A New Chapter Begins...

Funny how life sometimes seems to come in clearly defined segments, created when various big events coincide, making the "before" and "after" seem significantly different. A month ago we went on vacation with a "baby" who was just starting to pull up and a very minimally potty-trained two-and-a-half year old who'd spent all her days at home with her Mama. Now, following a whirlwind of a month (due largely to a literal whirlwind...), we find ourselves with a one year old who seems more eager and able to keep up with her sisters every day and a sweet new potty-competent preschooler who is weeks away from turning 3! And of course, their big sister is overseeing it all with a watchful eye and some new accomplishments and activities of her own.

LL started preschool on Monday! Here she is just before we left on that first morning. She was so proud!


The passing of the preschool torch! AG had some words of wisdom to share with LL in the days before school started. LL is in the same class with the same teachers that AG had last year, so we know what to expect!


All three of our sweeties smiling sunshine on a rainy Monday morning!


We all bid LL farewell and she happily went inside with a teacher, starting off on a whole new adventure! Somehow I managed to get away without any tears...of my own, I mean! I have no doubt LL will love school...just wish I could be a fly on the wall!

Then AG and I took SJ in for her 1 year well-check, and the big news there was finding out that she weighs 20 pounds 2 ounces, so we can turn her carseat around. I'm sure it was all that banana cake that put her over the 20 pound mark! She is our first to break 20 pounds so close to her birthday. When we got there we found out the flu shots were available, and that AG could get hers that day along with SJ. AG agreed to "show SJ how to get a shot like a big girl," and when the time came she stretched out on the table so bravely. I watched her face, and just as the nurse was about to give her the shot there was a moment when her brave face broke and she said, "I don't want it..." Of course, she got the shot and didn't even cry, but it was one of those moments when I was reminded that my "big girl" is still my baby, too! We came home and AG and I did some of our own preschool activities, which I hope will become our pattern on the days LL is in school.

So here we are after our first week of our new fall routine, and it seems like we are in such a different place than we were just days ago. I find myself realizing more and more how quickly things change, how quickly children grow, how quickly time flies, and it is bittersweet...exciting, wonderful, and a little sad all at the same time. I try to soak in all the little giggles, big hugs, dimply grins, quivering lips, funny words, sweet ideas...how I hope I can remember them forever just as they are now, even as we celebrate many more special milestones along the way!