last day of school

Today (the 22nd), we woke Brenna up for her last day of school (due to my maternity leave, she will be home with me this summer), but she was going out in style! Because tomorrow is her birthday, she took in cupcakes for all of her friends, which she was very excited about. They made her a glittery birthday crown, and her teacher even bought her two new outfits and a layette for the baby!

Jamie and I are really going to miss Brenna's pre-school, it has been so good for her, and she has been so happy there. She skips out of the house each morning with Jamie to get there.

Toddlers have to be walking well to attend her school - she's still the 2nd youngest one there. Since the baby would not be able to go, and we want the girls together, we had to look at other childcare options for next year. We actually found an in-home situation starting in August that we are very comfortable with for a year, and we plan to switch both girls back to Brenna's school in the summer of 2010.

However, even though we plan to go back eventually, both Jamie and I were sad, and relieved she doesn't yet realize she won't see some of her favorite faces again for a very long time.

The first day of school/daycare is always hard enough (click here to see how much Brenna has changed since her first day in August), but you know you found someplace very special when the last day of school is just as hard.

When I was teaching her the colors, it was so obvious they were being taught at school, too, since she learned them so quickly. When I would sing songs to her, it would crack me up that she already knew the tune, complete with motions. And yesterday, when she took an air pump and brought the sides of the tube together and exclaimed, "A circle, Mommy!" Jamie and I laughed... we didn't know she knew her shapes!

Thank you to Brenna's teachers and the owner (a friend of ours) for making Brenna's year such a great one. Thank you for caring so much for our daughter.