Perfect

Dad took this picture tonight.  I can't even describe this picture without screaming in my head  OMG THIS FACE IS SO PERFECT.  I NEED TO SQUEEZE IT AND KISS IT.

Blooper Cuteness

Blopper Cuteness

Scooter cuteness

BYE

You and Asher made a Happy Birthday Colleen video!

Click here for insane cuteness!

First "haircut"

Your hair needs trimmed badly and for the longest time it has created an inverted triangle on the bottom of your gorgeous hair of dead ends.  So...last night I took some scissors and cut off literally the tip of the triangle.  Literally one curl.  And I swear I thought Dad was going to faint while I was doing it and then I swear I saw him tear up.  

Talky Talk

You just said to me "Hmmm...got a idea. Be right back." (and then ran into the other room)

Last night you said, "Give it a try" to Asher

I only have one example off the top of my head but you are doing this A LOT lately.  You will ask a question (meant to be rhetorical) and then answer it yourself before I would get a chance to answer it.

This morning:  "Where did Dad go? In the bed!" Both are said like back to back.  Almost like you are showing me that you CAN answer the question by yourself.

You are saying "I" instead of Aria and me WAY more these days

I think you are being more comfortable talking (as odd as that sounds) so you are trying to do it more.  I don't know I just feel like you and I are talking together more now instead of me talking to you.  Plus, all the things you are picking up from school are seriously amazing to me.

Photobooth Pictures from the Oak Park Fest

I'm not sure who has the better faces - you or Dad

Look to your right

To keep up with all of Aria's Preschool Adventures click on the words Preschool Year One

Sickly baby

You are off and on sickly today (depending on long it's been since your last tylenol dose).  Dad is giving lots of hugs and snuggles.  Asher is the entertainment.  And I'm there every 2 seconds to wipe your nose.  It's a family effort to get you feeling better.  That's how we roll.

A few more pictures of the Oak Park Fest from Dad's phone

Playing Catch Up

Unfortunately with upcoming midterms (me), sickness (you and your brother), and just life (well everyone), I've been slacking on my updates these past few weeks.  I have a ton of adorable pictures with adorable stories, but although I'm REALLY bad at writing it all down, I want to make sure that I do a quick talky talk update.  I feel like you are talking SO much better these days and I know I always say that and I'm sure by now you're sick of reading it, but I mean you are.  Even with the small passing of time in preschool, I feel like you are really starting to talk WITH me.  Like I find myself having real (small yet awesome) CONVERSATIONS with you and nothing I write will express how happy that makes me - like the word happy doesn't even begin to describe it.  I ask you questions and you answer me with more than one sentence.  HUGE.  Is it all better and perfect?  No. But I mean when is life all better and perfect?  Yeah.  Never.

On top of that little update, I need to do a little preschool update.  So.  Let me just be honest with you.  I was doubting the preschool thing for the first like 6 days.  Maybe I counted...  You were having a rough transition there for a second and without Dad and Grandma I would have took you home and squeezed you and said you didn't have to go back.  It was HARD for me to see you struggling and crying and then leaving you.  Like that sentence made me tear up a little.  For reals.  It was the first time in your life that you were upset and crying and unhappy and I left you with strangers to figure that all out.  As a self confirmed control freak, that was almost too much some days.  As upset as you were, that is how little I slept those days.  BUT I am SO glad I didn't retreat and say maybe next year.  You get excited to go to school now and you put on your little Dora backpack and say "Hold hands Mom" and just precede to walk into school like this is just what we do now.  You "sign in" now and go over and move your picture from "Home" to "School" all by yourself and then find your little chair with your little face on it and sit down and say, "Kiss.  Hug.  Love a you.  Bye Mom" and then some days as I'm walking away you scream "Bye Mom" from your chair and you are content and happy.  I leave content and happy.  And it's SO FRICKIN GOOD.  If you were older, I would swear to emphasize how good it is.  On the school website, there are all these pictures and a video and we go through and watch them every single day and you have four little friends that you smile when you say their names (you can say most of them - btw) and that is beyond awesome and you have this little friend Ashlei who is older and has taken on an older sister vibe with you and you hold her hand now after school when walking back to the car - like no big deal Mom just over here holding hands with my friend.  And you seem just to be more confident lately - not so afraid of everything.  Ok you get it.  I'm rambling.  But yeah school is awesome.  I can't wait to see how much you change and grow because of it.

AND you peed in the potty THREE nights in a row.  Awesome!  But for some reason, you will only go for Dad at the moment.  So we have to work on that.  But seriously I'm not complaining.

On to the pictures and adorable stories!

Monday nights I go to class you and your brother get Dad all to yourselves and he really takes the Dad thing serious on those nights with some serious playing.

This is from like two Mondays ago.  You guys made an epic fort.

You found some Christmas lights in the closet one day last week and because of your epic memory you remembered that day six months ago that you had a bath by Christmas light and then wanted them up in your room.  Well, that turned into your new "night light".  But night light they are not.  They are bright.  So because you are changing every single day these days, you have now decided that instead of sleeping in almost pitch darkness that you want to sleep in light so bright that you can seriously read in bed now if you wanted to.  I turn them off when you fall asleep so it's not really a big deal at all.  I just find it hilarious how you change like everyday these days.

Last weekend, you went on your first solo trip with Dad.  Ironically, it wasn't that big of a deal (for you - not me.)  You are very taken with Aunt Colleen lately so after telling you in the morning that you were going to get pumpkins and see Aunt Colleen and Uncle Jake, you were ALL about pumpkins and Aunt Colleen.  After a debacle of a morning, Asher had to take a nap and bam there you are with Dad going by yourselves.  But in the end, I think you loved being the center of attention and Grandpa took these adorable pictures:

I'm totally framing this one and putting it up in your room

You fall asleep on the way home from school and I find it adorable. (This is right before I took you out of the car in case you noticed the seat belt.)

This is you "cleaning Brutus up" because I guess he's dirty.  I love Brutus's face.  

This is you today after school.  So much cuteness in that little preschool face. 

This is a few days ago during your daily wardrobe picture.  I'm not sure why you have a dollar but look at your little face and your little braids.  Too.much.cuteness.

Aria plays computer games with "Uncle Jake" every single day

Click here for cuteness

Head's up - yes it is dark.  It's easier to see the screen when the lights are off.