First week back at school....

Disclaimer- there will be no pictures in this post due to camera malfunction. Yep, right after taking several great pictures of my boys on the first day of school, my camera decided it had had enough and did not want to work any longer. Uhg!! I will be doing all that I can to get my camera working and my pictures downloaded this weekend.


So, Yesterday was the boys First day of school for the 2008-2009 school year. I can't believe that they are already in first and third grades this year. When did they get so big? Josiah is now a big 6 year old and no longer a little child. I started to cry as we walked into the school this year. Don't ask me why, I don't know. It's not like they have never been to school before or like it was the first day of Kindergarten. Josiah will be experiencing a few new things this year such as...
1.) staying all day. Bus pick up at 7:30am - Bus drop off at home at 2:55pm
2.) eating lunch at school
3.) having his own desk as opposed to a big table with several seats around it.
4.) having his own locker in the classroom instead of a cubby.
5.) and HOMEWORK!

The first day of school was just a half day, they stayed until 11:00am. When they got home Josiah immediatley went down stairs and started a movie but quickly fell asleep. He is not used to having to wake up so early and was exhausted. He is so excited to be taking money to school and buying his own lunch at school. Having his own desk and his own locker is just extra fun. The biggest change will be the Homework. This is the year that they enjoy homework, next year is when it starts to become a dreaded event.

Karston has grown up in many different ways this year.1.) Apparently it is no longer cool for your mom to treat you like her little man. First I was taking pictures in front of the school and he informed me that I was "Embarrassing him." When we entered the school we went towards the first grade hall and Karston turned to go to the third grade hall. He turned and waved as if to say, "I got it. NO need for parents." We made him go to Josiah's class with us anyway. (It is a good thing we did because Karston had to help Josiah find his way to class the morning of the second day.) Then as we left Josiah's classroom to go to Karston's classroom I hugged and kissed Josiah on the cheek. Karston then told me that he bet Josiah was "So Embarrassed." When we got to Karston's class we met his teacher and then found his desk. He sat down and then informed us that we could go now. Heath gave him a manly high-five and then I leaned down to hug and kiss him. Karston immediatley gave me a hard shove away from him and told me "No." I obliged and left the room with my head hung low. I asked him later if ever felt bad about doing that in front of his friends and he said "NO."
2.) His teacher had looked at everyone's picture from last year so that she would know the kids as they walked into the room. When Karston walked in she asked him his name and he told her. She said "Oh Karston, I didn't recognize you with short hair, it was long in your picture from last year." She then told him that she really liked it short. He grinned really big. He is really liking his teacher so we will see how long her influence on his hair decisions will last.
3.) Karston is one of the MOST unorganized people in the universe. Last year he had so many overdue library books because they got lost in his desk at school. Everytime we would go into meet with his teacher last year, I would try and clean out his desk. It was a bigger project than just one visit could do. This year Karston's teacher is super organized and is trying to teach them to be super organized. On the second day of school he brought home a three ringed binder that has a money envelope, student day planner, folder for homework with pockets for to be done/done, a folder for communication from teacher to parent or parent to teacher, a clear pocket for his vocabulary words, a clear pocket for the school newsletter, and a clear pocket for the monthly lunch menu. I am so excited to see if maybe this organizational skill will rub off on Karston and change his messy ways.
4.) Karston's maturity and attitude have changed over the summer too. He is such big kid now. No longer a baby, no longer a child, no longer just a kid, but he is really one of the big kids now. He has a large amount of other students that know him by name and call him friend. He has always been social, but is now becoming someone that Everyone in the whole school knows. He is totally cool.

So yes, I cried. It was the beginning of watching my boys become men. It was saying goodbye to being called mommy and loving on them in public. It was the end of having a time in the day when I could bond one on one with one of my sons. They would now leave for school together and come home together. While it is sad to say goodbye to the little boys I have smothered. It is so good to welcome the next year and the next phase of their big boy lives. Life moves on and we have to go with it.