Eden's first day of school

Well, I've been a little MIA lately but ready to do some catching up!! Eden and I had two weeks together after Claire started school and she started her school year. I can't begin to tell you how much she grew up those two weeks because she wasn't competing for my attention. It was such a precious time for us to have our one on one time we had never had before - especially before baby comes. Her language has exploded and she has become a little less hesitant in new settings. She is still my guarded girl around new people =) She is going to the same MDO on Tuesday and Thursdays while I'm teaching. Her "meet the teacher" day was on my first day of work so Grandpa took her. Thank you SO much dad for sharing in this special day!
My dad was shocked to see the quiet, withdrawn, cautious side of Eden when in new situations. It's something I've talked about a lot but she is never like that with my parents so they haven't experienced it.

Eden LOVES her teacher Ms. Meagan and loves being part of the red class. She is also part of a purple class for BSF so you will often hear her say "two classes - red and purple" - too cute!
Her first day of school was on Sept. 6th and it couldn't have gone any better. She went right in and started playing right away. Her teacher has been WONDERFUL! Her favorite class is music with Ms. Heather. Here she is on the first day - she had to wear a jacket because Claire wore hers to school. It was about 65 so it was a little cool for us - a nice break from the sweltering heat!

This picture was taken on the second day of school and I couldn't help but post. I just love her rainy froggy shirt!
Eden....like I said before has changed SO much the past month. She is such a goofy, silly girl at home and when she is in comfortable situations. I just LOVE this side of her but am so thankful for that cautious part of her personality. She will be such a leader and be herself. I don't see her being easily persuaded so I guess that stubborn streak will be a blessing!
She continues to be my boy at heart - loving to climb, run, bounce, throw but is learning more and more everyday what it means to be gentle. Her empathy for others sometimes surprises me when seconds earlier she was oblivious to others. Her personality is so multi-dimensional... i just LOVE this girl to pieces! Always keeping me guessing =)

Here are a few things I want to remember:
- When asked what her favorite color is she always says "Brown" and always goes for the brown crayon first
- She favors the scary parts and villains in any movie or show. Not sure exactly what that means but it makes me laugh when she says "I like that guy" or is obsessed with the "Mean Queen" from Snow White.
- She is extremely into shoes and purses and I often find the most random assortment of things stuffed in the many purses around our house including the cell phone I couldn't find =)
- She has surprised me with how well she has transitioned to her bunk bed. I'm SO proud of her!
- The past 3 weeks Eden has caught on to the sticker folder that sister has been doing for a long time. If they don't go to time out all day, Neil puts a sticker on their nose before bed and they go nuts to put it in their folder. Amazing how much of an incentive this can be but we still have our days full of time outs at times. She is definitely improving!
- her favorite phrases "tiny bit?", "oopsy daisy" (just started this one), "I want" - we're working on this one,