Kindergarten: A Chapter of Firsts, Closed.

Hello, islanders!

Have you seen my daughter?

No. Not that big kid... My baby girl:

Not even 1 yr old with all of those teeth, lol.

Always been a chatter box.

My favorite face from when she was teething, lol.

  

Those big brown eyes made her 'I'm going to bite you face' cute, lol.

Chit-chat.

Baby smells!

3 months and posing! Thanksgiving 2006

Looking like daddy!

She has always sang herself to sleep ;)

Big and bad... I guess, lol.

Yea, that one!  The one who stole my heart the moment her little 6lb 8oz self was introduced to the world...

  

2 weeks old!

Well... Apparently, you can't rewind time and you can't HOLD little-big girls tightly to prevent this whole growing up thing.

They go to the next stage happily:

They imagine, they explore, they learn, they aspire... they succeed.  Then, it's time to celebrate their accomplishments and you get wrapped up in the preparation. 

After church, Munch was singing the "shame, shame, shame. I don't wanna go to Mexico no more, more, more." I was amazed that they still do that, lol!

You buy the dress, the bow, the socks, the shoes, you invite the family, prepare for the activities, you plan the day, you find your dress, your shoes...

When you have nothing else to serve as a distraction, you go to the closet to hang up the dress and see the other dress. WHAT DRESS?! You know, the only piece of baby clothing you've saved, the CHRISTENING dress:

You carry BOTH dresses down the stairs to your husband to make the announcement that you're not ready... You proceed to cry. No, seriously, *like* the ugly cry (which totally freaks your husband out) so you go BACK into the kid's room and realize, it's time for the official big girl room because your little-big girl can't still sleep in the converted crib any longer... The same place where she's laid her little head since she was a few months old.  You look around the room and see all of the elements of baby stuff that must go and you cry more because, again, you're not ready.  Sheena calls, you talk it through and decide to spend the rest of your evening planning the next day...

Morning of...

AND YOU'RE FINE.  Well, you're surviving. You're sticking to your schedule... You're - she turns the corner and SHOCKS both you and Hubbs.  She is so adorable.  BREATHTAKING almost and you're not just saying that because she looks like her hot mom, lol.  You cry.  She tears up and starts looking for tissues because, "you have to get it all out before my graduation or you'll embarrass me, mommy!"

AND YOU'RE FINE AGAIN.

*Click*

DEFINE CRY.  It doesn't count as crying if TECHNICALLY no tears fall.  You swell with tears when she walks out (hand-in-hand with Eric, the boy who proposed after she didn't make fun of him when he had an "accident").  You swell with tears when they sing the song summarizing their school year.  You swell with tears during the awards presentation.  You're fine. Just breathe. 

THEN, 20 minutes later, it's over.

That's it.

You're done.

Ceremony. Over.

The room clears and it's you, Hubbs, your parents and the janitorial staff.  It hits you.  All that preparation and the moment is over.  You cry.  THE UGLY CRY.  Nope, don't come up for air, get it out while Munch is away.  Ignore Hubbs' and Dad's cameras... Just sob and get it out.

OK. Now, breathe.  It's time to greet your little-big girl in her classroom and you can't be snot-nosed and slobbering (people will think you have rabies). 

Grandma and Pop-Pop gave Munch a fabulous gift basket:

It had a disposable camera inside and BOY did she and her friends love it!

We took a pic with our teacher, Mrs. Downs, enjoyed some cookies & juice and left for a special day!

I got the same pic on back-to-school night and after the promotion ceremony... How cool is that?

We went to lunch with Pop-Pop, home for a nap and then Munch and Hubbs went to see Madagascar 3 that evening...

Excited that Pop-Pop shared his decaf.

Her Little Lady Gaga look-at-my-nails pose.

Polka dots that move making twirling even cuter.

Me.

My mini-me.

I survived a fabulous day. The FIRST (of several)graduations - DONE... I am so happy God gave me an amazing little girl that, quote me, "I THINK I WANT ANOTHER ONE."

All this growing is bittersweet for me because the fact that she is my only one hits hard - REALLY hard.  Hubbs has plotted on my ovaries for 4 years now so, maybe I'll start to do what I need to for this to happen. We'll see...

Until then, I'll be thankful for our little-big blessing in Munch.  We're off to summer camp!

**Congratulations, islander, you survived the emotional roller coaster of this post.  Please exit to your left and be sure to leave a comment, lol**