First Day, First Grade!

It's here. As in, the big one.  Full day, first grade.

And I'm so excited for this girl!

 On Tuesday, we arrived promptly at four o'clock to steal a peek at the class list. Beforehand, I had asked Lulu, "If you could pick any five kids from last year to be in this year's class with you, who would they be?" She got three out of five! Seeing as how there are three first grade classrooms, that's not too shabby. There are also four kids from Heartland Church in L's Heartland Elementary class, and she sits next to one of them, a super nice boy named Ty.

Thanks, Mrs. Lien!  I think Lorelei and Mrs. Brahl will be very pleased with this year's mix. :o)

Here are Lulu with sisters Hannah and Chloe (their mom, Stacey, is a friend of mine from a writer's conference I attended three years ago... after being a critique partner and a fellow writer for KC Parent, she's now a neighbor, too).  Lorelei and Hannah still aren't in the same class, but we're holding out hope for next year!

 Lulu and Bree.

 Lulu about to meet her first grade teacher, Mrs. Brahl!  We've heard wonderful things about this teacher, and this year is particularly special because, according to the lady next to me at this morning's PTO muffins for moms meeting, next year Mrs. Brahl is retiring.  So I hope this year will be every bit as magical for Mrs. Brahl as it will be for Lorelei.

 On ice cream social night, Lorelei was thrilled to see her babysitter from across the street, Katherine, serving up ice cream! The kids beg for us to go on dates just so they can see Katherine.

 The mermaid costume was a gift from Grammy. Lorelei wouldn't take it off, so she went to ice cream social night dressed like a fish. We pick our battles.

 Lulu's two front teeth were super loose this week.

 And on the morning before school began, she was eating a fruit roll-up when I noticed something funny about her smile... she was toothless!

Ginger Vitis was last night's tooth fairy.

But Ginger wasn't the only fairy to visit last night!  The Frizzle Fairy (a.k.a. Backpack Fairy, who last year finally revealed her true identity as the beloved Miss Frizzle) had stuffed Lulu's backpack with the usual trinkets and a note.

"Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!" - Frizzle

 Lulu especially loved the tattoos, and requested one on her arm after this morning's hot pink & glitter manicure.

As usual, photos by the Who-Ville Tree.  I love the poses.

While we sometimes go a teensy bit overboard on all our traditions (which, by the way, the kids look forward to religiously--they can't wait for special days), we don't go so overboard on back to school shopping. I ordered L's supplies through the school, because I'm all about keeping it simple. And the backpack's from last year. As for clothes, she got two new t-shirts, and Grammy bought her a few new leggings. As we sorted through her closet, we realized she had more than enough. So why get more? 

Gryffy wasn't in the mood for photos before school, hence the face.

 But someone was wildly excited! It's like the picture of us pulling up to Disney World this month!

 My sweet girl. She is such a joy.

 Here's Mrs. Brahl. You can just tell by looking at her that she loves teaching and that she's wonderful at her job.

 Oops. The teacher caught me!

 Saying the pledge to our nation's flag. I love this tradition.

 I got to spend the day with this handsome man.

 We played at the park...

 ...and visited Deanna Rose...

 ...and the library (yeah, check out the title of that book--hilarious!)...

 ...and had Gryffin School, which included Bookworm Time (reading with a gummy worm snack) and coloring time. "Zoda", G's favorite from Star Wars.

 Let's hope she's still whistling a happy tune at pick-up time! It's 2:30, and Little Buddy and Mommy are sure missing this sweet girl!  One hour to go until our after school tradition--cookies!  No-bakes, as we listen to our smart cookie tell us all about her big girl day!

Update: Lulu loves first grade! The details were a bit hazy, but I got something about coloring, taking a picture with a sign with a 1 and stars on it, and that tomorrow's classroom will be covered in clouds and glitter. Yeah, cloudy with a chance of glitter. About as accurate as the weatherman, but so far, things are looking sunny!