Last year was Eva's first year as a school kid.  It was no surprise that she loved going to school every day and I picked her up at the end of every day seeing a big smile on her face.  She made friends, yes, but she really enjoyed learning and really created a strong bond with her teacher.  Being that Eva's class would be Mrs. Manigold's last class to teach before heading off to retirement, Eva had a hard time thinking she may never see her first school teacher again.  Saying good-bye and sending her off was bittersweet...

On her last day of school, she wore her "first day of school dress", curled her hair, and rode in the Bronco to school (the three must-haves for the last day of school, of course)...

We celebrated the end of a joyous school year with Kona Ice and giving out lots of hugs...

Before first grade started, we had to think about what she would wear on her first day (because those things really matter to Eva).  Lucky for me, Eva shares in the excitement of designing a "first day of school dress", so this year we combined ideas to come up with a really fun dress!  Eva wanted a rockstar dress.  So, we used a pair of Daddy's old jeans to make a dress, added some pleather sleeves, incorporated the sleeves of a vintage flapper dress from Auntie Vonnie (the black and sequined panels on the skirt), bleached a pocket, zipper, and heart hem, then of course my favorite, added the "Mom tattoo" on the back.  

Next was to find a new backpack in Eva's new favorite color, blue.  She found the perfect one, added it to her dress, and this girl was ready for her first day!

Although Eva preferred getting dropped off at the front curb, Daddy couldn't resist walking in for her first day to scope things out, meet her new teacher, and reunite with parents from last year's class.  Eva also found a couple of her friends that were in last year's class that will be with her again in first grade!

We were delighted to hear that Eva's new teacher is named Mrs. Evins and she was anticipating meeting Eva for their almost matching names :)

Eva's been in school for a week and every day that I pick her up she says, "I can't believe I'm a first grader!"  So, I have a feeling it's going to be another great year of learning and gaining independance.  We couldn't be more happy for our growing girl.