Kindergarten Begins

pensive, a little nervous & anxious. 

After school he excitedly reports:  "I like school, I LOVE school, I can't wait until school tomorrow!"

Sweet handsome boy!  Oh how we love him!

Donned with all his name tags and backpack.

All ready for the wagon ride home.

Elliot began Kindergarten today.  After declaring for months ahead - right down until the car ride to school, that he did not want to go to school and was certain that he would NOT like it, he walked to us this afternoon at the end of the school day smiling sweetly and reporting how much he loved school and that his new best friend was "Eli", and that Eli had blond hair and a shirt with Curious George on it.  Other things he liked about his first day:  going to the library and reading a book with Eli, playing on the playground, playing a game on the computer, learning the Spanish words "hola" and "la jirafa", and learning how to write the letter "A".  

We are so proud of Elliot and are happy that he loves school and that he has a fantastic teacher, Mrs. Yoder.  

However, this transition to Kindergarten is not without a mixture of emotions:  happy, sad, proud.  After dropping him off at school I was surprised at feeling completely overwhelmed by these emotions.  But we expected him to really like school - the learning, the structure, the challenge.  I am grateful that he does and hope this will continue throughout the year.

We celebrated this first day of school with a special breakfast per his request of Apple Walnut Hotcakes, sausage, and fruit punch.  We surprised him with a bunch of helium balloons, with a big lion for courage and boldness!  This evening we continue the celebration by going out to eat at a restaurant of his choice, which at this point he's saying is either El Charro or Red Lobster.

Happy and Proud of our son!