The Lee Family: Sofia's Last Day of Second Grade!

The final day of 2nd grade is FINALLY here and there are a lot of mixed emotions! Sofia woke up this morning looking like she hardly slept and told me over breakfast that she was both "excited and sad." When I asked her why, she said she was excited to not have to get up in the morning and to not be bored in class anymore, but sad to say goodbye to Mrs. Livingston and her classmates. She's certain that Mrs. Livingston is the best teacher she will ever have, and she may be right. Sofia also said she'd stayed up late reading, which isn't a big surprise.

I took a few pictures of Sofia before we headed to the last drop off of the school year. I love the photos of her, because they really show her sweet mixed emotions. Olivia, Buddy, Sofia and I loaded up and headed to school! The day would be a short one with the final bell ringing at 11:45am but Sofia wanted to take the bus home to say goodbye to her bus friends. We planned to host the end of the school year pool party at our house at 1:30, giving us time to get ready after she got home. Olivia was so excited for the pool party, that she had me change her into her swimsuit at 11am and was already splashing around when I had to get her out and head to meet Sofia at the front entrance of our neighborhood.

The bus arrived and Sofia got off and was crying so hard I thought maybe she'd gotten hurt as got off the bus. She ran to me crying and buried her face into my stomach. I asked her what happened and she said "I'm just so sad!" It was so sweet and I felt bad for her sadness. I told her that we needed to get ready for the pool party, which got her excited and took her mind off of being sad.

We returned to the house and set up snacks, Capri suns, and waters to get ready for about half of her class to arrive and swim. While Sofia was getting her swimsuit on, I set out her "graduation gifts" which included a new stuffed owl, the book "Horse of the Dawn," and what soon became her most prized possession - the Harry Potter Time Turner! There was a bit of a miscommunication on the end of the year party and I ended up sending the invitation to our pool yesterday morning. Still, I was impressed with how many kids said they were coming. Sofia wanted to be sure that Mrs. Livingston knew she was invited, so she wrote out a formal invitation while she ate breakfast.

The kids arrived and they all had a great time swimming, going down the slide, shooting each other with water guns and running around together. Sofia's classmates all seem to get along so well and it was fun to see them all play with each other in different groups. Sofia played with each of the girls and looked to be hatching some major plans with Alexa. Several of the parents brought huge boxes of ice cream sandwiches, drumsticks, and crunch bars, so after about 2 hours, I brought out the ice creams and they all went crazy. Several of the kids had been dropped off by their parents, and when they asked for a second ice cream I told them to go ahead. Everyone seemed to have a great time and when Mrs. Livingston arrived halfway through the party, they all went crazy! The each wanted to give her a hug but she preferred a high-five since they were all soaking wet from the pool. She was able to spend about an hour with us before she had to return to her classroom and get it closed up for summer. She sent the parents an email with a photo of her white board which she let the kids write all over with their sweet comments! She sure has a class that loves and adores her! Sofia was so sad to see her go. Most of the kids stayed and played in the pool until around 5pm. What a fun end to a great year and an emotional day!

My last note to Sofia as a 2nd grader