First Week of School

Taylor has done amazing at school this week ~ even to the point where she's surprised us all at how good she's done. Her teacher had her wisdom teeth taken out yesterday, so Taylor had two different subs yesterday and today, making 3 different teachers for her first 3 days in school. And she took it all in stride and did beautifully regardless! Admittedly, she was slightly more clingy when I dropped her off this morning, but with just a little bit of encouragement, she obediently found her friend and sat next to her for "mat time" first thing in the morning. And by the end of the day today when I picked her up, she was all smiles and reported another great day. What a little trooper! She's done absolutely wonderful in her reading, too ~ honestly, I had no idea she could read as well as she can. It's been a great confidence-booster for her to start off school with immediate success in reading.

Her teacher, by the way, is absolutely wonderful and has gotten rave reviews from other parents; and though Taylor's only had her one day so far, I've been quite impressed with what I've seen already.

I am definitely looking forward to the weekend and having Taylor home for the next couple days ~ I do miss her when she's gone all day for school! I think it will be good for Taylor, too, to have some down time and maybe even a nap or two.....she's definitely been tired after the long days. I can't wait to have cuddles with her in bed in the morning and read stories together ~ now that's the way to start the weekend!

Milestones

The last two days have been pretty big ones around here! Between Taylor's 5th birthday, her pre-school graduation, and the start of school.....she's had a lot going on in her little world! Yesterday we celebrated her birthday as a family.

We had waffles for breakfast, opened presents, and then enjoyed what will be our last lazy weekday morning for a while. It was cold and rainy outside, so the 3 of us got cozy on the couch with blankets and pillows and watched kid's DVDs until it was time to get Taylor ready for her last day of pre-school. And what a full day at pre-school it was! Not only did they celebrate her birthday, but they also had a special little graduation 'ceremony' for Taylor to remember her last year at the pre-school and to honor her on her last day.

Then, this morning, we were up early to get her off to school! I began to get a bit nervous about it all last night, as Taylor started to get a bit teary and anxious about the prospect of starting school. She was still a bit hesitant this morning.....until she got dressed in her uniform. Then suddenly everything changed, and she was confident and ready for her day!

Fortunately there are 2 little girls already in her class that she knew from pre-school, so when we got to her classroom, she immediately found them and was happy as could be. When it came time for me to leave and say goodbye, she said, "Bye, mom! Love you!". No tears, no hesitation; quite happy for me to leave and for her to begin this whole new adventure on her own. I couldn't believe her confidence, and I was so happy that it was such an easy, painless morning. And when I picked her up at the end of the day, she was all smiles and giving a great report from her day! I am so grateful for the pre-school and the preparation they deliberately do to make the transition into school easy on the kids. It seems to have really worked! Of course, it will probably take her a good couple weeks to transition fully, but if the first day is any indication of how the following days will be, we're in for a good ride.

I gotta say, Mama sure is proud of her little girl tonight!

Princess Birthday Party!

Yesterday, Taylor had several little girls from pre-school/school come over for her party. This was really the first time she's had a party with lots of other girls her age....previous years have been the parties with family and her favorite adult friends. And it was a grand success! All the little girls had so much fun ~ we had face painting and games, and because Taylor requested an ince cream cake this year, I had all the girls decorate their own cupcakes to eat with the ice cream. They loved that....what little girl doesn't like having fun with frosting and sprinkles?! Taylor wanted to have a "princess" theme, so several of the girls came dressed up as princesses. Here are a few photos from the day:

The Birthday Princess

Cupcake Decorating

Face Painting Fun

Gorgeous Girls

Duck Duck Goose

Princess Ice Cream Cake

Happy Birthday to Taylor!