All 20 baby teeth, present and accounted for...

And sure enough, she got off the bus wearing a look of panic, because her tooth suddenly felt funny…

Such a tiny little thing!

And now there’s something missing!

There's a hole in that grin...and she suddenly looks older!

Flower Power!

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.

One Giant Step

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.

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!”

Tripping up those stairs!

"Congratulations!"

The diploma

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!

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.

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.

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...)

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!

Coincidentally, we signed her up for preschool today. She’ll be going two mornings a week starting next fall. We had to write a brief description of Carrie on the registration form. How do you sum up a child in two lines? We wrote something silly about how she loves dogs, and books, and books about dogs. And that she’s active and loves to play with puzzles and baby dolls. But we probably should have written something about how self-confident and independent she is, and that she’s caring and polite and adorable and a stinker. Oh, well, they’ll find out soon enough, right? And we have our next big challenge: she needs to be potty trained by the time school starts!

We took the crib down yesterday. Her room looks so very different, and based on the trouble she’s had falling asleep since I think it will take her some time to get used to it too.

I have such mixed feelings about this transition. On the one hand, Carrie is so very proud of the fact that she’s sleeping in a big girl bed. She tells everyone she sees. And that makes me very happy for her. On the other hand, although she’ll always be my baby…she’s not a baby anymore. Not only because she’s sleeping in a bed of course, but that’s one major sign I’ve noticed lately.

It was so much sooner than we’d planned to move her, but she was ready. I’ve shed my tears over taking down the beautiful crib I so lovingly picked out for my cherished baby girl, and we will pack it away for future hopes and dreams. And I hope I never, ever forget how she looked sleeping in the crib with her little bottom stuck up in the air…my baby.