Ansley all grown up (or so she thinks) :)

Today Ansley is debuting her brand new hairstyle and I think it turned out so cute. I think it's really made her feel like a big girl!

I actually took both she and Sarah in this weekend for a cut and left wishing I had gone a bit shorter with Ansley's. After contemplating it yesterday I took her in this morning and we walked out with a shorter, more stylish cut. She's been talking about it all morning and wanting to go look in the mirror constantly so I think it's safe to say she loves her new look too!

Missing Sarah.....

What a sad little face.......This is pretty much how Ansley feels now that Sarah has gone back to school. A little lost maybe without having her big sister to play and argue with? It's interesting for me to see how the tides have suddenly changed. Before school started Sarah had no influence whatsoever over her but this week I've noticed that she is totally putty in Sarah's hands. I will hear conversations like this....


S: Ansley, wanna go get sissy's flip flops?
A: Yeah
S: Ansley, will you go get my crayons?
A: Yeah
S: Ansley, wanna jump off the couch? (knowing this is against the rules!)
A: Yeah
S: Ansley, can I have your goldfish?
A: ok


The most amazing part is that Ansley would have never done any of these things before. If anything, she would know what Sarah was going for then race to get it first and claim it for her own. She was always the one who most of the time got HER way on everything because Sarah was such a push over. Now I'm sure after about another week the sadness will go away and she will come to enjoy having everything all to herself but secretly, it warms my heart to know that there really is a great love between the two.

Today is the Day!

Sarah is officially a kindergartener now.......woo hoo!! The morning went very smoothly and even though we woke up an hour before the bus arrived, it still felt like there would be no time for error in the future. Sarah was very excited this morning and didn't seem really nervous until we were at the bus stop but she played it off quite well. Once the bus got there she got in line with the rest of the kids (there were at least 20 at her stop alone) and boarded the bus like she was a pro. We were so very proud of her and look forward to hearing all about her very first day in Kindergarten!

Sarah on her big day

Daddy and his girls

I can't believe my baby is in kindergarten!

Ready for the bus

I think she may have a been a little nervous here but she didn't back out

Off she goes!

Twas the Night Before Kindergarten

.........and all through the house, my child was stirring like a hyper little mouse. Her new clothes were laid on the dresser with care, in hopes that 8 am soon would be here.

So, tomorrow is the BIG day. Lots of changes are awaiting us. Are we ready? I think so. Sarah has been really excited but as she went to bed she told me she might cry a little because she is going to miss me. I assured her that everything was going to be okay and she would have a great day tomorrow and after supper we would have our special first day of school surprise dessert.

Another big change is that Sarah will be riding the bus tomorrow. Now normally I wouldn't DARE put my baby on the bus (only because I hear nothing but horror stories about the bus) BUT our new neighborhood has a stellar bus reputation and enough mothers with small children have convinced me that all will be fine. Apparently the entire neighborhood rides the bus so she will literally be picked up at the corner and driven straight to school all within 10 minutes. In fact there are so many neighborhood kids that ride the bus, they have to pick up a load, drop them off, then return for the second round. That's alot of kids!

We are excited about her teacher too. We have heard nothing but great things about her so I think this is going to be a really great year. I will post an update tomorrow but in the mean time, I found these pictures of Sarah on her first days of Preschool and Pre-K. Where does the time go?

Sarah's 1st day of Pre-K

2008

Sarah's 1st day of Pre-school
2007

All moved in

Well, we are officially moved in! I guess the move went as smooth as one could ever go but it was still a very stressful day. The girls (and I) thought we would vamoose and hit Chuck E. Cheese for the day but plans changed and Adam needed me to be here to direct the movers. As you can imagine, ALL DAY LONG I was asked the question.."When can we do something FUN?" Finally the movers left around 5 so I abandoned my post and took the girls to the neighborhood pool for a little while. While there is still much unpacking and organizing to be done, I can say that I am very happy to be here and we are all enjoying the new house and neighborhood!

I have to include this video clip because it SO summed up the entire moving experience for Sarah. For the adults it was a stressful day trying to figure out where everything went but for a 5 year old the day was very boring and carefree. Sarah spent most of her time riding around on her bicycle while everyone else was working. Ah....to be 5 years old on moving day would be a dream come true!