Tuesday was the day that these cuties turned into full-on kids, not babies, not toddlers, but well adjusted kids with nothing but excitement to start preschool. The morning, which I was extremely nervous about, went perfect. I woke up extra early because it was mommy's first day at school as well. I wanted to have enough time to get the girls ready, feed them breakfast, take some (okay a lot) of pictures, and not be rushed. I will tell you there were NO tears this morning, but if I was going to cry at all it would have been right after I got them dressed and saw my babies turn into kids right before my eyes. No it wasn't just the look of them in this sweet school uniform that did it, it was the way the girls held themselves when they had it on. I believe they felt a bit more grown up too.
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Ellie and Lola
September 4, 2012
First Day of Preschool
My beautiful Lola Grace!
My sweet, sweet Ellie Francesca!
There was no hesitation on their part, the minute I said "ladies it time to go,"
they threw their backpacks on and headed out the door.
(okay, maybe a little hesitation, but together they can do it right? look at them holding hands)
The drive to school was full of questioning from me to them... "Okay, girls so what are going to do if you have to go to the bathroom?" and "What if you need help with your lunch, who are you going to ask?" and "What's your teacher's name again?" All reminders they might not have needed but at least it made me feel better. Here they are in front of their preschool ready to get their day started.
(Of course, proximity to the beach was one of Tony and my top priorities when picking a preschool for our children, two blocks away was not too shabby- I'm kidding of course but it was definitely a plus!)
The girls have to go to pre-care for about 30 minutes in the morning. Class doesn't start until 8 and I have to be at work by 7:30am. This was the part that made me most nervous about the whole morning. Good thing the SCHOOL FAIRY came the night before! The school fairy brought the girls some CARS (Holly Shiftwell, Lightning McQueen, and Francesco from Cars 2 to be exact). I let the girls take their new cars to school with them so they would have something to play with at pre-care. When it was time for me to go and let them begin this journey, to be honest they didn't care that I was leaving, they were too concerned with getting in enough time to play with their new toys before school actually started. More than anything I was relieved at their response, it made my first day back to work less anxious and very pleasant for that matter.
What's for Lunch?
Well for some reason I became obsessed with finding the perfect lunch box for these little ladies. After searching and researching (yes, I researched lunch boxes) I decided that the Planet Box would save me time, be easy for them to use, and save some trees while I was at it. My research paid off as these lunch boxes were perfect. We did two practice lunches to make sure they knew how to use them and to put me at ease. They were very excited to take their very own lunch to school.
After a smooth, uneventful day at preschool, I picked up the girls and basically had to drag them out of there. They had so much to say about their first day. On the way home they talked about the new friends they made, the playground they played on, the art project they did, the story their teacher read, and who they laid next to during nap time. It was so great to hear them talking in the back of car about their experiences.
(this is how I found them when I picked them up...eating snacks with their friends)
The girls got to take their self portraits they made home with them,
they were very excited to show us what they did!
The girls got to take their self portraits they made home with them,
they were very excited to show us what they did!
We popped up to Emma's on our way home and come to find out the School Fairy had left them a little something there too! Man are these little ladies lucky, not only did they get these super cuddly pillow pets they got to indulge in some Cold Stone Ice cream too!
The only adjective that can describe Tony and my emotions this day was PROUD! We are so proud that Lola and Ellie embraced this experience with enthusiasm and confidence, let's hope this is a foretaste of how they will respond to new, different, and even challenging experiences in their future!