"I'm Four!"

After his friend Tyson had his fourth birthday in September, Jay insisted he also turned four and ignored any attempts to correct him.

One day a neighbor asked how old he was. He held up four fingers and said:

"I'm four, but my grown-ups think I'm three."

(Now that his birthday is a couple months away and talk of his own party has started, he's decided to be three again.)

Jay's First Day of School

Jay loves preschool and his teacher Ms Cathy. Almost every night he asks if tomorrow is a school day, and, if it is, he gets a huge grin and does a little happy dance. This year he goes to the Isle of Palms Rec Center program three times a week. It's a small class with one teacher and 7 kids.

The first months of school, he'd be ready an hour before we had to leave. I'd talk him into watching Blues Clues to kill time, and he would hop onto the chair with his backpack still on and his lunch box in his lap, ready to race out the door.

He, of course, wanted the same style backpack as Cole. As you can see, it's huge on him. It's hilarious to watch him walk with the bag bumping against his little bum. After careful consideration, he also picked out a Hello Kitty themos to go in his lunch box. So far, none of his friends have told him that Hello Kitty is for girls like I expected. Or, if they have, it hasn't bothered him. Already at 3 the kids are acutely aware of the lines between girls and boys. Jay, however, still likes pink and plays with his baby doll. I hope he can hold onto his individuality as well as his excitement about school.

Cole's First Days of School

It was hard for me to have Cole go to kindergarten. The school day seemed like such a long time away from home. The first few months were a big transition. I think he was a little homesick and I definitely missed him. Poor Jay really missed him. His constant companion and playmate was gone for seven hours each day and I was a poor substitute.

Now, several months into the school year, we have all adjusted. Cole seems to be loving it. He's so proud of the work he does. I'm glad we didn't push reading on him in preschool because he is at the perfect level to learn quickly and not be bored.

He's also making some good friends, some of whom we were excited to learn live in our neighborhood. A couple of the boys are only children, so Cole gets invited to their houses quite often. It makes me glad to have had two boys close in age who love to play together.