Kindergarten Jitters

August 9, 2018
Barrett starts Kindergarten in one week. One week until our world changes forever. I know this sounds dramatic, but I changed my entire life to stay home with him and this will be the first time ever he is away from me five days a week. I will never forget the advice I was given in my master's program by the women who were on the verge of retirement. I asked them what they would do differently if they could, and they said they would go back in time and stay home with their babies the first five years. There is always time for work, but babies don't keep.  Those years were extremely hard and I'm thankful those types of hardships are in the past, but my heart sinks knowing those long, hard, amazing days are over.

Tonight before bed, he had that look on his face. The look only a mom notices. He said he wanted to talk about school. He asked me many questions wanting to know even the smallest details about his new journey. One question was if the playground would have grass or wood chips. His attention to detail never ceases to amaze me. After talking for a while, he said he had one more thing to say. He said he was a little nervous, and hesitated before telling me that he was scared he would be made fun of by other kids that may not like the same things he likes. He is in a Pokemon phase and has been all Summer. He picks up on the fact that other kids don't obsess over things like he does, and when he asks questions he usually gets the answer "I don't know". He is worried someone will make fun of him for liking Pokemon, but he also said that he might be able to find someone that likes Star Wars. Then he got a big smile and said he might could even find a girl who likes Star Wars. Barrett beats to his own drum, and one thing I wish for him as he starts this new chapter is that he continues to be himself and finds friends who accept him for who he is.

When we moved into our new house, this is what Barrett requested for his wall decor. I finally got him a letter board so he could have his wish and he asked me to add the number 34. He said he was only 34 famous right now and hopes to be 100 famous someday. 

We had a lesson on Albert Einstein tonight after his hair turned into this after his bath. 

He spent quite a bit of time being creative on his letter board. One lego figure was $2.99 while the other had varying amounts of keys from subway surfer. 

First Day of Pre-K

Barrett had his first day of pre-k last week, on the day before his fifth birthday! We started him in the Summer program two days a week at the same school with the same teacher to get him acclimated to the change and his first week was great! I cried like a baby the night before because of all the changes we are going through right now. He started pre-k on his last day of being a four-year-old, and I started a new job and my first job away from our home all in the same week. So many changes are happening but they are all positive and we are all pretty happy going into the second week of our new schedules. Little miss Zoey is going with the flow per usual and she nods her head and smiles when I ask if she's ready to go stay with her Na Na while Mommy works.

The hardest part of all of this was the moment Barrett asked me about my job. After his first day, he asked me what my new job was called. I tried to fully explain it because he likes to know every detail of everything. We talked about Daddy's job for a while then after a moment of silence, he looked me right in the eyes and said "But Mommy, your job is being MY Mommy!" Cue the tears! Ugh that moment was so so difficult for my heart, but it's been a wonderful change for us all and I'm still home when he's home for the most part :) Now here are the pictures from his first day that I could stare at for hours. I love this boy more than words can describe!

First Day of School at Three

This week, Barrett moved up to a brand new class. I've been worried because we love his teachers and he normally doesn't do well with change, but he surprised us and loved it! His teacher is so sweet and Barrett didn't even get upset when we left. He came home talking about Miss Avery and Miss Maya and all about his friends. His good friend Knox moved up with him, so I think this helped a lot. He's growing up way too fast.

School Pictures

Here are Barrett's first "school" pictures from his daycare he attends twice a week. I also snapped a few pictures with my phone before I took him that morning. 

Student of the Month

Barrett was awarded student of the month in his two-year-old class at daycare. I saw his certificate and picture up in the hall while going to pick him up yesterday and I couldn't be more proud of the little stinker. I asked him why he got student of the month and his teacher said "because he's awesome...and so smart!"

Daycare: Week One-Week Three

Barrett started daycare this week and I cannot fully express the amount of crazy emotions I have had and am still having. We have started him in daycare part time so he will be going two days a week for now. Tuesday was his first day and it was one of the hardest days of my life. I could barely hold back my tears when dropping him off and was full on ugly crying by the time I reached the parking lot. I anticipated this to be hard, but it was WAY harder than I imagined because Barrett was just as upset. It broke my heart leaving him so confused and upset. I called the daycare multiple times and my sister checked on him when she picked up Logan. He was upset for over an hour, but ended up having an okay day. He refused all of his food until late in the afternoon. He only ate a graham cracker and some cheez-its all day! If you know Barrett, then you know how sad this is. This boy lives for food! His teacher was very optimistic and was so sweet when we picked him up. She said he ended up having a really good day and only got upset a few times when looking around the room and realizing mommy wasn't there. They have a curriculum for his age group and she said he walked around the circle of kids and was very observant to everything that was going on. It was very clear that the teachers and helpers pay close attention and really care about all the kids. They were telling me things about my bear that people only know if they really pay attention. I feel a tiny bit better about him being in daycare, but I think I will be crying for a while when I drop him off.

First day of "school". 

His chick is his one lovie he gets to take to school to sleep with. 

This is when we picked him up. I sat in the backseat with him and was a little heartbroken at the circles under his eyes. He only napped for 20 minutes and only when the teacher turned some music on for him. 

UPDATE:
His second day went much better. He cried when I dropped him off, but he had a wonderful day after only five minutes of crying. I missed him like crazy, but the owner and a helper actually called me twice throughout the day just to tell me how great he was doing. Both phone calls almost gave me heart attacks until I realized they were only calling to reassure me. The best part was obviously picking him up. I walked in to him playing with the other little boys and having so much fun. His teacher told me he was so smart and she was impressed with his talking and how observant he was. I think I almost exploded with happiness. I was so proud!
The next morning he woke up with a fever of 103 and was sick for almost a week with some kind of virus. It was awful, but we got through it and he is currently in week three of day care. He is adapting and already participating in circle time :) He even made a kite! It's his first school craft and I will cherish it forever. He has talked about "school" all week and if you ask him who his friends are he will say Kassie (his teacher) and Bobby (one of the little boys).