Walt's First Day of Kindergarten

It's the day we all have been waiting for! No, not the birth of our third baby -- Walt's first day of Kindergarten.  What an emotional month August is shaping up to be.  We took Walt out of his pre-K starting on August first to try and break up the summer a bit for him.  We shipped him off to Gilmer for a week, then he enjoyed two weeks of camps. Mom and dad spent two weeks being taxi drivers.  Walt had an amazing time at the YMCA Adventure Camp in Anna, TX and also did a sports camp (heaven for Walt!) and a science camp.

Leading up to Kindergarten was stressful both mentally, emotionally, and physically! Mentally, getting everything ready was a bit overwhelming. From backpack and supplies to just understanding which door to go in at the school and how to navigate the intimidating carpool line. Emotionally, our first kid is going to Kindergarten, people! He is no longer a preschooler, but a full-fledged kid! I even remember MY first day of Kindergarten. It's kind of a big deal.  I was not at all worried about Walt's ability to adapt to the Kinder lifestyle. He's been in full-time preschool for years... forever? So, really our daily motions don't change a whole lot (oh, but they do... more on that). Physically, I'm 9 months pregnant! While we are scheduled for induction the day AFTER the first day, it will mark the longest I've been pregnant. I'm not sure I'll make it.

Walt told us he wants to be a "fighter" when he grows up.  It took a little digging to realize he wants to fight bad guys (phew!) so we compromised on a Super Hero.
Walking in with Jaelyn was a huge highlight!
The night before school, Walt was excited and in a great mood. I was feeling contractions so ordered myself to the couch.  Walt slept like a champ. I was up what felt like all night (spoiler alert: I did not have the baby on Monday!).  He bounced out of bed and so did Oscar. They both got ready without any fussing and we were able to ship Oscar off to his school before we left our house at 7:15 a.m. to take Walt (ok, so that's really early. Even for us early birds). Walt got to walk in with his cousin, Jaelyn, and went right to where his classroom was. He sat at his seat and started working. I was biting my lower lip. The confidence he exuded was such a proud moment for me, but it was not contagious. I felt on the verge of ugly crying the whole time. I gave him a BIG hug and told him to be nice to everyone. I walked out the room, looked at Chris and said, "Get me out of here!"  He grabbed my hand, which was enough to open the flood gates. My ugly cry won and tears streaked my face all the way to the front door. We got outside and I sobbed and sobbed. I was just so proud of my big guy!



Proof that I did, indeed, skirt labor for the first day of school
Walking in like a champ!

Walt and Daddy - so proud!

To say I'm proud is the understatement of the year!
 I know there are still so many firsts ahead of us with Walt and he's going to grow SO much this year.  I am so glad we got to experience this first and cheer on our firstborn as he continues to grow up!