostalgic photograph shows a young North holding a bunny beside her cousin Penelope. The post hit an emotional nerve inside the family as well. Khloé Kardashian responded “Sobbing,” while Kylie Jenner left a holding-back-tears emoji beneath the carousel.
Kim Filled the Carousel With Early Photos of All Four Kids
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The post is less a polished family portrait than a collection of moments Kardashian accumulated over time. Some images show the children asleep, others catch them laughing or playing together, and several simply preserve ordinary moments that would have seemed much less significant when they happened.
North and Penelope appear especially young in one of the most nostalgic images. PEOPLE identified the cousins in the bunny photo. Kardashian did not attach explanations to the individual photographs, leaving the caption to carry most of the meaning.
North Is Already Reaching Milestones Far Beyond Those Photos
The older photographs of North arrive at a particularly visible point in her transition into her own public career. On Sept. 5, the 13-year-old headlined her first concert at The Vic Theatre in Chicago, with both Kardashian and Kanye West attending to support her.
E! News reported that Kardashian watched from the VIP section while West was positioned elsewhere in the venue and filmed portions of their daughter’s set.
The Chicago show was not North’s first solo performance. Billboard documented her first solo festival set at Summer Smash in June, shortly after she released her five-track debut EP, N0rth4evr, in May.
That performance included “TALKING,” her collaboration with West, while Kardashian shared backstage and performance footage from the festival. North had also announced a co-headlining tour with Molly Santana during the summer, although the run was later canceled.
North’s Childhood Has Already Become Its Own Throwback Category
Kardashian has been revisiting North’s childhood more frequently as her eldest daughter moves into her teenage years. When North turned 13 in June, E! News reported that Kardashian marked the milestone with another collection of older photographs and videos while writing that she could not believe her daughter was officially a teenager.
North now has interests and a public identity that extend beyond being part of Kardashian’s family posts. She has released music, performed on her own and spoken about wanting music to remain part of her future.
In an August interview cited by E! News, North described performing as “fun, relieving and exciting” and said music is what she wants to do with her life.
Saint, Chicago and Psalm Are Growing Into Different Stages Too
Saint is now 10, Chicago is 8 and Psalm is 7, meaning Kardashian is parenting children at increasingly different stages rather than the cluster of very young kids shown in many of the photographs. Her more recent comments about Saint and Psalm show how those everyday interests are changing too.
While promoting her new Paramount+ series Team Moms: Baseball, Kardashian told PEOPLE that both boys wanted to try baseball after cycling through different sports, joking that she quickly learned just how long the hours can be for parents sitting through practices and games.