Sunday, October 27, 2013

Kindergarten rocks!

It is hard to believe that we have a Kindergartner in our house.  Addison started elementary school in August and school has flown by ever since.

Since she started school on a Tuesday, I took the day before off so we could have a mommy-and-me day, although the morning turned out differently than planned.  I ended up having a job interview that morning which eventually I was offered and then I accepted!!!  More soon.  When I got home from the interview it was time for lunch.  She changed into her new dress I bought her for the day and we headed to Panera.  Her pick, of course.  Girlfriend loves mac 'n cheese!


The rest of the day she picked what she wanted to do off of a list that I came up with.  We first went to "The Paint Spot" to paint our own pottery.  Addie LOVES doing any kind of art!  She really took her time picking out the colors and enjoyed getting to do everything without any help.  Of course she painted a princess.




We then went to a salon to get pedicures, a first for her.  We were going to stay for manicures, but the frozen yogurt shop next door was too tempting so off we went.  We ran a couple of errands and then it was time to come home for dinner.  It was such a sweet day that I hope to always remember! 



And in a flash the BIG DAY was here.  I took off work that day as well and was able to put her on the bus and pick her up.  Being inspired by others, I thought it would be fun to make a sign similar to this every first day of school. 


The classic Kindergarten pose: huge backpack and lunchbox.  Her school has uniforms and I LOVE it!  Soooo much less drama in our home getting ready in the mornings!


Walking to the bus stop.  My heart was melting!


 And off she went!
 
Even though our girls are daycare girls and I am away from them during the day during the week, I was still emotional that morning.  It was so many emotions combined.  I think the biggest thing was that it was such a milestone. It is kind of like a loss of innocence.  It's a whole new era for her and for us.  Addie was so excited!  We talked a lot about Kindergarten before she went, went to a Kindergarten kick-off at Slugger field and read a book called, "Kindergarten Rocks!"  Her teacher is a good friend of ours from church, which is obviously wonderful and helped with the transition.  One time when we were talking about school starting she said she was nervous.  And I asked her, "Well, what are you nervous about?"  She replied, "Because I have to hold my toots in all day!"  Ha!  So funny.  Not the response I expected.

I think she was most excited about riding the bus.  Addie catches the bus a couple streets down so I enjoyed talking with her on the way to the stop that first morning.  As soon as the bus came she bolted to the door.  I didn't even get to hug her!  I introduced myself to the bus driver and stepped off the bus.  I didn't get to see where she sat on the bus.  The doors closed and the bus drove away.  I was trying to see where she was, but she wasn't tall enough for me to see her and wave goodbye.  Ha!  So like that she was gone without me waving goodbye or hugging her.  And all of the sudden I was crying.  Everything happened so fast.  At first I was sad that I didn't get to hug her or wave goodbye, but then I just started smiling.  Why wouldn't I smile?  She was so confident, had no hesitation and was genuinely excited to start school.

Of course I thought about her throughout the day and was eager to pick her up off the bus stop. Jeremy and I both met her at the stop.  One of the first things she said was, "Kindergarten rocks!"  Love! 

I did better the next day getting her on the bus.  And within a few hours her teacher was calling me to tell me she thought she was sick.  Yep, I had to pick her up at the end of her second day and she missed her third day of school due to a fever.  Guess Addie won't be getting perfect attendance this year.  Ha!

A couple of months in and Addison is still enjoying school.  She really loves her special areas: music, library, art, Spanish, computer and P.E.  She is learning a lot from Mrs. Mercker.  She is getting in trouble some and most of it is for talking a lot.  Shocker!  But Mrs. Mercker also told us at our parent-teacher conference that she is a leader and gave us examples of her being very caring, polite and giving.  So proud!  Having a school-aged child is a whole new ballgame...paperwork, deadlines, school functions, etc.  I will say bedtime has been much easier because she is pretty tired. :)

We are excited to experience this milestone with our first-born.  We love you so much, Addison, and are so proud of you!
Posted by Picasa

1 comment:

The Hughes Family said...

What a great post about kindergarten! Addison is such a confident little lady!!