My Baby Started School!!!!

I never thought this day would come so quickly. Now here's my baby, wearing a backpack and walking into the school like a big girl. And this will be the routine for the next 16 years. So unbelievable.

We decided not to put her on the bus, at least until the new year. Since she's never even been to daycare (well, not since she was a newborn), we figure that the adjustment will be great enough for her in the classroom for now. Things went as well as could be expected today. We rushed around getting everything ready this morning (including an emergency bath when Samantha woke up soaked from her waist down to her feet) then I followed Steve and Samantha to the school in a separate car so I could leave directly to go to work. What a zoo the school was today! We should have anticipated the chaos surrounding an elementary school on the first day. And an elementary school right next door to a high school, at that. Teachers and administrators with identification badges stood at strategic locations outside, shouting directions and offering (friendly) assistance. I'm not sure how excited or terrified the other kids looked, though, since I was pretty focused on Samantha and Steve was pushing me to hurry since we were running a little late. Heck, just about everyone was running a little late this morning! Phil, Sammi's teacher, suggested that we bring her at 8:15 for the rest of this week rather than 8:00, to avoid the crush.Well, the bottom line was that Samantha did fine after we gave her kisses and said goodbye. For a while. We left her playing in the playhouse, fascinated by all the new toys. She waved goodbye and threw kisses as we left. She apparently did fine until about 9:30, at which point she began to cry and call for mama and dada. She cried on and off for the rest of the morning. She refused her sandwich at lunch but ate her yogurt. She didn't nap (well, duh). She wasn't crying when Steve went to pick her up, but as soon as she saw him her bottom lip started to quiver. By the time they got home, she was totally fine and acted like nothing had happened. Tomorrow morning will be very, very different--I can guarantee she'll cry when Steve drops her off. But I can bet that within a week she'll be so excited to go to "cool" (as she says)!

There are two other kids in the class at this point (I love the teacher/child ratio of 1:1!)--a little girl and a little boy. Samantha apparently followed the boy around today, trying to kiss him. She cornered a little boy in Target yesterday, too. It's so cute to watch, but the boys always try so desperately to run away.

Yep, my baby's a big girl now.