At home, before leaving for preschool
Outside of preschool with her school tote in hand
Friends: Elliot, Lily Grace and Claire
Teacher gifts in hand, waiting for the classroom door to open
With teachers, Mrs. Price and Mrs. Arrison
Today, after much thought and prayer, our baby enjoyed her first day of preschool. Matt and I were very torn about whether or not to send her at all. Academically, she is doing awesome and we aren't worried about that, but the fact that she hasn't spent a day outside of mommy did concern us a bit. We didn't want her first experience away to be such an overwhelming one, that first day of Kindergarten for 7 hours, you know the one. (Matt kids me quite often, that this is just as much to wet my feet as it is to wet hers.)
Lily Grace has been a little apprehensive about preschool, but this morning she woke up full of excitement. She couldn't wait to get there and was all smiles. We made it through drop off and Matt and I stayed a few minutes to watch her through the one way window. She seemed to feel very at ease and went about exploring all there was to see and do in her classroom.
She is attending a wonderful little church preschool with her friends Claire and Elliot. These 3 have been inseparable for years and it's quite special that they are doing this together as well.
Her teachers are wonderful and I know they will take good care of her.
I can't even begin to tell you how my heart ached when we left her this morning.(And yes, while I made it without Valium, there were tears, lots of them and those actually started last night.) I've tried to remind myself that she will only be there a few short hours, just two days a week, but it hurts. I know people talk about having some time to myself and I have to tell you, it's overrated. I'm a mom....my time is for her. I am learning all to quickly how fast that time passes. I want to savor every moment I can. While Matt didn't get emotional this morning, he will admit that it tugged at his heart quite a bit. We both agree that watching and trusting someone else to care for your child is very hard. And while today was a painful reminder that she is getting older, Matt and I couldn't have been more proud of her. She is growing into a wonderful little girl who has the biggest heart and happiest disposition.
While she was at preschool (only 2 hours the first day) you may be wondering what Matt and I did. We enjoyed a coffee at Starbucks, went to Home Depot, went to the bank to copy some documents from our safety deposit box (never getting more than about 5 miles away from the school) and WATCHED THE CLOCK. :-)
She was still smiles when we picked her up and we enjoyed hearing all about who was line leader, who turned out the lights and what she did on the playground. We ended our big day with lunch at Lily Grace's favorite restaurant.
So, which outfit do you think Lily Grace will choose for her "big day" tomorrow? Be sure and check back tomorrow to see what the big day is and how it goes.
This past weekend, my good friend Gretchen and I completed an all day class at the Viking Cooking School. It was sooooo much fun! We laughed and learned a lot.
We took Cupcakes and Cake-Balls. We learned so much about baking and decorating. Miss Pam and Miss Camille were on our team and were the sweetest ladies.
We were served a wonderful lunch and the five hours flew by.
On a funny note, Gretchen arrived to pick me up Saturday morning, and when I opened the door, we were both wearing the same shirt. (only different in color) Too funny! Neither of us changed and we actually ended up getting several compliments and asked often where we got our shirts. HA!
Above is a picture of some of my creations before my critics enjoyed taste testing them.
Before the race
Running
Biking
On their way in....
and their wet
A hug from daddy at the end
Two wet racers
Getting her trophy
