first grade

I imagine that I will feel this way every single year, but I really can't believe that our little girl is already starting First Grade!  I am really sad for the summer to be over and to miss seeing my girl for nearly 8 hours a day.  That's a really long time, and I know I will miss her something fierce. 

But she is excited, so that brought a little excitement to my heart :)  We went to Meet-the-Teacher on the Monday before school started, and Brooke and I were both anxious to get to know her teacher, Mrs. Farwell.  Kevin didn't get to come with us because work has ben crazy, so I made sure to take lots of pictures to share with him that evening. 

As we walked down the school halls, we noticed several new wall paintings.  I LOVED this quote and have talked to Brooke a lot about always being kind to others. She really is good at this, but I want to always focus on these great traits.  "Be the kid who can get along, be the kid who is generous, be the kid who is happy for other people, be the kid who does the right thing, be the nice kid."  Such a powerful message! 

We made our way through the school to the first grade hall. and I loved watching Brooke take it all in.

Mrs. Farwell was at the door to greet us and she seemed really sweet!  Brooke was shy, but still polite :)  We wandered the room until we found her desk and instructions about where to put all of her school supplies.  As I filled out the welcome paperwork, Brooke and Colby sorted the supplies into bins at the front of the room.  (I find it kind of annoying that the supplies I bought for Brooke went into some community bucket, but hopefully she'll have what she needs throughout the year!)

There's something fun about school supplies all set out, right?

I took a few more pictures to remember this night (and to show to Daddy), and we were on our way.

Mrs. Farwell has been teaching for 28 years, which gives me a lot of peace knowing that she knows what she's doing :)  She's been teaching First Grade at Daulton since it opened 14 years ago! I have a feeling that Brooke is going to have a great year in school, and I'm excited to see her learn and grow. 

As we headed back to the front of the school, we saw the Daulton Drgaon.  Brooke was not even a little bit interested in taking a picture with him, but Colby was sure excited about it. Thumbs up for Daulton :)

Brooke WAS interested in taking her picture by this cool wall of mirrors.  They have done such a great job with decorating the walls of the school and I am grateful for the inspirational messages they provide for the students.

And just like that, Brooke is officially ready for her first day of school!  She seems so grown up to me, and I'm grateful that this visit to the school seemed to boost her confidence about a new teacher and new classmates. She is going to do great things, I already know it :)

That night, I tried to make a special dinner (I can't remember what it was, though!), and then Brooke received a special Father's Blessing from Kevin.  It was a beautiful experience, and both her and Colby were so reverent because they KNEW this was a special moment for them.  Although Colby isn't starting school, he wanted a blessing as well.  I peeked during the blessing and my heart could have melted as Colby sat there cross-legged on the chair with his eyes pinched closed and his little arms folded. They both gave Kevin huge hugs at the end of the blessing, and when I asked Brooke about her blessing that night, she made a comment about feeling special that Daddy could give her a blessing.

School didn't start until Wednesday, but we opted to do blessings after the Meet the Teacher to just stay on the school vibe. The next night, we carefully laid out Brooke's new outfit and prepped her lunchbox with a few of the nonperishable items. Waking up early was the only thing I was concerned about, but the morning went off without a hitch!

She looked adorable in those overalls and she knew it, haha!

As I walked her down the hall that morning, I felt myself getting emotional at the most random times.  Like when I saw the Daulton Dragon, haha.  I hugged and kissed her goodbye, and was anxious to see her again that afternoon.  The pick-up process is a little different for first graders, which I don't love, but we will adjust to it.  We still turn in our individual student's sign at the First/Second grade door, but instead of sending kids out one at a time, they just let them all walk out at once.  It's a little chaotic since Brooke couldn't see me amongst the mass of parents, but we've since picked a meeting spot at a tree near the door.

Brooke had nothing but positive things to say about her first day, and when family members called to ask about her day, she repeated the same favorites: recess and being able to sit wherever you want during lunch.  Haha, that's the important stuff, right?

Day Two was nothing but smiles...

As I walked her in, she proudly pointed to the bus puzzle she had completed the day before.  They have a new rule that I can only walk her to the classroom the first two weeks of school, so I plan on taking full advantage of my limited time walking her in!

After drop-off, Colby and I met up with Danielle (and Cam) and Joanna (and Brock and Marlie) for a "Boo-hoo" breakfast.  Danielle's son, Bradnt, started Kindergarten, which is such an emotional step!  Luckily, we have each other to lean on!

Then it was off to run errands with my buddy! I really worried about how he would adjust to Sissy being at school all day, but he has done better than expected.  He does request more shows in the morning because he does't have Sis to play with, so I'll need to break him of that habit.

Errands are WAY more fun when they have little rides along the way, haha.  Although, I warned him that we weren't going to actually ride any of them.

The hardest part of getting back to the school routine was the early mornings for this kid...

I hate waking him up every morning because he gets cranky by mid-afternoon.  I have even considered going back to nap time, but I know that night time would then be super difficult again. So, I will just hope that we all get used to this new schedule and moods will improve :) (The above picture was one of our best afternoons, so it had to be documented!)

Brooke is loving school and her mood is great each afternoon when we see her after school! She was proud to report that she filled her whole punch car (a classroom positive reinforcement tool) and chose the "Bring a Stuffy" option as her reward. (Other options include: "Treasure Box" and "Lunch with a Friend".)

She carefully placed her bunny, Snowball, in her backpack and was ready to head into school.  I had to take a picture to document how cute the whole thing was :)

It is such a relief to see your child adapt so beautifully and find happiness in something they do every single day!  I feel truly lucky that it's been a smooth transition back to school, and that Kevin is waking her up again this year and helping her get dressed and down the stairs while I do lunches.  Parent Team Work at its finest :)