Nathan's First Day of School

Already being the second-born son, Nathan reminds me everyday that he will not be compared to his older brother, Ben. He exudes an attitude that claims he can hold his own and can handle anything that Ben can handle. His desire of independence stretches as far as possible, until he realizes that he actually needs my help. Although, this all sounds wonderful, (and it is!) it can also backfire in the most extreme ways, but that's another story at another time.

We had a "practice-day" at his preschool which allowed parents to come with their kids and practice a couple hours in school. It didn't go very smoothly for us. Nathan had no desire to sit in a circle, let alone for more than 5 seconds! And to make things more difficult, he had no desire to be "himself." He decided that day to be clingy which is very unusual in a room full of toys and activities. It was clear that I was struggling with him, and I started to think that maybe this was too soon for him. I was confused. As time went on, and he started to hug me more, I realized that he was warm and his cheeks were a little flushed. He was developing a fever. Usually, I feel sad for my kids when they are sick, but this time, I have to admit, I was a bit relieved. It explained the unusual behavior, and Nathan was in fact ready for school!

All better and back to health, Nathan was ready for his first day of school! He has seen Ben experience days of school many times by now, and he was ready for his turn! Nathan was smiling from ear to ear and even jumping a little for joy all morning. I was impressed with the confidence that my son who wasn't even 3 yet was showing me!

Nathan is dressed and ready to go!

Ok, fine, I will wait in line LIKE EVERYONE ELSE before entering the classroom!

Sorry, I can't wait any longer. I want to go in my classroom!

UPDATE: My concerns of Nathan are starting to slowly dissipate. I knew from the start that he would have a difficult time at "circle time," and other structured activities. I was anticipating mini-conferences from his teacher regarding these concerns and even feared that perhaps he may have been too young for school. However, his teacher describes it as a "work in progress." That's good news to me. But, the better news is listening to Nathan sing songs at home that I have not sang with him recently. So far I hear snippets of "Good morning to you, good morning to you...." and "There are seven days, there are seven days, there are seven days in a week..." It is literally music to my ears, because this is proof that he is paying attention. The day he came home and said he sat down with "pretzel legs," I hugged him like crazy! I know I've never used those words before!! (We EAT pretzels in this household!) Yay, Nathan!