we did it! well, THEY did it. our sweet Parker and Jolie started kindergarten yesterday and I think it was a great start to the school year. This past weekend was busy busy busy getting ready for their start of school- we stopped into old navy and target and got a few cute outfits to carry them through their first week- picking out outfits that match their personality perfectly. we also hit up the grocery store and filled our cart with requests for their lunch boxes.

Sunday, daddy was on shift at the fire station, so the kids and I made a trip there to visit him before heading to swim with BB and Papa and Miss Teresa and Tim. we swam and painted our nails and then ate dinner before heading home for an early bedtime!

we have prayed hard over this transition into school for a long time and for it to finally be here was surreal for me. but these girls were ready!

I woke early to make sure their morning would go off without a hitch and sweet Parker was awake soon after “we get to go to kindergarten TODAY?!” they have asked me every morning for the last month about going to school and finally I was able to say “yes! today is the day!” her face lit up like Christmas morning! she was pumped! Jordan arrived home by 6am so he could make them breakfast, eggs and waffles, and after getting dressed and fixing their hair we took a few pictures before we left to be at school by 7:15am. when we talked about what they wanted to be when they grew up, Jolie’s first answer was “a princess!” and then after I explained it a bit she said she wanted to be a mama, but also she wanted to cook for people! Parker wants to be just like her dad- some days she talks about being a firefighter but yesterday she decided that she wanted to be a doctor and work in a hospital.. also something she’s exposed to by visiting him at the hospital and seeing her dad in scrubs all the time (he works twice a week as a medic in the ER of a local hospital.)

I ordered these reuseable chalkboard signs from Chalk Designs by Me– I cant wait to use them again for the last day of kindergarten!! their dresses are from plain jane and sneakers are under armour from DSW! I needed something for them to wear that was cute enough for wearing with dresses but also held up for recess and play. personalized lunch boxes and backpacks are from Stuck on You!  I swear these girls look just like they did when they were tiny babies.. but then again I hardly recognize them they seem so grown up!  one thing that surprised me was the amount of comments and questions I recieved about the twins being in different classes. the short answer is yes, they are in different classes. our district does things a little differently and for the first week of school the kindergarten students are grouped together in “pods” and do not have official classroom assignments. throughout the week each of the K teachers will work through the different groups of kids and then next week they will be in their permanant classes- so we dont actually go to “meet the teacher” until next Monday. currently Parker and Jolie are in different pods based on the initial assessments they did of the students during registration back in May. the school does this really so that they can balance out each classroom setting and the teachers are able to meet the academic needs of each child.

all that being said, putting twins into different classes is definitely a parent decision and is based on the personality of your kids. our girls rely heavily on one another and are pretty much inseparable. while they are the best of friends there is still a bit of competition and comparision in lots of situations. I’ve seen it most recently when we have been working through a kindergarten prep workbook. if one sees the other completeing a worksheet the other will speed through to finish. on the other hand, if they are both finished but one doesnt get a correct answer and the other does, there comes frustration and occasional tears. my girls work and process very differently. as a parent and knowing that about the two of them, we recognized that it would be best for them to thrive individually in the school setting. of course there was anxiety about being separate but we have been talking about this day with them for almost 6 months so they knew what to expect.

after briefly chatting with Jolie’s pod leader she mentioned that she would make sure that at the end of the week Parker and Jolie would be on the same “team” so they would see each other during the day at lunch and recess, etc.we dropped them off in the cafeteria where they got their name badges and said our goodbyes! my social butterfly Parker Jane was SO excited and all smiles- ready for the day to begin! Jo was a little more nervous and not sure what to expect, but perked up when I helped her recognize a few friends and neighbors sitting at different tables. it was going to be a great day!!we picked them up at 2:50pm and came home to wind down – turned on a movie and in no time they were out! sweet girls had the busiest day! we all took a cat nap.   we decided on pizza for dinner and headed to Earl’s to celebrate our big kindergarteners and ended the evening with sno cones for dessert! I bugged them the entire dinner about their favorite parts of the day- they both loved recess and lunch time 🙂as I was tucking them in to bed, Parker asked me if they get to go back to school tomorrow, and once again her face lit up like Christmas when I told her “yep! tomorrow is another day at school!”

I think we’re off to a great start! I cant wait to see how they grow and change over this next year.