where has the time gone?

Tonight was Emma's graduation from preschool. For the first half of the night, she was so typical Emma...frowning, sulking and refusing to talk to any of the other kids. About halfway through, she finally came out of her shell and we ended up closing down the place :) I knew it was going to be a sentimental night for me and I was right. I was fine up until the point that Miss Mehlberg put Emma's cap on her head and I've been choking back the tears ever since. I know it's just preschool, and it sounds silly, but she looked so grown up wearing that cap and receiving her "diploma". It really set in that she's not a baby, not a toddler, not even a preschooler anymore, yet I feel like it was just yesterday that I took her home from the hospital, potty trained her, went "shopping" for preschools. I remember being at the pool with her when she was a year old and some other moms asked if I had her on any waiting lists for preschools and I thought they were crazy-preschool seemed like a lifetime away. Now here we are, and just like that it's over. I think the thing that gets to me the most is knowing that I will never get that time with her back and it has gone by too quickly. I feel like this is just the first of many closed chapters in her life. Oh, so emotional!!!! When we got home, I gave her her graduation gifts-a jewelry box and a game for her Leapster and she was ECSTATIC! She kept her eyes closed while she was unwrapping her gifts because she didn't want to know what she was opening until the very last second. And the look on her face was priceless....she couldn't have been happier. It was a great night for her and I love that!