Kitten Garden

Yay, indeed. 

Evelyn started Kindergarten in August this year. It's nearly November and I'm finally attempting to catch up here, so it's safe to say we've all been adjusting to our new routine. But the big first day and the lead-up to it were pretty spectacular, so I wanted to document with a few words and few hojillion pictures. 

So, Evelyn had a gap between her last day of preschool and her first day of kindergarten. Eternal thanks to my flexible schedule and self-employment, I took off most of this gap time and hung out with my girl. I plan to do the same with Gideon in a couple years, because it was some of my favorite time yet. We played, we ate, we read books, we took selfies and sang songs. 

Breakfast at Elmo's, where the syrup flows freely.

Selfie break!

School supply shopping!

Fancy dinner and her first Shirley Temple to celebrate the last day of preschool.

Sending off Gideon on his first day back at preschool.

Popsicles in the Park at Northgate, where we met our Principal Ms. Phillips!

The last day of summer was Mouse Day. You haven't heard of Mouse Day? Well, it's the day for Mouse to be the leader. She chose where we ate breakfast, what we did next, and next, and next, and so on and so forth until she crashed in bed. 

Breakfast at Monuts!

One of her favorite activities, origami, at the Museum of Life and Science. 

Zebra butterfly! 

An impromptu regatta. 

No museum trip is complete without a stop at Pelican Sno.

Sitting up front for the rainbow car wash.

Lunch and playing at Chick-fil-a. 

Swimming at the Vasu's

And then, it was here. The first day of Kindergarten. 

Evelyn chose her outfit, took some pictures, and we all took Gideon to school before heading back to Durham for Evelyn's drop-off. I was on the verge of tears and/or leaking tears all morning (oh, and for a couple weeks before the big day), but I did a pretty good job of keeping that from Mouse. She was excited and nervous. 

Ssshhhhh, don't tell her she's not even taking ballet anymore ;) 

She held my hand the whole way to school and asked every couple minutes, "How much longer?"

Ready for Kitten Garden!

So big. 

With Mr. Nicholson

We were thrilled to learn that Evelyn was going to be in Mr. Nicholson's class, as she's never had a male teacher before and he's really funny and energetic. Evelyn started calling him Mr. Pickleson before she even met him, and he has nicknames for just about everyone in the class so it works (Evelyn's is "Heh-velyn").

The first day was a success. I distracted myself, cried, went to heaven - oh wait, I mean Target without any children (so easy to confuse those!) - and arrived for pick-up embarrassingly early. Evelyn made a new friend (Grace), shared some M&Ms with her teacher, and... that's about all I know about her first day, because she passed out within minutes of me picking her up.

The first couple weeks were a bit rough. Mouse was tired, we were all adjusting to the routine, Mr. Nicholson was still getting to know her and the rest of the class and figure out what each kiddo needed. There was one day with Ms. Shields, the teaching assistant, came out to carpool to let me know that Evelyn had a rough day. There was some stern tone and threats of losing all screen time when she hesitated to leave the car in the morning carpool line. I was anxious every day and so hopeful that she would get the hang of it. Mr. Nicholson started letting her have some quiet time in the morning, so she could go and rest her head and snuggle with Red Fuzzy if she wanted to, until she was signaled to come to the carpet. The plan worked - even if she was only given a couple minutes, she felt free and a bit more in-control (I'm guessing), and would obey for the rest of the day if she had that space in the mornings.

I help out in Evelyn's classroom on Fridays, reading with kids in the hallway, organizing supplies, and whatever else Mr. Nicholson needs. I love this part of my week, and I love getting to know the wee ones in Evelyn's class. They are funny and sweet and energetic and curious and loving.

Nathaly pretty much stole my heart by drawing a picture of me. 

Kaden can swing!

Daisy, one of Evelyn's table-mates. Such a sweetie. 

Passed out after school. This still happens.

So, Kindergarten has been a success so far. We are immeasurably lucky to be able to send our girl to a safe and nurturing school, and to trust that she is learning and growing there every day. And now, we wait for Gideon to join his big sister at Club in just two short years!