First Day of School

I just realized I never posted a "First Day of School" post. How dare I! I really can't say enough about Aniston's teacher, Mrs. Griffith. She is fantastic! She is such a sweet person, and you can tell she really has a gift for teaching the little ones! It takes a special person to do it, that is fo sho!

Aniston was really excited about the long awaited "First Day of Kindergarten". We did lots of shopping, planning, cleaning, organizing, hair cutting, backpack packing, school supply stacking, and lunch box readying in preparation for the day!

I was really bummed that I had to work the night before. I wanted to be here to do my "over planning" and OCDness that I do. I knew that morning would be crazy, and I knew we'd need any extra time we could get. My goal was to have Aniston (and sissy) ready for pictures by 7:30. Luckily, Shelah came in a little early so I could get a head start on the morning. My first task at hand was to put the finishing touches on her teacher gift. Aniston loves to give gifts, and I knew it would really help her feel comfortable and confident to have something special to carry in for Mrs. Griffith. As you've heard, my Pinterest addiction has helped me come up with lots of fun ideas..

This was one of them...

We used a foam wreath form from Hobby Lobby, 3 boxes of crayons (minus the "ugly" colors), some red ribbon, a few scraps of fabric twisted and rolled up to make the flowers. I wrapped the foam with some fabric, hot glued the crayons in place, glued the ribbon for a hanger, and then the bow on the front.. then the flowers. I thought it turned out SUPER cute! Aniston and I had fun making it, and Mrs. Griffith loved it. I've very proud of Aniston for having such a giving heart!

I also just HAD to get her backpack embroidered! The people at Stitchmakers did a GREAT job!

Here are the pictures from the first day...

I got this idea from Pinterest too... The website had lots of free printables for moms!

Walking to school from the car... we had to park a mile away.. busy day that first day of school is!

I had to get a picture of her in front of the Wolf Paw Print... West Foundation is Home of the Wolves. Wouldn't it be fun if they have this every year and I can get one on every first day! 

Aniston and her BFF (and tour guide) Emily. She's a big bad experienced 2nd grader!

Kayleigh and Savanna

Aniston getting a big "thank you" hug from Mrs. Griffith.

Aniston and the wonderful Mrs. Griffith.

Aniston pulling her attendance card. When they get there they flip it to blue.

She was excited to get her supply box out.

All set up and ready.

Already hard at work...

My sweet, pretty, smart, and funny Kindergartener!

Daddy and Sissy got a picture with the Kindergartener.

Mommy and the Kindergartener

She wanted to give sissy a hug bye..

I snapped a picture of her as we were walking out... she was watching a friend walk in.

We all did good. No one cried. There was a split second moment when we told her we were about to leave and she looked up at me and said.. "Oh, you're not going to stay with me for a while?" Her eyes welled up with tears, so did mine, then Daddy stepped in and distracted us. He explained to us that Mommy would be there in a few hours to pick her up. The world came back into focus and all was well. No tears SHED! She had a most fabulous day!

Here she was when I picked her up.. all smiles!!

She is showing me her "warm fuzzy". They get them for going above and beyond in class. They are special. She has saved all 4 that she has earned. They are by her jewelry box on her dresser. All lined up pretty. It's a big deal...

Day 2.. loved it! She looks so old!

And, Day 3... she was a little tired!

One of the main things Daddy and I were both so excited about with the start of Kindergarten, was NO NAPS! No nap means earlier bed time! We have noticed this is definitely the case! She has been so tired in the evenings. Usually, the only time she gets in trouble is when she's tired. Well, Monday she came home and got a warning for talking too much.. she gets that from her daddy.. HA! just kidding! She also got a warning for "putting her hands on another student" when she hugged Grant. She just didn't understand this.. the best I could explain is that she will just have to get used to new rules at a new school. She bought it....

On Tuesday when she came home she wanted a snack, then wanted to play her computer learning game. She came into the kitchen where I was cooking dinner (at 5:30) and asked if she could go to bed. I almost dropped the skillet! I told her it was too early and tried to keep her up. I knew I didn't want her waking up at 10:00 ready to party. She just couldn't hang, and finally snuck off to her room about 6:00 and was dead asleep by 6:15. She slept all the way through, 12 solid hours, until 6:30 am. To my knowledge she didn't move. I checked on her 5 different times through the night. She was MAJORLY tired. I LOVE KINDERGARTEN!

She is doing a really great job, and already showing interest in reading. She asks me to help her read words, how to spell words, what words start with, and she even asked me to find her some reading games on my tablet. My next mission is to ask Mrs. Griffith and research some different ways I can help her learn to read. I figure it has to be like potty training.. if they show interest, they must be ready.. right?!

Because I just have to add it... here are pictures of me on the first day of Kindergarten... stirrup pants and all!

Hope everyone is having a great day! Happy September!