em's first last day of school

as with all milestones, i am both so excited and a little sad that em has finished her first year of school. on wednesday, they sent home her work folder. it had art projects from throughout the school year. i have to say, i never thought i'd be the type of mom to display my child's artwork, but i totally am. i have kept every single piece of art, project, note, that has been sent home this year. my goal before next year is to find a cool portfolio to keep them in. now, that doesn't mean scrapbook. i don't do that. i just want them all neatly in one place.

so 9 months have passed since i dropped my sweet girl off. she wore a white dress with her yellow monogram on it and a yellow bow. and today, i can still picture her scared little face as i left her in the hands of strangers. now, we're running after her asking her to slow down as she races into class each day. i am soo happy that she was so happy there.

here she is, packing her lunch "all by myself!"

and posing with daddy one last time this year.

the program had a popsicle party for the last day of school. it's just so cute to see em with all her friends.

her best friend, aaron (once known as ya-ya)

they really are each other's favorite friend

some kids in her class- luke, clementine (who, thanks to em, still calls aaron ya-ya), em, and aaron

and bethany. she's moving to alabama next month :o(

ms. annie and ms. robin gave us a framed collage of pictures of our baby taken this year. i cannot believe how much she's grown. tears stung my eyes as i looked through the memories made this year and read the very sweet note they left for us. i've told myself that each note was unique and sincere, and that they did not say the same thing to all parents. here is part of the note to the bolton family:

we just want to thank you for sharing your baby girl with us. she has made our day every day that she was here. her laugh and smile melt our hearts. she never cried or said a word the first few weeks. but now you would think she has always been here. we love to hear her talk about home and school and can't keep her off the swings.

we are going to miss her so much and will never forget her. love, ms. robin and ms. annie

ms. annie

and ms. robin

i'm so thankful to have such a wonderful experience sending em off to kdo this year. surely you didn't forget my anxiety and fear the past 2 springs when it was time for enrollment. and also how i withdrew em from school the day before it started (when she was just 7 months old). i am so happy to report what a success this was!

next up, we're going to summer camp! but that doesn't start for another 4 weeks. wonder how many tearful mornings we'll have from now until then when i have to explain to emily that school's out for summer?! thankfully, we'll get to see ms. annie and ms. robin a few more times before em moves up to her next class with new teachers.