Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it's off to school he goes!

Wyatt is now a full-fledged preschooler. He looked so grown up walking down the hall wearing his backpack. Hey, maybe the post-pregnancy hormones had something to do with it, but I found myself a little teary-eyed after I dropped him off on the first day. I think it's the realization that I won't always be there to protect him and he'll have to find his own way in the world. I'm quite overprotective and would have happily observed through a peephole all morning if given the chance, but you have to let them go sometime, right?

Having this structure in our daily schedule is something a little new to me. I'm not going to lie. It was a little hairy figuring out our morning routine. After a few mornings, I had significantly improved my routine, but the first one went something like this...

Wake up and feed Hadley.
Get Wyatt up and go downstairs.
Put Hadley in swing so Wyatt and I can eat breakfast.
Let Finley out.
Remember it's trash day. Fling trash and recycling on curb.
Let Finley back in.
Promise Wyatt can listen to music in his room if he goes upstairs with me.
Go back upstairs to get dressed.
Explain to Wyatt why he cannot wear his Lightening McQueen PJs to school.
Get Wyatt dressed in appropriate outfit.
Turn on music as promised.
Realize I forgot to switch laundry the night before. Realize already stuff in dryer. Fold dryer stuff and place in basket, then switch washer stuff over.
Go back upstairs and begin putting clothes away.
Crap! What time is it? Hop in shower while Wyatt watches a TV show.
Get dressed, blow dry hair and apply lip gloss.
Where is Hadley? Remember I have left her in swing downstairs. Go back down to get her.
Get Hadley dressed (even though it's socially acceptable for infants to go out in their PJs).
Lock Finley in laundry room and toss him a bisquit.
Place Hadley in car seat and get her buckled in.
Tell Wyatt it's time to go. Put his shoes on and head out to car.
Explain to Wyatt the whole way to school how much fun he's going to have and how he shouldn't be nervous (Ok, I was saying that last part for my own benefit).

Once we dropped him off, Hadley and I had some free time to do whatever we wanted. We cruised through the Starbucks drive-thru for a pumpkin spice latte. Hey, I could get used to this. We stopped at the library to pick up some books, then hit a couple of my favorite stores to see if there were any treasures we couldn't live without. We ran a quick errand and it was time to go pick him up. It was a little strange to look back and see Wyatt's empty car seat. We were even halfway through our morning before I realized we were still listening to The Wiggles. I think this little break is really going to be good for all of us.

Wyatt adjusted quite well to the teachers and kids. He quickly won them over with his bubbly personality and infectious giggle. They all loved him and the teacher said she has no doubt he will be a shining star in the class. Maybe she says that to all the moms, but I loved hearing it anyway. They also quickly picked up on his independent streak and commented on how strong willed he is. He isn't wild about being told to do something he doesn't want to do so the structured part of the program will be an adjustment for him. His teacher said there was a little power struggle and a few tears shed, but he still said he had fun and asked if he could go again tomorrow so it must not have been too bad.

He starts his day with yoga and music, they have some free play with a building center, water station, sandbox and playhouse, then crafts, circle time with songs, a story and a daily lesson. After snack time, they cleanup, do a little more yoga and then the Goodbye song. They also have a weekly trip to the school library, playground time and an indoor obstacle course. What kid wouldn't want to go to school!?

When I dropped him off the second day, I realized I had committed two amateur mistakes. The first was trying to order a "cute" backpack. Wyatt had total backpack envy. How could a monogrammed vintage-style canvas bag compete with a Spiderman backpack that lights up? Honestly, you think you're getting something nice but kids really just want plastic stuff from Walmart. I also realized I shouldn't really put much thought into selecting a cute outfit for him to wear. In fact, maybe I should be sending him to school in old ratty clothes. When I came back to get him later, he was wearing his "in case of emergency" outfit all kids are required to provide (he apparently had a great time at the water station) and his arms looked like they had tattoo sleeves of magic marker stains. It was also all over his shorts (thank goodness for washable markers). When we got home and took his shoes off, I'm pretty sure he had half the playground sand in them. What can I say, he's a messy guy. But that's ok. The mess was just a reminder of how much fun he had and that's really the most important thing.