Addie’s First Day of VPK at NFC!

We’ve been praying for, hyping up, Addie going to her new school for a couple of weeks now, doing everything we could to get her excited, in hopes that her very first drop-off and very first day would go as smoothly as possible. And praise the Lord, today was finally that day and it went great! We got there early, and had plenty of time for all the pictures.

This tiny girl is just about swallowed by her own lunch box, and that’s not even to mention her giant backpack! It was actually too heavy for her to carry this morning, full of the supplies we were bringing and her full water bottle. She only put it back on for these photos 😉

We saw these big letters across the campus near the elementary playground, so after dropping her things off in her classroom, we walked over there for some photos. On our way, we saw our good friends the Joneses from church and Addie was so excited and went running up to them for hugs.

While I stayed to take some family photos of another family at the NFC sign, the girls took off running down this grassy field behind us (it used to be just dirt for a kickball field when I was there!) doing cart wheels and smiling and laughing.

By the time we got back to Addie’s class, she was totally warmed up and happy and excited, and the separation actually went really well! Jeff hid in the hallway, since she’s usually clingier with/around him, and Emmie and I got her settled with a little picture to color at her table. I tried to sneak off, but she ran after me for one more hug, but then she let the teacher walk her back to her table, and we made a break for it! There were no tears when we left, and I prayed she wouldn’t cry afterwards. I asked her tonight if she did, and she said she never cried, so praise the Lord for that, again!

I honestly think the combination of excitement over seeing our church friends, and getting to go for a little free run with her sister, really loosened her up and helped shake off the nerves.

Emerson stayed with Nana again today, and PopPop also joined them for the morning. They had breakfast at The Egg Cafe, and she ordered a hot chocolate, and was thrilled when it came out looking so fancy! They did some shopping for new tennis shoes for school, and found a few of her favorite kind of skorts from Kohl’s on super clearance, and then came home to rest for the afternoon.

Mom, Aunt Q and I went out for a little girls’ lunch at Maria Maria today. Meggie couldn’t join us, and we missed her, but we still managed to have a good time even without her 😉 And of course everything was super delicious as always.

Jeff picked up Addie after school and work today, and found her out on the playground. And girlfriend was hot & flushed – just look at those super pink cheeks! But she was having a blast playing with some new friends!

I picked up pizza after work, and Jeff and Addie and I all met up at Nana’s house, since Emmie was still there at their house.

I had told Mom & Aunt Q all about Addie’s lunch today, so I took photographic evidence to show Mama how much of it Addie ate today. She did pretty good! She loves a “snack lunch” kind of thing, so that’s basically what I made her, with a few slices of ham rolled up, a little meat/cheese stick combo from Publix, plus pretzels, graham cracker cookies, fruit gummies, and a granola bar. Her little bento box came with one of those thermos things that will keep food warm, so we’ll have to experiment with that, and get the hang of making that kind of lunch some times too. Luckily, only Addie will need a packed lunch every day, since Emmie gets free cafeteria lunch at Gilchrist. We could pay for hot lunch from the cafeteria for Addie, but it’s kinda pricey, and I just don’t think that’s the best option for her/us right now. Maybe we’ll just splurge on it occasionally or whatever…

Both girls are sleeping soundly now, and I’m ready for some tv or TikTok or reading or something to just rest and relax for a bit, after a big, exciting day!

 

P.S. – Jeff just came and showed me this he made with AI, and it’s so stinking cute!