Ella's Big Day

Ella and Brady had their last day of preschool last Thursday. It was utterly adorable and left me emotionally bereft. I cried through a good portion of it. I just couldn't believe that her first year of school was coming to an end and I cannot get over the transformation of a timid, quiet, nervous Ella into the expressive, brave and confident little girl who graces each of our days and who has drawn an even richer outline around my heart.

The teachers kept telling us to love them, enjoy them, hug them now because before we knew it they would be graduating from college. STOP IT! I wanted to yell and then wanted them to keep reminding me, remind me every day so I never complacently sit back and forget to relish them in each moment.

Note how Ella and Brady are next to each other in almost every picture.

Maya was making the rounds...

They put the social in ice cream social. I tell you, there are as many different ways to make ice cream sundaes as there are kids to make them- from vanilla ice cream with 15 cherries to a bowl full of sprinkles and whipped cream to the old standard of fudge sauce, marshmallows, melty ice cream and sticky fingers...

Priceless

Maya, for a change, in the eye of Ella's storm.



The kids made these sweet ceramic squares with their darling handprints on them. Each child stood on the stairs while the teachers read the answers to two questions the children had answered: What do you want to be/do when you grow up? and What was your favorite thing about preschool?

Ella said when she grew up she wanted to be able to do a somersault (as in the forward roll with magic hands in gymnastics that requires her to roll over and stand right up with her hands in the air and which will earn her a medal when she masters it which she has been working on for 3 months.) Her favorite thing about preschool? Why, playing with Brady of course.

Some top answers to what do you want to be when you grow up were: a bunny rabbit, a fire truck, a rockstar, and Brady's answer was my absolute favorite "my parents"- now come on... they must have prompted him (just kidding Ange.)

Ella's solo

B's big moment

Could someone please bring me my ice cream?

A whole class of Teddy Bears.

We must have told Ella 100 times just how proud we were of her. By the time Sandi had told her on time #99, she said, "Yeah, yeah, I know. Everyone's SO proud of me."