King of the Castle! : School Days!

Well, we officially have a preschooler on our hands! Seems slightly early at 2.5 years old, but it's a perfect program for Jameson. He doesn't go to daycare during the week and doesn't really get to see other kids much anymore. So, we thought it would be great for him to have a few hours a few days a week where he was with other kids. I was a ball of nerves leading up to the big day because I wasn't sure how he would do. We talked about it for quite a few weeks and even went and visited the classroom. But, because I went with him to visit the classroom, every time we talked about school, he would say, "and you come with me too, Mommy". So, that is what made me nervous. How would he do when I had to leave?? But, I also reminded myself how well he does with people - the kid doesn't know a stranger! So, I just tried to convince myself that all would be just fine!

And...all was just fine! I took him by myself the first Tuesday (September 3). When we got in the classroom, he noticed the dinosaurs and went straight for those. He was so excited about all the toys and didn't really seem to care whether or not I was there! It was approaching 9:00 and I knew I needed to make my exit. So, I gave him a huge hug and said my goodbye...he didn't really seem too affected by that at all, so I was able to leave with no tears from either party! I worried (just a little) the whole 2.5 hours he was there, but when I went to go pick him up, I realized I was being silly for worrying. He came running out of the classroom excitedly squealing "Mommy" and greeted me with a huge hug. The first thing he said was, "it's so good to see you, Mommy". Oddly enough, I had to fight the tears at this point rather than when I dropped him off!! It melted my heart to hear those words.

The whole way home we talked about school and he excitedly told me about the craft and the snack and all the kids. It was awesome and made me so happy to hear that he had a great time. I figured we were good to go at this point. But, then Thursday rolled around and we had a bit different reaction to me leaving this time. Darin and I both dropped him off that day and he completely broke down when we said we had to leave. There were quite a few other kids crying too, so I guess it's a common thing on the second day of school. I felt AWFUL leaving him, but I knew I needed to leave. I gave him a few big hugs and walked out - as soon as I was out of his sight, I lost it. But, I knew he would be just fine, so I left and went back home. It was a painful 2.5 hours because I worried again the whole time. But, when I went to go pick him up, he came running out with glee again and gave me a huge hug. He told me that he "cried just for a little bit because he missed me", but then ended up having a great time. Whew!

Fast forward to the next week and I was nervous yet again because this week we just dropped them off at the door instead of walking them down to the classroom. I had no clue how he would react to having the teacher get him out of the car while I stayed in it. But, he did great! We talked about it the whole way to school and I kept telling him how cool it was going to be when the teacher got him out of the car. He seemed excited - that may be because I may or may not have told him if he was a brave boy at school, we would get some cookies from Janet's on the way home. When I picked him up, he ran to me and hugged me per the usual and all was just fine! So, we stopped and got some cookies on the way home and he got to enjoy the treat for being such a good boy!

Since then, everything has been great. I take him and pick him up on Tuesdays and Darin takes him on his way out of town on Thursdays. When I go back to work, my parents will most likely take care of Tuesdays (I may pick him up because I want to!) and then Darin will drop off Thursdays and I will pick up. I hope the rest of the year goes as well as the first few weeks. He seems to love it and I know he loves the interaction with the kids. And, he loves his teachers....every day after they "release" him, he goes running back in and gives them a huge hug. I love that so much! He is such a sweet kid and I should have known that he would do great! But, what kind of mother would I be if I didn't worry about my baby :)?! I have a feeling that worry will never ever go away - even when he starts his first day of college! But, let's not even think about that right now...