Clara started preschool last week. Who took our baby and replaced her with this little girl?
After some debate, we decided to enroll Clara in a local 2-day per week preschool. It’s just the mornings, so she’s there for three hours on each of those two days. She loves being around other kids so we thought it was the right time for her… but we still held our breaths a bit on the first day. Would she cry? Would we cry? Would we get called half-way through to come pick her up because she was having an all-consuming sobbing fit?
Nope. There were dry eyes all around. Heck, Clara was so excited when she arrived that this is the only photo we managed to snag before she disappeared into the classroom. Seriously, she sprinted in without a look back in our direction.
When we picked her up three hours later she was all smiles and kept telling us how they sang and painted and played on the playground. Her teacher even reported that it was “the best first day of school” in all of her years of teaching. Apparently there were no tears from any of the twelve kids in her class, which has never happened before. So she is really excited about what the year ahead holds. And so are we.
Since her first day, she has gone four times, and she still loves it. In fact almost every morning that she wakes up she says “I go to school today?” with a big hopeful grin. We almost feel bad saying “not today, Clara” when it’s not a school day. But we’re so glad that she’s having such a good time.
As for the all important first day of school photo, we decided to take them in front of our front door with Clara and her school bag (a sweet handmade gift that we got from our friend Abby).
As usual, she was a ham.
Apparently the “hand in the air” is her new favorite pose.
This was her watching the elementary school bus roll by our house. Just a few more years ’til she’ll be on it. Crazy.
As you saw from the first image in the post, we chose to Photoshop the information about what grade she’s in right onto the door itself (the font is called Raleway in case you’re interested). We broke the words up and spaced them that way intentionally so we can keep things somewhat consistent for all future years – like when this occasion rolls around in 2016 (although hopefully she’ll be a bit taller by then)…
How’d the first day of school go for your household? Any big milestones? Any “emotions” from you or your kids? Sherry got a little “misty” but no tears actually fell, so she’s saying it doesn’t count as crying.
I don’t even like kids, never wanted them but Clara is an absolute doll. Such a cute personality!
Oh my goodness! Too cute for words! Good for Clara and Mommy and Daddy. But tell her that’s enough growing! Of course my 10 month old doesn’t listen to that either!
Haha, they never listen!
xo,
s
Hahaha… I know right.. I have done this every year for the first day of school too for my 13 and 9 year olds. They just keep getting older and bigger every year dang it!!! I wanted to lock them both down at 5 but they just wouldn’t listen…. =)
Once they start school…… sigh.
Awww! Our oldest son started kindergarten this year. He gets dropped off and gets to ride a bus and goes to after school care and everything. At the beginning, everything was easy peasy. When the novelty wore off, we had a rough two weeks, and this has been the first week of no melt downs in the evening. Fingers crossed that tonight is great, too, haha!
Clara looks so adorable! It’s hard to believe she’s old enough for pre-k!!
So exciting! She is quite a stylin pre-schooler!
Maybe it’s a different area thing, but I have only found one pre-school semi-locally that takes toddlers who aren’t potty trained (and many 3 years old too) – it’s 45 minutes away. Does that seem more common in your area? I was hoping to start my little one (11 months younger than Clara) next year, but I doubt she’ll be out of diapers by then.
Yes I think it’s really common here for two year olds to not be trained but the 3s usually need to be. Since its only three hours twice a week they have yet to change her diaper, so maybe they only do it when a kid poops? Haha.
xo,
s
My son is in a Montessori pre-school that has a toddler class (most Montessori schools start at age 3), and they do not need to be potty trained. Montessori actually has a method for potty training that is supposed to encourage kids when they’re ready.
He had the option of going 2, 3, or 5 days a week for half day (3 hours) or full day (5 hours). I work about 20 hours a week from home, so my hours are flexible, so we are happy to send him to “pre-school” instead of day care. I know of one other Montessori school in town like this, and church pre-school in the area that is Fridays only for 2-3 year olds, and they don’t require potty training either. Maybe it’s just because we’re in a metropolitan area?
I love how you’re really able to capture Clara’s personality in the photos you take of her – she seems like such a fun, sweet, spirited child! Glad to hear she’s enjoying school and that mom & dad survived the transition, too!
Aww, she’s growing up so fast! I’m sure the interaction is so good for her, and looks like she is loving it
I found this year to be harder on me than any year…watching my senior daughter drive off to school. Knowing it was the last first day. She was smiling just like she has every first day. Enjoy these years they fly by so fast!!!
This is so exciting! I am not surprised she is loving school. Also, are those cute pink shoes her new favorites? Has she forsaken her crocs for something different?
