So here I was, nervous about how school was going to be for Brooke this year. Would she cry? Would "I" cry? Would her teacher take care of her? Would her friends be nice to her? All those things that go through your mind as a mom of a new preschooler, I had them and then some.

We had their meet the teacher the Tuesday before and it went smoothly. Brooke warmed up to her teacher really quickly and we saw her classroom, her cubby, etc. She had fun while we visited that promised for a smooth first day of school. This is Hunter's third year at Christ the Redeemer (CTR) so I wasn't worried at all about how it would affect him. He's a pro at this by now, and his teacher is actually his little friends mom, so we know her and have talked to her. She's terrific and I'm glad Hunter got put in her class.

So Thursday morning I got the kids up, dressed them, fed them breakfast, fixed Brooke's hair (three times) and posed them for a few "first day of school" pictures. If I had any doubts that Brooke was "scared" about anything, they ceased to exist after this pose:

Click for a bigger image.

So once we were in the carline waiting for it to start, we talked about school and how I would pick them up at 2:30. My heart didn't start to race until the carline starting moving and teachers were officially getting the kids out of the car. My eyes started to tear and I told Mike that I thought I would cry. But would you know - when it was our turn and the teacher came and got the kids out, Brooke went along like she'd done this her whole life. She put on her backpack, gave Mike and I hugs and grabbed that teachers hand and walked off like the big girl she is! With camera in hand I snapped one last picture, and I don't think I could have caught a better moment:

Click for bigger image

"Bye Mom" she called, as if to let me know that I didn't need to worry about her, that she could handle it. My baby girl had started preschool, and I've never been prouder of her!

Comment on this
Bonnie's Blog
hunter | brooke | family | photos