School Daze

Today was the day that Baylie has been awaiting for approximately 4 1/2 years. If you think I'm exaggerating, you don't know my daughter. She has been asking for years how long it would be until she could go to school. For at least the past year, she has been asking "How many sleeps?" until she could go. The past week has been painful with waiting (i.e. "day after tomorrow tomorrow?" etc.). 

Yesterday we spent the day getting her hair ready. We tried a new hairstyle called African Hair Threading. I didn't think through the fact that I'd never done it before and it was pretty risky trying it for such a big occasion. But it was a big success. Baylie loved it and it only took six hours to do. Win-win!!

Since I teach seminary in the mornings, David will be the one to get her ready for school, so we need a hairdo that he will not need to fix. I was really happy with how this held up over night - absolutely no fraying. That never happens with Baylie's hair. (I learned how to do this style from a Girls Love Your Curls YouTube video. I ended up watching several of her videos. She's awesome and pretty funny too.)

I didn't think Baylie would be able to go to sleep last night, but she crashed as soon as her head hit the pillow. She was up at 5:30 a.m. and wanted to get ready. We convinced her to lay back down, but she kept her alarm clock clutched in her hand. She only lasted about 10 minutes and by 6:00 a.m. she was dressed and ready for breakfast. She had requested "cinnamon toast the way Daddy makes it" for breakfast, so that's what we had. This morning it was "Can we go yet?" until it was finally time to load up and head for school.

She was all geared up with her backpack and Kindermat. Kindergarten is a full day here, so they have a nap time and have to have a specific kind of mat.

She found her name, her cubbie for her backpack...

met her teacher...

and found her spot at the table.

It was about then that she realized we were going to leave. Then she got a little nervous and emotional, but she didn't cry. I managed not to cry until we got to the parking lot. I didn't want to upset her or any other little kindergardeners.

Jalen really missed her. He kind of wandered around, unsure of what to do with himself. When I asked him if he missed her, he said he missed her "very, very much." It's kind of funny since for the past couple of days, they have argued a lot - something they didn't used to do - probably in preparation for this rite of passage.

We went back to the school to have lunch with Baylie. We got there just as her class was headed down the hallway. We were shocked at how quiet they were. I think she was really happy to see us. She kept turning around and waving.

They have a special area in the back of the cafeteria where families can eat. We are welcome to join her whenever we want. (I think JJ and I might join her once a week.) She told us she was having a great day, although she did get a little emotional when she told us she got in trouble for getting out of her seat (I was afraid she might struggle with that.). She is a big pleaser and whenever she thinks she has disappointed someone, it is devastating to her. I explained that it is her teacher's job to help her be successful in school and that includes staying in her chair. We moved right on to talking about recess, so she was fine after that.

Before too long, we headed back to pick her up - and for the first time in my life, I waited in a car pool line (or is it lane?). I had a bit of an inferiority complex as I was squeezed in between all the mini vans, SUVs and crossovers. Our poor little Cobalt was definitely the runt of the litter.

She was very excited to see us - and we were thrilled to see her. Jalen's first words to her were, "I was worried about you!"

To celebrate, we went to Yoghut. Baylie decorated her (our) yogurt with gummy frogs that were huge and gross. She loved them.

When we got home, the first thing Jalen did was snuggle up with Baylie on the couch.

Much as I missed her, there is something to be said for the fact that the house was quiet, stayed clean and I got a lot done. Overall, I think we all had a great first day!