"I promised myself I wouldn't cry. I promised myself I wouldn't cry," is what Kristen Bell was thinking at her daughter's graduation. Probably.
Now reading that, you might be imagining that the actress' little girl had just received her high school diploma, or perhaps a bachelor's degree from a prestigious college — but you would be wrong. Instead, the waterworks started at a preschool ceremony.
You read that right. Kristen let the tears flow upon watching her little girl graduate from preschool — a moment that all parents probably remember like it was yesterday. But we don't mean to judge — it's actually really cute that she's such a caring mama!
As always, Kristen's openness about her emotional parenting journey is one of the reasons why we love her, so of course we're obsessed with the tearful Instagram posts she shared from the ceremony. Check them out below!
In case you weren't aware, Kristen has always been open about her family.
She has two children, 5-year-old Lincoln and 3-year-old Delta, whom she shares with husband Dax Shepard.
This couple is absolutely the best thing ever. Although, while we like this picture…
This one is a much better representation of their relationship, and why they're so adorable.
While the couple's famous faces are all over social media, they're careful to keep the kids off of it.
Both kids' faces are, as you can see, blocked from this photo. But while Kristen and Dax are careful to maintain the kiddos' privacy in this regard, they're fine talking about and showing their reactions to their children.
Exhibit A: This is the first of two pics Kristen shared from Lincoln's graduation. As you can see, she's totally holding it together. Totally.
Never mind. Apparently, the spontaneous waterfalls that started in her eyeballs kept going and going! Reports say that the tears were a result of hearing her daughter sing "I've Got Peace Like a River" along with the rest of her classmates.
A few parties online were sympathetic to Kristen's emotions.
It sneaks up on you, doesn't it? One minute they're in diapers, the next they're blowing through milestones and you want to ask Father Time to slow down!
But all you can do is make the most of the time you have with them at every stage. Which, in Kristen's case, means documenting heavy crying at graduations.
We should mention that there was a fair amount of healthy shock at the situation.
The idea of holding a graduation ceremony for preschoolers struck some as slightly odd.
Apparently things like this don't happen outside of the United States?
This is obviously sarcasm, but it's also pretty relatable to everyone who didn't get sent to a fancy preschool that bothered with graduation ceremonies!
Again, this is what most people are used to. Not to take anything away from Kristen and her daughter's day, of course!
We got no word if Dad had the same reaction as Mom to the ceremony.
But we're willing to bet Dax didn't let the tears flow quite as freely as his adorable wife did.
Hopefully Kristen treated herself to a mask after all that crying — both as a reward for getting her first little girl through preschool and to hide any swollen eyes that might not look good on camera!
