Growing up ...

There are many 'firsts' in a childs life which make you, as a parent, realize that your child is growing up. A first tooth, a first word, the first steps, the first day of school. Emma has reached her next 'first' yesterday, one of which she is VERY proud and is eager to share with anyone who wants to hear and see: she lost her first tooth! My goodness, she IS growing up fast! The tooth had been loose for a few weeks and after playing with it for all that time, it finally came out yesterday, in the dressing room of the swimming pool. Emma put the tooth under her pillow and (even though she doesn't really believe) the tooth fairy brought her some money for her piggy bank.

And here are the before and after pics
All white soldiers still there ...
One down, 20 or so to go :-)

Another touching thing happened with our little big girl this week. There's a song by the Dutch singer Marco Borsato, called Dochters (Daughters). A father sings about his daughter, how fast she is growing up and how he will miss her when she gets married. It's a lovely song and I mentioned to Pieter that it would be nice to sing this at Emma's wedding (planning ahead, aren't we?). Emma overheard us and asked what we were talking about. After I explained it to her, she started crying! When I asked her why she was crying, she said it was such a sad story ... Two days later, the song was playing on the radio again and again, Emma started crying! 'It's so said for you and daddy when we grow up and leave you', she said. We explained to her that we would be very happy for her if and when she decided to get married and that she was still going to be living with us for a LONG time. She seemed to understand. Still, we turned off the radio. To bad for Marco, but no fans in this house for a while.

And just because it has been so long since the last post, here's two more pics.
Emma after having played outside and having eaten a chocolate paste sandwich; a bit less groomed than usual

One of the many artworks Janne brings home from kindergarten; this one is from one of her favorite areas in the classroom: the carpentry corner