*wipes away tears* yesterday Gaby had her first day at Kindergarten!!!! For those of you who aren't from NZ, our kindergarten is between ages 3-5, and (generally) on a child's 5th birthday, they start primary/elementary school. Regardless of that, it is still Gaby's final stop before being a school kid - and that is such a scary thought!!! She was so excited all day about going to kindergarten, and when we arrived, she wanted to go straight to the playground - of course! We spoke to the head teacher & she showed us around again, and explained more about the daily routine, after that Gaby was off outside, I followed her around for awhile, but it was pretty clear she didn't care if I was there or not! I took the obligatory 'first day at.......' photographs, then told her I was leaving - she gave me a kiss and then yelled out "hey guys, my Mummy is going now". Very cute!
I picked her up at 3pm and the teacher I spoke to was thoroughly impressed, at how Gaby had reacted to her first day! She was very 'confident', played with the other kids freely, helped to tidy up at the end of the session - and was in general a 'treasure'. I had a feeling that she would have reacted that way, but you never do quite know! It made me feel so wonderful, that MY kid had been such a 'treasure', and that the teachers were impressed with her - I figure that surely it must mean that over my 3 years as a Mama, I have done something right! She is still going to be attending Ready Steady Play (her preschool) 1 day a week - because she loves that place, and the teachers - and the kids, but if she seems okay with kindergarten this time next year (when she will start going 5 mornings a week), I might cancel her enrolment at R.S.P... which is a bit of a sad thought really!
It really is a crazy feeling - knowing that she is going to be THREE in 13 days time. It's making me reminisce and remember 'the way things were' - we have BOTH come a long way in that time! I have been so blessed to have such an amazing little princess, in my life - and it really has been an honour to watch her grow & develop into the wonderful almost-3-year-old, that she is today! This time three years ago, it was a day past my due date, and I was wondering if Gaby would EVER decide to arrive - somehow I KNEW that she wouldn't be coming of her own accord, and of course my Mummy instinct was right! That said - I don't care that I had a caesarean - I don't feel like less of a woman for not having a vaginal delivery... my baby was born healthy - and to me, that was/is the most important thing...
