Eli's 1st Day of PreK-3, 2012

August 7th my baby started PreK-3 again. I say again because last year was kind of a "bonus year" for us. The school he goes to lets kids who barely miss the age cutoff attend their 3-year old program as long as the kids repeat the program the following year. Last year was great for Eli. He loved his new school! He learned so much, made lots of new friends, and we all fell in love with his teachers. We had the option to switch to the other 3 year-old class at his school, but we (I) fell in love with his teachers and really wanted him to have another year with them. 

The night before his first day of school, I laid out his uniform, backpack, and the sign he would hold for his pictures. He went to bed right on time and we even read his new book, "The Night Before Preschool". He was so excited to get to see Hannah the next day at school!

It was a little tougher to get him out of the bed in the morning, but once he got up he was excited about going to see his friends.

He ate his breakfast and then got dressed. I love that he can dress himself now! All I have to do is lay out his clothes for him and he does the rest all by himself. He started this last year, but now he's a pro! I had already warned him that I wanted to take pictures, so as soon as I said the word he started cheesing like a champ. I may or may not have used the phrase, "Just do it right the first time and Mommy will quit taking pictures." Ha! This is going to be his life from now on...

Eli's 1st Day of School

Look at how big he looks here! 

The preschoolers at his school did a staggered start so Eli didn't have to go until 9:00 that morning. That meant he got to go to my school with me because it was my first day of work as well! He was so good during our Back to School faculty meeting and before we knew it we were leaving for his school. 

We had to pose for just one more picture before going into his classroom.

We got to his classroom and everything was pretty much the same as last year. It was comforting to walk into a familiar environment. The only thing a little different was a lot of the new kids were crying. Eli wasn't used to that at all and it really bothered him. He hates to see other people upset, so he did everything he could to make them stop crying. He started finding toys to hand them, but it didn't work. It made my heart so happy though to see him so concerned about kids he didn't even know. I'm a big fan of quick goodbyes, so I gave him a big hug and a kiss and promised him I'd be there to pick him up.  That afternoon this is the face that greeted me in the pick-up line. Someone had a BIG day at preschool! His teacher said he was rubbing his eyes before they even ate lunch. Other than being tired she said he had a great day!

I'm so excited to see how much he's going to learn this year and the new friends he's going to make. We thank God every day for his school and his teachers. We are so happy that he is going to such a wonderful place! I'm looking forward to a great year!