Firsts

About a month ago I did a search for toddler bedding on Amazon and let Brighton pick which bedding she wanted for her new Big Girl Bed. To my delight she declined the Disney princess option I thought she'd go for and selected a cute Elmo set (ok, well, it does bug me a little that now she has Elmo bedding and a Cinderella pillow, but not enough to steer her towards the princess sheets). The bedding arrived shortly thereafter, I put it in the wash and then promptly lost my nerve and stuck it in the kids' bathroom closet. I absolutely knew that Brighton was ready for the bed - I just wasn't yet ready myself. We've been really, really lucky in that our kids are good sleepers and for the most part, we put them to bed at 7:30 or 8:00 and that's where they stay until 7:30 the following morning. Pacey's really reliable in this respect, but B is a bit more of a wild card in general.

Anyway, yesterday was the day and Chris reluctantly dismantled the crib and hauled up the toddler bed. I made it with the new bedding and called B up for a look. She went NUTS. Both kids spent the next hour or so running in and out of her room, trying out the new bed. Following her bath, she barely waited to say goodnight to Pacey before she hopped into the bed, pulled the covers up to her chin, listened to a story and said goodnight. And...that was it. She was just waking up when I went in to get her this morning and hopped out of bed, so pleased with herself. I've just put her down for her first nap in the bed and so far, so good. We'll see if it lasts after the novelty wears off!

Today was also her first day of preschool. We went for an orientation last week so she'd met her teacher and some of the kids already. She was a little hesitant at drop-off this morning but once she spied the dollhouse she was off without a backward glance. Her daily report says that she was "happy, chatty and independent." Couldn't ask for a better first day.

I did get stuck behind the neighborhood school bus doing its pick-ups this morning. I watched family after family take photos and wave their kids off to the first day of school and damn if I didn't cry the entire time. How weird is that? Dropped my own kid off no problem but watching other families experience this rite of passage made me cry like a baby. Of course, my own first time putting my "baby" on the bus hasn't happened yet...and today doesn't bode well for how I will feel about it! Pacey couldn't be more excited - in fact, the worst part about Brighton starting school today was his devastation at having to wait another week to go himself. Still, we had a nice morning together and it feels so great to get our fall schedule underway. Full steam ahead!