Wednesday, November 9, 2011

From Toddler to Big Kid

This summer has definitely flown by, and now the busy school days have begun! Somewhere between the summer fun activities and the buying of school supplies, are our kids growing up a little more each and every day and even year. Children gain more and more independence right before our very eyes without any warning at all! Then one day it hits you...you now have a big kid! When your child is learning how to be more independent, it is important to allow then to be independent as much as possible, even if it is hard for you as a parent to watch your baby need you less and less. I cannot promise you that it will be easy, and I cannot promise that you wont cry...I sure know I have my share plenty of times already!
My eyes get a little misty as I pull up next to the tall, brick building. My precious, little angel is off to start her very first day of the first grade. I put the minivan in park before turning it off. As I go to open my door and get out, a voice comes from the seat behind me.
"Mommy," my daughter says in a matter-of-fact voice. "I can walk up there by myself. You see, I am a big girl now. I am in the first grade. See you after school! I love you."
 
She then threw her overstuffed book bag onto the hot, dry ground like a sack of potatoes, and shut the door behind her. But before walking up to the sidewalk that lead into her school, I heard a knock at the passenger side window.
There was that precious face with an ear-to-ear grin. She blew me a kiss and excitedly ran to meet her friends that had been walking by. A tear ran down my face, then two.
 
When did my little baby girl become my independent big girl?
Was it between the diaper changes and feeding her pureed sweet potatoes?
Or was it when she moved into a big girl bed from her crib?
Maybe it was that very first day of Preschool...
Kids grow up so fast that you often sit and wonder where the time went! I am grateful that I am a picture fanatic, with thousands of pictures that have captured many memories that I can reminisce for years to come...

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