Graduation Time is Here!

Miranda proudly accepts her diploma in Le Top's Sweetheart Butterfly drop waist dress.

My daughter has passed another milestone… Kindergarten! The beginning of the 2009-2010 school year was a day to remember. I dropped off my baby in her classroom with other nervous little children who were sharing their first experience of school. Then the teacher shuffled out all the anxious parents and closed the door. It seemed like a long year full of homework, projects and field trips, but yet it also seemed like the first day of school was just yesterday. In a blink of an eye, I now have a first grader.

Has it really been a year since “Grajuration Day“?

This event was so much more different than graduating from preschool. First of all, these six-year olds are sassy and smart. They learned A LOT this year, not only in the classroom but also from their friends. There was so much attitude in the air, for many reasons:

1. It’s summertime, which means no more homework. They can stay up as late as they want and sleep in. (HA!)
2. Next year they are first graders which means they get to have two recesses, and they get to play on the big kids’ play structure.
3. There are cupcakes after the graduation.

As happy as this day was for the kids, it was bittersweet for the parents. I am happy that she did so well in school and has made a lot of friends, but I am sad that she’s growing up so fast. All I can do is take a mental photograph of this day and cherish it. Tomorrow is another day, and I’m sure summer will be a drag because she’ll be bored not seeing her friends every day and wonder why Mommy and Daddy are still working, and shouldn’t we all be on summer vacation.

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A Cupcake My Dear?

Kristin's Ready to Bake

Baking…a fun activity with a built in reward!   Although I am not an expert cook I just LOVE to bake!  My mom always created ‘special time’ for the two of us by inviting me into the kitchen when she was cooking; and although I didn’t pick up on her cooking skills, I thankfully did pick up on her baking skills.  These were great bonding moments for us – mom would dress me up in my own little apron, and gave me the important job of letting me read from the cookbook and pour in the ingredients that she had carefully measured out:

Mom: “a teaspoon of salt”

Little Kristin: “like this mommy?”

Mom: “yes – very good!”

I think many people share similar memories in the kitchen with their mom.  Robyn, our Assistant Credit Manager here at le top, has a beautiful daughter – Kira.   (Kira has been a “le top baby” for a very, very long time!  The announcement of Kira’s upcoming birth came very soon after Robyn began working with us ten years ago!  She modeled clothes in our ads from the time she was a baby until she outgrew our sizes!)  Robyn and Kira were baking cupcakes (and building memories together) in the kitchen, and as usual Kira was “Chief Decorator.”  Robyn left the kitchen for a few moments and came back to find that Kira had made a present for her – a custom cupcake proudly exhibiting mommy’s company logo “le•top!”  Robyn was in awe at the quality and accuracy of the logo…she just had to take a picture to share with us!  We knew we had to pass on this work of art to our loyal bloggers, so…TAT  DAA!  We present Kira’s le•top cupcake masterpiece.

Kira's Surprise for Mom

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