School Day Woes... (pardon me while I whine a bit)

So today was Will's official first day of Kindergarten!! He's been super excited about this big day for months now! I'm so excited for him, but at the same time I am dealing with some crazy, mixed-up emotions. Mostly, I'm acknowledging that I am no longer the major influence in his life and I worry that I haven't prepared him enough for this big step. Have I taught him the importance of respecting your teachers and listening to your lessons? Have I instilled in him a love for learning so that we will welcome the new lessons with eagerness to find out as much as he can about the world? Have I done the very best I can to prepare him for the big, scary world? If I'm freaking out this bad over entering Kindergarten, can you imagine what a basket case I'll be when he's off to high school or college? Will just has this amazing spirit about him that I never want smashed, no matter what life has in store for him. I just want him to keep being Will.

There he goes down the street on his way to school with his little buddy, Danika (who also started Kindergarten today... they've been buddies their entire lives!), with Drew and his buddy Parker. Off they go, with no worries about what lies in store for them...

Here he is with Danika before they set off. Aren't they the cutest little things you've ever seen?! That's not really a question, that's a total statement! They are adorable! So sweet and innocent! So eager to start their new adventure!

This was Will every morning for the past week as he patiently waited for his turn to go to school. (Drew started a week earlier.)

Just look at my grown-up Drew on his first day of 3rd grade last week! This is why I'm so freaked out by Will going to school... I see the changes it brings and I'm not sure I'm ready for it just yet! Drew has grown from the most amazing little boy, into the most amazing young man. Not only is he handsome as can be, but he's smart and witty and creative and a great friend. Which is what made it all the more difficult for me when he came home from his first day of school and said he'd been bullied by 4th graders on the playground. It scared him so much that he couldn't sleep that night and wound up sleeping in our bed until 4 am (something that has NEVER happened! Not even when I was nursing did I allow my boys to sleep in our bed.) The next morning Jeff and I went and talked to the principal, and I checked out every book I could find and researched every website I could find looking for tips on how to help him deal with this new situation... Then he came home from his 2nd day of school as happy as can be and ready to forget all about the bullying incident! I was awed by his gumption! The entire incident was probably harder on me than it was on him.

Which is just fodder for my previous whining about Will going off to school and beginning his new path that will inevitably separate him from me. He's been my little buddy for the past 5 1/2 years and I can't imagine what I'll do without him! Thank goodness it's just a half day because I really don't know what I'd do if I couldn't play go fish, snuggle during Sesame Street, or go for bike rides to Mavrick with him. I realize he's not gone for good, I'm just saying that this is the beginning of the road to independence... and I just hope we're ready!

Will's 1st day of Pre-Kindergarten!

Will was so excited for his first day of school that he put on his Spiderman packback at 10:00 am even though school didn't start until 1:oo pm. He has been wanting to go back to school ever since Drew started in July. Partly because I bought them both brand new pairs of Vans gray and black checkered shoes and then told them they couldn't wear them until the first day of school... so Drew's been able to wear his for over a month, but Will had to wait until today! Am I mean or what? It just made the whole experience even more exciting for him! It's all about the clothes, you know!

So I drove him to school and he just gave me a quick kiss good-bye and hopped out of the car like he'd been doing this for years... no separation anxiety whatsoever! I just don't understand why he's in such a big hurry to grow up! At least he's promised me that no matter how big he gets, he'll always be my snuggle bunny!

Update: When I picked Will up from school on his first day, the first thing he said to me was "Mom, I was the goodest listener ever!" I was so proud of him! (I waited until our dinner conversation to teach him the proper grammar, so as not to spoil his moment:)

Drew's first day of 2nd grade!

Since we're in year round school, Drew returned back yesterday in the heat of the summer. Can you believe how grown up and mature he looks? It's killing me!

Jeff, Will and I walked to school with him and helped him find where his class lines up in the morning. A few of his friends from last year are in his class, but he says he's excited about making new ones too.

Each year that we walk him to school there are fewer parents walking with their kids... it made Jeff and I wonder how long we'll keep up the tradition of walking him on the first day? Jeff joked "I can't see us walking him to high school and taking pictures his senior year!" So I guess sometime between now and then we'll stop... In the meantime, I enjoy it, even though my heart always breaks when he turns around and walks through the school doors, leaving me behind and slipping through my fingers all the time.