1st day of Kindergarten

Today was Brooklyn's 1st day of Kindergarten. Yesterday was her scheduled testing day and she was able to meet her teacher, Mrs. Bickmore.
I must go back a few weeks first. Brooklyn hasn't been wanting to go to church lately. She doesn't handle change all that well. One of her teachers got a new calling and she stopped wanting to go after that. They haven't replaced her teacher yet. She still has one of the same teachers though so you think she would be fine, but she's not. She tells us church is boring, that she doesn't want to go there for 3 classes, that singing time is boring, and that she's the only girl in class (fortunately she finally has a girl in her class). She's had just about every excuse in the book. It's been a struggle for Marty and I. We worried about how she would handle Kindergarten, especially because she didn't want to start preschool last year. She kept telling us things would be different at school.
Lately, we've done a lot of talking about getting older and how you get certain privileges the older you get. On Friday night, we went out for our first mommy and me date. It was simple. We went to Toys R Us and played with toys (we didn't buy anything) and then to Costco to get her a churro (Brooklyn's favorite treat!). I had frozen yogurt, but Brooklyn loved sharing the yogurt with me and getting a whole churro to herself (she usually has to share it). It was a fun evening and we talked a lot about how Kindergarten would be and it was great to have the one-on-one time. I told her we could do this more often now that's she's a big girl who goes to the big school (a privilege). All the talking about Kindergarten was positive. We also mentioned that every kid is nervous their first day of school.
So come Monday morning, Brooklyn was ready to go to the big school to meet her teacher. Our appt was at 10:30 am. Eliza went to Kattie's house to be watched and it was so nice not have to worry about her. I walked Brooklyn around the school and showed her the bathroom (she was worried the toilets would flush on their own, but they don't), where the playground was, etc.
Brooklyn did so well with the testing. I was a proud mama! I was a little worried she would be quiet and look to me to answer the questions, but she had no problems what so ever. She talked to the "tester lady" and to her teacher without any problems. She was even talking more than she needed to. I completed all the parent paperwork and then we were done.
Mrs. Bickmore and Brooklyn. Mrs. Bickmore is pregnant, due in October, which is when Brooklyn has her first off track time. Brooklyn said her teacher was nice and that she was ready to go back tomorrow.
Last night she got her father's blessing and everything in order for the next day. She was a little excited and had a hard time falling asleep.
She woke up this morning at 7 am and came in to wake me up. My alarm was set for 7:30, but she told me last night that she would wake me up (and she did). She was eager to get ready and go!
Marty worked for home (well, half day I guess) today so he could walk her to school on her first day. She loved being able to ride in the wagon to school.
15 minutes later and we barely made it there by the 8:20 bell. We were quite shocked by the amount of cars in the neighborhood going to school.
Brooklyn's view of her class-- all lined up to go in the school. Brooklyn was excited to have Rossen and Delaney (both from her Primary class) in her Kindergarten class. I'm so grateful we were able to get track A so she knew some of the kids in her class. I know this helped her so much.
I was feeling strong this morning. I wasn't going to cry. I knew she was in good hands and that she was happy to go. Well as I saw her walk into the school, it pulled on my heart strings a bit and the tears flowed. Only for a few minutes though.
Eliza and I were excited to go pick her up at 11:30. Eliza wanted the first hug. Brooklyn had a great day. I got a little bit of information out of her. She made one friend, but she doesn't know her name (gotta love kids). The slide on the playground was broken. She asked the teacher what happened and the teacher didn't know. They each have jobs in the class. Her first job was to hold open the door. She colored. She saw another girl (Holli Grow) from our ward in the school library. Of course there's more, but that's all I remember right now. She's excited to go again tomorrow. Yay!