Lovin' my Diva.

I have said MANY times, that life with this little girl is never dull. I have also talked very recently (as in the last blog post) about how she wants to coordinate her outfits, and I truly get to say very little about what she wears....or should I say I usually try not to say much about her outfits, just let her pick them out and if they don't match or look TOO silly I will put in my two cents then.

Fast forward to this morning in her closet. Today, at school, they have their first pep rally. They were all asked to wear red and black to support their team. For starters, I LOVE that their school colors are red and black, because we've supported the Red Raiders for years so she has some variety in her wardrobe already. She has a way too expensive football jersey, tons of red and black bows, t-shirts, etc.....but she wasn't going to have anything to do with that stuff. Here is the outfit SHE put together all on her own....very coordinating, and by far the MOST stylish little diva wearing red and black at school today! Gotta love it! Her personality is definitely showing through more and more every single day, and yes I am LOVIN' it!

The t-shirt has a kitten on it wearing a tie, so she wanted her red scarf to look a certain way so it would look like a tie. Yes, I laugh a LOT! Also notice that she has a pretend palm pilot in her hand.....oh my, I had to threaten to take it away during breakfast because she was receiving SO many texts from her friends that she wasn't eating.....yes, Daddy.....we might be in trouble!

Her first week at Pre-K has been so much easier on all of us than I have expected. She LOVES it, and has only cried when I showed up a few minutes early to pick her up. She didn't want to leave because she was reading a book with a classmate. She has been going to bed without any trouble in the evenings from being so worn out!

It's all DADDY's fault!

This outfit is all Daddy's fault. It's HIS fault that she knows what she wants and goes for it. It's HIS fault that she has these adorable tennis shoes now and it's HIS fault that she is wearing them.

For those of you who don't know me well. I only pretty much wear tennis shoes when I am working out.....or if I happen to be freezing at a football game. I definitely would not have picked out these tennis shoes to go with a tutu and leggings, but I did have to give it to Brooke.....one, it is a lot cooler this morning than normal so at least she has her feet covered, and two, yes they do MATCH technically speaking....they have blue and purple in them like her outfit.

A side note, I suppose if I am going to blame her Daddy for this outfit I also should give him blame for her undeniable cuteness, her awesome curls, and the fact that she already speaks her mind and shows very few signs of bashfulness....which has been great for Pre-K!

Denial

I KNOW I should be getting tons more done with this angel at school, but I don't feel like I am.....yet anyway. I have a PLAN, which is more than I had yesterday. I have a new client, and will be doing more work for a client I have had for a while....all of which will help me bring in some money for our family, still be here when little missy gets out of school, and will help keep me busy enough to not go crazy!!

A few additional things I might or might not have been in denial about:

I might or might not have completely held it together yesterday, no tears.

I might or might not have totally blown that out of the water when I got out two swiffers for a little missy to help me dust....yep, I might or might not have cried the entire time I dusted yesterday.....and it wasn't due to the housework believe it or not.

I might or might not have strategically driven our golf cart to check the mail when I knew she should be outside for recess.....and I sat there and watched for a few minutes, then drove away hoping she didn't see me! Then I might or might not have gotten completely disappointed today when she wasn't outside playing.....yes, it's 15 degrees cooler than normal here today with high humidity and wind blowing hard enough to make the 12 mph golf cart seem like I was zooming in a dune buggy.

I might or might not miss her.....even Cooper thinks the house is way too quiet.....and neat.

Since she is an official New Home Leopard now, she helped her Daddy 'brand' the golf cart.

She is so proud of being a New Home Leopard, and we are so proud of her!

Her first day at school was in her own words "Really good, fun, awesome Momma!" I asked her what her favorite part of the day was. She used to say recess or gym time at her old school, but this time she said "ALL of the things Momma, it was great!" Her Uncle Bro was over here yesterday and he asked her if she liked school, she said yes, he asked her if she liked it well enough to go back and she said "Uncle Bro, you're so silly. I want to go back EVERY DAY!"

First Day of Pre-K!

The problem isn't that Brooke isn't ready. Brooke wasn't crying when we dropped her off for her first day of school. For people that don't know our angel, it is quite the opposite. This is the first morning since last school year when she was in two day a week preschool, that she squealed when I woke her up in the morning because she was SO excited to jump up and get ready for school! I am thrilled for her! I remember being so excited about school, and I don't want that excitement to fade for her. The problem is that by our baby going to Pre-K the old saying "time flies" is once again proving to be true!

I took some pictures, but was afraid of going overboard......so, I didn't take many....and now I am wishing I took more!!

Brooke and her Daddy before we took the long 1 minute drive on the golf cart to her school building.

The obligatory picture with Momma too. No, I hadn't been crying. And I still haven't cried, but my eyes will not stop burning, so I am wondering if I should just cry to get it over with. ;o)

WOW! My beautiful school girl! She could not be more excited! She knew exactly what she wanted to wear this morning, and I wasn't about to try to talk her into wearing anything else (especially since it wasn't a tutu). She picked out, what else did you expect, a dress and a flower!

