Tuesday, September 5th, was Lia's first day of school. She was a little nervous the night before and had a difficult time falling asleep, but acted as calm as a cucumber the next morning even though she said that she was still a little nervous. She looked so cute wearing her new clothes from the Pirates of the Caribbean clothing line sold at Kohls this past summer. We love this movie series and love that her shirt said "Mermaid Spirit" which perfectly sums up this girl of mine! Lia was put in Ms. Arnett's class with her three closest friends from her 3rd grade class: Sienna (who we have known since PreK), Allison, and Persephone. I couldn't believe her luck at the three of them getting another school year together. Also, Lia gets to be in a brand NEW classroom this year as her school just finished building a 12-classroom addition for the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. The classrooms are beautiful and so modern and fancy with two flat screen TVs, wi-fi, and a conference room between their class and the neighboring one. Lia even gets to have her own one-on-one devise (a tablet/lap top) to use on a daily basis. Her school is the first in the district to get this luxury! So, it looks like Lia is going to have a great year!
We started off the morning with our traditional, first-day-of-school pictures on the front porch before we headed off to school.
A side profile of our grown-up, 4th grader complete with her emoji backpack and lunch bag that she picked out.
Our traditional sibling picture. Such silly kids!
Once we got down to the school and hiked what seemed like a mile to the blacktop, we found two of Lia's good friends in line: Sienna and Allison.
It wasn't long before Persephone showed up which meant I needed to take another picture so that I had the "complete group" together. The height difference between these four girls just cracks me up. Lia has always been in the 90th percentile for height and Sienna has always been off the charts...so the two of them make the other girls look so tiny!
I think Lia's nerves totally melted when she found her friends in line. After waiting several minutes, her line finally dismissed and off she went! She was so excited! I can't believe how grown-up and independent she has gotten since she started school there four years ago in Kindergarten.
Logan on his first day of school, Friday, September 8th. You can tell by the less-than-enthusiastic smile on his face that he was not excited about going to school.
Logan's first day of school was today. Our school district began starting Kindergarten a few days later than the rest of the district when they transitioned to full-day Kindergarten three years ago. Logan didn't mind getting an extra three days of summer, especially since he is a total homebody and does NOT like change. In fact, every time I mentioned this week that he would be starting school at "Lia's big school," he would immediately start wining and complaining that he didn't want to go to school there. When we went down to the school on Wednesday for his Kindergarten assessment, Logan didn't say a word (yes, that means not even his name) to his new teacher during our entire, 30 minute conference. Afterwards, when we went into a different classroom for his assessment from a teacher's aide, he totally melted. After going over numbers 1-20, Logan totally lost it. He started crying, crawled into my lap, and curled up into a little ball. Oh dear. Needless to say, we had to throw in the towel on the rest of his assessment which covered things he totally knows (letters, colors, and shapes). But, this is my boy. He is the apple of my eye, but he can be very difficult. He simply will not 'perform' if he is outside of his comfort zone and that is exactly what this assessment was for him.
So, needless to say, I was a little apprehensive about how he would act on his first day of Kindergarten. After dragging him out bed today, and forcing him to get dressed, he reluctantly ate his breakfast and got into the car. He was very unsure about the entire thing, but luckily managed to get out of the car and walk into the school without having a breakdown. Lia accompanied us into the office where I checked in and then into the gym to see where Logan's class line is located (since she will be the one walking Logan to his line every single morning the rest of the school year). Logan then sat down and didn't say a word. It was very clear to me that he was very nervous and unhappy about the entire situation; however, I had promised him that I would walk him to his classroom and help him get situated before saying goodbye as this is what I had been allowed to do for Lia's first day of Kindergarten. Logan sat quietly in his line playing with the new hole in his mouth (from losing his tooth yesterday) until it was time to go. As the children were standing up to leave, I realized that I should double check with his teacher, Mrs. Kirklie, to see if I was allowed to accompany Logan to the classroom. To my surprise, she informed me that she would prefer that I stay behind in the gymnasium. Oh dear. So, at that point, I had to reluctantly walk over to Logan and bear the bad news. Upon hearing this, he eyes welled up with tears. The poor, little guy. As the tears began streaming down his face, I stroked his hair, kissed his head, and wiped his tears over and over again while offering words of comfort. And, to my surprise, I felt my tears coming. I just felt so bad for him. Plus, I think the reality of "losing" my second child to the public school system finally hit me. I will be the fist to admit that I am NOT ready for my children to grow up and leave me. I would keep them little forever if I could. So, while I fought back my own tears, Ella and I waved goodbye to Logan and off he went to his classroom! Ugh. I didn't expect this farewell to be so hard, but it was. Once he left the gym, I picked up Ella and walked back to the car with tears streaming down my face. This growing up stuff is for the birds!
It felt very strange the rest of the day to not have Logan at home with Ella and me. I kept on wondering where he was and then I would remember that he was at school with Lia. There was a kind of empty and lonely feeling in the house that I am sure will take awhile for Ella and me to get used to. On a happier note, I am proud to report that Logan came home this afternoon beaming from ear to ear! He had a great day and loved every minute of it. He reported on every detail he could remember from who he played with at recess to what it was like to eat lunch in his classroom to what they colored at their desk (a raccoon and school supplies picture). He easily found Lia after school and gave her a huge hug when she walked up to his teacher to pick him up. I think that Logan has already found his "new comfort zone" and I hope for a positive and exciting year of learning and growing for him!
Logan showing off his awesome, BB-8 backpack that even lights up and makes noises!
The girls making a "Logan sandwich" for the second, sibling picture of the week. Logan looks so miserable.
Logan quietly sitting in his class line inside the school gymnasium.
Logan and the rest of the students in his line. I had to include this picture because it shows the funny face Logan kept on making while his tongue was playing with the new hole in his mouth.
A very scared and crying Logan getting ready to follow his teacher out the door.
And, he's off!
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