First Day

The first two days of school are behind us, and truthfully, neither was as bad as I had feared! 

Sorry for the funky haze in the picture.  It's August in Alabama, which means it's hooottttt and huuuuumiiiiiidddd...and yes, i'm whiiiiiiiining.  This was the best I could do.

On Wednesday, the girls and I were up early to get ready for the day.  I wanted to take them myself on the first day, so I went to work a little late.  We had breakfast and played for a little bit, then started getting dressed.  A & M spotted their dresses, which they haven't worn in awhile, so they were excited to put them on.  When we put the little leggings on underneath the dresses, the girls thought they were hot stuff.  They're so trendy! 

We woke Jeremy up to go with us and headed off to school.  The preschool director had warned everyone that their kids would probably cry, but they asked us to just drop them at the door and get out of sight... they welcomed us to stand in the hall and listen as long as we wanted though--doesn't that sound like a tempting offer? 

On the way in, the girls were just taking everything in and watching all the other kids milling around.  When we got to the classroom door, the teacher took them in her arms.  They started to cry and cling to us, but we did as instructed and got out the door!  We stood for a minute, but they quieted down pretty quickly, so we headed out.

It was odd to spend the morning knowing my girls were at "school" rather than at my mom's, as they have been practically almost every weekday for the last year.  I thought about them a lot, and prayed they were having a good day and weren't too scared or upset in their new environment.  I almost always go see them at lunch at my mom's, so it was a little weird to be on my own for lunch again...though I think I can get used to that part pretty quickly!  (I can run a lot of errands on my lunch break, so that's a plus.)

Just before 2:00, I left work to go pick them up.  I admit, I was eager to hear about their day and see how they handled it.  When I got to the classroom, another mom was standing in the doorway talking to the teacher.  Mackenzie spotted me and immediately started grinning and pointing (love that feeling!!).  When I couldn't get over to pick her up (because of the gate in the doorway and the other parent standing there), she got distressed and started crying.  That brought Addison over to see what the trouble was and she started fussing too, thinking I was going to leave again, I guess.  So that wasn't the most fun reception, but it was nice to have my girls in my arms after missing them all day.

The teacher said they had done really well for the first day, and insisted there hadn't been too many tears.  Addison laid down on her mat and took a good nap on her own.  Mackenzie needed some rocking, they said, but slept pretty well too.  They hadn't eaten a great lunch, but I kind of expected that for the first day of a different lunchtime routine. 

All in all, I counted it a pretty successful first day!

My mom took them this morning, and she said they slipped their little lunchboxes on their arms and marched proudly down the hall... until they got to their classroom...  Then they wanted my mom to pick them up, but she said they didn't really cry when she left.  I picked them up again this afternoon (the church is only about two minutes from my office and ten minutes from my mom's), and it seemed like they had an even better day.  Before they saw me, I spied A & M sitting in the teacher's lap in the floor, eating goldfish.  They looked pretty happy to me!  Mackenzie started crying again when she saw me (what is with that?!), and they both ran to the door.  According to the daily report form, they had a good lunch and nap.  They were worn out this evening, so I'm guessing they played pretty hard today. 

It's funny, but my mom and I both thought they just seemed a little more grown up yesterday afternoon.  And they are already "talking" more (even Addison!) and making different sounds, which I'm guessing is the effect of being around the other kids.  My babies!  They're getting so big!

So far, this preschool thing seems to be a good fit for our family.  Though I'm still praying for a quick adjustment period, I am excited about the things they will learn and the new little friends they will make.  Who knows....there could be a couple of future boyfriends in these nursery school classes!  It wouldn't be the first time that's happened in our small town.  (Jeremy:  calm down, I'm just kidding...I know they aren't allowed to date until they're 25!)