My baby is 8

Look at that hair. It is getting so long.

My baby is 8. How crazy is that? I don't feel old enough to have an eight year old and though sometimes it feels like I've been a mom forever it doesn't feel like eight years either.

She sure has grown up though. All of a sudden she seems taller and closer to a teen then I appreciate. The rolling of eyes almost makes me dizzy. The "MOM" in the annoyed voice makes the hair on the back of neck stand up. And I can already see a few of the things that we will battle over as she does reach those dreaded teen years.

Some of the pictures I take of her shock me. My baby is gone. I'm proud of the young lady that she is becoming. She is very caring and has a wonderful sense of humor. She is so smart that I worry about being able to help with homework when she gets to middle school and she has what seems like a hoard of friends.

Cassie is so much like me in some ways that it literally scares me. She is super emotional, has quirks that only I understand, and needs her mommy over anyone else. We're working on the irrational fears and the tears that take over sometimes, but she is growing up so much quicker then I thought possible.

Here is a story that I'm sure she'll love me sharing when she looks back. I'll add some money into her "therapy fund" tonight. See...it's all good. :)

Today we made a necessary trip to the store to purchase her first bras. I can't believe that she is already needs a bra, but that is me being a mom. Well, that and the fact that she is the first of her friends to get a bra. At least that I've noticed. I've also noticed though that she already has started with hormones. There have been times that she has gone from crying to laughing and back to crying. Andy and I just look at each other. Honestly, we're both scared shitless. I'm waiting for her head to spin 360 degrees and for pea soup to come shooting from her mouth. I know that every parent of a girl goes through this, but again...she is only 8. The hardest for me is when she cries and doesn't know why she is crying. I know this feeling well. I just hold her and tell her how sorry I am. She doesn't understand why I'm apologizing at this point, but she will. Being a girl sucks sometimes.

There is also a darker pink bra that she is currently wearing.

Tonight when we put her first bra on we were talking about it. Kalli stayed at my parents' and we were in the living room when we put one on. She was modeling for us (Andy and I) and wanted to change to a different kind. She had trouble getting the bra off and I said, "Welcome to being a girl". I told her how boys don't have to worry about bras. or shaving. or stray facial hair (she has a little bit of a unibrow that we'll deal with as she gets older). or nylons. She agreed that boys have it easy. And to feel better about it, we tickled Andy. He took it well.

And to think. I didn't even tell her yet about periods and cramping. Andy might want to book a trip out of town before I tell her about those things.