It happened again. Our little lady is back in preschool.
And the difference from last year’s first day photo nearly put our jaws on the floor. We knew she had grown, but wow.
Since her monthly photo project stopped at her 3rd birthday, it was fun to break out this other photo tradition and snap some pictures. Although I had forgotten about the weird results when you say things like “smile big!”
“No, like you’re really happy and excited.”
She’s going back to the same preschool she went to last year, though now for three mornings a week instead of two like last year. She’s excited to be back with her friends, to get to know her new teachers, and to uncover all that there is to explore in her new classroom. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say we’re excited to have a couple hours of quiet time/project time/typing time at home. Although our new house is about 15 minutes further away from school now, so we’re definitely noticing the extra hour that it takes to do two round-trips.
Totally worth it though. The girl loves her school and is so excited to be reunited with all of her friends.
Not sure where this catalog model came from all of the sudden. Someone’s giving us a little strut and pose action.
She eventually realized that all of these photos were the only thing that stood between herself and her friends at school, so this is her “can we go now?” face.
So off we went. Oh, and Sherry found her school bag at an Old Navy outlet for $2. She wrote Clara’s name on it with a red sharpie since the school asks for everything to be labeled. How did the whole first day of school thing go for the rest of you guys?
Janelle @ Two Cups of Happy says
She is just such a smart cookie. And look at her bag – it’s bigger than she is! Haha.
Kim S. says
Wow, the difference in the last year is amazing! We are another family that takes first day of school photos at the front door. I didn’t have photoshop back when my kids started but I’m thinking I should go back and find them all and add in the year.
For full disclosure: my oldest is now a sophomore in college, so his photo was drop off in front of his dorm door. To my amazement, he just stood there and smiled for the photo.
Young House Life says
That’s so sweet!
xo
s
Michelle Kersey says
awwwwwww. That’s so sweet!
tammy says
Now that’s a sign of a true gentleman!
Allison says
Awww! That’s super sweet and adorable!
Toni From says
She is so adorable!
Jane says
I just love that first day of pre-school picture in front of your blue door. Her dress is adorable and what’s not to love about that expression on her face! Clara is sure growing up fast and she is so photogenic! Hope she has fun in school!
Take care,
Jane
Becky S. says
Holy growth spurt! She looks like a totally different kid between the two pictures. My 5 yesr old just started kindergarten this year and I compared her picture from this year to last and there is barely any difference. She has never really had any major growth spurts…just slow and steady. Good luck to Clara with school! (P.S. when I typed in school it auto corrected to evil! Made me laugh).
kb says
what a doll! she’s grown so much, but on the bright side… still fitting into the same shoes?! that seems like a reassuring miracle :)
Young House Life says
Haha, they’re about 4 sizes bigger – just the same kind (she likes them a lot…)
xo
s
Evelina says
I noticed the shoes too!
Krysta says
These pictures are reason enough to have a bright front door! She is so cute!
Casey says
So cute! I felt the same way about my 4-year-old’s last year/this year school pictures–blew my mind! And I was thisclose to buying that bag at Old Navy the other day. I love it!
Mary says
Too entirely cute :)
Julianne says
Oh my, how she’s grown! I remember those first days of kindergarten…even though they are only gone for a few hours, they seem like they’ve grown up more by the time they come home. lol. I hope Clara enjoys every bit of her new school year! :0)
Stefanie says
LOVE these pictures. I especially love how the first day of school outfit goes so well with the door color! Haha. Happy accident or planned?
It’s amazing to look at pictures and see just how much your kids have grown. Of course we know that they’re growing but seeing them every day kind of makes you not realize just how much. Are those the same shoes or same shoes different size? I’m asking because my daughter grows taller..but her feet seem to hardly ever grow. She’s now 6 1/2 and has been wearing a size 10 shoe for two years. Haha.
Young House Life says
Complete accident both times! I think bright colors just go with bright colors, so since she likes them in her clothes and we like them on our doors they just work. Haha! As for the shoes, we keep rebuying them bigger because she loves them and we’re not ones to argue with shoes that don’t make her feet hurt. It was like finding the right sippy cup – the right shoes were quite a hunt!
xo
s
Diane Taylor says
Holy cow – that comparison shot is unreal – Clara is like a whole head taller now! This made me tear up big time as I have the most vivid memories of sending my son off to school (while I would cry after the bus left). I know, I know, it happened a long time ago (20 years!) but given what happened to him, it is forever burned into my memory. Treasure these special moments – they truly are priceless :)
Elisabeth says
This is adorable! I “borrowed” your idea about taking weekly pix of my little girl starting at week 1 (although I have seriously slacked off on the monthly pix since she turned 1…oops), and I’m going to also “borrow” this idea when she starts school. It’s so awesome to look back and see how much she’s grown.
