Keira's first day of school

So it came upon us...quicker thatn I expected. Keira started pre-school last Thursday, Sept 10th. I got up early, with a pit in my stomach. I was going to miss our morning routine, but I tried not to be too sad so I could be excited for her. She woke up around 7:40 and came running excitedly into the kitchen. She knew what day it was and she was SO excited. We ate breakfast together, brushed her teeth and picked out an outfit. She insisted on wearing a dress with tights. That's my girl! She loves dressing up. So even though I had been dreading not having any time with her, I got a lot of special time, just her and I getting her ready. When we had been eating breakfast she said, "I love eating with family." So cute. Just another thing to make me realize how important family meals are to sit and talk and spend time together. She's four and it's already special to her.

So, she was ready and I took pictures of her and her cute princess backpack. I had to actually wake Mia up because she was still asleep and it was almost time to leave. I just opened her room door and she slowly woke up on her own, which was nice. I got her ready, and we were out the door. We got to school and had to wait outside for a little bit because they have the doors locked until exacly 9am. We ran into Keira's friend Amanda who is going there for the three year old class so we were able to get a picture of them together. It was pretty cute.

We went into Keira's class and I sat on the floor while Keira got oriented. Her teacher is SO sweet - she taught my niece when she was four and she is just such a great lady. Her mom and my grandma were best friends, so that makes it even more special. Keira played with some legos for a little bit and then a spot opened up at the painting table. She was all over it. Mia and I stayed while she started to paint. I got a little bit worried because there was one boy who was having a HUGE meltdown after his mom left. She looked at me and said, "did he fall down?" I said something along the lines of, "probably". That seemed to satisfy her and she went back to painting. He even ended up on the floor behind her crying and thrashing around. She looked at me and I said, "he's going to be okay." She nodded and went back to painting. I asked her once if she wanted me to stay or go and she still wanted me to stay, so we waited and made friends with some kids at the table. Eventually, she said, "It's okay mom, you can go." She sounded quietly confident and it made me feel good and sad at the same time. I think the hardest part was just getting in the car and driving home - even though it's only a few blocks. It was weird LEAVING her in a building without being there with her, like when we go to church. I'm used to being just a classroom or two away, not in another location.

We got home and I fed Mia breakfast. Now it was time for our special time together. We ran to Costco and ran into some other mom's there from the preschool. Funny. My mom will be picking her up but she didn't know where she was going so I went with her and Mia to show her where the classroom was. Plus, I really wanted to be there to pick her up on her first day. When she came out, she was beaming from ear to ear. She had had a great day. Her only frustration was not enough time outside - lol.