School Days...

It's official, summer is over and the school year is well under way. This year, 2 of my little munchkins are enrolled at the G-A Primary. Andrew started 1st grade Sept. 8th and Austin just started preschool yesterday.
Andrew was quite eager to get back to school after a long and hectic summer. He cheerfully got on the bus the first morning back and has been excited to go everyday since. He loved his new classroom and teacher, and has even made some new friends. Unfortunately his best buddies (Noah and Robbie) aren't in his class this year, but they are both on his soccer team, so he has been able to maintain some old friendships that way. Here Andrew is all geared and ready to go like a pro with his new Transformers backpack...

And him running into the house after the bus ride home...

Austin, on the other hand did not want to start school. His attitude reminded me a lot like Andrew's when he was getting ready to start preschool. I'm sure it has to do with the fact that I have always been a stay-at-home mom with them and since I watch extra kids, we rarely go elsewhere for playdates and such. We had talked to him all summer long about starting school and how much fun he would have learning new things and meeting new friends. For a minute we even had him convinced to go. And then yesterday hit and his stubborness kicked in full throttle. I first had to persuade him to get out from underneath the kitchen table when it was time to go, con him into putting his shoes and coat on, and then literally hold him down in the car to get his seatbelt on. Once we got to the school, he was happy to go in and "visit" his classroom, with the exception that I stay with him. I got him in his classroom and even got him to put all his stuff away in his cubbie. After that I slowly tried to sneak out the door, but he kept walking after me. Finally I hid behind some other parents and snuck out the door with them. I did hang back to see what he would do, and sure enough he started walking out of the classroom to come find me. His teacher quickly stopped him and sat at the door with him a good 5 minutes trying to convince him to sit at a table, all the while with him saying "I'm not going to school EVER". After a while I finally left and headed home. Well, I am not quite sure what she said to finally get him in his chair, but he came home off the bus happy as a lark, excited to go back today. Here is a good shot of Austin ready to go to school with his Spiderman backpack before his little meltdown...

And him coming home on the bus happy as can be...

I'm very excited to see what the school year brings for each of them. Andrew is such a quiet, yet eager learner while Austin is more of a free spirited child with a lot of energy. It's just nice to at least have the two of them in school so I can focus on the 2 younger kids and get some quality time in there. With how fast they seem to be growing, it won't be long before they are all in school and I will no one left to snuggle with during the day :(