First Day of School

I'm behind on the blog, but I want to write while it's fresh.  Our family is growing up and I'm just not sure how I feel about it.  Andrew started 1st grade yesterday and Tanner and Reid started Young Fives (a pre-K) today.  

 They were so excited!  They were up early, dressed, shoes on, each packed their own lunch and were still 45 min early for the bus!  They looked so big to me standing out there waiting for the bus.  I feel like it was just yesterday they were all in diapers and I was carrying babies on my hips while trying to keep Andrew alive as well.

 Tanner and Reid don't dress alike much anymore, but they decided to wear the same shirts on the first day of school.  I thought it was cute, they stick together.

 They hopped right on and waved goodbye, and that was it.  I didn't know if I should burst into tears or run through the house naked celebrating the new freedom!  Such mixed feelings.  Instead, I opted to follow the bus to school and watch them get off.  They got off with confidence, gave me a wave and walked right in.  

Those are my babies, my babies who aren't babies and they're headed off.  I wonder if I taught them all they need to know to survive school.  Can they stand up to the bully and seek out the classmate who needs a friend?  When I picked them up, their teacher said they did great, listened very well and helped each other.  I asked the boys how they helped each other and I guess Tanner fell down on the way to the cafeteria, Reid helped him up and handed him his lunch box.  I was so happy to hear that they watched out for each other!

Meanwhile, this peanut and I went to run errands and I realized I haven't had just one child with me since Andrew was born!  We chatted and had fun, but she kept saying, "Mom, I think it's time to pick up my boys."  That's what she calls them, her boys. She missed them, and I can't blame her.  Amelia has a sweet relationship with her brothers.  She often wakes in the morning and will crawl into bed with one of her brothers to snuggle for a bit before she comes down.  Andrew is a favorite, he'll snuggle AND read a book!  

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Fortunately, she won't be alone for long, as baby brother with be joining us in about a month.  And just in time!  Amelia potty trained this summer and for the first time in almost seven years we don't have anyone in diapers and we're not quite sure what to do with ourselves!  Yet another sign they're all growing up.

As much as they're growing up, I'm not ready to let them go!  Tanner and Reid's pre-K is a full day program and while I think it's good for them to go, I don't feel great about them being gone all day.  I've elected to pick them up at 12:30 and I've gotten a lot of different responses about my choice.  I feel like these years are a lot of work, but they are years that can't be recreated.  Academics and social skills will come, but I'm not ready to be done with Candyland and books on the couch in the afternoon.  I don't think they should be done with it either.  So for now, they'll be big and ride the bus in the morning and even eat lunch in the cafeteria, but at 12:30, they're back with me and I'll make the most of the time I have with them, because I know it won't last forever.  Someday there won't be diapers or crying over toys and I think I'm going to miss it.