Samantha's First Day of School -- 1st Grade

Samantha started school the day after Labor Day, the 2nd of September.  There was absolutely no hesitation on her part; she was excited and ready for her full day of school.  With her lunch packed and her book-bag zipped, she paused for a few minutes so that I could take some pictures of my FIRST GRADER!

Naturally, Sophia wanted a picture taken with her big sister.

And Steve took a few out on the new deck:

I still don't know where she gets her long, giraffe legs from ...

Once we arrived at the elementary school, I walked Samantha into her classroom.  I wanted to be sure that she got everything settled, and I wanted a chance to personally meet her teacher (as I missed out on Meet the Teacher Night the week before).

Sam and her teacher, Mrs. Elliott:

Before we left, Samantha had already sat down at her desk and began coloring.  Of course, her little brother and sister were close-by the whole time.

Sam's first day of school was also Barb's birthday -- our first year celebrating it without her.  In honor of the day, even though she is no longer with us, we chose to bake some brownies.  After all, it was no secret just how much Barb loved chocolate ... 

While we were baking the brownies, Sophia and I talked about Grandma a lot.  She remembers quite a few things about her -- not as much as Sam remembers though -- and I think that it is good to remind her of those memories as often as I can.  I especially like to tell Sophia that she got her blue eyes (my only blue-eyed child) from Grandma and from Papa.

We added some chocolate chips and some peanut butter chips, just for a little extra goodness.  As Sophia was adding them to the batter and stirring, I suddenly remembered how I made Barb a Reeses Peanut Butter cake from scratch last year for her birthday.  Yes, it was definitely fitting that we made brownies with peanut butter chips in them that day.

While Samantha was in school, I made sure that Sophia did a little "school work" of her own.

I have chosen to take Sam to school myself in the mornings for the time being (instead of having her ride the bus) for a couple of reasons.  First of all, I have to take Sophia to school three out of five mornings anyway.  Secondly, it is a LONG ride for Samantha in the morning if she rides the bus.  The bus would pick her up at 7 am and drop her off at school at 7:45 am.  I may choose to have her ride the bus a couple of mornings a week, but for now, she just rides it home in the afternoon for a much shorter ride.

On Sam's first day, Sophia got up from her nap a little early so that she could wait with me in the driveway for the school bus to arrive.  And when it finally did ... wow ... Sophia was so happy to see her sister!