After months of anticipation 5-year-old Micah has finally been able to catch the school bus he had been excitedly watching drive past the front gate.
With his Batman backpack strapped on, the Maungatapere boy started school last week so the Northern Advocate caught up with him and his mum Angela Boyte to find out how he was doing - and he's loving it.
"In the morning he was a little bit nervous and he wanted me to come with him and so I went with him.
"But literally after a little talk on the mat with the kids, where they talked about what they did on the weekend, after that he was 100 per cent fine."
When the Advocate spoke to Boyte and Micah in January, ahead of Micah's first day at Maungatapere School, he was excited.
But Boyte said after Micah's tonsillectomy and adenoid operation about a month ago, which was the reason he started school a bit later, he was feeling nervous.
So she was relieved he had settled in well.
"I was like 'yes, he's in a good spot.' He's happy, he's learning and he's just going to keep having fun," she said.
Boyte said there were a few things that had been making Micah excited to start school - one of them was the school bus which drives past the family's gate.
On Monday he got to catch that bus.
"He loves the bus and the bus driver's really nice. He was really excited."
Micah said he has been having lots of fun at school.
He thinks his teacher, Mr Cotton, is fun, and on the first day his friend Makani - who went to the same daycare as Micah - saw him and gave him a big hug.
"School is really fun. We be quiet and listen to the teacher. There's toys and animals and trains. There's a slide and a sandpit," he said.
Boyte said Micah was still enjoying school after two weeks.
"He's really liking it. Everything has been awesome. The only thing he hasn't quite gelled with is swimming. He says the pool is too big, there's too much water and there's lots of kids. That's one of his challenges he's going to have to overcome."