Kindergarten, here we come!

Believe it or not, today was Riley's first day of kindergarten! We have been counting down the months, weeks and days and the time has finally come - I Riley was really excited for the start of something new!  He will be doing morning Kindergarten Enrichment at the JCC in the morning, then he gets to take the van to school and will have afternoon Kindergarten at Hoover Elementary.  

I met Riley at school this afternoon for the first day exchange and with his new backpack, his sporty outfit and a big toothless smile on his face, he said that he was ready to go - no hesitation, no tears, no anxiety - just a kid who was ready to make new friends and go on his next adventure.  As a mother, what else could you hope for your child but excitement for education and new experiences?

And as it was a big day to celebrate, Riley got to pick where we went for dinner.  His choice was pizza and ice cream - he is clearly my child!  With a sticky, chocolate covered mouth, he told us that he is excited for another day of Kindergarten tomorrow and I can only hope that the excitement continues throughout the year.

Goodbye tonsils!

After thinking about it for months/years, we knew that the time to take Riley's tonsils out had come.  Between the two sets of ear tubes and having his adenoid removed, it was always something that we knew would probably happen.  The breaking point was when the dentist told us that his jaw was forming in a different way because his mouth was always open.  With that, we circled back to the ENT who confirmed that the time had come.

Today was the day and I can't tell you what a wonderful job Riley did!  We brought him to the hospital and after a lot of waiting, a lot of playing, a lot of wondering when it would finally be our turn, he hopped on the bed and was ready to ride down the hall.  Zee made him a special Star Wars blanket that was there with us from start to finish and Riley hasn't left it all day.  The procedure itself took just over 30 minutes and then the doctor came to tell us that his tonsils were now in tonsil heaven.

Riley took a long time to wake up from his nap, but when he did, he was in good spirits and was ready for a slushy and Gatorade.  He has been drinking well all evening and even ate some apple sauce, a yogurt and a banana when he got home - off to a good start!  I know better than to think that this is indicative of his recovery and am anticipating the pain levels to go up in the next week or so, but we have a kitchen stocked with cold, soft foods and hopefully we will be able to manage the pain as it comes.

And just as a cute reminder - here is a picture of the first time we went in for ear tubes about 4 1/2 years ago.  Note, Riley has certainly changed but my cool disposable outfit still stays the same!