Sadly school doesn’t allow crocs, so she has her “big girl school shoes” from Target. Haha. So far, she digs them!
xo
s
Clara is too cute! I love her flowy top and cute pixie hair style :) My son is 15 months old and rapidly ceasing to be a baby right before our eyes – funny how that happens! :)
Cute! I think she’s right at the ideal age where kids really enjoy interacting with other children, as well as other adults besides Mom & Dad. My daughter stayed home until she was two, then went into daycare. She loved it immediately.
I love the front door/photoshopped words idea. Very cool.
Congratulations, Clara!!!!! And congrats, Mama and Daddy on this big milestone for YOU guys :)
My son started pre-school this week as well. I get the same questions about going to school too…and I do find myself feeling badly on the days that he isn’t going. I love when he comes home singing new songs and talking about what he did. So good to know they are having fun (even if they aren’t with us!)
I love the first day of school pictures!!
AHHHH, how cute is she?? She looks so beautiful and grown-up, especially in the pic you chose to put the graphics on. It’s so great to watch her and your home grow, as my life is running almost parallel to yours (no babies yet, but we’re working on it). Thank you for sharing your life with us.
Clara looks so sweet in front of the yellow door! I love that you guys are doing this photo tradition with her and that she enjoys Pre-K so much :)
So adorable! I love the photo with added text and Clara looks so excited to be going to school!
Read this and couldn’t help but think that you should DIY a calendar or a days of the week board so you can see which days she goes to school and have fun crossing of the days in between.
John was actually saying the same thing! Could be a really fun project!
xo
s
We bought one of the magnetic calendars and made our own magnets to show our daughter when she had school, ballet, and special events.
So cute!!
xo,
s
Love it and the door idea reminds me of John and his mom’s tradation with standing by the door for each birthday. And let’s not even talk about that outfit!!!
Yes, we totally got the front door thing from that cute tradition. Not the outfit inspiration though… haha!
xo
s
Aww! What a big girl! She has the same schedule as my almost 4 year old. She loves it! Started going last year and now she is one of the “big kids” before they start kindergarten. My little guy will start next year, they grow up so fast! I am so paranoid about her taking a bus lol
Awwww, so cute!! Makes me remeber fondly when my kids (now 19, 21, 24 and 27) were in preschool – where did the time go??!! :)
Hi John and Sherry!
How did you guys decide on which preschool? I have a 4 1/2 month old and am already thinking about these things! So happy Clara is doing so well!
xo,
Tammy
We just chatted with some parents that we know around town to see which ones they liked and then met with the school that kept coming up as a favorite and immediately knew it was the right fit! They have a great “can-do kids” philosophy, so they like to give them confidence to do things for themselves, since it makes them so happy and accomplished (ex: Clara hangs up her own school bag every morning when we get there instead of us doing it for her). She loves it!
xo
s
My husband and I both work in offices so my son started going to “school” when he was just six months old. I cried so hard that day (and honestly several days after that). I am finding though that it is so good for them socially and developmentally to be around other children. Canon is now 2 1/2, and though he is going through a separation anxiety phase and doesn’t want to be dropped off, he LOVES his “teachers” and friends.
I think it is wonderful that Clara loves her school. She is getting to be such a big girl!
It is so amazing this whole blogging thing. I am surprised by how much I care for you and your family through this blog. Seeing Clara grow up on these posts is sometimes one of the best parts of my day. I can’t wait to share with my husband content from the blog, and it is always the Clara posts. I’ll text him at work or get home and show him on the iPad a new “Clara video” or “Clara post”. To see this bright, beautiful, and hilarious little girl grow up from afar is such a wonderful gift you have given this community. I want to thank you for sharing her with the world. I can understand some parents hesitation in keeping their children out of their blogs, but I’m so glad you have decided to blog about Clara’s milestones.
Aw, you’re so sweet!
xo
s
So well said, Kendall! Reading this and the “main” YHL blog are among the best parts of my day, too.
Totally agree. I feel like her auntie from afar.
Me too! Sometimes I’ll check multiple times in the morning until new posts are on! haha :) YHL is like my morning coffee!
I also agree!! You guys are the peanut butter to my bagel.
Aw shucks, that’s sweet. Haha.
xo,
s
Sooo Agree- and yes and yes and yes to the other posts except for the peanut butter on the bagel (blegh-haha). Told a friend about this phenomena and she just stared at me and said “you do what? A blog? A couple? A child? DYI? And you don’t even know them? HuH?!?!?” I just smiled. Many others DO understand. Like all of yer ga-thousands of fans.
