KINDERGARTEN!

On Monday, August 20th- my baby girl had her first day of kindergarten!!

Iyla has been SO excited to attend her new school. The week prior to her official start, we got to visit the campus 2 times. The first was an informational meeting, where Iyla spent the time drawing pictures to hand out to all the staff members present. The 2nd visit was "Meet the Teacher" night, where we got to view her new classroom!

Here she is, not AT ALL excited about her new school.... ; )

One of many cool things about Iyla's elementary school is that it is a Fine Arts Academy. This means that there are many 'extras' for the kids, including a custom ballet studio where all kindergartners take weekly ballet lessons with Ballet Austin. Here's Iyla checking out the studio:

And here she is meeting her new teacher, Ms. Anne!

A look into the daily life of a kindergartner:

On the night before her first day of school, I asked her a few questions. She was so excited!

And then the morning was here! Iyla chose to wear her old school's class shirt, and told me before she left that I didn't have to worry, because she wasn't scared at all. ; ) We are fortunate that we have a lot of friends attending the same school, and of the 4 kindergarten classes Iyla has a very good friend and neighbor of ours- Juliette- in the same class!

Of course I had to take several photos before she departed with Papa for school. The kids have to be there by 7:35am daily! That's been the hardest adjustment for all of us.

Eloise and I were so excited to pick up our big girl at the end of her first day. Iyla came out all smiles, then quickly melted down into a fussy, exhausted little lady. It took a few days for that to wear off, and since then every morning she is up and excited for another day!

Here are some photos from our first day's pickup, where Iyla's friend Kaia was the first to emerge:

Pickup has actually become one of my favorite parts of the day, as we have a fantastic group of families who all hang out at the kindergarten entrance to welcome their kiddos. The parents chat while the kids play together.

Here's Eloise with Kaia and her little buddy Simone:

Eloise LOVES to perch in this awesome oak tree while we await Iyla:

Juliette often brings snacks to share with the girls:

"Girls, smile!" At least I got one out of the two cooperating. I think Iyla is already too cool for school photos!

Here the girls are with neighbor friend Henley, whom we've known since he and Iyla were 3 months old!

We have a new rule where Iyla has to choose and lay out her clothes for the next day each evening before bed. Here are a couple of adorable shots of Iyla's chosen outfits; she's been into wearing t-shirts, leggings, & socks- despite the 105 degree heat! One morning Iyla came down in a full on sweater dress, which I definitely had my opinions on. She won that battle and I'm sure was cooking during afternoon recess!

Today begins week 2 of school, and so far- so good! It's the first week we are carpooling in the morning with our neighbors, given BC is abroad for two weeks and Eloise is still asleep when Iyla departs! Iyla thought getting picked up by her friend was SO fun:

Here's hoping for a fun-filled year at her new school!