My baby :(

My baby girl is at school. SCHOOL. Real school. Real full day every day school. Gigi started kindergarten today. I'm both happy and sad. I'm sad because I miss her. I'm sad because her babyhood, toddlerhood, and preschoolerhood are GONE. She is 5 and seems so grown up.

She was excited but nervous this morning. I woke her up and she wasn't grumpy with me. She had promised last night she wouldn't be :) We got dressed in her special dress (which is actually the dress she wore for my dad's memorial and is now called her "funeral" dress) and got ready. Then I started the pictures. LOL.

Here she is in front of the house...

We went for a special breakfast at her favorite bagel spot. Her request.

Then we went on to school!

Our school doesn't allow parents to come into the classroom for the first day. It made me sad but then I realized how much easier it would be for the kids (and the teachers!) to not have all the parents there boo hoo-ing. So we got to the playground and found her line. Took a quick picture...


Then the bell rang and she was off!

And when I say she was off - she was OFF. That bell rang and the two K teachers hit the doors RIGHT AWAY. Kind of catching me off guard but I already had my hugs and kisses in so it was okay. And then? She was gone. And I was standing alone on the playground willing myself not to cry. That worked until I got home. Yay for no tears in public!! Then I sobbed for awhile and took a nap - as this Mama didn't get much sleep last night because I was so nervous.

So my baby with her ginormous backpack (looking at the pictures makes it seem even bigger - she wouldn't let me adjust it so it's hanging low) is learning and having fun with new friends. She should've already eaten her specially packed lunch and I'm worried if she had enough time to eat and if she could get everything open. She has had her first recess and should be having quiet time right now.

I worry that she will be too shy to make friends. If you know Gigi you know she is NOT shy but in this new situation with so many new kids she has been a bit overwhelmed. I worry that she will have had to sit by herself at lunch. I've never not been there when she met new friends. I've always been able to make sure she is being nice and is talking to other kids. I've always been there and now she is in the big bad world of school all alone.

I get to pick her up in a few hours and hug her again. I get to hear about her day. I can't wait.