Wow, what a day!!! Jaedyn was super excited this morning and woke up quite early chanting “First day of kindergarten! First day of kindergarten!” and then proceeded to ask for the next hour and a half “Is it time yet? Is the bus here yet?” every couple of minutes! Sean and I took her across the street to catch the bus and she hugged my leg and said “Mommy, I’m gonna miss you!”. I looked at Sean like ’she’s gonna get me started crying now!’ and it started… I managed to choke back the tears up until the bus came down the hill. It stopped, the doors opened and she looked for a second, unsure of what to do. An older girl on the bus poked her head around the corner of the front seat and said “Are you a kindergartener?” to which Jaedyn replied “oh YEAH!!!” and ran onto the bus without looking back. Then the bus driver sat there with the doors open, just waiting… then he asked me “aren’t you going to take any pictures?”. Of course, I had already taken several before the bus arrived and this was one of the few moments of my life that I did not want to live through a viewfinder. At this point all I was thinking was “get the hell out of here before I change my mind!!!” and just told him that I already had plenty. He still waited… “are you sure???” “yeah I’m sure! Just go!” - though I’m not really sure if I said ‘just go’, but I was certainly thinking it! I sobbed for another minute or two and then we got in the car and drove up to the school to watch her get off the bus and make sure she got to her teacher. The place was a madhouse! We did get to see her get off the bus and they are very organized there, which eased our minds.

The bus arrived about 20 minutes late coming home… first days are like that I guess. We waited for the bus to drop her off at our driveway (nice! I used to have to walk pretty far) and she greeted us with big smiles, hugs & kisses and tons of excitement. As she told my Mom, she “had a fabulous day!”. She loved it and can’t wait to go back tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll handle it a bit better tomorrow!

Here is a collection of photos - some from my camera, some from the point and shoot (I didn’t want to create a spectacle and embarrass my little girl with my monster camera & lenses!).

“Is it time for the bus yet?”

Waiting at the bus stop

Getting off the bus at schoolComing home!

Running to give me hugs & kisses - my favorite part of the day!
Where does the time go?!?!

Tomorrow is the big day… my little girl is starting Kindergarten. I still cannot believe it. I have already had tears in my eyes a couple of times today and it isn’t even here yet! I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like tomorrow morning when I watch my little girl get on that big yellow school bus (and then I get in my car and follow the bus the whole way to school!). I am so proud of her - she’s so ready for school. She’s going to do great - and I don’t think she’s even a little bit scared to go. I guess that makes it easier on me, but I’ll tell you a secret - I am scared! I’m scared of her riding the bus, I’m scared that I’m going to get constant phone calls from her teacher that she’s too talkative, too sassy, too big for her britches. After all, she’s an only child and acts much older than 5… just ask anyone that knows her - she’s always the life of the party and most adults love talking to her. She’s just like one of the gang most of the time. I’m scared that she’s going to come home with really bad habits and vocabulary that she’ll learn from her classmates… I’m scared that I’m going to blink my eyes and she’ll be graduating high school.

Tonight I teared up when she picked out her “first day” outfit, when we set her new Hannah Montana alarm clock that she had to have because she was afraid she’d oversleep for school, when I made her lunch, when we read “Countdown to Kindergarten” for the 150th time, when her teacher called me to ask about her allergy and whether she could have a cupcake, when another Mom called to ask me about riding the bus home with the kids Tuesday. I have known it was coming and even though I was freaked out, I thought I was ready. I thought I’d be fine except maybe when she actually got on the bus. All of a sudden today it really sunk in and I got a wave of fear, sadness and excitement (and maybe a little panic!). It just felt like it was still so far away and then suddenly I’m told that it’s TOMORROW?!?! AAAAAAAAHHH!!!! It just can’t be…. I mean, wasn’t she just taking her first steps? I’m so excited for her though - she is over the moon and cannot wait to go. As she was going to bed she was telling me how excited she was and asked me if I was excited too. I answered “Yeah, I’m excited, but I’m also a little bit sad because it just means that you’re growing up!” Her reply made me laugh so hard I could barely breathe… “Don’t worry Mom. I’ll get a kid and I’ll get you one too. (I’m dying with laughter at this point and she’s patting me on the back) It’s okay, I’ll name her Jaedyn for you since I know you like that name”. Oh boy… I don’t know where she gets these things. I’d like to know where these “kids” she’s talking about are going to come from…

You’d better believe I’ll be posting pics of my little girl tomorrow (after the fountain of tears stops flowing)!

