Jed's last day

Monday was Jed's official last day of school. I can't believe how quickly the year has gone and how much progress Jed has made. Here he is the first day of school back in September:

So little! He looks a little nervous and a lot excited. His shoes and pants were new and just a bit big. Now here he is on Monday: 

about 3 inches taller, with his summer haircut already. He has outgrown his brown shoes and his jeans are high-waters now. Good grief, how this boy grows!

I love Jed--he's such a cute funny boy. I'm not sure why I can't get him to look nicely at the camera, but at least he's smiling at me!

Our neighbors' tulips were so pretty that I wanted to get a few shots of the boys together. I didn't make them match on purpose, although it looks that way. Dave dressed Hank, actually.

I can't believe how much can change in 8 months, and yet it is such a gift. When Jed first started school, I was feeling so overwhelmed and exhausted personally and so worried for Jed that school wouldn't be what he needed, and worried that he would think I was trying to get rid of him. The past 8 months have shown me that I can be a good mama to two boys, that I can handle more than I think I can, and Jed has done SO well in school and truly enjoys it. He actually plays with his friends, he uses huge sentences and describes his needs and wants so well, he doesn't do his "movie talk" nearly as much as he used to, he is more confident when talking to adults and even strangers (provided I am nearby), he works to solve his own problems and dresses himself with ease (and maybe even pleasure?) and he is disciplined enough to complete small tasks or projects all on his own. I am so proud of this boy! I love him so, so, SO much!