First Day of School! First Day of School!

If you're marginally familiar with Finding Nemo, you'll remember this line from the movie. And you'll also have a good idea of what Ella was like this morning--basically bouncing off the walls because she was so eager to leave for school. We ended up leaving much earlier than we needed to, which was fine with me because I like to hang out in the parking lot before school and catch up with my mom friends. Plus, it gave me ample time to snap some pictures. I am guessing this might be the last year I can do that to my poor daughter without embarrassing the heck out of her.

Not much has changed from last year to this year. The school bell rang, and Ella walked off with nary a glance back at me. Can you feel the love??

While Ella was enjoying her first day of school, Sadie and I were over at her new daycare for a playdate. In the 1.5 hours that we were there, the kids had snack (bagels, cream cheese, and juice), listened to a story, sang a few songs, painted, went over to the "gym" to ride super-cool trikes, and had free play. When we left, Sadie said to me, "So, that was kinda fun, huh?"

I managed to leave Sadie alone for a bit while I paid first and last week's tuition, handed over the field trip money, and paid for the required field trip T-shirt. I am not sure she noticed my absence. She also made herself quite at home at school, using the potty when I noticed the teacher was changing diapers (I had not brought a spare) and asked Sadie whether she wanted to try out the potty. She did, and she was successful. My little potty training savant.


The play date could not have gone better, but I'll admit to having very mixed feelings about sending my baby off to daycare--so much so that I couldn't sleep just now when I tried to go to bed. Who is going to love little Sadie at daycare? Will she feel lonely there? It breaks my heart just a little bit to think about it.


For now, I guess all I can do is focus on the positives: She'll only be there four days a week; she seems excited to attend; and the daycare we've chosen seems top-notch. If it doesn't work out, we can always revisit the nanny option again. Lord knows I'm a pro now when it comes to interviewing nannies! I'm anticipating high stress for myself next week. I do not do well with change--especially where the girls are involved.

For her part, Ella came out of school with nary a glance at me--just shoved her backpack in my general direction and ran off with her friends. When she finally had some time for her poor old mom, she said, "I had the best first day of school ever." Highlights included seeing a praying mantis, discussing the weather at circle time, cheese crackers and juice for snack, and playing with either beans or bean bags (I couldn't be sure which). Ella drew a super awesome picture of her first day, which I will absolutely treasure forever. It simply rocks. I've included it here for your viewing pleasure, along with some photos of her first day of four-year-old preschool. She's counting down the days until Monday and seems ecstatic at the thought of being at school all day and eating lunch there and taking a nap. Let's hope this full-day preschool business doesn't sap this child's love of school.