We’re heading up to Lake Waramaug for a quick camping trip before Jaedyn starts school! We’ll be gone through Tuesday evening.

As mentioned in my last post, Jesse & Kelly’s 8/8/08 wedding was awesome… hence this mammoth post! These two are so in love and so much fun! Tara and I had such a fantastic time and I think that we were both in awe most of the day! Jesse & Kelly are really into swing dancing and it was very evident in their wedding. Every little detail was planned to a T and it just turned out so perfectly. It was my first time at Joe Black’s - it was breathtaking and totally complimented the theme. Here are some of my favorites:

It’s been a busy few weeks around the Thomes household! My hubby is FINALLY home! He was in Florida for 3 1/2 weeks opening a new restaurant and we missed him like crazy! He was super busy, working 15+ hour days, 6 days a week, so we didn’t even hear from him much. While he was away I managed to teach Jaedyn to ride her bike without training wheels and I helped my father in law and brother in law put in a new deck. I was kind of going crazy trying to keep up with Jaedyn by myself for almost 4 weeks… no school, no camp, no playdates, no Daddy… whew! I have always had a lot of respect for single parents, but MAN, it’s exhausting! We are so glad to have him home!

Last Friday (8/8/08) was Jesse & Kelly’s wedding and wow - what a fantastic wedding! They are so in love and so much fun! We hit some really bad weather and some minor bumps along the way, but the day was perfect overall. They are big into swing dancing and it showed in their wedding! They had a swing dancing performance group and wow can that crowd dance! I said it several times that day, but I’ll say it again - if I were a guest at that wedding there is NO WAY I would be out on that dance floor - not only would I thoroughly embarrass myself, I’d probably get hurt too! What a great time, an awesome couple and an amazingly gorgeous venue. I’ll be posting photos in the next couple days!

Tuesday Jaedyn and I went to NYC to meet up with my friend Ginger and her hubby and son who are all visiting from Michigan and Shawna and Jimmy who live in Long Island. Ginger, Shawna and I worked together back in 1999-2000 in Michigan and have remained friends since. Both of them were bridesmaids in my wedding and last summer I photographed Shawna & Jimmy’s wedding and Ginger was a bridesmaid. It was really great seeing them - and their pregnant bellies! They are due within a month of each other! We met up at the Empire State Building and made it up to the top for the most amazing view… the rain cleared up and we made it up there shortly before sunset. WOW. Again, I’ll be posting photos soon!

Wednesday night I picked Sean up at the airport and we’ve been spending lots of time together since. We’ve got a lot of time to make up for! Last night was date night - we went to Vino on the Brickwalk in Fairfield… such good food and HUGE portions! Very highly recommended! I think it may just be our new favorite restaurant!

Jaedyn starts kindergarten in less than 2 weeks… we’re still in shock! She had her booster shots Thursday and it’s becoming more and more real now. My mother in law said something today about next week I’ll be shopping for snacks for Jaedyn’s lunch and I almost cried. I don’t know how the time goes so quickly.

I had to post because I’m so proud of Jaedyn and I can’t wipe the smile off my face! My little girl got it - she’s riding her bike without training wheels now. WOW. She just turned 5, is starting kindergarten in a few weeks and now this?! I guess I’m going to have to come to grips with the fact that my little girl is growing up! She’s doing AWESOME and was so hilarious announcing to the world that she can ride her bike with 2 wheels all by herself.