Last Day of Kindergarten!

August 2010 - - - - - - - - June 2011

See, I'm really behind. Over a month (!) ago, Mabes finished kindergarten. It was a great year. A couple of days before the last day, her class had an ice cream party that families could attend. She'd made a book about kindergarten, and at the front of the book, her teacher put in a letter that started:

Dear Parents,

We give you back your children, confidently entrusted to our care last fall. We give them back pounds heavier, inches taller, months wiser, more responsible and more mature than they were then. Although they would have attained this growth in spite of us, it has been our happy privilege to watch their personalities unfold day by day...

Getting out of the van one last time as a kindergartner

I couldn't read any more--at least not at the party. I was NOT prepared to cry that day, or even at the end of school. But as I looked up at this girl, I was overwhelmed by how much she's grown and how fast the last year has gone by. I have loved dropping her off each day, watching her skip down the sidewalk waving to teachers. I've loved watching her come out of school each day (again, usually skipping) and see Annabelle get excited to have her sister back. I've loved hearing her tell me about the things she learned at school, and hearing what made her day the best day ever and the worst day ever. I can't believe how quickly her first year of kindergarten went by, and I can't believe I have an almost 6-year-old.