Today began Julian's first day as "Oldest Grade in the School and Therefore Cooler Than Cool, Get Outta My Way or You're Gonna Get it, Kid!"
He's kinda stoked about it.
His elementary school only houses kindergarten through third grades, so this morning when I mentioned that, "Wow, you'll be one of the biggest kids in the whole school this year!" I noticed a spark ignite in his very soul. He simply smiled a half smile while looking out into space and uttered dreamily, "wedgie....heh."
Preschool was a great time for him, as an only child. He finally had some little people to hang with and something to look forward to three days a week. We lived in Ohio, with no friends or family, so it was good for him to have something social. It was a co-op preschool, so his pregnant mom even got to haul her big belly into class a few times to help out. She also held it together pretty well on the first day.
He was quite nervous. Quite QUITE nervous.
But then, with some experience under his belt, he was much better equipped to deal with kindergarten, and really frickin excited about his lunch box and new shoes...
Not as excited about riding a bus for the first time...
First grade was easy as pie with all of that worldly knowledge and bus stop know-how in his noggin....
Then, partway through the year, we moved him. Took him away from this:
...which was tough on everyone....but New York has been good to us. Even second grade was good, but not without some academic challenges. Challanges are good though, they build character. Second grade sees another first day polo shirt, I see a trend:
And now here we are at THIRD grade. Insane, just insane. I have a third grader. Who cares a whole damn lot about his hair:
He also looks like he is about to pull a set of keys out of his pocket and drive his own tall self to school....
Watch out ladies. Big bad third grader coming atcha.