First Day Of Kindergarten!

I can't believe it, but my baby started kindergarten last week!  He's getting so big and I'm so proud of him!  It was a rough week for him, though, harder than we'd anticipated.  Since he's never been in daycare or preschool or anything, he's never really been anywhere without a family member.  He had moments of missing us and also moments we didn't predict.  He was anxious and worried about random things, like breaking instruments in music class or getting put in time out.  Poor guy was putting a lot of pressure on himself! 

Tuesday was the first day.  He was really excited!  Adam and I took the day off work so we could drop him off and pick him up and I'm really glad we did.  We got up, made his lunch, got him dressed (so cute in his khaki shorts and polo shirt!) and took lots of pictures.

Check out the Turtles Backpack--It's almost bigger than he is!

With Gaga

With Aunt Chall

So big!!! :*-)

Love this picture!

After our photo session it was time to go!  We drove to the school and Adam and I walked him into the school. He did great, finding his classroom pretty easily, meeting his teacher (Mrs. M), and putting his things in his cubby.  Daddy had to go back to the car because we'd forgotten the bag of extra supplies, so we went on and found his desk together and he got settled in to color a little while the kids were arriving.

Here we go!

So Brave!

Meeting new friends!

Sweet Selfie

Silly Selfie!

LOVE HIM!

His own cubby!

Still working on holding the pencil right

It was hard to leave!

He did great, even when it was time for us to leave!  He was brave and happy!  And I made it out of the classroom before I started crying.  I was happy and so proud but also worried for him.  The first day was a mixed bag. He had good moments and was bubbling over about it when he got home, but he had a few moments where he missed us too. 

The second day was rough.  Mrs. M called me and said he'd just been having a bit of a sad day.  He missed us and he seemed insecure and cried easily.  Thursday was much the same.  Unfortunately, Friday the sore throat he'd been complaining about had turned into sneezing, congestion, and a sore throat!  We took him to the doctor and they checked him for strep, which luckily he didn't have, but he had to stay home instead of going to school. Over the weekend, he continued to talk about being nervous. We talked a lot about it and it seemed like most of it was being afraid of getting in trouble or doing something wrong.  Bless his heart, he was so worried about that!  We assured him that getting in trouble is okay and happens to everyone, but that the things he thought he was going to get in trouble with just weren't really bad things (such as playing tag in gym--he thought that playing tag was hitting, which is against the rules).  We told him that if he did get in trouble, that was okay. That we'd talk about it and it was okay and we'd just start again.  Seeing how much he was struggling, I left a message and sent an email to Mrs. M. She was kind enough to let us stop by the school today and the four of us talked over all of it again.  Now Tyler says he isn't scared at all!  I'm so relieved and hopeful that this week will go much smoother. I know it's going to take time for him to be totally comfortable and to stop missing his family. But I'm just glad to know that his teacher really cares and is being patient with him.  Boy, this week I've seen just how much he is like me!  Easy to cry and can't always hold back the tears, sensitive and sometimes insecure.  And he is just so sweet, he melts my heart.  I know he's going to do great, we just have to get him used to the routine.

Unfortunately, I have to disrupt the routine already!  I have to go to Chattanooga tomorrow for work. Adam's a trooper and between him and mom, I'm sure they will handle it fine, but I'm definitely feeling the Mommy Guilt!

I'm so proud of my baby boy!  He's getting so big and he's so smart!  LOVE HIM!!!

I'll leave you with the very first picture Tyler did in Kindergarten.  It's pretty darn good in my humble opinion!

A work of art!