The difference a year can make.
When I say, "Time for school!" the boys come running. They're excited and ready to go. They come sit on the bench under the stairs to get shoes and jackets put on. They help carry their backpacks out to the truck. They are ready. Xander often even prompts me with "School? School?" starting about 10 o'clock. Sawyer just grabs at his backpack or stands by the door into the garage.
We generally have a short wait, five to 10 minutes, in the car line. We play silly games, like "Boo!" or sing songs (usually Xander is requesting his favorite, "ABCD!"). We also "talk" about things that are happening. Both boys love the school buses, so I tell them when one is approaching and Xander repeats it back for me. Sometimes it's "wellow bus" (for "yellow bus") and sometimes "school bus" and sometimes just plain "bus," but it's there. He knows the word and what it means, and he willingly identifies each and every one that pulls around the building behind us.
And then the teachers come out and it's time to go. Both boys come willingly out of the truck, know that they have to wait to have their backpacks put on, and then that they have to hold a teacher's hand in the road. They walk up to the gate without a single complaint. And then they wait for me to pull out and leave before they start walking in, all on their own. The teachers no longer have to lead or direct them in. They just go.
I cannot believe how far they've come in such a short time. Their first day was only this past February. My big boys, finding their way in this world.