And we arrive to this day...

Our Emily started kindergarten on August 25th. I know it's cliche to say it, but I can't believe our baby girl is now in school. She just turned five years old so that makes it harder because I feel like I got "cheated" out of a few more months at home with her just because she was born in the summer instead of a different time of year. If her birthday wasn't right before the cut-off, I would have had her home with me another year. Emily has attended part-time preschools for the past two years (three days a week for 3-4 hrs. each day.) She was ready and excited to start kindergarten this year!

We made our decision to start the enrollment process last winter. Jeremy and I both felt pretty good about our decision, but every now and then I would question myself. Once we found out that I was expecting again, we definitely felt that it would be better for Emily to go to school. Pretty soon, my life is going to revolve around the needs of a newborn and a two year old. Emily would have been left to fend for herself in a lot of areas, especially with entertaining herself. I think it is far better for her to get regular instruction and daily social interaction at school. And kindergarten is free! :) I keep expecting to have to make a monthly payment to someone. 

One of the reasons we wanted her to start school this year is because of the awesome neighborhood school that is on our street. We chose to live in Alameda partially because of the good schools. She attends a school that is just three blocks down the road from us and it is one of the best in the district. That's right, y'all. Emily gets to WALK or BIKE or SCOOTER to school every day! Growing up in a very rural area where we couldn't walk to anything other than the next house (or field), I think this is so cool! Every time I told someone where she would attend school, I always got very good feedback. Being new to the area, it made me feel so much better to know that her school was highly respected in the community. However, we are renting our home and while we are planning to extend our lease another year, there's no guarantee that we will be at this same house for all of our years in California. Part of me would LOVE to find another home that is larger and meets our needs better. However, I do really like our neighborhood and community. Buying a nice house in our city is extremely expensive. So, I often wonder if we might just stay here for several years--especially if we're happy with our school. Time will tell. 

Emily and Mommy (31 weeks pregnant!)

Love this of my sweethearts! 

Skipping/walking to class

Caleb is not ready to say any "good-byes" to sis.

Walking to morning assembly

Line up kiddos! 

Morning assembly time with the whole school (K-5). Emily started tearing up a little during the morning assembly time. I'm sure it was overwhelming to be surrounded by strange kids, teachers, and parents. Jeremy and I were too far away to make eye contact with her. Once Jeremy caught a glimpse of Emily upset, he started crying. Then, I was next. As she walked back to class, I caught a glimpse of her "brave smile through tears" and that tore me up! Aggh! These milestones are hard for mamas and daddies! 

Jeremy, Caleb, and I walked back to our house after saying our "good-byes." It was a contemplative walk home and both of us felt emotional. We treated ourself at our local coffee shop and pretty soon our almost two year old had us laughing and feeling better. Caleb missed Emily that morning, but he didn't cry for her as I expected. He just kept coming up to me and asking about her. I told him we would go back to get her soon!

Kindergarten is not a full day here and I'm thankful for that! I couldn't stand it if she was gone all day every day! I think it would have been a very rough transition for her. Our school district lets the kindergarteners out early, but it's a little more than a traditional half-day kindergarten. The hours are 8:20am-12:40pm three days a week and until 1:40pm two days a week. On her longer days, she will have specialized small group time with just half of the class to focus on reading and math. I like that they will have smaller groups for focused instruction. Also, for the first two weeks of school, the kindergarteners get out at 11:40 am, so she will have lunch at home with us during her adjustment period. As a SAHM, this suits me just fine. I wonder if it drives working parents crazy to keep up with all of these scheduling differences? Anyway, even though the kids don't get out at the same time every day, the reasons for the schedule make sense to me.

When I returned to pick-up Emily for the day, she was all smiles! She hugged me and declared that "Kindergarten is awesome!" We are looking forward to a new exciting year! We've bravely entered the school age years and a whole new world is opening up to Emily and us!