Girly-Girl...NOT!

You know, I had dreams about having a girl for as long as I can remember. I liked the thought of dressing her up in cute clothes. No, I NEVER planned on being the kind of mom that put their child on Toddlers and Tiaras, nor will I ever, thank you very much. I just had visions of dressing my little girl in cute dresses with frilly socks, putting ribbons around her cute little ponytails. You get the picture.

Well, my daughter is more like this:



And "dressing up" means this:



And tea parties are like this:



Which results in this:



and consequently this:



Oh well. She's my little girl, mud and all.

She starts Kindergarten on Thursday. Part of me is a little sad that the baby we brought home from a dirty orphanage and nursed to health and on-target development is now growing up and starting school. The other part of me is doing the Kindergarten Countdown because she is so ready for school that she is wearing me down with her well-documented constant need for activity and more and more playdates. There's only one girl in our neighborhood that is her age and when she is not available, it means calling around and driving across town for a playdate.

I will be meeting two other moms Thursday morning after drop-off at Starbucks. I will be celebrating the occasion with a latte and a box of tissues.