Kindergarten Superstar

Jackson had a great first day of kindergarten. Thank You, Lord! Here's the recap.

On Friday morning we went to Meet the Teacher at his school.



He was nervous and didn't want his picture taken. As we walked inside the school he told me his teeth were chattering. Bless his heart. I love his innocence in that he wasn't embarrassed to tell me.

He looked like he was about to cry when his teacher greeted him. But finding his seat and seeing the room made him more comfortable. Plus, there was a little trinket on his desk from the teacher and that totally put him at ease.

We walked back to the car and he yelled, "Mommy! I'm not scared anymore!" He was all smiles.

The date I've had on my mind for a very long time finally came.



I woke him up and whispered "Good morning, kindergartner!" We snuggled for a few minutes and he was already at Level 10 excitement about the day.

Jackson's signature was required on one of the forms, which I thought was hilarious. He signed it right before he left. So very official!

First day pic inside.

First day pic outside. My camera fogged up and failed me on its most crucial day!



We walked Jackson to school as a family. It was crazy and fun to see all the other families doing the same thing. Curt and Annabeth waited outside while I walked Jackson into his classroom. The teacher greeted him at his seat, I said, "I love you, buddy. Have fun," and walked out. But of course I stopped and watched him for a few seconds from the corner of the room. He was having a lot of trouble hanging up his backpack on the back of his chair, so I went back and showed him what to do. Then I left!

We went back home and there was a truck in front of our house delivering two new mattresses - one for Annabeth's big girl bed. What a day! You can see in this pic that our hair succumbed to the humidity. Thank God Curtis is taking Jackson to school from now on.

Curtis sang to Annabeth to make it less traumatic for her that she wasn't also going to school. She was bummed at first.

Then I went to the BooHoo/Yahoo Breakfast put on by the PTO. These were the decorations (party horns and Kleenex) and they made me laugh. I did not cry, by the way. :)



My mom spent the whole day with us and we had a blast together. We went to Memorial City Mall and had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. (Their Chinese chicken salad is amazing.) My sister was able to join us and we got to celebrate her first day of class at Rice University. She is starting her doctoral program. We call her Aunt Sassa Smartypants.

Soon I got a text from my dear friend who works at Jackson's school and she reported that she'd seen him with big smiles and he seemed to be doing great. That was a huge blessing. The day might have seemed 10 times longer if I hadn't heard that.

Annabeth scored a Tinkerbell dress and some princess shoes from Bibby. Here she is holding the shoes and having a snooze.



Since AB was asleep in the car, we drove through my mom's old stomping grounds in Spring Branch. This is her old house.

Here's Abey as Tink! She loved her dress. She did not love the wings.

We walked to the school to pick up Jackson in the blazing heat of the day. Mom was such a trooper. Jackson walked out the door with a smile on his face and gave me a huge hug. He was thrilled to see Bibby there. He told us he loved everything about kindergarten and his teacher. He said, "Bibby, you should have seen it!" He also told me he loved it more than recess at his preschool, which was a big statement for him. Our favorite thing he said was this: "My teacher asked who wanted to be a kindergarten superstar and I raised my hand!"

You can see that Annabeth is wearing her Cinderella shoes. That's because she really, really wanted to wear her Tinkerbell dress to pick up Jackson and I wouldn't let her. The shoes were a compromise (she rode in the stroller). If we were a month in I would have let her but, have mercy, people, not on the first day.

We were a bit overheated so I got an ice pack out of the freezer. It was a ministry.

The kids were ready for the traditional first day of school treat - ice cream cake!

Yum-o!



Mom gifted the kids with gummy lizards and some other, um, unique candy that was a huge hit.

Y'all, I was absolutely exhausted by dinner time. The adrenaline wore off and I hit a wall. I can't imagine what the evening was like for the kids and especially for the teachers. I managed to make breakfast tacos for us and then God gave me grace for the rest of the evening. We put the new mattresses on the kids' beds (Jackson's was at least 15 years old), took down the crib, rearranged some furniture, and said goodnight to the kids. They pretty much grew up overnight. I probably would have emoted excessively about Annabeth being in a big girl bed if it hadn't been overshadowed by kindergarten. But I liked it that way. It was like ripping off the band aid.

Here's my little Tink before sleep. In true Jones family fashion, she has on Christmas pajamas.

Her bed has some random stuff on it right now because I plan to have a quilt made out of her baby bedding. Knowing me, it probably won't happen any time soon. The box spring won't be delivered until tomorrow.

I was grateful that Jackson woke up excited about day two. He got to open a card from his old babysitter, Miss Sara. She is so sweet!



Second day pic outside.

I was much less frazzled during picture taking time and anticipating the camera issues.

When I started this blog five and a half years ago, I could not imagine the day I would take Jackson to kindergarten. I can't believe we have come this far. Thanks for taking this journey with us.