Where exactly does time go?

     Tonight I took my almost-nine-year-old daughter bra shopping.  Yes, bra shopping.  I first noticed it a few weeks ago in dance that her chest wasn't board flat anymore.  My mommy brain blamed the fit of the leotard.  Then earlier this week she wore a v-necked shirt, and there was a vertical dent.
Nooooo!  I thought to myself.  She was supposed to be a late bloomer, like her dad.  She has his lean build. Wasn't body fat supposed to play a role in this?
     Newsflash mom.  When YOU hit puberty affects when your daughter does a heck of a lot more than the testosterone factory that contributed to her creation.  My period started when I was 10, in fourth grade.  I had the body cleavage girls wish for at seventeen by the time I was twelve.  My daughter will be nine in less than four months.  Maybe getting training bras wasn't such a stretch.  So shopping we went.
Stop one at the Legends, the VFW outlet.  She tried on three styles.  The first was too big!  YAY!
The second one was too small.  too small?  How can that be?  My daughter is tiny!
The third one was okay.  We bought it and moved on to try and find better variety elsewhere, oh and a purple duck.  The purple duck was very important.  I didn't argue.  I want all traces of little girl my daughter has to remain there a long, long, time.
     Our next stop was Justice.  Jackpot! and Minefield!  All at once!  They had exactly what she needed.  She only had one concern.
"Mom, the pads are removable right?"
"Yes sweetie.  We'll take them out as soon as we get home."  (In my head I was going WHO in their right mind puts pads in a bra designed for an eight year old!  It even says it's meant for ages 7-8 on the flippin label!  Also, I want to smack whoever thought skinny jeans are appropriate for young girls.  There is hope for the general public though, because those were on the clearance rack.)
Along with new "practice bras" as we call them...just so she can get used to wearing them and how they work, we picked up two dresses that were lovely age appropriate for her and her sister and a unicorn backpack zipper thingie, and a new jaguar with "glitter eyes" for her sister.  She picked out the jaguar herself, "since princess P wanted to come with so bad it was only fair."  Her sweetness does come through sometimes.
All the way home, she held her treasured purple duck in her hands and chattered at me about My Little Pony cartoons.  Her body may be threatening to change a bit, but it looks like she'll have the innocent interests of a little girl for just a little bit longer yet.