Evelyn's First Day Of Preschool

Today is so exciting! This morning is Evelyn's first day of preschool. We have been prepping her for awhile, and she did so well!

 

She had a little bit of PTSD about Mommy leaving her after I got home from Idaho, so whenever we leave her somewhere, like church or with a babysitter, she always asks, "Back?" and I always tell her, "Yes, Mommy will come back. Mommy will always come back for you." She reasons surprisingly well, so reassuring her that we will always come back for her pretty much calms any of her fears.

 

Yesterday was "Meet and Greet", where she got to go in to her classroom and meet her teachers. We are so thankful for her teachers this year! We have Miss Betty, who taught Bella and is basically a cupcake and hug in human form, and Miss Tracy, who is the mom of one of Bella's friends. I found pictures of both of the ladies on Facebook to show Evelyn ahead of time and use their names, and I think that helped, too!

 

When we woke up this morning, I told her, "Evelyn, it's your first day of school!" and she jumped up and down (as only an uncoordinated two-year old can), and cheered, "YAY! MOMMY!"

 

 

She had watched Bella take so many school pictures during that first week of school that she was really excited about this. She is our camera-lovin' baby, and she says "Cheeeeeeese!" like a boss!

 

 

This was my stereotypical, heart-stopping, Mommy moment of "How did they get so big?" I can't believe how independent they look in this picture!

 

 

The one picture I remember taking of Bella on her first day of preschool was her walking into the building, so I had to recreate that with Evelyn this morning.

 

 

Getting to her class and she's still smiling! We did hugs, and I reminded her that I would be working just upstairs and that I would come back for her when she was done playing. She was a little timid walking towards all of the other kids playing (there are 12 in her class!), but Betty and Tracy were right there and had big smiles on!

 

 

Hanging up her bag in her cubby. Swoon!

 

I know Evelyn will love this experience, so I haven't been too emotional about it; I feel like I've been more excited than either of them through all of this!

 

Steve asked me last night what I was going to do to enjoy my first day "off", and I said, "I'm going to work!" I'm actually weirdly excited to be able to go to the church and get some solid work done without being constantly distracted. Evelyn is only going two mornings a week, so it will be some nice "adult" time and a chance for me to focus on missions work. Big changes in our little house!