first day of school!

It's sooooo quiet.




Just for comparison's sake: First day of first grade, then the first day of kindergarten this time last year. Hey, and even the backpack is the same! I couldn't talk him into a new one this year, he loves the reliable blue one.

(I'm going to add more pictures to this post in a bit for the fam... my battery does weird things since the soda incident and sometimes it dies with no warning. Like today. Grr. But I did get a picture of Matthew before it died completely. Sorry, that first photo looks more like a senior picture than a first grader. I think this one is a peek into my future of what Matthew is going to look like in high school!!)


And just for one more comparison - Yep Matthew is wearing the same shirt TODAY that Trevor wore on his first day of second grade. My boys are so much easier to please when it comes to clothing. All the new school clothes they got and Matthew wants an old comfy tshirt. Unlike the female child...who went through several wardrobe changes before settling on being Miss Aeropostale the first day of school.

Trevor last year: ----> and this year's first day shirt for Matthew. (below)


Today was the first day of school!!! It was totally different than what we are used to. I walked in the school with all three kids and we were told that everybody was supposed to go to the gym. They had the bleachers out and separated by grades, making it pretty much impossible for me to sit with all three of my nervous kids.

Trevor found a group of boys that he sat next to and by the time the 15 minutes had passed before they were all taken back to the classrooms they all looked like they had known each other for years. Yay for Trevor, he's always been so easy going.

I sat with Megan for a couple of minutes (with Matthew too) and I spotted several girls that were kind of off in their own spaces and looking like they were going to puke from nervousness. I felt good knowing that A LOT of kids had moved here over the summer and were in the same situation as us. I talked Megan into going down to one girl that was somewhat close by. It was funny (although I understand and she had to have been terrified!) She walked up really slowly behind her and paused. Like the girl was supposed to pat the seat next to her and say, "HEY YOU, sit down and join me!" but then Megan slid down next to her and I could see the other girl smiling and nodding like Megan had just asked if she had just moved here too. They started a little conversation and were both smiling when I took Matthew over to the first grade section.

Matthew found one of his friends that he met on our street, so he was totally fine with me not sitting next to him. I thought for sure he'd be the one I'd have to be next to until it was time to go. What a change from last year when he was so scared to begin kindergarten. There was so much more confidence this year - even with being an entirely different school.

So I stood along one of the walls of the gym with some other parents and watched my kids from a distance. All three were busy talking... which was a good sign. It looks like everything started out well for them all.

Megan's homeroom class (she switches classes for each subject this year) is in the library (there is so much growth here right now that this 2 year old school is already adding 8 more classrooms that will be done in December) so until then she meets in the library in the morning. (Which is huge, so it isn't like they are cramped in there.) I peeked in since it is right by the front doors of the school and is surrounded by windows so I could easily look in and find her. There she was sitting with a group of about 6 girls.

I left happy. I left confused. I didn't have to make sure everybody was with me going across the parking lot, and nobody to worry about except myself. I turned on the car and "Where the streets have no name" had just started. Yessss. and then it looked like it must have been push time at the airport because planes were everywhere. I wondered if one of them was Mike taking off for the day. Happy kids, happy mom and possibly Mike flying overhead I thought, "This is exactly why we're here. Today is awesome." It felt like a movie moment where it all slows down (complete with U2 soundtrack!) when it just hit me that the moving process is done, summer is over and I could literally feel a new chapter beginning. It really gave me chills. Everything feels right.

Then I went to Cincinnati to do some errands - after hitting a drive through for a soda. ;) Much success at Target and Costco. Life is good.

I can't wait to hear stories today when everybody comes home!!