First Day of School. (2014)

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I cannot believe my "bigs" are this BIG! Reid started Kindergarten last month and our baby girl started Pre-K! Reid and LilliAnn both have April birthdays. We waited until Reid was five to start him in Pre-K and had planned on doing the same with LilliAnn. Although she was a big, bold, outgoing personality at home, in social settings LilliAnn is very shy and introverted. If she was going to have this type of personality around other girls, I would rather her be older for her class instead of younger. I worried and fretted about this decision all summer, and then one week before school started I had made peace with my decision…I was going to wait one more year before starting LilliAnn in school, just as we had done with Reid. However, two days before school started, I found out about a new rule at Grove that would not allow five year-olds to enroll in Pre-K. This meant that if I waited until next year to start LilliAnn in school, she would be enrolled straight into Pre-K because she was five. I really, really did not want her to miss out on the Grove Pre-K program because it was such a great experience for Reid and I absolutely LOVE all of the Pre-K teachers. We decided to go ahead and start her even though she would be one of the younger ones in her class. I cried and and was an absolute mess those couple of days before school started…I hadn't even gotten her a backpack, lunch box, or nap mat! She seemed ok with starting, and when I found out her teacher was Mrs. Whitefield, I knew that she was in good hands! Mrs. Whitefield has an extremely outgoing, vibrant personality and I knew LilliAnn would would love her because she's a fun, girly girl! 

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Back to School night was a bit of a challenge with two kids! We started the evening meeting LilliAnn's teachers. LilliAnn didn't say much and seemed to be a little intimidated with all of the "big school" stuff. After all, she had only found out she was going to school just two days before! I kept reminding her how fun school was gong to be and how many new friends she would make!

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Mrs. Whitefield & Mrs. Looper

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Mrs. Whitefield's class is so CUTE!

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Next it was Reid's turn! He was SUPER excited about Kindergarten and was so confident at Back to School night. I was extremely happy with Reid's class. His teacher, Mrs. Lyle, is super sweet and is a first year teacher that just graduated from OBU. She is on fire for Kindergarten and has lots of great ideas! Two of Reid's best buddies, Cooper and Will, are in his class, as well as several girls that we know well. He picked out his Grove Wildcat shirt to wear with his new K.D.'s! 

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Such a handsome Kindergarten boy! 

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Taryn is one of my best friends in Shawnee, and this is a picture of Reid and her little girl Aspyn. The other day Aspyn told her mom that she knows Reid loves her because Gray told her that he did. Lol! And so it begins...

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First Day of School 2014

This is the best pic I could get of the two of them in front of the school! Reid was too excited for pictures!! 

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LilliAnn was a little nervous about walking to her class.

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My precious Pre-K princess! 

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Before loading up in the car, we had our usual Back to School photo session. 

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I can't believe that I actually talked Reid into wearing a nice outfit, instead of Under Armour gear! Last year he was so nervous about school and cried for the first week when I dropped him off. This year, he is so confident and was really looking forward to school. 

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Reid picked out his own Under Armour backpack, and LilliAnn wanted to use this princess one until her new purple and green Pottery Barn one came in. 

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How cute is she?!

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She said that these were her "Pre-K Poses!"

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I cannot believe how big she is getting! I feel like it was just yesterday that rubbing her soft, bald head and nursing her to sleep! 

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The kids have been in school almost a month, and I couldn't ask for a better start to the school year. LilliAnn is doing so much better than I expected. She has four kids in her class that she went to Mother's Day Out with last year, and has become best friends with a little girl named Reese. She is like a little sponge and soaks up every bit of information that her teacher tells her. She comes home singing songs, and can already count to 100 by 10s! She knows all of the parts of a book, including being able to tell if it is fiction or non-fiction. Last week, LilliAnn was reading Reid's reader that he is supposed to practice reading! I am blown away by how much she has already learned, and how interested she is in words and reading. She got to wear the "Good Work Necklace" the first week of school, and she loves her art and music classes.

Reid's teacher has written me several notes about what a great example he is for the other students, and about how he is an excellent leader and behavior role model. She told me one day that he is an excellent helper and little "assistant," and is good about reminding his peers to follow the rules. He loves working on math and that seems to be his strength. He's doing ok with learning to read, but he doesn't have an interest in it yet, so it's difficult to get him to practice. 

