Annabel's first day of preschool

The big day finally arrived: Annabel is officially a preschooler!

When I woke her up yesterday morning, she actually groaned at first, like some kind of teenager. But when I said, “Annabel! It’s time to get up for school!” She sat straight up in bed, threw her arms above her head, and yelled, “YAAAAAAY!” It was almost impossible to get her to eat breakfast, she kept saying, “Can we go yet, can we go yet?”

After she was dressed, I gave her a small heart I sewed and stuffed. I told her that even though I knew she was going to have a wonderful time, if she ever got sad or missed us she could squeeze the heart and know we love her so much.

I made her a heart

loves her heart

She helped me pack her lunch:

Annie's lunch

She said goodbye to Rigby:

saying goodbye to Rigby

Then it was time for photos. First up, she wanted a picture with her very special Lalaloopsy lunch bag that she’d chosen herself:

first day of preschool, with her lalaloopsy lunchbag

Then she asked to take a picture with Daddy and James:

a dad and his kids

She didn’t ask to take a picture with me, but whatever, Annabel.

my babies

The preschooler:

I'm a preschooler!

When we got to school, I signed her in and pinned her name tag to her shirt.

ready for school

She looked a little nervous, but then she saw two little girls standing near each other. She said to me, “Mommy, I’m going to go say hi to them.” She walked over and I heard her say to the girls, “Hi, my name’s Annabel, want to be friends?”

When we walked into the classroom, Annabel found her cubby and put her lunch in it. She saw the toys, books, and games and squealed, then turned to us and said, “Okay, see you guys later.” She gave James a kiss and said, “Don’t miss me too much, Jamesie!” And then she walked over to a table full of kids and PlayDoh. She didn’t look up at us again.

So, she was fine.

Meanwhile, Mike was like:

sad dad is sad

When I went to pick her up later, she ran up to me and immediately started talking. “Mommy! We didn’t get to paint! I played on the jungle gym! We sang songs and read a Llama Llama book! I played with PlayDoh and my lunchbox broke! JAMESIE! Did you miss me, Buddy?!”

I got whiplash listening to her.

It was weird being at home without her. Verrrrry quiet. James napped. I sat on the couch and thought about cleaning (I didn’t). Someone else sat by the door, waiting for Annabel to come home.

waiting for Annie

There was a bit of post-school exhaustion, but otherwise I’d say preschool was a huge success. She can’t wait to go back.

I'm so excited for school!