So true… seeing a Clara post or video always puts a smile on my face.:)
Yeah! So glad she likes it…not surprising! She is adorable and ready to play! Love it!
oh lord the cuteness of this girl! she is just darling and I love her first day of school outfit!! Glad she has such a great time there!
I love Clara’s outfit! Do they make that shirt in adult sizes? :)
This is such a precious post and thanks for sharing your daughter with all of us. I miss these days of having a little cutie to dress for school and buy adorable things for. LOL
Haha I wish they made that shirt in adult sizes! It’s from Old Navy so I’m holding out hope. Haha.
xo
s
Those kind of shirts are in all sizes in central and south of Mexico, if you ever go to Mexico, you can purchase one like that one.
No way! I love that!
xo
s
She looks so adorable! So glad she’s having a good time at school! :)
Loving Clara’s first day of pre-school outfit, so much better than John’s… I’m so happy she’s enjoying her days there, and that you and John are doing so well with it too!
I LOVE THIS. She is just so damn beautiful!!!
umm, yeah! I noticed how in pic 7 (second hand in the air), she’s really looking like you Sherry! Can’t tell you why, but i see it :) Beautiful Girls! John- watch out! BTW- you guys have recently become a part of my morning routine- love y’all!
Aw thanks Cindy!
xo,
s
HOLY MOLY CANNOLI!! THE cutest “first day” picture EVER!!
Precious times.
Still lovin’ that yellow door.
She is so beautiful… I love the outfit :-) And its so great she is excited about school. I really enjoy following along over here… so crazy how quickly time passes!
Are you serious? She is getting cuter by the minute! She looks sooo grown up in the first picture. Hooray for Clara!
She looks so much like you, Sherry!
OMG….adorable photos. Love her lil outfit….and her book bag is about as big as she is. HA! Too cute!!
So sweet!! What a pretty girl. And I am so in love with her top!! Where did you get it??
That was from Old Navy about seven months ago. We got it for our trip to Hawaii! Haha.
xo
s
Just an idea, a few photographer friends take a first & LAST day of school picture. So not only do you document their changes from one school year to the next, but you can see how much they have changed/ grown throughout each year.
My baby has been in daycare since 11 months old (She will be two next month) And she still loves it. It’s hard on me though cause she is there full time and I am a working mama. But it is amazing to see the things they pick up from the other kids/adults. She even has her first BFF. A little girl who’s bday is 4 days before hers. They call out for each other when they get to class and hug each other everyday when I pick her up. Often times her BFF is the first one to hug me when I get there to pick uo my daughter, my girl is too busy playing :)
I love reading your Clara posts, I get a mommy fix at work :)
Love that idea! Really sweet!
xo
s
LOVE that idea because not only do you see how much they’ve grown in one school year, OMG, can they sprout up over the summer! What a great way to watch that!!!
I cannot believe Clara is old enough to be going to preschool – crazy! It seems like just last week we were reading about you guys bringing her home and doing weekly photo shoots. Thanks for sharing this adorable snippet of life with us all.
Sherry! She looks so much like you in that first photo! What a little cutie.
Very cute and I’m glad school went well! And now I’m going to be a jerk and ask a very tangentially related question. I love your first day of school photo and wish I could have done that instead of using a chalkboard. But, I couldn’t because of the ugly storm door in front of our pretty painted orange wooden door. I know you chose to go without a storm door and I was wondering why. The only reasons we have a storm door is because it came with the house, everyone else has one, and I assumed it provides our wooden door with protection from the elements. We never change out the glass to a screen because we live in DC which is too hot in the summer to open windows and too cold in the winter (I assume similar to Richmond?) Do you guys have a wooden door as well? And it doesn’t get destroyed by extreme temperature and pounding rain? Thanks!
Oh yes, our house came with one too (and our first house as well) but we realized we liked the look without one (in our neighborhood there are many homes with them and many without them). We had no issues with our solid wood door without a storm door in the 4.5 years at our first house or the past year and a half here, so I think as long as you keep the door painted (aka: so it’s not raw and chipping and more damaged by moisture) it should all good. Hope it helps!
xo
s
LOVE the LOOK of no screen door, but absolutely, positively could not live without one. Hubby doesn’t like A/C so spring, summer and fall, we almost always have the front and back doors open, bringing in a lovely breeze and keeping the house aired out… Admittedly it’s not as photogenic, but…
I just wanted to add that if you need a screen door but don’t like the look – Home Depot sells unpainted wood frame screen doors that you can paint the same colour as your regular door. Then the screen door is harder to see. I also just like the look better than an aluminum door – especially on the front of a house.