We're staying busy with fall baseball (coach pitch), soccer, art classes, piano lessons, dance, gymnastics, tutoring (to advance our reading skills and vocabulary), and church. So far, we have been really good about being organized and scheduled, so it is all working out well for us. Hopefully, this is true for the rest of the year! 

back to school. 2013

Last week was the Ruckus's first official "Back to School" week! And I must say, this school-time transition has been much smoother than I anticipated! Both of the Rollins children did AMAZING! 

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Monday was LilliAnn's first day of the Kids for Christ Program (A.K.A. Mother's Day Out) at Immanuel Baptist Church. She carried her lunchbox and backpack like a pro, and skipped down the hallway and into her classroom like she had done it a million times before!

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She picked this backpack and lunchbox herself out of the Pottery Barn Kids magazine! I just can't get over how big she looks in these pictures! 

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When we got out of the car at "school," she wanted to carry everything in herself.

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She was a little shy once she sat down in her classroom, but by the time I left she was playing with the other little girls and gave me a kiss goodbye. 

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Reid went with me to drop her off, and I think it was good for him to see his sissy being such a big girl and not crying when she went to school. I told Reid that since he didn't start school until the next day, that we would have a mommy and Reid day on Monday. After we dropped off LilliAnn, we got some breakfast and then planned a date to the movies to see Turbo. He wanted to take a couple of friends so we decided to take Grayson, Paisley, and Aspyn too! It was a fun-filled afternoon and a great little get together before heading to Back to School night at Grove!

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On Tuesday, it was time for Reid to rock Pre-K! He begged me to wear Under Armour and said, "Mommy, please don't make me wear a collar shirt. I just want to feel comfy." I wanted him to feel good on the first day, so I caved and let him wear what he feels best in...athletic gear! We woke up really early and went to Taryn's house to have donuts with Aspyn and Paisley for a "Back to School Breakfast." Reid had a great time and seemed really excited about going to school. When we pulled up to the school, he started to get a little nervous. He got out of the car like a big boy and I walked him in. 

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He even smiled for a picture in front of the school!

                                          

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We just had to have this royal blue (Grove Wildcat color) Under Armour backpack! 

                       

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He was still happy and excited when we got to Mrs. Schooler's classroom door.

                                      

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About a minute after I took this picture is when he fell apart. He put his backpack in his cubby and then looked at me and said, "Mommy, I'm scared." He had a look of sheer terror and his face and I didn't want to leave him. I have anxiety and I knew exactly what he was feeling inside. I told him he was going to have a fun, fun day and that there was nothing to be scared of. I told him that if he needed anything at all that the teacher could help him or could call me. As I walked him over to a table to start playing, he started crying even harder. The teacher gave me the "it's time to go" look. I nodded, gave him a hug and told him that I loved him. And walked out. 

                                     

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About 30 minutes later I got a call from Mrs. Payne, the Principal, telling me that she had checked on Reid and that he was doing awesome! She said he was smiling and playing with the other children. A few hours later I received a picture via text message from Mrs. Schooler that said, "All smiles!" Since the first day, we've had a few teary mornings, but after he gets in the classroom he's just fine! He told me last night that he "really really likes school," and this morning he was ready to go and was pushing me out the door!

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Praising Jesus for answered prayers. All summer long, I fretted and fretted about Reid starting Pre-K. I have prayed numerous nights for a good school experience and for my baby boy to have courage and confidence. I truly expected for the first couple of weeks to be really hard and prayed for strength to get through it. Much to my surprise, this transition has been WAY better than I ever expected. From a kid that would make himself sick every morning before Mother's Day Out, run up the stairs screaming and chasing me, and refusing to ever go to anywhere without me, to a big boy that thinks he wants to try walking in by himself next week...I am one HAPPY, BLESSED mommy! So thankful for a wonderful teacher that has made him feel so loved, comfortable, and safe!

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Reid's First Day at Mother's Day Out (2 Years Old) & Reid's First Day of Pre-K (5 Years Old)