and now, we are done with kindergarten, and it took me almost a month to blog about it

to be honest, I think 'preschool graduation' was a bit harder for me.  not that I was quite the emotional wreck for that either.  I think I got most of my 'devastated she's getting too old' out of my system in her first 4 months of life.  when I think of my postpartum issues, that was one of them.  but once I got through that, I have been okay staying in the mindset of enjoying the heck out of each moment and stage, because I cannot stop time, and I'm damn lucky to have her.

everly also got to do kindergarten twice essentially.  she has a november birthday, which prohibited her from starting kindergarten until she was officially 5.  and, looking back on the past two years, I'm not at all mad about it.  she had a pretty intense kindergarten experience, meaning SO much learning.  if she didn't get to have transitional kindergarten, I think this year would have had a very different outcome.  there is NO WAY that my kid would have been able to manage this year being 4 for four months of it.  so, sometimes state decisions work out in your favor, and we can say that we ended kindergarten meeting and exceeding standards, which really means reading, writing, and doing some pretty high-level math.  and no, we don't need to debate if this is right or wrong, it just is the way it is right now in education.  I'm sure in the next decade we will be back to being happy they can use a glue stick by kindergarten graduation [or maybe not, you know, China and all].

^outfit change for the party^

our present for her hard work this year, Samantha!  she even got a graduation cap and gown for the special occasion!

her favorite cake - lemon from nothing bundt cakes, because, you know, she's gertie, my 80 year old

and here' a little first day of kindergarten, last day of kindergarten comparison...

I think it is funny she ENDS kindergarten with all her teeth, feels like it should be the other way around.  and yes, that isn't our front door.  we take the 'door photo' by my mom's front door since she lives right by the school, and I literally had to leave my class to go take everly to her first day of school, so we had to do with what we had [don't worry, I had someone cover my classes].  and even more dramatic, had to get a substitute teacher for the last day of school, but hey, there are some mom moments I'm not going to miss!

here's a little moment remember this milestone, probably one we won't have again for a while [who knows, sometimes 5th and 8th get a celebration, sometimes they don't - another educational pendulum].

Kindergarten Graduation from Lyndsay Lewis on Vimeo.

music: the likes of us - all together now
all photos and video shot on our sony a6500
photos edited with a color story

and finally, here's preschool graduation and here

first day of kindergarten

everly had her first day of kinder on thursday.  I'm so proud of how resilient this little lady is.  she has been to three different schools in the past three years [private pre-school, TK only offered at a few places, and now her forever elementary school].  however, she has always been so excited to go to a new school, meet new friends, and get to know her teacher.  as much as she is my daughter, she is the exact opposite of me when it comes to going to school.  miss independent is her middle name.  while other littles were clinging and crying to their parents, our daughter gave us the sweetest smile and wave goodbye as she was lined up with her class on the kinder playground, all wearing their little fishy paper nametags.  so thankful for this little smile, especially since I was running back to my own school and my own 6th grade students who were thankfully being watched by my principal for a bit so I could play mom for a minute too!

here are a few of those sweet smiles from the first day of kindergarten!

happy first day of school baby girl!

first days of school, for two of us

this year everly started transitional kindergarten.   due to her november birthday, she cannot start kinder officially until next year, but TK is an option we have in our state for kids her age.  having everly in my school district is exciting because our calendars are now perfectly aligned.  however, that comes with some new challenges for this working teacher mom...my first day of teaching is her first day of school. and that means I have a lot to wrap my head around!photos from daddy - thankful for text updates during the day!

thankfully, we had our meet the teacher the day before school officially started, and this allowed me to get that first day experience.  this year, even though I had amazing teachers willing to take my classes on the first day so I could go to everly's school, I just didn't feel like I needed it.  this year, everly is at a school that she will only be at for the year of TK, so maybe I will feel different next year when she officially starts at her 'real' elementary school.  thankfully, when I got home from my first day, everly was still completely dressed [I think re-dressed] from her first day, backpack included.  this way, we were able to make her 'first day' of school sign, and grab some photos, since this had totally slipped my mind this year.  again, her starting pre-school in september made some of those little details easier to remember, but we fake it pretty well.

everly did amazing, and because she is used to her daddy being on school duty with her, she didn't bat an eye about anything.  in so many ways, she is exactly my daughter.  when it comes to going to school, she is much more the mr.  leaving us doesn't bother her.  she loves school, and even though she tells me every day there is a little girl in her class that is crying because she misses her mommy, she just states it very matter of factly.  she is really just excited that this year, every day I go to school, she gets to go to school too!  win win for everyone here. and of course, we celebrated our first days, her first, and my eleventh, with pinkberry.  we are both very serious about our pinkberry as you can see.

below are photos from her meet the teacher morning - and this 'in progress' mural at her school was pretty perfect.  later, we are checking out the Wide Open Walls project here in Sacramento - so I'm sure many more mural photos are in the future here!

 

here's to another amazing school year, for two of us!

and just like that, preschool days are done

man alive. that was fast. they say it, I know...but really, preschool is already done and in the books. thankfully I get to keep her a little bit tiny due to her november birthday, meaning she's off to TK in the fall, and then kindergarten the year after that. and really, that seems like something I need to keep my mother heart from breaking completely.

I have so many moments to share from preschool graduation today, but for now, here are a few of our 'last day' of preschool photos. because I'm tired, and apparently can't really put much more into words right now.

and as you can see, everly's writing has really taken off this year

and yes, that is a family portrait at the bottom

here was her on the first day of preschool

 

on the first day of pre-school...

yesterday was the first day of pre-school!  everly is attending the same little school I attended back in the 80's, and there is something strangely comforting about sending her there.  oh, and the fact that she's the polar opposite of me when it comes to being left at school is also a big bonus.  she couldn't have been more excited for school.  it probably also helps that she's very familiar with the concept of school since she's been coming to a middle school since she was four months old.  so, what I'm saying is, pre-school is rockin' it on all levels.

today she was so confused as to why I was coming with her again to pre-school since I already attended orientation with her last week, and she knows that daddy is the one who is taking her to pre-school.  she also wasn't sure why we stuck around for so long, apparently she didn't need us there the extra thirty minutes.  and apparently, the first day of school isn't really a big thing.

thankfully, we didn't have a single clothing meltdown.  she appeased me by taking oh so many photos.  and man, did she sure melt my heart by remembering her first teacher's name with such ease, her little, "miss jefferson" is just about the cutest thing I've ever heard.

and yes, they've done these buckets since I was there.  we had a blast decorating her bucket last week!