"Be kind" (Manuel's first day of 2nd grade)

Those were the words I spoke to my "little" boy as we said prayers last night...today he starts 2nd grade and my biggest prayer for him this year is that he is kind. OF COURSE I want him to excel academically, make friends, etc. but with the way the world is going, with the rate at which "outsiders" are turning to awful measures to get noticed, I just want him to be kind to the children around him. And of course, the words Manny spoke to him before he headed out the door for work..."Be yourself!" Two very simple phrases, but words that can shape his entire year, his entire life! :) We already know Manuel is a smart kid, he excels at reading and at math (although his handwriting needs a ton some work! ;)) but sometimes when it comes down to the basics, the academics need to be on the back burner for a minute, and just focus on the heart of your child(ren) :)

Since I'm going to be on maternity leave starting in 11 days (my last day of work is September 6th, my c-section is September 10th) we opted to not have Manuel attend before/after care for two weeks, so I got to get him on the bus this morning (and will continue to do so until I return to work after my leave) and my mom will be there in the afternoons to get him off the bus. This was the first time I've sent him off to school and HAVEN'T cried (yay me!!!!!! ;) It was fun to watch him get on his bus, in our neighborhood, with all of his little friends (since all prior years he's ridden the bus from daycare). He's really growing up and I couldn't be more proud! :) I hope he has a wonderful first day of school and I HOPE to be back tomorrow with a blog post about how it went :) For now, here are a few pics (from my phone...he wouldn't "allow" me to take my camera to the bus stop! :)) of him this morning...

Although it seems that I'm trying to get a picture of that sibling duo, I'm not ;) My sweet boy (in the green and white stripes) getting on the bus :)

Manuel and his buddy waiting for the bus :)

Sibling photo opt before heading out the door (I got some really cute ones on my "real" camera...at this point, they were over it! :)