Flip Flops got the go ahead from the teacher, so one less thing to have to fight with just yet.

Sitting at her new desk, already looking mesmerized by the stuff she is going to absorb! Yes, I cropped the other kids out....because well, I only had eyes for one.

I took ONE picture of Brooke with her teacher Mrs. Bundy, and NO I didn't look at it before I left the room. I was afraid of being THAT Mom that hangs around for too long, so I took it and ran! I took Brooke's lunch to the cafeteria refrigerater and she saw us walk back by on our way out and gave us the cutest happy wave.

She is where she needs to be, but now what?! Cooper will not give me even an inch this morning since we dropped Brooke off. He is lost too. Don't worry family and friends, I have PLENTY to do.....but I don't know that I have even had one lunch or nap time without her since she was born.

Good luck at school our sweet Brooke!

MY Homework.

I am already liking Brooke's new teacher, Mrs. Bundy. We went to Open house last night and got to meet all of the other overwhelmed parents and Brooke's official classmates and we were sent home with some actual homework, besides the piles of official paperwork to fill out.

Mrs. Bundy makes every child their own scrapbook throughout the year and puts all of their drawings and craft projects in it so we get it at the end of the year. I LOVE this idea as a mom who tries to hang on to EVERYTHING my child does, I also love that it will already be done and in a notebook when I get it!

To start her scrapbook we were sent home with two pieces of paper to decorate for Brooke. The one with her name on it is supposed to have pictures of family members, done. Although, she wanted EVERY single family member I just went with immediate family, Cooper included. And the page of 'My Favorite Things' is for a couple of reasons. One, she said she will use it as a show and tell of sorts and let each child tell about what is on the page and tell about some of their favorite things, but the one that impressed me the most as a mommy is that she said if Brooke ever has a bad day, or a day where she misses home she can take this page out and tell the class about whatever it is she is missing......awwww, I like that.

Brooke totally helped me pick out the stuff for her favorite thing page. She told me she LOVES cheese pizza; she loves to dance and sing; then she said she likes princesses, flowers, birds, crowns, cake, and last but not least Momma and Daddy. Glad to know we made the list.

I don't know if this teacher knows it, and I will make sure to tell her. But silly little things like this make ME as the momma, not exactly wanting to drop my child off at school at the age of four full time, feel better.

Our budding artist.

I could go on and on about Brooke's budding personality. I love it.....she is VERY independent, at times bull headed, but already showing signs of not allowing other people to run over her, which is a comforting feeling for this momma knowing she starts school MONDAY! That is definitely something she gets from her sweet Daddy.

On that note, another thing I think she is getting from her Daddy is his drawing ability. He is a great artist (see one wall in our house that is dedicated to a framed beauty he drew back in high school), and even though we haven't really worked with her at all on her drawing skills, she is getting better and better with each passing week. Below is her version of a monkey.....which I love because I am FAR from artistic.....and I love that it's all from her imagination not from pictures.

I think this smart cookie can totally sense Momma's nostalgic feelings these days. I am very excited about her starting school, I know she will love it, thrive in it and that this is what she wants. BUT, on the flip side I haven't been away from her for longer than a date night since she was born. With that said I am constantly wondering what I will do with myself to be productive. She keeps promising me she will come home when school is out.....how comforting.

She has once again been requesting I take a lot of pictures of her, of the two of us together, of her with Cooper, and that she take pictures of me.

I was impressed. The other night I heard the ice cream man way out here in New Home. Yes, I still tell her that only her grandpa's money works with them, so she posed with this ice cream cone instead!

She asked to take 'one' picture of me with it.....

Then after she snapped about thirty I decided to take the camera back.

Melt my heart.

This is her official "get me out of trouble" look. It seems to work with pretty much anyone. She does something she isn't supposed to, then acts completely bashful and innocent with this look.....too smart for her own good at age four.

Brooke's rendition of me.

Then she wanted to take my picture with her drawing of me. See the resemblence?

Tonight is open house at her new school. She is SO excited. I am thinking the only problem will be coming home.....

Life With a Princess.

Life with a Princess is NEVER dull. Always dramatic, loving and adorable.

This is how our Princess walked out of her room this morning after I woke her up. Tutu under her princess nightgown, wild morning hair, one of the two pair of shoes her Daddy helped us find for school and her princess cd player blaring what else.....princess music!

The best part is she came out saying "Momma, I am ready to go to school now!" Um, I am hoping to NOT have a battle on our hands for the first day of school.....but I promise she will be able to dress girly!

I read in a magazine article just a day or so ago that allowing your child to express her creativity through clothing at an early age will just help her develop her own style, personality and opinions; help her stand out in a crowd; and help her figure out who SHE is......so, that's my story and I am sticking to it....she's 'finding herself.'