Back to School

It's that time of the year again! My wittle man is now a big first grader! Tuesday was Andrew's first day at his new school. I use the term new fairly loosely as I'm pretty sure the actual school was built in 1872.

This year was a little different because every year prior to this one, he was the first student to jump right in the mix and be like "See ya, Mom!" His first year of preschool was really hard on me. I thought he might miss me a little bit, since you know, he'd been with me everyday of his entire life previously to that. But missing me wasn't really in his plans. Second year of preschool. Same, but even more extreme. Kindergarten? You guessed it - he never even looked back. This year, he was really different. He seemed almost nervous. Not his usual chatty self. Sort of quiet, soaking it all in. If you know Andrew at all, he and quiet have never met. He couldn't even give me a real smile for pictures. He tried. But ended up mastering the "Jason Silva Fake Smile" instead. There he goes again, making his daddy proud!I asked Jason to take this picture, because well, I'm never in any pictures. I'm always taking them. And I want my children to have proof that I was actually there for these big moments in their lives. Yeah, remind me never to do that again while I still have baby weight to lose, which incidentally I'm carrying all in my fatty face. And don't even ask me what Alivia is looking at. I haven't the slightest clue. But she seems really happy about it.
Andrew got his first big boy desk. Last year, all the kids just sat at tables and had cubbies to store their stuff in. Now he has his very own desk. With his name on it. At the very back of the room. I think the teacher will eventually move him into arms reach. Wanna take a poll to see how long it takes?
Now, poor Miss Livie also thought it was her first day of school....but since I couldn't get her into any of the (many) preschools I called, she had her first day of school at home. And since I let her paint, she was perfectly okay with it. This girl L-O-V-E-S to paint. And if I walk away from her, it's in her hair, on her finger nails, on her clothes, smeared all over the table. She doesn't believe in confining her work to just a simple piece of paper. No, she needs to "express herself" everywhere.
This is the before picture. I didn't get a chance to take an after picture because I was too busy cleaning paint off of everything in Alivia's reach. She had a blast though. And that is what really matters, right? That's what I tell myself when I'm cleaning up after her, because she has integrated painting into her morning routine now. It comes right after breakfast, and just before bathtime...in case you were wondering.