School girl

My baby is a school girl now. Excuse me, when did this happen?

The night before we lay out her clothes, pack her lunch and fill up her bag with all the essentials to get her through the next day. Two days a week we do this. In the morning we wake her up early and just like that she goes to preschool from 9-1. Sounds pretty small to most, but to us this was a riveting milestone. This is the first time she has ever been with anyone but family. For me, it is one of those slow releases people tell you about. It is a like teeter totter between doing what's best for her growth and wanting to keep her a baby forever.

Of course, the first week she didn't even make it until one and I was a nervous wreck. The second week, she cried less. But by the third week she is having a blast!! I can already see how much she is learning and growing. She talks non stop now! She dances and sings more than ever. She is making new friends and bonding with her teachers. I could not be more happy!

She still cries everyday when I drop her at the door, but it subsides much more quickly with each new day and I know she has fun. It is just so weird to think of her having a whole day of new experiences without any of us there. She is her own person now.

Pretty soon, we will be packing her up for college.

(Note: I took some really cute pictures of her on the first day of school and then in a moment of oblivion I deleted them from my camera. I thought I had already loaded them on the computer. I will have to take some more pics of school mornings soon.)