Last Days of 1st Grade

The end of the school year is here!  Aubrey has had an awesome first grade year!  Her teacher was fabulous, her friends were wonderful, and the she had tons of fun.

During teacher appreciation week, we were on a mission one night to decorate the teacher's door.  Our neighbors headed it up and the girls were so excited to be able to do this for their teacher as a surprise.  As all working moms, we didn't have the time to make it super pretty and extravagant, but it was special and thoughtful!

Aubrey's open house was fun. 

We saw what she learned, saw some of her ongoing projects and writing, and even saw what she wants to be when she grows up :)

The last day of school was full of fun as Aubrey's class walked to the park and had park day with all the first grades!

I can't believe her 1st grade year is over!

We got our traditional last day of of school Slurpees!

We are definitely ready for summer!

First Father-Daughter Dance ~ Ties and Tiaras

This night was one of the most memorable evenings, especially for Aubrey and her daddy.  They got to go to their first father-daughter dance at school.  The theme was Ties and Tiaras.  These two could not get any cuter!

First corsage, first flowers all for herself.  This little girl felt pretty special that night.

What a special time for these two together!  We hope this is the first of many father-daughter dances to come!

Aubrey Has Initiative and Integrity

Full disclosure.  This post is about a recent, very proud parent moment. (Yes, we're bragging on our little Aubrey for just a bit).

Our little Aubrey doesn't usually give up.  When something is hard, she doesn't just say, "I can't," but she actually tries hard (most days).  When she wants something, she problem solves to figure out how exactly she can get the task done.  She does takes initiative to get things done!

That's Aubrey and we're pretty proud of her perseverance and good attitude to keep trying.

It's pretty special when someone else recognizes her abilities and strengths.  Her teacher recognized her for having initiative and integrity in class and she nominated Aubrey for these special character traits award last month!  It was pretty special for us as her parents, and pretty special for Aubrey.

Brandon and I both took the morning off of work to be there for this special event.  Although the assembly last for less than 30 minutes, it was worth it to be there for our little girl!

She was surprised and encouraged that she received this award, and she was even more surprised to see us all sitting in the audience to celebrate this special time with her.

As a parent you question almost everything you do in regards to your kids!  Almost every decision has them at the center of it.  As parents, you wonder if you're raising a polite, respectful, giving, loving (and the list goes on and on) child.  It was so special that someone else recognized her work ethic and it made us feel pretty proud as parents. 

Way to go Aubrey!  We're so proud of you!

First Day of Kindergarten!!

A lot of anticipation has led up to this day. Aubrey definitely had the excited type of anticipation. Mommy and daddy had a little bit more of the nervous, 'is she going to be ok?' type of anticipation.   

As this day finally arrived, you could see the excitement bubbling from every inch of this little girl. She was all smiles, was ready with her backpack and lunch she packed herself, and she woke up on time and wasted no time getting herself dressed and ready. Kindergarten has been calling her name and she's been counting down the days (although it seems like this first day has come far too quickly for mom's liking). 

Before Aubrey headed out for the day, I gave her a necklace that she wore to remind her that I was thinking and praying for her. I wore a necklace as well to remind me of her throughout the day. 

This day has also been a big day for our family as a whole. I'm going back to work part time and today just happened to be the first day of teaching for me as well. There's been a lot of emotions, tears, and questioning involved in this decision for us as a family. It's been a little heart wrenching for a lot of different reasons, but we're stepping out in faith and feeling a peace that this decision was the right one to make despite how hard the decision has been, despite the outcome. This is a new chapter and journey for us and I couldn't think of doing any of this without Brandon's support and help. He's been my rock and I couldn't be more thankful for everything he has done for me and our little family. He's going to be spending some one on one time with Lucy on some days and nana and papa are going to be with Lucy on the other days. It's really a good setup with family taking care of our little Lucy. 

Before I headed out for my day I got to be there to send Aubrey off. I wouldn't have wanted to miss this for the world and I'm so thankful I got the opportunity to be there for that! 

I may have shed a little tear as our little girl was lining up :). Wow. Where has the time gone?! 

Aubrey, you are growing up so very fast and as much as we want to stop time, we are excited for the changes and growth ahead and we are going to be your cheerleaders along the way! Happy first day of kindergarten Aubrey! Let's see what this next year ahead brings!  

The Royal Treatment

Before Aubrey started school, the girls both spent the night at their grandparents house.  Boy, did they get the royal treatment when they were there!

 

They had so much fun having a sleepover and watching a movie in their sleeping bags, pancakes for breakfast, and then these lucky girls got to go for their very first manicures and pedicures!

 

 

My mom took them and she said they were nervous and quiet the entire time.  We've done our fair share of manicures and pedicures at home, but never quite like this!

Lucy told me later that her favorite part was the hand and foot massage they got :).  They might have been shy at the nail salon, but they were sure talkative about it when they got home!

They both chose some shade of blue (which was kind of surprising for our pink and purple Aubrey), but I can't get over how cute those little toes looked!

 

Lucy also really liked the dryer and that was when her smile came out :).

 

Such fun, special times!  These girls are very loved!  What a special treat before a very special first day of Kindergarten!