Today is the first day of school in Albemarle. All of this talk about the first day of school has my anxiety levels about sending Mia to pre-school going from "yellow" to "red." We decided a few weeks ago to send her to pre-school - they just started a class for 2.5-year olds. It was a big decision for me; one that I thought about for months.
Since then, lots of things have been running through my mind. I'm worried about the first few weeks dropping her off with complete strangers and her being upset at me for leaving her there. She's a mommy's girl and especially wants me around people she doesn't know. I worry about someone being mean to her and her looking to me for comfort and me not being there; wanting something, e.g. kitty (her lovey) for comfort, and new teachers not being able to understand her; not having her needs met because teachers are dealing with eight other children; not having an adult with her 100% of the time to teach her right from wrong; etc. Up until this point, she's stayed with grandmas while I worked, so none of this crossed my mind. And, losing that little bit of control and not having me or one of the grandmas with her all of the time is causing me, you guessed it, some anxiety. (Do I sound like I need a Xanax?)
But, then I have to remind myself that it's only two mornings a week. And, that she's pretty outgoing and will do well once she adjusts. It will be good for her to be a little more independent and to learn how to fight her own battles. Still...it's a little scary.
I'm just trying to prep her for what's to come; to talk about school and how much fun it is and how it's just for kids - no mommies, no nanas, no mimis and no daddies. She starts on the 8th - I'll let you know how it goes. Until then, I might get that Xanax prescription filled :)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
No Fear
Mia and I went to the pool yesterday and watched in amazement as this 2-year-old girl jumped off the diving board - again and again. It was so funny to watch. She looked so tiny getting up on the diving board. And, then she'd do this grand belly flop as her dad scooped her up and swam her to the ladder.
Mia has always been great in the water - she'll go under, jump off the side, etc. But the diving board? No way would she do that - or so I thought. The next thing I know, Mia's saying "I do that!" and wiggling out of my arms to get out of the pool. She walks up to the diving board and climbs up. I asked the dad of the other 2-year-old girl if he would catch Mia since he was already in the deep end. (In hindsignt, I had no idea who he was so it probably wasn't a good idea to trust him with my baby jumping in 11 feet of water, but he seemed to be doing a good job with his daughter. I think I was still in shock that Mia wanted to do this; my brain was clouded.) Mia gave her usual "no, mommy do it." So I got in and started treading water in front of the diving board hoping I could catch her and swim to the side. The skills I learned as a lifeguard were rushing through my mind just as she walked up to the end of the board and jumped. Just like that. No hesitation. I couldn't believe it. I was in awe. As we were swimming to the side, she said she wanted to go again. So, she went a few times. Of course, when I wanted her to do it later so I could have a friend take a picture for me, she stood on the board crying about how she wanted to get down. So, that's what we got on film :) Figures.
Mia has always been great in the water - she'll go under, jump off the side, etc. But the diving board? No way would she do that - or so I thought. The next thing I know, Mia's saying "I do that!" and wiggling out of my arms to get out of the pool. She walks up to the diving board and climbs up. I asked the dad of the other 2-year-old girl if he would catch Mia since he was already in the deep end. (In hindsignt, I had no idea who he was so it probably wasn't a good idea to trust him with my baby jumping in 11 feet of water, but he seemed to be doing a good job with his daughter. I think I was still in shock that Mia wanted to do this; my brain was clouded.) Mia gave her usual "no, mommy do it." So I got in and started treading water in front of the diving board hoping I could catch her and swim to the side. The skills I learned as a lifeguard were rushing through my mind just as she walked up to the end of the board and jumped. Just like that. No hesitation. I couldn't believe it. I was in awe. As we were swimming to the side, she said she wanted to go again. So, she went a few times. Of course, when I wanted her to do it later so I could have a friend take a picture for me, she stood on the board crying about how she wanted to get down. So, that's what we got on film :) Figures.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Little Love Bug
Tuesday night, Mia was outside playing with neighbors/friends who ranged in age from one to seven. We were hanging out with the other parents in our driveway keeping a close eye on the kids (because Mia had a few near-death experiences with one of the neighbors pushing her in her car - none of which phased her). I heard some of the older girls asking Mia if M., our 3-year-old neighbor, was her boyfriend. Her natural reaction was "yea," which the girls thought was just hilarious. Of course, Mia has no idea what that means. So, she kept saying "yea" and laughing with everyone every time they asked. Then, the kids decided to go next door and play in the sand box. Five minutes later, the older girls came running up to us saying how Mia kissed M. Now, I'm sure someone put her up to it having heard the boyfriend/girlfriend conversations earlier. On the other hand, maybe she was just doing it to be nice; she does like M. and she likes to give kisses. My first reaction was to laugh. But, then as I was laughing, I had this sense of dread/fear run through me - that feeling of "ohhh no." I can't quite explain it. I think it has to do with the fact that I already see her growing up so fast, and now, even though she had no idea what she'd gotten herself into, she's in the middle of this "Mia kissed M." situation. The stuff that happens when you're in elementary school. And, she's TWO! Oh Lord...
