School Days

We took the plunge a little earlier than originally planned. If there is one thing I've learned about parenthood.....it's that sometimes it's just hard to plan, sometimes things don't go as expected, so you just have to roll with it. Hannah Cate was enrolled to start at Country Day School in August. Things have been a little crazy around here lately (it's no coincidence that this post immediately follows my post about going back to work) so we decided that it would be good for all of us if Hannah Cate went ahead and started school (really Mother's Day Out) a little earlier than planned.

I hope it doesn't sound like we needed to "ship" her off, because really this is just as much for her (if not more) than it is for us. The girl absolutely loves to play (be around) with other kids and she loves to be outside. Moving on....that was my version of releasing a little bit of guilt.

She'll go to school two days a week from 9-12. The great thing about CDS is that she'll be able to eventually go five days a week if we choose and they even have a kindergarten program. Everyone has been so nice and we've been so pleased with our experience so far.

The first day was a little hard, Hannah Cate and I both cried when I dropped her off, but the tears didn't last long and she got a glowing report when I picked her up. In the two short days that she's been there she has already taken a class picture, participated in a baby parade and worked on an art project that will be coming home soon. I miss her when she's gone but I know this is going to be a place and time that she's going to grow to love. I just can't believe how grown up she is getting!

Here are a few pictures from her first day!

Matt picked her up on her second day and when he got there, she was crying. He asked her teacher (she has two and we already really like them both) what was wrong and apparently one of the little boys in her class had been on a pushing rampage that day and Hannah Cate was his latest victim. Poor girl! Matt quickly told the teacher he wanted her to know from that point forward he would be telling Hannah Cate that if anyone pushed her again she was to push them right back. Oh.my.gosh. I'm sure the teacher just laughed at him and I guess that is every Daddy's inclination, but Hannah Cate and I had quite the different chat about what to do the next time that happened when she got home! A little grace, Daddy, a little grace!