Preschool Makes History!

Madeleine had her first day of preschool today. One more milestone down, many more to go, thankfully.

She has been so excited about going to preschool, so when it finally happened today she was about ready to rupture with excitement....until we got there.

*enter hesitation*

We got to Madeleine's classroom door and walked into the foyer where she promptly froze. She stared. She had her finger in her mouth. This was turning south, and FAST! In my quick thinking, I did the only thing I could think of. I dragged her in by her hand. She was slightly resistent, but reassured since Mommy, Daddy, and Baby George were in this strange new place with her.

We took her inside where the walls are covered in colors and pictures and she was in awe! I took her to her table while Daddy dealt with signing her in. :) At her table, I asked her if she could find her nametag and she pointed right to it! Smart girl!

One of her teachers, Miss Sandi, came up and introduced herself right away and then asked her if she wanted to pick out a cubby for her backpack. Madeleine happily obliged, as Miss Sandy was very perky and super friendly! We found her a cubby and she tucked her backpack away for the day.

Then it was Miss Pitts' turn to introduce herself. By this time, Madeleine was starting to warm up to the idea of hanging out with two crazy ladies who talk in a high-pitched voice to her. She kind of liked it! She was starting to crack a smile. Progress. Sweet progress.

At the start of class everyone introduced themselves to Madeleine, and she was introduced to the class. Then Miss Pitts asked all the kids, "If you could be a fruit, which fruit would you want to be?" Madeleine was the last to answer, and most of the kids were pretty shy and didn't answer. But when it was Madeleine's turn, she proudly said, "If I could be a fruit, I would want to be a banana!" I didn't have to prompt her to talk or coax her out of the shyness abyss. Nope. My girl was totally confident in that she wants to be a banana, and she was proud to share it! After prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance (thank you, Heavenly Father!) they went to the reading area to hear a story. Madeleine was given her carpet square and she sat right down next to the other kids and was ready to hear a story! This girl means business!

It was at that point, which was roughly 45 minutes after we got there, that George got my attention and then motioned for us to leave. It was time. Oh no!! It was time!! Panic started to set in! "Do I go give her a kiss, hug, and ticky? Or do I leave her alone and not make it obvious that we are leaving??" Yes, panic, indeed. So I did what I could muster up. I blew her a kiss and waved to her. And what did she do? Well, she waved back to me with a big smile on her face.

Pretty easy, right? Sure.... until I got outside her classroom door. I lost it. My composure, my dignity, my pride... everything. I started bawling. You'd have thought I was the preschooler and Madeleine was the proud parent. Miss Sandi followed George and I out the door, almost as if she's been through this a time or two. She offered to bring me some tissues, to which I gladly accepted. She brought them to me, and then she gave me a big hug! So here I am, the one getting hugged by the preschool teacher, instead of my daughter being in that position! She then said, "I know what you're going through. But my kids are 18 and 21. When they leave home now, I say YES!!!" She made me laugh, which really helped. I felt comfortable leaving my first child in their hands. They're very caring and understanding ladies, and I anticipate Madeleine will be greatly loved by them while there. She deserves nothing less. :)

So, here are some pictures to enjoy with her! I did take one picture of Baby George because he's just so stinking cute. The picture of him that you will see was taken at the exact same time I made him promise never to grow up and leave me to go to school. Somehow I think that's a losing battle...













I had to convince her to let me put braids in her hair today since it was still wet from her shower. I think she turned out to be dang cute. Not to mention a wonderful daughter that I'm proud to call mine...ours! I love her so much and am so excited to share these milestones with her. I'm incredibly blessed as a mother and wife. I have two great children and an amazing husband! Life doesn't get much better than ours!

I also have an amazing group of ladies with whom I work. They've all been where I'm at now. Sending their kids off to school. Well, Lynn doesn't have kids, but she has a dog that she sends to doggy daycare every now and then. That counts to me. :) Anyway, they all helped me feel better and made my day better.

Then Maryanne called me around noon to see if she could come by my work so Madeleine could tell me about her first day in preschool. I was so excited to get to see her and hear all about it! And she was equally excited to tell me about it!!! They got to put marbles in paint and then roll them around on paper to make pretty pictures. We'll get to see all of her projects at the open house. :) I took her over to see my co-workers and share her excitement with them and they just loved her squeaky little voice! LOL I was soooo incredibly appreciative of Maryanne bringing the kids over to see me! I miss a lot being at work, but she has helped bridge that gap. Thank you so much, Maryanne!!