This morning, our five year old son asked to go outside at 7:00 am.  As my husband and I sipped our coffee, we looked at each other, nodded, and off he went with his new red ball.

He's pretty obsessed with the new red ball and just can't help but bounce it EVERYWHERE.  We could tell where he was in our front yard by the different sounds the ball would make. Ping on the pavement. Thud on the grass. Then, we heard a bang on the house. Bang. Bang. Bang.  I put my coffee down and went to the door. "Please don't throw the ball at the house", I said.

Then, we heard it again.  Bang!

Suddenly, the front door flew open and in he ran. "I lost my first tooth! I lost my first tooth!".  It had been wiggling around in his mouth for over a month and I'd simply forgotten about it.  "The ball bounced off the house and knocked it right out!" he said.  He couldn't have been more excited and, to our dismay, not at all upset that after I told him not to bounce the ball on the house he did it anyway.  We couldn't help but laugh out loud as he told us over and over exactly how it happened. He thought the whole thing was "really cool".

The loss of his first tooth brings with it another "first" in our household: a visit from the Tooth Fairy.  I've thankfully been collecting brand-spanking-new gold dollar coins for this very occasion (I think I have seven in total).  They put a brand new vending machine in at our office complex and it dispenses the gold coins as change.  Since I don't use the vending machines personally, I "buy" the coins from my coworkers.

Tonight, we'll pack up the tooth in the little bag he decorated himself (a Christmas gift from his Aunt Glitter Pie - Art in a Box), place it under his pillow, and the tooth fairy will bring him something special. Let's just say, he's beyond excited!

We'll have to wait and see, though, if the fact that the Tooth Fairy comes INTO his room (and will not simply lurk around downstairs like Santa or the Easter Bunny) will keep him in his own bed all night long. That's a blog post for another day.

This particular back-to-school was a milestone for our family. Our son, now a preschool graduate, started Kindergarten this year. This transition from daycare to Kindergarten brought up all sorts of feelings. Excitement and worry topping the list.

On the first day of school, my son boarded his bus with such enthusiasm that he didn't even look back to wave. I smiled because I knew my child was ready. He had nearly a week of 'practice' Kindergarten at his new school and loads of practice at his preschool, too. He'd met new friends and was excited about his expanded schedule. What surprised me on this first day of school - along with the fact that I didn't shed a tear - was that after the bus drove away, I found myself facing a void. Now what?

A few minutes later, I met four moms whose children had shared a similar new morning routine. As we sipped our coffee at Starbucks and shared the freshness of the first day, it hit me: I wouldn't be seeing these moms every day anymore. These women weren't just the moms of my son's preschool friends, these gals are my closest friends. We'd seen each other nearly every day for past five years at drop offs and pick ups. Sure we'd all be saving nearly a thousand dollars a month (yay!) now that daycare was done, but this aspect of my son's transition to Kindergarten I didn't see coming. I'd been so caught up in his 'what ifs', that I didn't realize until that moment that my friendships would be changing right along with his. MY FRIENDSHIPS. We'd still see each other at birthday parties, swim lessons and occasional play dates, but would we still share those day-to-day mom moments and meltdowns? Not likely.

On the eve of my son's school's new parent orientation, I find myself wondering...will I make any new friends tomorrow evening?

The bond between daycare kids and their friends is a strong one. They're noticeably close, even though they now go to different schools or attend different classes. I suspect that although our daily routine is changing, the daycare-moms-turned-Kindergarten-moms will stay pretty tight, too.

My husband and I are officially one year out from becoming the parents of a Kindergartner. How did this happen? Didn't I just have the baby? Or, at least just parade my six-month-old around in his pea pod Halloween costume? Nope. Four years have passed and we're in the home-stretch to Kindergarten. Emotions aside (expect waterworks from me next Fall, people), what does this mean exactly? Should I be happy? Sad? Both?

Our son will no longer be a daycare kid. True enough. Without daycare expenses, is that lake house or kitchen remodel finally within our reach? Not likely. There's before-school care to pay for. Oh, and after-school care. We'll still be shelling out money each week, so no big change there.

He'll finally sleep through the night. Who knows. Most of my friends who had a head start on me in the parenting department say there kids are really tired after Kindergarten. No more naps! Although, I fantasize about getting a great night's sleep in a bed that sleeps two NOT three, my gut tells me that my son is just not a good sleeper. And, our pediatrician agrees. She shared with us at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and every milestone check up to the present that "some kids just aren't great sleepers. I think you have one of those."

Will he still want to play with his daycare pals? (i.e. Will I lose touch with my mom friends?) Our kids have been inseparable since they were six month old. Daycare friendships led to play date friendships which led to mommy having a great group of cool mom friends. I love my mom friends and can't imagine not seeing them virtually every day. What will happen when our kids scatter to various elementary schools around town? Yikes. Will our kids remember each other? Will the moms still get together for "Girl's Night Out"? Gosh, I hope so. I'm in! How about the rest of you?

In the meantime, we have a whole year of pre-school ahead of us! What milestones will my son reach this year? Last year's biggie was my son declaring his independence from pull-ups. Also, what do we as parents need to do to prepare our soon-to-be-Kindergartner for his elementary school debut? My friend Carolyn told me he'll be tested on what a "curve" is. Really?

I'm sure I'll be studying the "what your child needs to know for Kindergarten" websites and pamphlets soon enough. For now, we simply plan to enjoy our boy as he changes and grows and makes us laugh out loud. Right now he's lounging on his new sleeping bag in our living room watching Toy Story 2 on DVD holding his Sheriff Woody doll in the crook of his arm. Come to think of it, he's growing up way too fast and I'd really like to slow things down - a LOT. Next year he'll be taking the bus, eating his lunch in a cafeteria....deep breaths...stop panicking!

From behind my chair I hear "Mommy, you're just beautiful!" Why do I suspect this level of sweetness won't last long either. "Thank you, sweetie", I say with a smile and a squeeze that says "you're always going to be mommy's baby."

We're celebrating a major milestone in the Rose household. After a year and a half of potty training trials and tribulations, my son is - drum roll, please - diaper (& pull-up) free!

He's been going to the potty like a "big boy" for quite some time, but we've been taking the extra preventative measure of throwing on a pull-up before bed "just in case". It seemed like every time we'd try underpants at night after weeks of dry pull-ups in the morning, he'd inevitably wet the bed. That meant doing laundry in addition to the already tight morning routine. No thanks. This time it just felt right to let him own his big boy status and make his dry free night stick. It worked! I have to say that this moment feels really big.

So, what does this mean for me? Well, for starters, paying less at the grocery store and Target. Diapers and pull-ups cost A LOT. Plus, there's less garbage. Less laundry (think accidents). Less coaching. And, with that comes more time. Who needs more time? Me and every other mom on the planet. Seriously, a few extra minutes can seem like hours to a mom. I look back and think I was a lazy loaf before I had my son. I wasn't by most reasonable standards, but now I feel like a time management machine! When I actually have downtime (which is virtually never), I have to do something. In my mind, I've become a multi-tasking over-achiever. My husband believes (and to my dismay has supportive research with the science to prove it), that there is really no such thing as multi-tasking. The scientific community believes that you're simply doing more, badly.

Potty training on the other hand, takes a lot of practice and single-minded focus. It might have taken my son a while, but he stuck with it and mastered the art before his fourth birthday. We're so proud of our diaper-free boy. Well done, son.