First Day of Preschool!

I can't even believe my baby girl is going to preschool. I'm excited for her but I am also having a bit of a hard time with it. It just signifies the passage of time and makes me sad. I know it's totally over dramatic, but can she really survive out there, anywhere, but right here with me? I know that's dumb, especially given that it's Allary. She is the most independent kid I know. In fact, I was talking to her a few days before preschool and I said, "what am I going to do here without you while you are at preschool?" She put her hand on my shoulder and said, "Mom, you'll be alright. And then you'll come get me." I feel like she is the strong one here and I am the one clinging to her leg needing her to stay with me. She's always been that way though. She's never cried when I've left her with sitters or at nursery or anywhere. I guess that means she feels confident and secure and has no doubt I'll be back. I love the sweet relationship that she and I have. She is my little sweetheart and we do everything together. I can't even put into words how much I love this girl.

Here are some photos from this morning.


I did her hair-do last night so that I wouldn't be rushed this morning. It took forever to do the twisties, but I thought it turned out cute.




She LOVES her backpack. I asked her what kind of backpack she wanted to get (fully expecting pink or princess or Hello Kitty) and she said, "I want a monkey backpack." Really? OK. So we spent the good portion of a day looking for a monkey backpack. I showed her all kinds of other backpacks I thought she would like, but her mind was set. We finally found this one at Kohl's and she was thrilled. It says, "Live like a rock star!" and it has a monkey playing a pink guitar. It's actually pretty awesome.

As sad as I was to leave her and feel like she really doesn't need me, it sure felt great to go get her and have her come running out to greet me with a big hug. Even after we got home, she was especially lovey and talkative and so happy. While she was gone, I went shopping and also got her some little "first day of school presents." I got her some Polly Pocket dolls and a Hello Kitty notepad and pencils and her first little pair of scissors. She has previously been banned from scissors for cutting little slits in her brand new bedspread (Grrrr). She picked up the scissors when she saw them and said, "are these mine to use?" I said yes and she threw her arms around my neck and said, "You're the best mom EVER!" :)
She had a great time and was so excited to show me her little projects she did today. I am so proud of her. What a smart, beautiful, confident little (I mean big) girl she is!

Life is Good

We love our new neighborhood. It's quiet and beautiful and open. We've got great neighbors, lots of little kids. And we love that we have a church, a park, and an elementary school all right in our little community.
I took these photos at a great park just down the road from our house. It's within walking distance, but we only did that once since the way down is quick and fun and the way back up is steep and hot and exhausting.



Allary just wanted to show off some of her drawings on camera, and I actually ended up snagging these really cute shots.





Life is good. I am making new friends in the ward and continuing to adjust. There is much work to do on the house, mostly the yard, but Jason is far too busy with work. I have been busy nesting and decorating and making it my own. I love the challenge of decorating on a budget. I think I am pretty good at taking what I already own and making it new and pretty and unique. Maybe I'll post some pictures of some of my decorating projects later.
We're all just getting over some nasty stomach bugs and other than that, all is well. :)

Haircut

These first pictures are just to show how long Allary's hair was getting. I have to blow dry it and straighten it out with my big curling iron to get it to look like this.




I decided it was time to trim it up and even it out in the back and I've been debating on giving her bangs for a long time now. Here's a few shots after the trim. Again, this is with it straightened out as much as possible.

Jason's Birthday

Jason's birthday was actually a while ago, July 21st. He turned the big 30 this year! We just celebrated with the 3 of us by going out to dinner at Chili's and opening presents. I got Jason some good new Wii games he's been wanting and he also got some new shirts.