First Day of KINDERGARTEN!

The time has come!  After almost 6 years of spending most every day with me, Ella has started school!  Preschool was good preparation but 2 1/2 hrs a day is a far cry from her new schedule-an almost 8 hour day!  We've heard great things about her school from people in the neighborhood which is encouraging.  Her teacher seems sweet and sent home 2 pictures of Ella from during the day along with classwork she did on the first day! I LOVE having the pictures and being able to see what she was doing during the day!

 

I definitely cried when the bus drove away in the morning and was overcome with a feeling of being irresponsible-is it really right to put a 5 year old on a bus and walk away?  It felt so wrong!  In a brief moment of panic I stopped Chris on the walk back to our house and said "We just put a little 5 year old on a bus!  Is that ok?? Is this really allowed?"

Thankfully the day passed quickly with attending my brother-in-law's dad's funeral and stocking up for the hurricane at Costco but I was ANXIOUSLY waiting for the bus in the afternoon.  I looked at the clock every 5 minutes for well over an hour and every time I heard a noise outside I ran to the window to see if it was her bus.  Then I ended up standing outside for 20 minutes at the bus stop because I didn't want to miss it!  I was SO relieved to see her smiling and walking off the bus.  She had a great first day and can't wait to go back next Tuesday.

The worst moment of the day was probably when I was in Costco and my phone rang with Ella's school on the called ID.  My heart stopped as my brain simultaneously went into counselor mode (a soothing voice saying "choose to be calm, everything will be fine, deep breaths, accept things as they come...") and freaked out mom mode (high pitched fast fast voice scrolling through all the horrific possibilities of what could have happened to Ella).  So I pick up the phone and....it's a robocall saying there's a hurricane coming.  Great.  Thanks.

I still feel like there are a lot of unknowns but excited for that "first day" hurdle to be over and to see what this new season will bring! Go Ella go!!

A Few Firsts...

First time meeting Great-Grandma Jean (4 days old)

First family walk! (5 days old)


First Bath at home (5 days old)

Proud Mama

Last week we were heading to the park and Ella asked if she could make her own sandwich to take. I was pleased with her initiative and started working on packing the rest of our lunches. I was sure it would only be seconds until she couldn't reach something, couldn't spread something, or just got distracted and wanted me to do it. But, she shocked me! She diligently got out everything she needed (including a wooden "knife" because, in her words "this is the right kind for kids mom, it can't hurt you"), expertly put the whole sandwich together as if she'd been doing it her whole life, and then with not a word from me the whole time, put everything away (including putting the knife in the dishwasher!). I was in Mommy heaven marveling at how resourceful she'd been to reach things, find things, and make it work. I was also literally in tears because she actually can do it without me! I'm sure this is the first of many things where this bittersweetness of my baby growing up will hit me like ton of bricks. As cheesy as it is that I took pictures of her first solo sandwich-making experience, I wouldn't give them up for the world.








At the park later that day-look closely and you'll see the sandwich is in her hand :-)

First Day of Preschool!!!!!

Tuesday was Ella's first day of school! She's only going two mornings a week but that doesn't mean I didn't cry Monday night and Tuesday morning. What a big milestone to put a backpack on your child and send them off, homework in hand (she really had homework!), to SCHOOL! I can't believe it. Ella is the ideal candidate for preschool though. She's so independent, so social, and SO ready to learn. I'm excited about this new environment for her to get some input that is different from what she gets at home. She did great on her first day. She was so excited to finally go to school-she's been talking about it since january so it was awesome to see her "dreams" fulfilled. She hardly hesitated at all when it was time to leave me and follow the line leader upstairs (exactly what I expected). Both of her teachers said she was "a joy" when I picked her up so I hope that continues. I think it'll be a good year!


All dressed and ready to go

VERY excited

Raleigh got in on the big walk to the car (Ella beaming, Chris taking pictures, me just being anxious)

Lining up with all the other kids. That's her teacher in red. She and Ella have the same hair!

My last glimpse of her as they went up the stairs to their classrooms. Yay Ella!

First Snow!!

We got our first snow! I LOVE snow and I'm hoping to pass that on to Ella :-) She had a lot of fun.


putting on her new snowsuit ($2 at a yard sale this summer!)