First day of school!

After enjoying their last few days of the lazy life, school finally started last week.  The kids were sad for summer to end, but excited to go back to (Isaac) and start (Cate) school at Eldorado.  Isaac started before Cate, but she had to go on that day too for her kindergarten assessment.  Although the morning routine was a little rusty, we ultimately made it out of the house on time to catch the entire neighborhood walking to school.  The kids decided they wanted to ride bikes, but Bill and I followed on foot (with coffee!). Isaac was excited because he knew (and liked) his teacher, Ms. Jones, but was disappointed that a lot of his friends were in other classes.  I tried to sell it as an opportunity to meet new friends, but he was skeptical. Judging by how social he was in the lineup before class even started, I'm pretty sure he'll be fine. Here are some pics from Isaac's first day:

After dropping Isaac off, we walked inside for her assessment. This is where the kindergarten teacher meets with the new student in small groups and evaluates where they are in certain areas so she can plan the class.   Cate was so ready for school, that she insisted on bringing a backpack!

Finally, Cate's first day fell on Monday.  In preparation on Sunday, she asked me to paint her fingers and toes, and picked out a beautiful dress and headband. Although Isaac was under the weather (stomach bug), he was supportive and showed Caitlin where to go, and waited with me as we dropped her off.  There was a quick second of panic as she realized I couldn't go in with her, but the teacher picked up on it, swooped in and escorted Cate inside to see her "cubby", and it was back to smiles and excitement.  Afterward, as I walked Isaac into school, and we passed Cate's class walking in line to their first activity - I tried to hide, but she saw me as she walked by - she was grinning and waving as she walked by, yelling "Hi Mommy"!

Because Isaac was sick, I couldn't focus on Cate as much as I would have otherwise, which was probably a good thing.  There were many weepy moms around, but I didn't feel sad (well, not REALLY sad).  It's hard to imagine we have no babies at home anymore, but we're excited for them and for this next period in our lives!

It turned out Isaac really was sick - I got a call to pick him up from the nurse an hour later.  When we pulled out of the parking lot, we passed the kindergarten playground and saw Cate in the middle of the pack at the top of the play structure laughing and having fun - of course!!