Kindergarten Eve

It's finally upon us! Tomorrow is Tyler's big day. I still get the churning feeling in my stomach when I think about Tyler stepping on "the stupid smelly bus" (from Junie B. Jones), but it will also be good to get this day behind us. I feel as though it has loomed over our heads since his assessment, making both Tyler & I a bit edgy.

In preparation for Tyler's first day, he and I made a school bus cake while Danielle was enjoying another morning at preschool. The cake turned out better than I expected, although we forgot the big door (and we don't expect his driver to drive down the middle of the road). We had fun making it together. Our neighbor friends are also preparing for their son's first day of school tomorrow, so we shared our cake and celebrated with them tonight. (He and Tyler are in different classes, but they will ride the bus together before and after school. At least they will both know someone on their first day.) Tyler picked tonight's dinner, too - chili dogs with mac & cheese.

(In case you haven't noticed by now, our son is "smile-upon-command-challenged")

Before bed tonight Tyler and I read The Night Before Kindergarten, My School's a Zoo, and The Kissing Hand. My aunt gave me The Kissing Hand when Tyler was only one. It was a nice story and I enjoyed it, but it meant a lot more to me tonight. I must admit that I got a little choked up at the end, but I don't think Tyler noticed. (In case you don't know the story, it's about a mommy raccoon who is sending her son off to kindergarten for the first time. He doesn't want to go, so she kisses his hand and tells him if he presses it to his cheek, it will remind him of her love for him. Right before he trots off to school, he does the same for his mom and leaves her with a warm kiss on the hand.)

Tyler is freshly showered and has his new clothes all laid out. His backpack is packed and hanging by the door. My camera battery is charging, and I have a half-full box of tissues in the other room. I guess we're as ready as we'll ever be for the arrival of the "stupid smelly bus" and the first day of kindergarten.

And so begins the next stage of our lives...