My First Grader

So my sweet Austin went back to school (finally!) Wow, it seemed like summer would last forever. Though we had a great time sleeping in and being lazy in the mornings, I was ready for him to go back. I was really excited for him to start First Grade because this is like "real" school. His last year was just basic Kindergarten-type stuff, though he did learn to read. He is now going to be writing out sentences, learning fractions, sitting at a proper desk, etc.

We gave him a Father's blessing first. He was so excited to have this special experience. He kept saying it over and over, "is it time yet?" I was really proud that my husband was able to do that. I took a few photos of him outside, but he just couldn't sit still. I could see his excitement. I remember that First Day of School buzz I used to have. For me, it was a big deal what I would wear on the first day, new school clothes and all that. But of course Austin doesn't have that option. Even though I don't love his uniform, it is a lot easier to get him dressed in the morning. You should see some of the hideous ones that other schools have to wear. His isn't so bad in comparison!

The real proof of how old my son is getting was displayed when he bent down to tie his own shoe. He has only just barely conquered this difficult task. Thank goodness!



We got to school and had to find the list which told what classroom he was in. We found his name on the list and headed straight to the room. We signed him in and found a desk to sit at. There were lots of parents in the room settling their kids in. I could tell Austin was nervous and shy. He didn't want to sit at any of the tables with the other kids. He chose an empty table. I wish he was more outgoing but I didn't try to push him into it. He said "Maybe some other kids will come sit by me." I said, "ok".




He then got to choose an activity to do while we waited. He headed to the empty reading corner. Olivia was happy to go along with him. In fact, I think I could have LEFT her at school and she would have done great (too bad I couldn't!). She had her first day back to gymnastics, so she is wearing her leotard in the photo.



After about 10 minutes, I saw one of Austin's good friends, Luke, walk in the room. I was so happy! Until then I hadn't recognized ANY faces and was getting a bit worried. Apparently, Luke's mom had seen Austin's name on the list and had been looking for us. Later on, we discovered another boy, Nathan, is in the class. So at least he'll have two friends in there. They are both good boys and I am sure he will be comfortable with them in the class with him. As you can see from the picture, he doesn't look nervous anymore!



Austin just seems so grown up lately. The way he talks, his sense of humor, his understanding, etc. He dials his friends' phone numbers himself. He leaves a message if they are not home, "Hi, this is Austin, can you call me? Bye". It's so cute. I love his sense of humor. He gets sarcasm. He is silly. He loves to shake his bootie. He loves Steve Irwin. He loves his scooter. He loves his boogie board. My six year old.

I love him.