First Day of First Grade

Margot headed back to school this year this morning. She reported a great day and was very excited about her new teacher. At drop off this morning, she confidently joined her friends from kindergarten and strode off to the big kids' section of the building (no more early childhood wing).

So this is the fake smile



And here's a real smile

Nostalgia

Just came across this photo of Margot on her homecoming day from the NICU. On Monday she starts first grade.

(Tearing up a little.)

Cowgirls

One of the best things about being a parent is getting to share life's greatest joys with your child. And it's made even sweeter when your child loves that joy as much as you do.

Today Margot went on her first real horseback ride. It was a spectacular ride and a spectacular day. The weather was sunny and warm. The air smelled like sagebrush and dry grass. The wildflowers stretched forever. The Tetons rose in the background. In the 20-something years that I've been riding, I've never know scenery upon horseback like what we had today. And this was Margot's first ride that wasn't a sad pony-around-the-ring ride. (How can she top today? She can't.) She rode a steady horse named Mickey. Margot was in love. She had no hesitation; she hopped right onto that horse and took off with our cute cowboy guide. She tried to dress the part with a cowgirl hat, but it blew off atop this mountain (we retrieved it, but had to tie it to the saddle for the rest of the trip).

Today was truly one of the best days of my entire life.

Sleep-gymnastics

I'm working on a beautiful Saturday afternoon while Margot takes a well-deserved nap next to me. (She's had a hard day of swimming and sun, and we're both a little burned despite reapplying sunscreen.)

M is a champion sleepwalker and sleeptalker. I'm not surprised when she wanders downstairs in the evenings, eyes totally open, but she's clearly sleepwalking. And she'll hold nonsensical conversations with you late at night, too.

But I just looked over at her because she started to stir and saw something I have never seen before: She tried to get herself into a headstand in her sleep. I was torn between seeing if she could actually do it, and not wanting her to hurt herself. I voted for the latter. I told her to lie down again and she looked at me (eyes wide open), and flopped back onto her pillow.

American Girl Day

Today dawned sunny and bright. It's a day that Margot has looked forward to since April. It's the day we planned to visit the American Girl store.

I will refrain from analyzing the cultish nature of these dolls and just report the facts: Margot had a glorious time. Her cousin Riley slept over the night before and they performed for me while I drank my coffee this morning.



We ate lunch in the cafe.



Margot saved $30 over the past year with the goal of blowing it all today. She admired items in the store for almost an hour before deciding to buy a pet carrier for her stuffed animal and hair accessories for her doll (total = $32. She owes me two bucks.). The value of the item truly is in the eye of the buyer; it was all I could do to not dissuade her from those items but I reminded myself this was her money and her choice.

I 'treated' her doll to a hair style in the salon (note the cape! and the chair!)



By the time we got home, the excitement of the afternoon caught up with Min. I saw this in my rearview mirror as we pulled onto our street: