Class of 2028 starts NOW!

It is really hard to believe that Noah is old enough to start Kindergarten but also that I am old enough to have a child that is ready to start Kindergarten! But, that time has come! Noah has went to daycare since he was 10 weeks old and I don't pick him up until 5:15 from there, so now that he is in school he will be coming to work with me when he gets out this year (since there are no after school programs until 1st grade at his school) so I will get to see him at 3:00 every day so technically I will see him more now that he is in school! I have a private office at work and he is really a good kid so between homework, movies, and playing outside I think he will be fine this year.

Noah's daycare had a graduation party for him on his last day! He got to pick the dessert for the day so he chose pudding :) His sitter served spaghetti (one of Noahs' favorites) for lunch. Then his sitter's mother came over and the kids all got to make slime with her! They went on and on about how fun it was! He received his diploma and a bag of goodies from the sitter! He has been going to Mrs. Laurie since he was 10 weeks old and she has been amazing for him and our whole family! She has always made sure he was well taken care of  - she even kept him the whole time I was in the hospital having Ryan so our family could all be there with us. Noah loves Mrs. Laurie and already can't wait to see her when we pick Ryan up daily :)

Noah and Mrs. Laurie

Pudding Party!

Pudding Party!

Making Slime with Sammaw!

The same day we ended daycare, we began our Kindergarten experience with Open House. We got to meet Noah's teacher, Ms. Damon, and Noah got to play in his classroom while the parents went to a meeting with the principal and school staff to discuss school rules and procedures. We dropped off all of Noah's school supplies and he was ready to go! He has  so much fun at open house and couldn't wait for Monday!

This picture was so awesome! He colored it while I was at the parent meeting at Open House. He said he ran out of room for the rest of his last name, so he stopped there! Then I thought he drew train tracks running over a guy (on the left) but it was a guy on a ladder painting the train! He is very creative!

I kept Noah with me on Friday last week as a special last day with him before he starts Kindergarten. He loves going to yard sales and I usually only go during Bargains Galore on 64 so we made it a tradition to go together. Ryan is still a little too young to enjoy it but I think by next year she will be ready to go too! There were not as many yard sales out this year but we stopped at a few on the way to Russellville. We only bought some new hair bows for Ryan from a lady that was making them at a yard sale. We went to Chic-fil-A for lunch then headed to watch Fantastic 4 - it was a fun day! We did end the day on a not so good note - got a call from daycare that Ryan wasn't feeling well and I managed to get her into the doctor to find out she had gotten Hand/Foot/Mouth disease! :( A baby at daycare had it the week before but it had been long enough we thought we had got lucky and missed it but apparently not! So, no daycare for her until Wednesday so we will have to do her first day pictures then :)

On Sunday we started a new tradition with Noah. I got a shirt made with his graduation year printed on it and decided to take his picture in front of his school for that year in that shirt every year until graduation. He was striking poses left and right - he was cracking me up! He would lean over and cross his feet and say "how does this look" - he kills me! I LOVE this tradition and think it will make for an awesome  memory to look back on!

The morning of the first day had finally came! We were ready - good breakfast, cool clothes, backpack ready, lunch packed, and pictures on the porch! We got there early to beat the rush for a parking spot so we sat in the car and talked about what all he was going to do and had a quick prayer. Then we marched into the school! We were told we would have to leave the kids at their class door but I was glad I could walk him in on the first day. I helped him unpack his backpack and took a picture at his desk, got a hug and a kiss and Ryan and I left. He was so excited to play with blocks and was making "so many cool creations" when I left him. I didn't cry, I mean I could have, but I didn't.

My only fears and concerns about Kindergarten are his safety and bullies. There are crazy people out there and the thought of one coming in my kids classroom and shooting them all is just too much to think about. SO thankful our campus has firearms for protection. Noah has always been 1 of 5 kids in daycare, now he is 1 of 16 in school. I don't want him lost in the crowd or to be just a number. That small class size did make me feel better about that though - I was expecting at least 20 kids in his class! Mentally he is very ready - I am not worried at all about him not knowing what is asked of him or not being able to learn. He is such a smart kid!

I knew many bullies when I was in school and I know Noah hasn't seen too much of that yet so it confuses him. He has asked me at the park and birthday parties before "why is that kid being mean to me" when someone was picking on him. It just breaks my heart to know he is about to learn a lot about mean kids and that not everyone in the world is nice. It is a life lesson that has to be learned but will be hard at the same time.

After I picked him up he was all smiles! He was excited about a prize he won for resting good at nap time. I held the prize hostage until I got details on his first day :) Of course everything was "good" or "fine" but I asked him about every detail - lunch, recess, bathroom breaks - EVERYTHING! I could tell he was getting annoyed after a while so I stopped, for a little bit anyway :) He had grandparents, aunt and uncles all calling to see how his day went - this was a big deal for our family :) He was excited and ready to go back  - which I am hoping lasts a while, maybe even all year - I may be wishful thinking though.