Chase is Off to School!!

I woke up really early this morning... not sure if it was the excitement I was feeling for Chase on his first day of 4K or if it was the feeling of unbelief that this day was already here!  No more mornings of just hanging out, doing what we want, when we want.  Starting today that has all changed!

Chase had the biggest smile on his face this morning when I went into his room to get him up for breakfast!  He couldn't wait to finally go to school.  I made banana bread last night for his teachers and I made an extra loaf just for Chase so he could have something he loved on his first day of school!  After breakfast we brushed teeth, got dressed, combed hair and was ready for his first day of school picture! :)

Jacob was so excited for his brother but was a little unsure of what his mornings were going to look like without his big brother around to play with!  Jacob is excited that next year he'll be going to school too!

 Just arrived at Spring Valley Baptist Church Preschool and is so ready to go find his teachers and friends! 

 Chase walking down the long set of stairs by himself and is already so independent!  My little boy is growing up and I'm learning that he is very capable without me right beside him to help him out.  Thankful for that independence but it is definitely a little bit bitter sweet!!

Waiting until 8:50 for the doors to be unlocked.  Daddy was even able to come over to see his oldest go into class.  Thankful for late start on Wednesdays! :)

 Chase's good buddy, Mazzy, from baseball this summer is in his class!  Total God thing there... so happy that he has a good friend in his class with him.  She found him right away and they walked all the way to class together, talking about anything and everything and both very excited!

 Chase hung his backpack on a hook and went to do the very first thing of the day: the washing of hands!!  The Lord knew best when he put Chase in a class with a teacher who is as careful about germs as I am!! :)  Thank you, Mrs. Dani, for making sure all the kids knew how to correctly wash their hands!

 Chase & Mazzy were the first two in there so they found their seats together and sat down just like Mrs. Rhonda asked them to do.  They are so cute together!! :)

 Each year I am going to try to get a picture on the first day of school with their teachers and the same kind of picture on the last day of school so we can see just how much they have changed.  Here is Chase with his wonderful teacher, Mrs. Rhonda!

We both gave Chase hugs and kisses in the hall before he went into his room.  He didn't look back once or hesitate at all!  He just waved goodbye and waited patiently for his day to start!  He is such a big boy and we are so proud of him!!

I called Charles' Mom to see if she wanted to go with me to pick him up from his first day of school.  Aunt Anna had also made a trip down to Columbia today so she and Mom were able to go with me.  We got there towards the end of their recess time and it was fun spying on him and watching him play with all his new friends.  We walked to his classroom where his teacher was waiting on each parent to pick up their child and he came out with the biggest grin on his face!  He had an amazing first day of school and can't wait for many more mornings like today!  He gave school two thumbs up in the car on the way to lunch with Ginga & Aunt Anna!! :)

Chase is now in school, thankfully only half days for this year but I can't help but think about how different next year is going to be when he is in real school, in kindergarten!  Then our time really won't be ours anymore.  A few friends have asked me why I have kept Chase home until this year and then why I chose to put him in 4K this year... as a former teacher I know that once the kids hit kindergarten the time that we have with them home is gone.  The majority of their time is spent at school, under the care of another adult and with many other influences.  I have said from the beginning that I want as much time with my kids as possible.  With that said, my kids have been with me practically all the time with the exception of church on Sundays and Wednesday nights.  I felt very strongly going into this year that this was what Chase needed to be prepared for next year.  He needs to time to adjust to the routine, to being in a classroom where there are certain expectations and I felt that he needed the time away from me to learn how to make the decisions on his own that I would be reminding him to make if I was right there! :)  I also felt very strongly that Jacob needed a year to be himself, to make an identity of his own apart from his big brother.  I know it is going to be a great year... it is just going to take a little bit of time for us all to adjust and get used to it!