A chilly, but beautiful, day for a First Communion ceremony!
God Bless Carolyn
Milestones
Earrings!
Carolyn got her ears pierced last night – a gift from her Grandma & Grandpa for her upcoming First Communion. She chose a very cute pair of sparkly pink daisies for her piercing earrings.
I can’t believe how fast she’s growing up!
Something’s Missing!
I had this feeling, this morning, that Carolyn’s tooth that had started being very slightly wiggly an entire year ago might not be around too much longer – it had become very, very wiggly in the past few weeks. It even had an adult tooth coming up behind it already, because it was being so very stubborn about coming out! So I took a picture, one last picture, of Carolyn’s adorable baby-toothed grin.
And sure enough, she got off the bus wearing a look of panic, because her tooth suddenly felt funny…
And now there’s something missing!
First Sleepover
Carolyn had a friend overnight last night for her very first sleepover! The girls had a really fun time, and even let Anna in on their play now and then. (Poor Anna thought that Simone had come over to visit her…I guess she’s pretty used to playing with much older kids!)
Kindergarten!
Today, Carolyn headed off for her first day of Kindergarten! I got up at 6:20, got myself ready and packed a yummy lunch (a ham & cream cheese pinwheel sandwich, baby carrots, grapes, olives, letter pretzels and two tiny vanilla cookies). Then I managed to get the kids dressed early enough that I had time to make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, and we still had a good ten minutes before the bus came to snap a few pictures.
She looks all grown up from last year! (Though I said the same thing last year too!) She picked out this dress herself when we went clothes shopping for school, and although it’s not exactly my style, it is pretty darn adorable.
She was so excited to get on that bus she practically skipped down the driveway, and I had to stop her to give her a hug and a kiss and tell her to have a fun day.
It wasn’t nearly as hard to watch that bus pull away as I thought it would be. I think I already cried all the tears I had to in anticipation of today, and instead I felt excited for her. I can’t wait for her to come home and tell me how her day went, and whether she found the little note I stuck in her lunchbox.
Graduation
Today was Carolyn’s last day of preschool:
They had a little graduation ceremony for the kids. It was so cute! I was worried I would cry, but the only thing that made me even tear up a little was watching Carrie and her close friends walking up to receive their “diplomas” and picturing how they would walk across the stage 13 years from now. One of them I can just picture skipping across the stage in her cap and gown, just like she did this morning. And poor Carrie nearly fell on the little stairs they had, because – as she put it – “The stairs are a little big, and so are my new white dressy shoes!”
I don’t know about Carrie, but I’m going to miss preschool:
I loved her teachers, both years. The teachers at this school are all excellent, and I’m looking forward to seeing them all again when Anna’s a bit older. And this year I really looked forward to drop-off and pick-up, as I made friends with several other moms. Even though I’m sure we’ll be getting the kids (and ourselves!) together this summer, I’ll miss seeing them every other day!
Next stop: kindergarten!
(First) Last Day of School
Today was Carrie’s last day of preschool (well, until the fall) and they had a little end-of-year celebration. This song, sung to the tune of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” was darn cute:
We’ve been having fun in preschool, learning all year long
We can tell you all about it, just listen to this song
We learned all our shapes and colors, letters and numbers, too
We learned how to share with others, now our year is through.
It was even cuter the other night when Carrie sang it for us after dinner. She literally stood up and pressed her arm into her stomach, and with more breath control than your average opera singer belted it out at the top of her lungs. Seriously, I have never heard her sing like that, and I wish I’d had the video camera handy (especially when she belched halfway through and kept on going like nothing happened!)
I have to admit that I shed a few tears this morning, especially when we picked up her things after and there was a folder of her work with her tiny handprint and the poem “This is the hand you used to hold when I was only three years old” on it.
And yes, I’m aware that if I’m weepy over a year of preschool being over I’m going to be a complete basket case in 15 years when she walks across the stage in her cap and gown.
Big Girl Rainbow Bed
It was a traumatic shopping trip – for me, at least – but Carrie finally picked out her big girl bedding. (Asking a 3 1/2 year old to make a decision is like catching rain in a colander.) Keep in mind that she has a lavender, green and white room.
Meet bold rainbow stripes:
Actually, in a strange sort of way it actually works. Once we get the rest of the room set up (which will have to happen after the baby’s room is painted) I think it’s going to be just fine. It’s just a little…bright…right now. Her alternate sheet set is dark green with white polka dots, but she wanted the flower sheets first.
I did have some second thoughts and some tears of my own earlier when I was folding up her crib/toddler bedding and she had a meltdown over her “baby” quilt… “But Mommy, that quilt still fits me and this one is too big for me because I’m still little!” But she went to bed without complaint and fell asleep quite quickly, so I guess it’s all OK. We’ll see in the morning, because I’m more than happy to get it back out if she’s not ready to part with it.
Harry Potter and Potty Training
It turns out I was too sick to go to the release party for Harry Potter 7. But Denis, Carrie, Nana and Poppy picked it up for me yesterday on their way to the grocery store. I meant to read it slowly, to savor it since it was the last book…but I couldn’t. I’m sure there are people who haven’t finished reading yet, so all I’ll say is that it was riveting. I plan to re-read the entire series at some point…but I have some sorely neglected knitting I need to do first!
In other news, Carrie isn’t completely potty trained yet, but she is -><- this close. She went and ran those errands yesterday in panties, and went to a public restroom when she needed to go. I haven't changed a single diaper (except at night/first thing in the morning) since Thursday, and there have only been two little accidents. I am so proud of her - and I really can't take much credit for it, it's like a switch flipped and she just figured it out. (Hopefully I didn't just jinx everything...)
Carrie’s Tricycle
The tricycle I ordered during last week’s blizzard came today, which turned out to be the first beautifully warm day this year. Carrie was so excited she could barely contain herself! Denis assembled it – with Carrie’s “help” of course – and I got her all set with her new helmet. We headed out to the driveway and let her try our her new wheels. Of course, she had to bring her baby out to tuck into the convenient basket in the back.
I think she loves her trike, don’t you? More pictures here.
For anyone who’s curious, we ordered the Kettler Blossom trike from Oompa toys. It was the best price that I found, they had free shipping, and it’s a store I’ve ordered from before and had a good experience with. We also ordered the optional parent push bar, and it’s a good thing too since I think it will take a while for Carrie to master the whole pedaling/steering/stopping thing! The helmet is a Giro Me2 from our local bike shop. I tried Target first, but none of their helmets fit quite right – the 1+ helmets were too small and the 3+ helmets were too big. I’m really happy I spent the extra money on an easy-to-adjust helmet. And Giro has a grow-with-me program that lets you trade in a too small helmet for credit towards a bigger one. Plus, well, it’s pink. With bunnies. Carrie couldn’t be more thrilled – unless maybe it was pink with puppies!