A First Time for Everything

Within the past couple of days we have experienced a few "firsts" in our family. Actually, AAP has experienced the "firsts" and we are watching first hand. I typically think the first tooth, the first smile, first time they sit up, and all the things that go into the first year of life. However, I failed to realize that for the rest of their lives they, my kiddos, will continually encounter different things for the first time!
1. AAP received her first "love notes" this week. I was picking up the house before I went to bed and when I went to put her backpack in it's spot I realized I hadn't checked it for any notes or papers from the day's work. I unzip and I find four pictures in her bag. This is not out of the ordinary for her. She loves to draw and now write all sorts of different things. She always has some sort of drawing in her bag. Although as I looked closer I realized that these were not pictures by her...or one of her girl friends. The note said "I Love A********". This little boy has had a crush on her all year long. His mom is always telling me about how much he talks about her at home. And, when my hubby went to eat lunch with AAP at school this same little boy goes on to tell him that he was going to marry AAP. Hubby laughed but was a little perturbed at the same time. Here goes his protective father mode kicking in already. There was one other note from this same little boy and then two notes from one other boy. I decided I would make light of the situation. The next morning I just told her that the drawings that were in her bag were on the counter. She rolled her eyes and said, "I know...those are from C###". I asked her what they were and she just said that they were gross. Her daddy was relieved by her response. He just doesn't understand how these boys are already knowing to send love notes and they barely know how to write. Boy, do we have a long road ahead of us! :)
2. AAP decided she would ride the bus home from school. This is a big step! I have picked her up and taken her everyday since school started. Even when one of her best little girlfriends would ride the bus she wasn't interested. There is a little girl that lives a couple of streets down that is in the same grade as AAP and is always talking about AAP to her mom. I know the mom and she tells me about it. However, this little girl is very shy so she never says anything to my daugther. So, last night I showed her where P@@@@@@ lived and told her that P@@@@@@ had started riding the bus sometimes and that she should make friends with her. For some reason this actually excited her. So, she rode the bus to school today and is coming home on the bus this afternoon. We will see how it goes!