First Day of School

Sorry, these pictures got out of order. The top four should start below the next several ones.
Gabe with his nametag about to leave for school. I had to do some serious negotiating to get that on him, too.
Gabe getting out of the car. Halfway there...
Have fun in school, Gabe!!!
Yay, I get to be an only child for a little while!!!

In Gabe's classroom on "orientation" day
Parents and kids in the class

Gabe and his backpack, right before he started crying. There were a lot of people in there!
Gabe eating a VERY leisurely breakfast before the first day. Isn't that a pleasant look on his face?

Gabe's first day of school came and went without the drama we were afraid might happen. Although Gabe is a very good boy 95% of the time, he can be a little stinker in that other 5%! He had also been telling us he was afraid of music, the toys, and lots of other things at school. We had a little orientation the day before school actually started, where we brought his school supplies, let him meet the teacher, etc. There were probably 20-25 kids and parents in that tiny classroom, as both classes had the same orientation day. Gabe was immediately on edge. He cried a little bit, and it was the most pitiful cry I've seen. Although he did end up speaking to his teachers, he told them a few fibs - hey, who doesn't do this when they are nervous?!? According to Gabe, he has a dog, a rabbit, a big sister, and a cousin named Audrey (he has none of these things).

When the school day rolled around, Gabe was not too eager to go. It took him 45 minutes to eat 1 piece of toast, brush teeth and hair, and get dressed that morning. At that rate, we'll have to get him dressed in his school clothes the night before and let him sleep in them. He also got very upset at having to wear a name tag, because he had picked out his own shirt and didn't want to cover any of it up. We were barely on time, and when I saw one of the other teachers coming to the car to walk him to school, I got very nervous. He hadn't met her, so I just knew he was going to flip out. Gabe really surprised me by letting her unbuckle him and get him out of the car. He looked adorable walking into school, but I was still scared for him because I didn't want him to be the school loner and show his extremely shy tendencies. Audrey and I ran errands while he was in school, but I kept checking my cell phone for a call from the school (as in: "come get your son, he's grabbed the Little Tikes plastic hammer and is holding one of the other little boys hostage"). Luckily, no call ever came. We arrived to pick him up, and he came out to the car with one of his teachers. She said he had been good, but was a "little slow to warm to the routine". Gabe was very excited, and he started telling me what all he had done that day. According to Gabe: he got a sticker and M&Ms; he played with a couple of kids (Yay - we won't have to dress him in a little leather jacket and white muscle tee, and have him bring "smokes" for show and tell after all!); he painted a carrot picture, and the other boys had painted "away from the picture"; he had a snack of milk and Goldfish crackers; and when it was time to go to Music, he didn't want to go and he "walked backwards". This "walking backwards" thing is a little mysterious, and I still haven't gotten a straight answer from Gabe as to whether he was supposed to walk backwards as part of a song or something, versus walking backwards defiantly. He later told me also that after playtime, the teachers sang the "Clean Up" song, and everyone except him cleaned up. Maybe this "slow to warm to the routine" comment was his teacher's kind way of saying he didn't mind very well? Despite this, Gabe is looking forward to going back to school next week!