First Day of Preschool

Catching (way) up on the blog has been on my to-do list for months, but I want to start with a big current event at our house.  This week Sophie started preschool!  Sometimes I really do have to stop to think about it and I realize Sophie is 3 1/2, almost 4.  Wow!  We were all excited for her to start school.  Based on a recommendation from a friend of a friend, we found a great at-home preschool close to our house.  Sophie's teacher, Miss April, is so nice and has been teaching for many years.  There are nine kids in her class (all 3 years old).  Last week we went to an open house at the school, so the excitement had been building.  Then on Tuesday, her first day, Sophie started out looking like this:

We were getting a little pressed for time, which is a habit I am really trying to change, but... I rushed Sophie out the door, then remembered I wanted to take a picture of her.  I asked her to come stand in front of the house, which of course she didn't want to do because it was "too cold."  Not wanting to be late on the first day, I opted to drag her out of the garage against her will and take a picture anyway.  Before I snapped the pic, she opened her mouth and screamed as loud as she could to express her displeasure with me.  Sorry neighbors!  I also tried to get one of her with her backpack on, but that was definitely not happening.

But don't worry, this all ends well.  In the less than five minutes it took to get to school, she had a change of heart and ended up looking like this, right before she walked in:

 
She seemed to have a great first day, although she was sad that she didn't have anything in her backpack to show for sharing time.  One girl had a bracelet (!) in her backpack, but Sophie remedied the situation by asking Miss April to please mail her a bracelet of her own.  Good thinking, kid.  Hooray for this milestone!  I hope this is the beginning of a long and happy relationship with formal education.  (And yes, I realized this is the same outfit she wore for her last day of co-op preschool in Cambridge.  Hey, if it ain't broke...)