Yuri's first day in kindergarten

When Yuri first came into foster care and went to live with the Weaver’s, I remember thinking… they’re so lucky.

When I saw Yuri the week of her first birthday at a soccer game, I thought… she’s the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen.

When football season started and the Weaver’s brought to the games, I thought… I don’t care if everybody here thinks I’m a baby hog.  She’s adorable and I can’t keep my hands off her.

The first night that Yuri was officially in our home, as our foster child, I thought… This is a dream.  I can’t be so lucky.

Fast forward 4 ½ years… that sweet baby girl with huge brown eyes and dimples so deep you could lose a Cheerio in them, started to kindergarten.

 

We spent FOREVER straightening hair that isn’t meant to be straight, but she looked fabulous.

 

She seemed okay at home, but when I looked over my shoulder in the car, she kinda had a deer in the headlights look.

 

 

We walked into school and said our goodbyes.  Nobody cried, but Gigi said “I miss Yuri” at least 25 times before 8:30. 

I felt bad for Gigi because she was obviously feeling left out, so I took her for a day in town with mommy.  We hit a consignment shop, the Verizon store, Chic-Fil-A, and ended up our day at Martin’s.  I didn’t really plan for Martin’s to be the last stop, but I could sense Gigi was getting tired.  Most kids get sleepy when they’re tired.  Gigi gets crazy.  Every time someone walked by us in the store, Gigi would say, “A dolla makes me holla!!” in her very best Honey Boo-Boo voice.  Seriously, G?  We have never walked an entire episode of that show (It made me embarrassed to be from the South… I just THOUGHT I was a redneck), but the commercial plays a billion times a day.  So, I quickly paid for my purchases and headed home with my brown version of Honey Boo-Boo.

I picked up Yuri at school and was SO excited to hear how much fun she had!

ME:                        Did you have fun?

YURI:                     Uh, not really!

ME:                        Why???!?!

YURI:                     Well, first thing…you told me they would teach me how to read!

ME:                        Well, baby, not the first day…you misunderstood.

YURI:                     Next thing…look at this MESS! (she pulls her TRAIN notebook out her backpack and showed me a picture of herself that will be on the front of her notebook ALL year). 

ME:                        What’s wrong with it?

YURI:                     My hair! It’s all jacked up!!!

At this point, I’m trying so hard not to crack up.  She’s a drama queen anyway, and apparently kindergarten just took that up a few notches. 

ME:                        Well, did you like your teacher?

YURI:                     Yes, she was nice.  But she can be ROUGH.

ME:                        Rough, huh.  What did she do that was rough?

YURI:                     Nothing.  But I heard she CAN be.

Noted.

We arrive at home and I tell her to put her tennis shoes up so we don’t have to spend 20 minutes searching for them tomorrow, which apparently reminded her of something else…

YURI:                     OHHHH.  By the way! P.E.!!!  Nobody told me a THING about that.  (she said with her eyes narrowed and using her accusing voice…)

Hmmm.  My bad.  It could have possibly been a subliminal slip on my part, because I know how much the little Diva hates to sweat. 

Who knew that she needed to know every little thing that was going to happen.  Is it because this is child #4 going to kindergarten or am I just forgetful? I don’t remember having to lay out an hour-by-hour agenda for any of my other 5-year-olds. 

The highlight of her day was lunch.  Lunch.  Go figure. She had “a sandwich, some corn, some fruit, and some yummy salad”.  Oh, but, she also threw in… “But I had to drink milk.  Nobody told me about that either!” 

Oops.

Stay tuned…I’m sure there will be many more kindergarten stories to come!