ABC...123...Kindergarten!

I can't believe my baby is all grown up and heading off to kindergarten! Seriously, where did the last five years go? Until this week, I have been super excited about school and sending him off. This week it hit me and I got a little emotional. It dawned on me that everything is changing, our schedules and routines, our vacation schedules (now revolve around school calendar), homework, etc. I think the biggest realization I had is that I can no longer protect my little Howie. That hurt the most. He is kind of a sensitive guy and comes to tears easily. I can't be there to protect him if another kids decided to pick on him or be mean. He doesn't know how to handle that yet. I guess that is what the social part of school is for, adjustments. It just is hard to let go. I know he will be fine and his teacher is wonderful. He probably will come home whistling and happy. Changes are hard, but we can do hard things.

Okay, enough of that, crybaby, mom pull yourself together. Since Howie is my first child to go to school, what better time to start some back to school traditions than now? We had a End of Summer/Back to School swimming bash with some friends which was fun. We even had fun making some cute treats for it.

Howie helped me make edible crayons (pretzels with their ends dipped in candy melts, covered with a paper label). They were SUPER cool, loved making these, howie did too!

Then Family Fun had the cute idea for some flip flop cookies (made with pepperidge farm milano cookies! so yummy too!).

We had fun swimming, swimming and more swimming with friends and then eating our treats! Mom didn't put enough sunscreen on and we all got a little red. Not thinking! Back to school photos with a sunburned child. He actually didn't look too bad this morning. Check out Livy's goggles, she was a funny duck.

Okay, goodbye summer: here comes school. Howie got to meet his teacher, Mrs. MacIntosh during his kindergarten assessment meeting with her. She is awesome and we feel it is going to be an wonderful year! We also made a paper chain to count down the days till school started. Howie enjoyed tearing off a strip each day. I had to make a cute Back to School wreath, using a variation of the burlap one Tator Tots and Jello makes. Lastly, the Back to School fairy left a brown bag with lots of school supplies in it. I had good intentions of making school bus cookies, but with a lot of other stuff happening right now, that did not come to fruition. Hopefully, next year.

Snapshots of him waiting at our bus stop. I love that his backpack is bigger than him!

I realized that after I put him on the bus, (which was 10 mins late which made me wonder if we were at the right place, if there are other school buses that come by this route, etc. ) I told the bus driver that he is a kindergarten student and to take good care of him. She said she would and smiled at me. As I got in the car, I realized that I never asked the bus driver if she was going to the correct school!!! If he was even on the right bus!!! So I drove to the school to make sure he made it there. I know, over paranoid mother.

While waiting for the bus, Howie met up with best friend, Destin. Then the bell rang and the lined up for class. It is the mother in me, but I think he looks pretty darn cute, I mean handsome for his first day of school.

this is my favorite shot of the day, his anticipation on the first day of school

This is him getting off the bus. He was strutting over to me with a grin from ear to ear and happy as could be finishing his first day of school. I then asked him where his backpack was? He freaked out and ran back to the bus to get it.

I was glad, so that I could actually get a bus shot. The driver was so kind and smiled when he had forgot his backpack. He was a cute bus driver that seemed to enjoy the kids on the first day of school and all the newness it brings.

1st after school snack: cookies and milk.

Love you Howie, you grew up too fast, but I am excited you love school so much. Here's to a great year in Kindergarten.