Back to School

We have survived our first full week being back in school. (Most importantly, we've found carpools, so we're down to making only two trips a day to the school instead of four. Thank goodness!) Delaney is in first grade this year, and Keaton is in preschool. Delaney enjoyed being the experienced big sister--she had the same teacher Keaton has this year for preschool, so she had lots of fun telling him exactly what he could expect.

Delaney was not overly excited to start first grade. In fact, she was downright dreading it. However, after one week, I think she's kind of come around to the idea of it. Still, there's one dealbreaker for her--math. If she doesn't have to do any math at school, then it's a good day; if she has to do math, it's a "stinky" day! (On a side note, thank goodness Delaney is required to wear a uniform. You should see the outfits she comes up with for herself. At least with uniforms, she looks a bit more acceptable, even if she still insists on tennis shoes with tights and a skirt!)

Keaton could barely contain his excitement about starting school. In fact, for the last few weeks, he's been asking me first thing every morning, "Is it fall yet?" and later, "Is it September 8th yet?" When the big day finally rolled around, he was the first one up in the morning. He proudly dressed himself in his new duds, donned his backpack and name tag, and fixed his hair in his signature hairstyle (heaven help me, he insists on fixing his own hair in a "faux-hawk" every day. This day was actually on the tamer side!)

Poor Addison. She was just as excited as the big kids were that they got to go back to school. She cheerfully dropped Delaney off in the morning without any problem. It wasn't until we went back in the afternoon to take Keaton to preschool that she finally felt jealous. And who wouldn't? Keaton's preschool room was hard to resist--it had a full-size mural of the ocean painted on two walls, puzzles, books and toys lining the walls, and fun kid-sized tables in the center. (Delaney's boring old first grade classroom with regular desks was a little easier to resist, apparently.) But instead of staying and playing like Keaton, poor Addy had to come home and take a nap. Good thing she's such a faithful napper. By the time Addy and Mason have woken up from their naps, the other gets are getting home from school, and it's almost like they were never even gone!