First Day of School

Hunter had been anxious for days (and so had we!), but thankfully the day came and went and we all survived.  I knew at some point I'd be a basket case, so we asked Grandee and Poppy to come watch Charlotte this morning while James and I took Hunter to school.  They showed up with surprise donuts!  So fun! 

 

Today was so surreal.  It really was the weirdest thing sending my baby off to school all by himself for seven hours!  He's really a kindergartener...

We had some trouble getting a good shot of his backpack from the back, but he's trying to show off his Bumblebee (Transformers) backpack here...

They are such sweet siblings...

When we picked Hunter up, Charlotte said, "I missed you today." and Hunter responded "I missed you, too."  Tear.

My friend, Betty, gave me this great idea to ask Hunter if he wanted to bring a picture of our family to keep in his backpack since he was nervous.  When I first asked him this morning he sat there for a long time and then said, "No, because when you pick me up, I'll be home again."  But then when I got my camera out to take his pictures, he said, "Can I take a picture of you and daddy in case I miss you today?"  So I let him take one...

It's always a great picture when someone shorter than you is taking it.  Really slimming angle.  (I went ahead and gave him that family picture for his backpack, too, after he took this.)

Surprisingly, my eyes had been dry all morning, but when we pulled up to the school, James said a quick prayer for Hunter in the car, and of course that got me going.  I was able to wipe my face and compose myself enough to walk him in, though...

Before we knew it, we were in the room with Mrs. Stapp...

He went over to his table and had a seat, but was a little too nervous to focus on smiling for the camera.  We tried several times...

 

I was so thankful that Hunter's friend from soccer, Riley, was in the seat right next to his...

One last shot with mom...

And dad...

 

And then we left.  I completely lost it on the way to the car.  I felt like I had just left my heart in the classroom behind  me with one teacher and 25 (TWENTY-FIVE!) other kids.  I ugly cried for a while but calmed myself down before we got home.  As soon as Frank and Dee left, I lost it again and Charlotte kept saying, "What's wrong, mommy?  Are you ok?"  and then she looked at me and laughed and said, "You have water on your face!"

When I picked Hunter up, he said, "I had so much fun!"  He shared all about his day over cupcakes once we got home.  While I was cleaning out his backpack, he took out the family picture and said, "I won't need this anymore because I won't miss you tomorrow."  I'm so thankful his day went so well!  Looking forward to tomorrow!