She's a BIG BEAR now!!

Well - today was the big day....

Ava's 1st Day of PRESCHOOL!!!!

We got up bright & early this morning {let it be known I was the 1st person up at our house, just for documentations sake} to get ready & make sure I had enough time to snap some pics of Ava before we left :)!!

D.Might & I have both asked her for a few days
'What do you want to wear on the first day of school?'
Her answer never wavered
'A Dress!'
So here was her pick - she wore some bike shorts underneath so she could run & play on the playground without worrying about her dress flying up :)

She absolutely loves her new backpack!!

Yes, we got up & around this morning, but still didn't have enough time to eat breakfast at home, so here's Ava eating her waffle in the car :) She was a little upset that I wouldn't let her have syrup & sprinkles on it, but she got over it quickly when I changed the subject to school!

I wanted to make sure we left our house with enough time for us to make it to school on time & I could snap a few pics when she got there.
Um, yeah - Ava was the first to arrive in her class!! I was so proud of myself for being somewhere not only on time for once - but early at that!!
I can't recall that ever happening before...

When we got to school, I signed her in & then they immediately go wash their hands {cuts down on the germs}. After that, we went to her classroom & her teacher, Ms. Ruth, took her '1st Day of School' picture - so sweet!! Ava cheesed it up big time :)

Here she is putting her stuff in her cubbie :)

Here's Ava with her teacher, Ms. Ruth!!

She is such a sweet, sweet lady & I think Ava will have a wonderful time being in her class!!

Here's what she was doing when I left - working on a coloring sheet :)
She waived & said 'Bye Mom!'
It was right after this I got a little something in my eye...
{sniff, sniff}
Luckily, she didn't shed a tear, didn't even look back twice, ha - I'm so thankful she was so excited & seemed to love it so much!

I had a dentist appointment to go to while she was at school & I'm glad I had it, because I found myself twiddling my thumbs at about 10am - after I'd already run the errands I had intended to. I went ahead & went to the grocery store to pass some time, took the groceries home & put them away before I went back to pick her up at school!

She was out playing on the playground when I went in to pick her up!
She had such a great time at school & wanted to show me everything they did that day - so sweet! After we gathered her backpack & things out of her cubbie, we headed out for lunch. Of course, she got to pick, it was her big day after all - she chose McAlisters! Gigi met us there, since it was her day off :)

After lunch, we ran a few more errands with Gigi & then took the big preschooler for some ice cream at Marble Slab!

However, she didn't want ice cream, so she got a big cookie with lots of icing instead -
Whatever makes her happy :)
Gigi & I each had ice cream.
It was delish.

Ava & Mom on her 1st Day of Preschool!!

When her Daddy got home, she just had to show him what she did at school today!
I have no idea what it's supposed to be, but she loved it!!

She's also holding her slip of paper that tells me how she did at school today -- it said...
- She was a good eater a snack time. {Surprising?! I think not...}
- She was a good listener at story time.
- She played in the homemaking center. {Aspiring to be just like her Mother...}
- She played in the playhouse on the playground.

I should have just scanned it in - I was so proud!!!
Putting that on the 'To-Do' list...

Ava & Daddy on her 1st Day of Preschool!!

I missed having my little buddy with me while I was shopping & running errands.
I had no one to sing along with me in the car or have someone telling me 'Turn it up louder!' so we could jam to some music...
So, I went to Ed's and bought her a cake!
{And, technically, I also bought her 3 handbags while I was out, but who's counting?!}

It was quite a big day for both of us!!
I am so, so, so, so, soooo thankful that she had such a wonderful time at school & is so enthusiastic about going & that she's not afraid of being on her own for just a little while without her Momma.....
but it was music to my ears when I got her buckled up after school, we hit the road, & that sweet little voice said
{after telling me about how awesome her day was, mind you}
'I missed you, Momma! I love you so much!'