Speed of Light!

Dear Ian,

Today is Monday.  Today is the beginning of the last week of your first year at school.  Whoa, that sentence is a mess, but it's true:  As of this Friday, you will have completed your first year at Advent and the first year of your "educational career."  Only about 20 more to go.  (Two to three more here at Advent, 13 in elementary, middle and high school, and then about five for your degree.  So maybe a bit more, since you plan on getting your Masters and possibly a PhD, right?) 

Man, oh man have you come a long way since that first week of school where I was convinced that I was going to have to call a therapist for the two of us.  Here's more about that, but like I was saying, you have made such progress this year, with the biggest challenges being that you had new authority figures in your life, and you had to separate from your Mama.  To be honest, we both had that challenge.  But now it's the end of May, you are a confident Little Bear, you have more friends than I think even I have, and you've learned so much in the past eight or so months.

 And it has gone by in the blink of an eye. 

You've learned new songs, courtesy of Miss Jan, and you now actually sing them at school, too!  From Miss Kim, you've learned about different kinds of measuring cups, how to crack an egg, and how to turn your head and not cough on the food you're preparing.  Miss Lynn has introduced you to so many new artists and styles of art this year.  Most of them even I had never heard of, so culturally, you're even ahead of Mommy!  Miss Christene has taught you parables and stories from the Bible, and although you usually give them your own spin, you are understanding God's hand in your world.  Miss Tami in lab has introduced you to the  magical world of science, and to all these teachers, I owe them so much.  But most of all, I am so thankful for your classroom teachers, Miss Laura, Miss Jordan and Miss Jamye.  They made your first year so wonderful.  You've learned to take turns and share, sit quietly and follow rules, at a bare minimum.  Through your awesome teachers, you've also starting to understand that learning is fun and that school is a special place, and for that I am eternally in their debt.  Great teachers make all the difference in the world, and you've gotten off to an amazing start.  

What's really crazy about all of this is that you are only about two or three years from starting big school.  It simply blows me away that in the amount of time it took us to get you from newborn to this point you will be headed off to elementary school.  The past two and half years have simply flown by, so I can't even begin to imagine how fast the next two and half will go.  It makes me want to wrap you up in my arms and hide all the clocks and calendars in our house.  This summer I plan to spend as much time as you and I can tolerate handle being together, and we're going to have a blast.  From visits to the park, Junior Museum (yes, I still call it that.  Native Tallahassean, you know...), Trousdale pool to just hanging here at the house, I am going to make every minute count.  And not just this summer, either.  A mommy's time with her babies as babies is as ephemeral as a humid-free Tallahassee morning.  That's going to be gone come 10am, and I want to make sure I don't miss any opportunity to play with you. 

Anyhoo.  Mommy is getting all mushy again.  So, instead, I'm going to focus on some fun school-year memories.

Here's your very first school portrait ever:

This was taken around September, and to me, you still look like such a baby guy in this portrait.  Now you're a confident little man.  One day I'm going to look at this picture side by side with your graduation photos, and it is going to absolutely kill me. 

Here's your class photos from this year, too!

 Please excuse the quality (or lack there of) of these pictures.  My scanner is still out of commission, so I had to take photos of photos.  

 This is your Monday, Wednesday, Friday class.  I'm pretty sure I've mentioned on here somewhere that you are technically in two classes.  A spot was sorta created for you, since I am teaching five days and week, and when we enrolled you, the five-day-twos class was already filled.  At first, I was worried about how you would handle being in two different classes where you rotated an assistant teacher and had different friends every other day, but in true Ian fashion, you took it all in stride.  From left to right, there's Miss Laura, Rhiley, Cole, Liam, Spencer, you, Luke, Carson, J.R., Joe, Miss Jordan and Nick.  Missing from your picture is Keelie. 

This is your Tuesday, Thursday class.  Again from left to right there's Miss Jamye, Penelope, Ethan, you, Brooklyn, Marshall, Miranda, Miss Laura, Julia, Daniel and Kaden.  Such a sweet group.  

It's been fun to watch the whole lot of you grow up, and it will be interesting to see how the friendships change and develop as you grow up.  I'm also curious to see who will go to elementary school with you and then even beyond that.  

I still cant believe how fast this year has gone by.  I am really lucky to be teaching at your school; I can occasionally see you from my classroom window, and if you're outside at the same time as my class, you never fail to run to the gate to get a kiss and a hug before going back to play.  Those little peeks into your day mean so much to me, and I am SO glad your teachers are tolerant of your crazy Mama.  We're pretty lucky, little dude.  

So, now we gear up for the summer and then prepare for our next year of school.  Our summer is jammed packed already, and I am really excited to get to spend my days with you again.  Just like when you were really little and only in Mommy's classroom here at home.

Hugs, Kisses and Love,

Mommy