Pop! WOW! Owwie!

Ella is turning six on Sunday and I am really wrestling with it! There is so much mixed emotion with her. She does not do well in August. She is searching for structure and routine. And although it is just around the corner with school starting, she is apprehensive with the school start up! Tummy aches, mood swings, and really rotten attitudes seem to be a common pattern for the month of August with her. We have been trying to keep her good and busy (aka distracted) so to keep things on the positive note.
Things have been so fast and furious this summer. I feel like I worked really hard to find a balance all summer long with the kids, housework, and the thesis! Now that it is behind me, I wanted to focus on the kids. We have had lots of fun times. We've done the lake, the library, and lots of playdates and fun in between! I wasn't planning a big birthday party for Elle this year since we were between schools and friend groups along with the timing! Plus, the girl can NOT fit one more toy in her room! This year we'll be having a more low key event. Which I am looking forward to.
However this post is dedicated to a special rite of passage that she whizzed through this week. This week during dinner she bit into corn on the cob and abrutly complained that the corn hurt her teeth. I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked across the table to see her perfect little baby tooth sticking flat out of her mouth. In a matter of seconds, she wiggled and popped the tooth RIGHT OUT! It was so perfect and sweet and BRAVE!
I looked at Scott with the same eyes I think I gave him after the birthes of our kids. I was shocked,emotional, and all choked up???? What was wrong with me? I fear it is the twinge of sadness I feel in my heart as I see her growing up. I often vent about her tantrums and selfishness. But in all actuality, she is growing up! She is going to be 6 before I know it. YIKES! Despite my "moment", she was completely estactic! She wanted to call Grandparents and uncles. She was so proud to take this picture. WOW! How fast things change with the twist of a tooth! I am sad that a little part of her babiness is gone. Of course the tooth fairy came! But I just sat staring at the itty bitty tooth that night, after I took it from beneath her pillow. I was overwhelmed with sadness that this sweet innocent stage was blossoming into a new exciting stage. She was so thrilled...why wasn't I??? My baby is growing up!Can I even remember what things were like when it was just the 3 of us? Wow! Even though it wasn't that long ago, it feels like decades. Maybe that is due to the sleep deprivation of the past 5 years??

Don't get me wrong, I am excited to move onto the new and exciting days that lay ahead. But that perfect smile of hers just makes me light up these days with the little hole. Yep, the one she keeps sticking her tongue through, the one she shoots food out, and blows bubbles out during gum chewing! It just seemed so monumental. I am in awe of the young lady she is growing into....I just don't want it to happen so fast. I am realizing and trying to seize this great stage we are in. The kids are so perfect (at times draining) but all so sweet and silly. Somedays, on the really good days, I want to freeze time. I want to be here forever! Life is good; so full of blessings. I just try to soak it up each day! Here is my proud almost 6 year old!