Thanks for all of the inspiration. =)
Courtney says
Are her shoes the same? I’ve totally done that, you find a pair that just works, so you keep buying them :)
Young House Life says
Yup. Three year old demands for “the only shoes that don’t hurt” are met. Haha!
xo
s
Suzy B says
Catalog model pose ….she looks so much like you Sherry. Darling pics & cute bag. My girl started high school this yr.
It doesn’t seem possible. Hope she has a fun year!
Amy L. says
Our kids went to a preschool 15 minutes away from our house as well. We both work from home, so those extra minutes were a big deal. Since the preschool was in a church (extra rooms) we asked if my husband could hang around out of the way to get work done instead of going back and forth, which they said was fine. He didn’t do online work, but was able to get tons of offline stuff (reading, writing, grading, etc). You could probably write a blog post or 2 with the forced, internet free, quiet time. Clara’s adorable! Hooray for school!
Young House Life says
Ooh that’s smart!
xo
s
Christina says
Where did you get the shoes?
Young House Life says
They’re from Old Navy.
xo
s
Gabi Barrick says
So cute – love the bright color combos!
I love the cheesy “smile big” smiles! I get some of my best “natural” smiles by saying things like, “Ok – no smiling in this next picture. If you smile, it will probably break the camera.” My kids start giggling and I just snap away. :)
Ashley M says
She is just too adorable! So much personality!!
Lorelei L. Reed says
Ahh the first day of school. Last year my dear niece Gracie began third grade with her little red plaid skirt and white blouse, little frilly white socks,and black Mary Janes. Her pretty blonde hair had a girlish headband and bangs to frame her dainty face. For FOURTH grade just lt me tell you: bangs are O-U-T out (Auntie shed a tear about that) and purple streaks are IN, skirts are shunned for turquoise capri leggings, an oversized t-shirt with sparkle letters, and purposely mismatched sneakers (they come that way, every section a different 1960’s reminiscent color…and honestly Auntie wishes they came in MY size!) And she is about 4.5 inches taller and 15 pounds heavier this year than last! (and shhh, don’t tell..there is even a particular “training” undergarment that has made its first appearance…)
The moral of the story? Don’t you dare BLINK! Things change SO quickly! My niece has been a sheer delight at every stage and remains so, but I sure miss that little red plaid skirt!
Young House Life says
Haha, I love that! I won’t blink, I promise!
xo
s
Anna says
*sigh* I’m kind of obsessed with your name. I hope that doesn’t sound creepy..
Crystal says
Wow! That does not look like a one year age difference! I can’t get over how much she has grown. My kids entered 1st and 3rd grade this year and since our kindergarten is only half day this is the first time both my kids have been in all day school. I. HATE. IT! haha, I have absolutely no idea what to do with myself all day I have never had alone time like this. Maybe it’s time to have another baby…… On the up side my house stays clean all day and I have an endless amount of time to do projects.
Nell @ Allbritton or Nothing says
Wow, Sherry, her “No, like you’re really happy and excited” face is something she learned or inherited from you! That has got to be what you looked like at her age.
Reenie says
WOW…. I can’t believe how much she has grown. Too cute!!
Elaine says
Adorable! Fun to see the side-by-side of the two years too. Wow!
Kristina says
Adorable pictures! I am cracking up at her “can we go now?” face! That’s usually the face I get when I try to take my twelve-year-old’s picture. Thankfully, my two-year-old still willingly participates… For now. :) I hope Clara had a wonderful first day of school!
Vanessa says
Her “happy and excited” face is totally Sherry. So is turning into such a big girl now. I know how it feels to look at them and think “where’s my baby”. My daughter Ava just started first grade- I still feel like she’s my baby.
Good luck with school and enjoy the quiet time.
Dayla says
Cutie! Love the shoes. Love the bag.
This year I snapped a slightly less impressive photo… “First Day NOT in School” of our 19 yr old whom is ‘taking a break from things’ and only working part-time, eating all our food, crashing his automobile, and playing his guitar. His father and I are not so thrilled and miss the days of cute 1st day of school pics!
