Off To School... Off to School...

Today was little Zack's big first day of pre-school, and he did beautifully! I am just so proud of him. I have been debating the past week or so on whether or not I should go ahead and send him, partially due to Mommy "letting go" issues, partially due to he's an emotional kid and wasn't sure of how he would take it, and partially because I didn't want to derail his potty-training progress (which is getting better by the day), and finally, this morning, I decided it was time. He woke up in a good mood, and the fact that I needed a break only further motivated me to bite the bullet ... Ben has kept us up the past few nights with what I believe to be teething issues. We packed his little lunch together, and away we went! Zack walked into school, holding my hand, while I pushed Ben in the stroller, and we all found his room together. His teachers, Miss Christy and Miss Caryn are very, very nice ladies who are supportive of continuing his pottytraining while he is at MDO, and Zack was immediately excited when he saw all of the kids and toys. He started crying when I left, but I knew they would call if he was inconsolable. The crying I didn't expect to see came from little Ben!!! He, who had been perfectly calm two seconds before, got hysterical and irate when we left his big brother behind. I managed to calm him down, and told him that we would get Zack in a little while, but when we got in the car and he saw Zack's empty carseat he started whimpering again. It truly amazes me and touches my heart at how close these two little boys are already, at the ages of almost two and nine months. They play together every day, Zack "reads" and shares his toys with Ben, and they have already destroyed a few things together. They were playing some modified game of tag this afternoon that cracked Zack and me UP. I cannot wait to watch them as they frow older and even closer, and I hope they will remain close for the rest of their lives. The greatest gift one can give their kids is siblings!
So Ben and I picked up Zack after we ate lunch with my friends from ALFA, Jill and Jennifer, and his teacher said he did GREAT! She said he played hard on the playground and ate all of his lunch and even ate some other kid's cookies that he didn't eat... just like his daddy, my kid is an eating machine. He was all smiles when they brought him out to the carpool lane, and I felt like I had given him a huge gift of independence. He is growing up so fast, and I want him to be independent and confident. I hope all will continue to go well next week!!