First day of school

Today came the time I had been excited about and dreading at the same time. I'm realizing that being a parent is a series of bittersweet moments in life.

Amelie started preschool today. She only goes 2 days a week for 1/2 day, but it's pretty monumental for this mama. As a parent, you want to raise your child to be a happy, confident person who can handle themselves in life. Each step your child takes towards independence causes the parent (okay Mom) to want to tug them back a little bit. We have to remind ourselves not to do tis, but it can be hard.

I was not so worried about the time away from her, since I knew this would go by quickly. I mainly felt nostaligic about this being a new phase in her life in which she would only be moving forward away from the dependent baby stage.

I was also worried about the initial drop off since she has been very much a Mama's Girl lately (which I treasure). If she curled that bottom lip, or clutched at my neck, I wasn't sure I'd be able to withstand the pressure.

Allen and I walked her to school this morning and were there a little earlier than the start time. This is when all of the kids from all the rooms meet in the lunchroom and then are taken to their own classrooms when school starts. We thought we'd get there early to hang out with her a few minutes before leaving. Unfortunately, when we got there, many of the kids were crying (and not just a light wimper either) and I don't think that helped. I asked the teacher what was the best thing to do and she told me to just let her take her. So I did and told Amelie I loved her and would see her soon. We had to just walk away so as not to drag it out and make it worse, but when Amelie started crying and yelled out "Mama!" boy was that a tough thing to do!! I had to choke back a sob, but I did it.

I met my friend Amy for breakfast afterwards to have someone to vent to. Her girls had started kindergarten a few weeks ago, so I had done the same for her on that milestone day. Afterwards, I called the school to see how she was doing and the director told me she did much better when she got to the classroom.

I was pretty eager to pick her up and got there a little early. I couldn't wait to see how she was interacting in the class and what her reaction would be to me. When I walked in, the director stepped out of the office to give me her bunny which Amelie allowed to have a nap for the rest of the day while she was in school. The director said Amelie did much better when bunny was out of sight and temptation of reaching.

When I walked into the room, Amelie was playing happily. She saw me and gave me a huge smile and walked up to me with a huge hug. Needless to say, I was very happy to see her and receive this reaction.

Her teacher told me that she was the only one who helped her put things away. I was pretty proud at that moment too. The teacher even offered her a sticker for her help, but Amelie just said, "No thanks". Her teacher also told me that she hadn't gone potty that day. They take all of the kids at once several times a day. Amelie told her, "I'll just go when I get home". Well, she held it!

Later, I took her out for ice cream as a treat. Throughout the day, she kept hugging me and saying "Thank you for picking me up today". Bless her heart! I wonder what she was thinking during the day when I left!

I took some pictures this morning, but she was not a cooperative subject. She was not to keen on being sent off to school for the first day even though we had tried to prep her for the past few weeks talking about what would happen (she would go to school, Mama would work and pick her up afterwards). We tried all kinds of things to ease the transition - even role playing. I'm not sure what difference any of it made in the end though, but we did get through the first - and hardest - day.

Visit with the Holdens

Allen's sister Chevie and her family were in Longboat Key for a little vacation before Max and Belle had to start back to school. We got to drive down to visit them for the day since they were only 1 1/2 hours away and had a great time.

Amelie got to go to the beach with her cousins Max and Belle (soon to be 10 & 7) and was so excited to participate with them in everything they did. She wanted to make sure we were never too far away and kept calling after Max "Hey Max! Look!" Max and Belle showed off their boogie boarding skills and Amelie was very impressed with their 'surfing'.

Afterwards, we went to the pool. Amelie, who is already a great swimmer, got to watch Belle really show her talents (Belle is on the swim team). It's great for Amelie to get to spend time with her cousins, especially cousins who are so patient and caring for her.

After swimming, we all wound down in Chevie and Mickey's room and played some games. Amelie really bonded with Chevie who was so good with her. Amelie kept wanting to be on Chevie's team and 'help'. Max and Belle were very generous with Amelie and let her sit with them and share their snacks and candy. At the end of the day, it was pretty clear everyone had a pretty active day and Amelie sacked out early.

Skater Girl

Today, we got Amelie a pair of starter skates that she has pretty much wanted to wear from morning til night. Luckily, we have tile floors throughout the house and a great cul-de-sac which make for great tracks. These are plastic skates that go up past her ankles and have 4 wheels. The front 2 wheels are like inline skates and the last 2 are side-by-side to provide balance. Later, we can change these to make them more like real inline skates when she masters this skill. Allen and I tried to start her off much in the way we did when we were teaching her to walk where we would have her go back and forth between us as we held on to on of her arms. However, she seemed to do much better when we just let her go on her own. I will say she looks pretty intimidating in all her garb with the skates and helmet on.