Also love the picture of Clara – she is darling!
Smart!
xo
s
Love the picture with the bag on her head. Reminds me of my son’s preschool pose.
She is such a cutie!!!
Oh my goodness say it isn’t so!…Clara is already in Pre-School…I just can’t believe it…I am so glad she loves it and is doing well with going to school…I hope you both are doing ok with her going to school as well.
I have to comment and tell you how adorable/beautiful Clara is! I’m sure you already know that but I just think she is the cutest thing (almost as cute as my daughters are, haha!) And I love her outfit, she’s quite the fashionista!
Aw thanks Alicia! We think she’s pretty cute, although I guess we’re biased. Hahah!
xo
s
I love her Bohemian top — very cute!
Way to go Clara!! My Daughter is having a hard time adjusting to preschool and it makes it so tough for me. Mine is 3 years old and goes 3 mornings each week. Did you guys have to tackle potty training for her to attend? We did! Thankfully that was easy for us!
Wow, you’re so lucky that it was easy! Clara isn’t potty trained but she goes on the potty sometimes (when she’s in the mood) but thankfully we didn’t have to push it since the 2 year olds in her class don’t need to be trained (just the three year old kids in the class above hers do). She’s slowly getting the hang of the potty thing though, so here’s hoping by the time it’s required she’ll be all set!
xo
s
Such a big girl! So glad she’s liking preschool.
We’re taking it slow with the potty training too. I feel like it’s the one thing we can’t control for them! Isla June just started using the potty (like just 3 days ago!) and insisted on going down for nap in her “big girl underwear”. I’m pretty sure it’s not going to go well, but I had to let her try!
Good luck!
YAY for preschool! My little guy just had his first day of orientation today and his first real day is next week so we’ll have pics then. I honestly think that preschool is great for kids – low key playtime with peers.
Looks like Clara had a blast!
Clara’s little face just makes me smile. It’s a great idea to take these pictures. I swear, it really was just yesterday when I took my oldest daughter to her pre-school, and this morning she was 12. Blink.of.an.eye. Capture every moment you can, and enjoy all these firsts!
I don’t know how you didn’t cry, b/c I got a little teary just looking at the pics and reading the post!
The pictures are absolutely adorable, and I love her first day of school outfit.
I was fighting it big-time, it was just such an exciting day and she was so smiley so I was trying not to be the bawling momma. Hahaha!
xo
s
She is so darn cute! I also started preschool at 2 (though I needed to for social reasons… I was painfully shy!) and plan to do the same with my daughter. Did you find that many preschools you looked at had waiting lists or were there plenty of openings?
I’m so glad Clara is loving school. Let’s hope that’s a good sign for when she goes to “big girl” school in a few years! :)
Clara actually got wait-listed since we took so long to figure out if we wanted to enroll her (with the tour being unsettled at that time we were nervous to make big calls like that before we knew our travel dates, etc) but thankfully there was one last minute opening at the end of August (literally about three weeks before it started) so she squeaked in! Whew.
xo
s
My 2 1/2 year old, Katie, went to her first day of preschool, too. She had been in daycare until this past December so I thought it would be easy for me (wasn’t sure about her!). She had the same reaction as Clara on day 1. I got “misty” though! Day 2 was much harder for both of us – she fell apart, which caused me to fall apart, too. Admittedly there were lots of crying kiddos in her class. I wonder how much that influences the teary goodbyes? Yikes! But it has gotten better each day and in the end we’ll be just fine!
Oh yes, I definitely think other kids influence them! It was so great that no one cried the first few drop offs because now everyone just runs right in. I think they just associate it with total fun since no one was bawling. So grateful!
xo
s
Yep, One kiddo crying at drop off can be contagious. You can have a room full of happy kids and then one cryer can set the lot off. So jealous of Clara’s teacher’s first day this year! I teach Kindergarten in Australia and many of the kids in our school community don’t attend preschool before starting to school. Many of them have never even spent time away from mum before, so the first week can be messy on both sides. I’ve actually had to lock a parent out of the room to get him to leave his daughter alone 1.5hrs after drop off (I’d just get her calmed down & he’d reappear in the room making her cry all over again). We run a 6 week transition the year before and try to wok out which kids will be the happy kids and which will be the cryers so that we can stagger their arrival over the two ‘first days’ of school and across the 6 classes. Doesn’t always work though!
Wow! I hope you have a no-crying class someday! Apparently Clara’s teacher had done this for 8 years or so and this was the first time- she couldn’t believe it!
xo
s