The Byrd Family: Ben's 1st Day of Preschool

Today was our sweet boy's first day of preschool. I can't believe this day has finally come. Ben and I did not sleep very well last night...I think he has inherited my nerves. We've tried to be very calm and casual about this new journey, but he always seems to know when big changes are coming. He woke up fairly well this morning, despite the lack of solid sleep. We had lots of snuggle time before getting out of bed to get ready. He ate part of a blueberry waffle and a strawberry Danimals smoothie for breakfast. We got him all dressed and took some cute 1st day pictures. It was surreal packing his backpack and lunch box. I was so nervous about forgetting something. I'm glad it takes 10 minutes to get to Ben's preschool. It gave us a few minutes to chill. I read Ben a story about Grover's first day of school on the way there. We parked and walked him up to the kindergarten drop off hallway. I am so thankful his friend Callie was already there, sitting on a bench. I put Ben on the bench beside her and set his school gear on the ground below him. There were a few kids crying, and Ben was very concerned about them. He gets upset when other children are upset. He never cried, but he wasn't giving a big smile like I wanted. I gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek and told him we would pick him up right after school. I wore my big sunglasses so he couldn't see the tears in my eyes. I made it back to the car before the ugly cry started! I watched the clock all day long. I'm so glad I was at work and had something to keep myself somewhat occupied with. We finally got to pick Ben up around 2:45 and he had the biggest smile on his face! He ran and jumped in my arms and nodded when I asked if he had a good day. Whew! It was so much fun hearing all about his day on the way home. We took him to Frostbite for ice cream. I think that will be a good 1st day of school tradition. Here are some pictures of Ben's first day. He said he wants to go back tomorrow! Yay!