Young House Life says
Haha, I love your sense of humor about it!
xo
s
Carol says
I think the “Moooommm, enough- I’m going to school now” attitude of my middle school years first-day photos really capture the moment… [Ahh, preschool.]
Ally says
ACK?! The side by shot is ADORABLE!
I audibly *gasped* at the difference in your sweet little Clara! What a cutie-pie :)
Jordan says
Holy moly, the difference a year makes! My little guy just had his first birthday in August and his first haircut yesterday. He looks so grown up! I can’t believe they change that much in a year. My son is the first child in our family (both sides) in 17 years, so we don’t have much frame of reference about size and age.
Monika says
Holy WOW! She has grow so much!!!
jenny says
Couple more years and she’ll actually be able to lug those big tote bags around.
Debby says
What font did you use for the “first day of preschool 2013”?
Young House Life says
It’s called Raleway. I think we linked to it in last year’s first day post if that helps.
xo
s
Jessica says
UM!
I WANT HER HAIR! So. Jealous. Also, as you are well aware, your kiddo is so freaking adorable. Hope she LOVED school!
Chitra says
She looks adorable!Love her dress…& that bag is ultra cute:)
I end up buying the same shoes different size for my daughter at Payless…They are so comfy and laceless…She LOVES them.
Robyn T. says
Clara is absolutely precious! I too have been taking “front door” pictures for years. I just took a first day of school pic last week, and it was for my GRANDSON’S first day of high school. Enjoy these sweet moments, for as you can see…they go by all too quickly!
Sarah A says
Very cute photos! I have taken a “first day of school” photo inside every year (we were in an apartment until 4 years ago) and it was fun to compare how tall he got each year vs the door knob, then the dead bolt, then the peep hole. My advice: it’s important for the photographer and the student to always stand on the same plane as the year before – not up on the step sometimes, etc. Also, my son wore the exact same green t-shirt for the first day for four years (I apparently buy t-shirts very large!). Now he is in 7th grade and has worn one of his many Nationals t-shirts for the last 4 years. (Boys are different than girls…)
CALI says
I cant believe how much she has changed/grown up!!! Same shoes though? haha (I am guilty of buying my favorite shoes for my daughter over and over again)
She looks beautiful and SO excited!! GO CLARA!! and enjoy those few days of kid-free time and go on a lunch date every now and then! ;)
Cindy O. says
We have a tradition of not only taking the first day of school pictures but also the last day of school. Love to line them up each year for comparison. They change so much just over the course of the school year.
Whitney Dupuis says
We don’t get to take a break from daycare/pre-school during the summer so I didn’t even think to take a “back to school” photo since he was in school all along. This is super cute though! She is getting so big! Love it.
Rebecca Lately says
Aww! No way! She doesn’t seem old enough to be in pre-k. That’s so adorable. Our second son started kindergarten this year and our oldest started first grade. Talk about some tears that first day of school!!
Jennifer says
Did you guys take down the door knocker??
Jennifer says
Never mind, I’m blind!! Lol I see it now
Courtney says
You can even tell that the shoes fit better (assuming it’s the same pair). So cute!
Christy Niebaum says
Holy time machine, Batman! Is that the same Clara Petersik? Wow. Such a difference!
Anna says
She’s huge! How do you keep kids small?? Tell her growing is for suckers. That should do it.
Young House Life says
I always say “no growing up is allowed” and she laughs and says “oops I grew! Haha!”
xo
s
Maggie says
SO adorable! Love that enthusiasm for school, I was the same way!
Molly says
Clara is easily the most adorable little girl on the planet! I STILL LOVE THAT BLUE FRONT DOOR.
Sorry for shouting, my excitement took over. I love her short hair in the 2012 photo :)
Laurie says
Holy cow! That IS a big difference from last year. The cool thing about this age is she is starting to get the face she’ll have as a grown up! Or maybe, you don’t want to think of that?
It was very cute to see that in the posing picture, she totally had Sherry’s face!
esther says
Oh wow what a difference indeed! Except for the bright pink shoes :D
Manda Wolf says
OH MY!!! She was grown so big!!!!! Seeing pictures of her at least a couple of times a week it is so gradual. Wow… I love the different door colors behind her as well. I think the front door needs repainted each summer until she is done with HS (or college)!
Manda Wolf says
Has not was…