The first day of a new chapter

Yesterday Racer started kindergarten! (Does this seem unreal to anybody else?) More and more I understand what they mean when they say "it seems like just yesterday. . ." Geesh! I've been looking forward to/dreading this day for months now. Six months ago I really thought getting him to go would be a big struggle because of his shyness. It's amazing to me how far he's come in the last few months. I've been so proud. He has actually been really excited to start! I've been the nervous one.
The whole bus thing has been particularly nerve racking for me. I still don't let him cross the street without me! How am I supposed to feel okay about sending him off on a school bus to fend for himself? I really was tempted to just opt out of this whole part and play chauffeur for the year. But, once again, Racer was really excited for this. So I bucked up. I feel quite proud of the fact that I did not cry when I watched him walk onto the bus.
These are the little sisters who got to send their big brothers off today. Such good little supporters!

After Racer got on the bus I got in my car and drove to the school so I could walk him into his class the first day. Rue started clapping and saying "yeah Racer" when we saw him walk off the bus. I felt like doing the same thing.

Racer, fortunately, got to ride on the bus with his two best little buddies. The three of them looked so cute together. We like to call them the 3 musketeers. These boys are the best of friends, the cutest little threesome, in my opinion.
It kind of feels weird to go from being the sole influence in your child's life to passing him off to someone else to take over a huge part of his growing up. Racer's teacher seems to be the epitome of what a kindergarten teacher ought to be so I'm feeling good about this part.
After school was over we talked about the day over cookies and milk. I asked him what his favorite part was and he said everything! What a relief for a mom who sometimes worries just a little too much. I'm so proud of my little kindergartener!

P.S. Yesterday was also a very exciting day for us because we were able to hear our baby's heart beat for the first time. (13 weeks is a long time to wait for that, don't you think?) Oh, by the way. . . I'm pregnant!

P.P.S. I'm trying to get caught up here so I added two entries today. Don't forget to keep reading! I'm blaming my lack of posts this summer on the first trimester of my pregnancy. (Yes, that's the excuse this time.) Now that I don't totally feel like I must catch some Z's at every spare moment, I might blog a bit more. Maybe. Thanks for staying tuned!