Are We There Yet?

The Fun Begins Now...

Today was a big day in our house...Kindergarten phase-in day for Molly! She was super excited because she got to go to school a whole day before Carson and Meggie! (They weren't all that upset, honestly, but let her think it was a big deal to be first.) Ever the Mamarazzi, I went along with Molly and Daddy, camera in hand. Here...
...is Molly posing in front of the van, before heading into school. (While she looks like she was in pain, really she was just squinting in the sunshine.) Then I had to get a shot...
...of my baby girl bravely heading up to the front doors of her new school. Yikes. She was excited...
...to find her seat in the cafeteria...but then quickly got bored as the Principal droned on about -- err, I mean introduced many very important concepts of -- school safety to the crowd. Seated at that table, she did make a new friend...a little Chinese boy named Vi! Vi speaks very good English but is also fluent in Chinese. How cool would it be if Molly regained some of her Chinese language from her new friend?

Due to staff cuts, the customary teacher-led school tours were self-led this year. Good thing I know the building from Carson's kindergarten year! Molly, of course, had to use the restroom...
...and was proud of herself that she could reach the sink without a stool. After our tour, we had about 20 minutes of "free time," so we headed to the lobby to look at books...
...and Molly made herself right at home in that comfy chair. Next, we headed to the portion of the phase-in that Molly was impatiently waiting for...
...she finally got to spend time with...
...her teacher, Mrs. K! I was glad to see that Mrs. K was actually happy to see us. (She said it was nice to see familiar faces and even hugged me at one point.) Molly has met Mrs. K many times and was immediately comfortable with her...comfortable enough to ignore Mrs. K's instructions and be her usual sassy self. Uh-oh!! Luckily, Mrs. K (like most everyone else in Molly's life) thinks Molly is funny and adorable and she seemed to be enjoying the little sass show. We'll see how long THAT lasts!

Before we headed out of the room, I asked Mrs. K if she had volunteer sign-up sheets. She said she wasn't ready with all of that yet. When I offered to be her volunteer coordinator, Mrs. K was thrilled! She said she's never had a Mom offer to do that job without a guilt trip. Well, I'm just trying to soften the blow that having Molly in her room will surely be. A little proactive sucking up never hurts!

Bus safety was our last -- and the most important -- stop on phase-in day. I kept stressing to Molly how important it was to listen to the bus driver and learn the bus rules. As the kids were lining up, Molly finally said, "I will make you proud, Mommy." We'll see about that.

The kids lined up in the "safety zone"...
...and learned about the yellow and red lights that flash on top of the bus...
...then got in line...
...to actually sit on the bus. I think Molly was listening a bit too closely to the bus driver...all that talk about "safety zones" and "danger zones" was starting to make her nervous...
...and the lack of car seats and seat belts was the last straw. I sat in the bus seat behind her and assured her she would be fine.
Molly followed the directions (bottom on the bottom, back on the back, hands folded in lap, etc., etc.) and tried to smile, but was really getting herself upset. I kept telling her to be quiet and listen to the bus driver. She kept repeatedly growling at me: "I'm listening! I'm FREAKING OUT, but I'm listening!!"
Look out, Kindergarten...it's gonna be a bumpy ride!!