A New Season

It's taken me a few days to post this because I wanted to be able to get through it without having to type through tears. Alyssa has looked forward to kindergarten for months, and on Wednesday of this past week, she had her first day! She was beyond excited and not a bit scared. I have had so many proud mommy moments in the last week. From looking her teacher straight in the eye, holding out her hand, and saying, "I'm Alyssa. I'm 5 and a half."  to watching her walk into the school all by herself on Friday morning, confident and sure of herself. She looked like she'd been doing it her whole life. Never even glanced back. Which was good because she might've been able to see me bawling bittersweet tears. I am so proud of her for being so outgoing and so grateful that she isn't the one crying when I leave, but on the other hand, can we just slow this train down a bit?

We adore her school, and with each new thing we learn about it, we are even more sure that we've made the right decision in sending her there. Alyssa ADORES everything about it, although getting more than a couple of details from her each day is like pulling teeth! There's just so much she's doing and learning that it's hard to remember! Ha!

Here's a few pics of the first day!

Alyssa and "Aunt" Nancy, the elementary school secretary. She's also our pastor's wife, and we all love her! I am able to have peace of mind knowing that she's keeping an eye on my baby and that Alyssa knows that she has someone there that she can go to no matter what.

Headed to her classroom like an old pro!

 

I LOVE the sparkle in her eye! She's so excited!

Heading to hang up her backpack!

This is Anna Karol and her mom, Candice. Our families became fast friends at an ice cream social the school held for new families a few weeks ago. It's been so nice for Alyssa to have a familiar face around. It's also been really nice for me to have already made a new friend.

The 2011 seniors were outside the elementary with signs and cheers to welcome the K3-5th grade back! I was crying before we ever made it into the school! The sense of community there is amazing! Alyssa thought that it was so neat that they were cheering for her! Here she is showing Anna Karol the granola bar she got when the seniors were passing them out.

Alyssa's teacher this year is Mrs. Coney. Alyssa already adores her. She is very calm and quiet, which is a good complement to Alyssa's outgoing personality. Mrs. Coney's demeanor reminds me a lot of one of Alyssa's preschool teachers who was also a great fit for her.

Miss Sassy winking at her daddy ;)

Anna Karol and Alyssa

I sent Blakely to give her sissy a bye hug. She told her, "Bye-bye, Sissy. Hava dood day! Ov oooo!" It was precious! Blakely has really missed her big sister this week. On Thursday, she cried and cried at nap time saying, "My Syssa, my Syssa!" On Friday (the first day I let Alyssa go in on her own), Blakely was NOT happy that we weren't going in with her. Later that day, Blakely was asking to kiss pictures of Alyssa that I have hung in my bedroom. I feel so bad for her because I know she doesn't understand why her best friend is all of a sudden gone all day. We are getting lots of great mommy/daughter time though!

It's been a great first week of kindergarten for all of us! Next week is the first full 5-day week, so I'm sure we'll get further established into a routine. Alyssa is doing both soccer and gymnastics this fall, so we can't wait for those new adventures to start!