1st Day of K

 Our first day of Kindergarten is one for the history books (no pun on the school reference). But really, it was so special and momentous and memorable.

 I'm still not thrilled that Audrey is not with me during the day anymore, but I am beyond thrilled with her teacher, her class, her principal, and her school. We are blessed here in Comanche with people who truly care and friends around every corner to make you feel 100% welcome and taken care of.

 As you can see, we gave her a sweet send-off. She was so excited all morning. I really never picked up on any anxiety or nervousness in her. If anything, she wanted me to stop taking pictures so she could go ;)

 Our neighbor and principal, Mr. Stahnke, greeted us at the door with smiles...and a somewhat proud wink at me to show that I was doing good with the emotions...especially since he had seen too much of those in the yard the evening before! He had already given me the talk early in the summer about making her morning happy and exciting...and saving the tears for the car---great advice.

 She gave big goodbye hugs...

 ...and was all smiles as we waved bye from the door! There were many kids in the hall who were crying or very nervous-looking, so we are so proud of her excitement and bravery to seize the day!

Meanwhile, 45 minutes up the road, our sweet nephew Layton was starting his first day of K as well! He was just as excited as Audrey, and we are just as proud of him, too!

I cannot promise that I did not cry that morning. I cannot even promise that I made it all the way to the car or that I did not flood a few dozen tissues. No, I was most definitely free with the tears for about an hour, especially as we received incredibly sweet messages from friends checking on her (and me ;) It was all so special seeing how many people genuinely cared and shared in Audrey's special day. I don't know if I have ever felt such a feeling of community. 

And speaking of good friends, I have a few spies trained on her during the school day. Amy spotted her smiling and waving in the library and then snapped a smiling picture at lunch, too!

 The day really went fast, and me and my four buddies were very ready to go pick her up at school and hear all about her day.

 What a welcoming committee, huh?

 Overall, she didn't tell us lots of details, but she did say she liked it. She said she got very hot on the playground and did NOT like that. My friend at school said that Audrey's class looked like it had the most order on the first day. We have discovered that our teacher Mrs. Denning is very sweet, but also strict. Audrey said that she would go back for more school...but she wants to ride the bus and maybe Mr. Stahnke could drive it since he knows where she lives ;)

We found this picture on the school website last night, bringing the lump back to my throat and excitement for another day of Kindergarten for our girl.