Holly graduated from Preschool this week and just about broke my heart. I'm not sure why childhood flies by so quickly, but it's moving like a freight train with no brakes. The start of kindergarten has me reeling. I feel like now she has to grow up. And it's all happening way too fast...

It was fun to celebrate her! She's had a lot of fun in Preschool. She went twice a week for 2.5 hours. Now we're onto summer and hopefully having a lot of fun before we begin what will be the many years of daily school attendance. Lots of growth and learning, but also a lot less time in the home with me. Breaking my heart. But at the same time, let's see how far you can soar Holly Bear.

I made both my girls chambray Oliver+S puppet show shorts. I thought these would make a great basic for summer. When I finished them, Greta said to me, "I don't want shorts! I want a skirt!" Needless to say, she has yet to wear them. And I don't think she ever will. She would not wear them just for some pictures. Holly has yet to really wear hers. I think I need to remind her that they're in her drawer. Or I need to stick to skirts and dresses! Either way, I just love these shorts. They're so cute, simple and childish.

For a long while, our photos older than 2010 were unaccessible. I've seen so little baby photos of Holly in the last few years. It's a weird sort of painful to look at baby photos of her... my heart swells because she was just so "Holly" from the very beginning and we loved her so much. Add to it the fact that she's coming up quickly on 5 years old and I'm one nostalgic Momma. My oh my, I love my Holly Bear. What a complete darling she was and is.

When Holly initially asked me to have a short haircut like Greta's, I took a deep breath and said, "let's talk about it." Cutting off her long, blond locks felt like a really big deal. She's Holly with long, blond hair, whereas Greta's the one that wears her hair in a bob.

I'm a firm believer of trimming off those whispy, scraggly baby locks no matter how much it makes your heart hurt because the child looks so much crisper on the other side and it makes one wonder why the trim didn't happen sooner. And so I've done that with my girls, and then Holly's hair got to the point where it was ready to grow out and so that's what I did. Let me tell you, it was beautiful. So soft when it was brushed. The perfect shade of beachy blonde. But.... it tangled like none other (she has my hair - fine and thick - so I know exactly what it feels like). We were always braiding it or doing something because otherwise, there would be big tears (Holly) and frustration (Me). I also believe in (or am trying to) letting kids choose their hair cuts. Kids have so little control over anything. Their hair feels like an ok place to hand them the reins (within reason obviously). Holly was sold completely on having her hair chopped off "to here" she'd say, holding her hand up at her chin. So we did it. And she hasn't looked back. She loves her new hair cut. She's still as beautiful as ever. I've tried not to utter any words of regret around Holly just because she's so thrilled and I don't want to teach her to regret a haircut... there's enough time in her life for that. So I'm letting her and encouraging her to enjoy it. With each passing day, I love her little bob even more.

This is one of my favorite sewing patterns of all times. This is the third year I've made up Oliver and S Puppet Show Shorts and the last year Holly will fit the pattern sizing. When I asked Greta at the store if she wanted shorts out of this fabric, she said a firm, "no." Baby girl is very specific about what she likes (and shorts aren't really her thing!). Holly, on the other hand, was thrilled with this garment. The shorts are fun and vibrant and are quite comfortable. The fabric has a great drape and weight and is still very soft. It's become so satisfying to sew for Holly. She's developed such a wonderful appreciation for the things I make her and it makes me want to sew for her constantly. She has a grateful heart. I hope she gets lots of use out of these shorts this summer!