Happy 1st Day of Pre-Preschool, Ben!

My baby boy is truly stepping into the role of being a BIG boy!  I could not possibly be prouder of him, but it makes me sad that he is growing up so fast!  He amazes me every day and I need to start writing down the things he says and does.  This morning, for example, it was thundering out and he was looking outside trying to find the thunder and he kept saying, "Ben hold the thunder!  Ben hold it!"  He did not like my answers as to why he couldn't hold it.  :)  He wants to hold and do everything these days.  A day does not go by where we don't hear, "Ben hold it!" or "Ben do it!" at least 5 times.  When he isn't demanding to hold things, he is such a sweetheart.  The other day, I had an OB appointment before work and I told him I had to go to the doctor.  In his most empathetic and concerned little voice, he said, "Momma feel better" and gave me a hug.  Heart melted!  He was watching a YouTube video of the "5 Little Monkeys" song the other day, and when the monkeys fell off the bed, they got huge red bumps on their heads.  He was nearly in tears each time and by the end of the song he had almost lost it completely.  He didn't want to see those monkeys in pain!  Love him.  He learns at least 10 new words a day, including "iridescent," which he used to describe the wings of a bug he saw today.  Yep, he "plays" with spiders, slugs, and other bugs at Nana's house!  I could go on and on about how smart, curious, funny, mischievous, and loving he is, but I don't want to stay up too, too late.  ;)

We have been talking about school a lot for the past few weeks, in hopes of getting him excited about going to school!  Even though he has the same teachers this year that he had last year, we went to the "meet the teachers" event last week.  Have you ever seen a boy more ready for school?!

Andy and I were both able to go and he seemed to fit right back in.   He didn't even seem to mind when I had to leave for work.  (Andy was still with him.)

He has definitely been talking about school and his teachers all the time, but we didn't know how he would do when it came time to leave him there.  But first things first, Daddy had to make sure that Ben went to school with a full tummy, so he made pancakes while Ben took a bath.  Thankfully and surprisingly, there were no tears when Ben got out of the bath and realized that he didn't get to help daddy pour everything in the bowl and then "stir! stir! stir! so fast!"  I didn't have a pancake, but I am absolutely certain that they tasted better because they were shaped like leaves.

Ben approved!

Both Ben and Andy were good sports for some first day of school pictures.  I hope they continue to be this cooperative for the next 15ish years.

Andy had a last minute meeting on Wednesday morning, but thankfully I was able to take Ben to his first day!  I wouldn't have missed it for the world!  My mom didn't want to miss it either.  In the past, he would cry when he saw his school, but this time, he was so brave.  He did day, "Nana carry you," as soon as we walked in the building, but no tears. 

Unfortunately we didn't get a great picture of the 2 of us outside of his school, but you get it.  :)  (I look extremely pregnant in this picture.  Or maybe that is just how I look these days???)

Ben walked us right down the hall to his classroom and found his cubby box and proceeded to hang his "nee nee" on his box.  He was quite proud of his handiwork.  He is the "dog" this year, which is the perfect animal for him.

I almost died from the cuteness when he hung up his bag on his little dog hook.  He walked right on in like he owned the place.

He then went and put his lunchbox on the shelf.

He was so excited to play that he barely had time to give me a smooch before I left.

There were ZERO tears from Ben the whole day, which is more than I can say for myself and for the mom next to me who was SOBBING as she dropped her daughter off.  My mom and I watched Ben through the 1 way window and he just went from toy to toy, checking everything out, being the busy boy that he is.  There was another boy who was crying his little head off, which I was afraid was going to cause Ben to cry, but instead he just said, "boy sad" a few times.

Andy picked Ben up from school, and he didn't get the detailed report that I like, but basically they said he had a great day!  I want to verify this with the teacher, but it seems as though he actually napped on one of the cots in the room!!  This is huge since Ben never falls asleep on his own for naps **spoiled** and last year, one of the teachers would hold him until he fell asleep and then she would put him into a stroller.

Needless to say, I was beaming with happiness and pride that Ben had such a good 1st day of school.  I hope he continues to love going to school-- forever for that matter!  He loved telling me about what he did at school and he says that he wants to go back, so fingers crossed Monday is equally successful.

Well, the Packers lost, Andy is sleeping, and my computer is about to die, so it's off to bed.  Happy Friday!