Monday, August 3, 2009
The "Not All Terrible" Twos
I have been feeling so terribly guilty about not blogging, I've decided I need to get back into the swing of things. I'm going to take a different approach and truly blog - not just about the fun things we take pictures of, but to try to capture all of the cute and not-so-cute moments that aren't necessarily on film. With that said, I'll do my best to quickly re-cap the past few months.
The week following Mia's birthday, my friend Megan asked if I'd noticed a change in her behavior. She noticed it with her son, and I told her I hadn't noticed it with Mia - "it" being what a lot of you know as the "terrible twos." THE VERY NEXT DAY following that conversation - no joke - "it" came crawling out from wherever "it" had been hiding. I'm talking a major shift in behavior. Tantrums, "NO," "I do it!," "Mine!" - we heard it all. And, so did perfect strangers. People in the mall or in the grocery store would say, "hi there, aren't you cute!" only to be met with "NO! MY MOMMY!" Which made no sense - it wasn't like they were trying to take her from me. But, that's what she'd say. I'd just give a red-faced apology. It got to the point where I didn't want to take her out in public because I didn't know how she'd react to people. And, it wasn't just out in public. She was screaming in Little Gym, at play dates, etc. Now during all of this, she was cutting her two bottom 2-year molars. And, just when I'd had it and felt myself losing control of my toddler, the teeth came in and her personality switched back. Which begs the question - are the "terrible 2" behaviors related to teeth? In her case, it seems so. I just dread the top two teeth coming in.
This past month, she's been on her best behavior. She has a huge personality and is so much fun to be around. She gets excited about everything - especially swimming. I take her to the pool several times a week - she's even going completely under water now with me - and she's been at the lake house 4-5 times. She's even been tubing with me (yes, behind the boat - she sits in my lap and gives daddy the thumbs-up to make the boat go faster). We also went to the Isle of Palms with my family. It's 20 minutes outside of Charleston - one of my favorite cities. We had a house with a pool, which is key if you have a little one who naps because you can hang out at the pool while they sleep.
Mia is very affectionate. She loves to give hugs/kisses. And, she's very nurturing. She has a doll - Baby Ava, who she named after one of our neighbor's babies - and she feeds her, wraps her in her blanket, puts her to bed at night, walks her in her stroller, etc. She also likes to brush her teeth with real toothpaste and feed her food when we're not watching, so Baby Ava is constantly getting her face washed :)
Perhaps the biggest hurdle we crossed was POTTY TRAINING!!! After months of peeing in the car seat, in restaurant seats, at the playground, etc., she finally decided to go to the potty full-time. And, yes, it was a matter of her deciding. She got the potty thing the first week. But, if she was playing, or eating, or riding in the car/stroller and didn't want to get out, she'd just go in her pants. Finally, I threw in the flag and put diapers back on her. I calmly explained that if she was going to act like a baby and go in her pants, she'd have to wear diapers like a baby. And, I swear, I went to change her diaper three hours after I put it on her (we were in Richmond visiting friends), and it was completely dry. I said, "Mia! Your diaper is dry!" And, she said, "yea - I hold it. I go potty." And, off we went to the potty. It hasn't been a problem since. So, at 26 months, Mia was potty trained - and I was relieved (and proud - you go girl).
The week following Mia's birthday, my friend Megan asked if I'd noticed a change in her behavior. She noticed it with her son, and I told her I hadn't noticed it with Mia - "it" being what a lot of you know as the "terrible twos." THE VERY NEXT DAY following that conversation - no joke - "it" came crawling out from wherever "it" had been hiding. I'm talking a major shift in behavior. Tantrums, "NO," "I do it!," "Mine!" - we heard it all. And, so did perfect strangers. People in the mall or in the grocery store would say, "hi there, aren't you cute!" only to be met with "NO! MY MOMMY!" Which made no sense - it wasn't like they were trying to take her from me. But, that's what she'd say. I'd just give a red-faced apology. It got to the point where I didn't want to take her out in public because I didn't know how she'd react to people. And, it wasn't just out in public. She was screaming in Little Gym, at play dates, etc. Now during all of this, she was cutting her two bottom 2-year molars. And, just when I'd had it and felt myself losing control of my toddler, the teeth came in and her personality switched back. Which begs the question - are the "terrible 2" behaviors related to teeth? In her case, it seems so. I just dread the top two teeth coming in.
This past month, she's been on her best behavior. She has a huge personality and is so much fun to be around. She gets excited about everything - especially swimming. I take her to the pool several times a week - she's even going completely under water now with me - and she's been at the lake house 4-5 times. She's even been tubing with me (yes, behind the boat - she sits in my lap and gives daddy the thumbs-up to make the boat go faster). We also went to the Isle of Palms with my family. It's 20 minutes outside of Charleston - one of my favorite cities. We had a house with a pool, which is key if you have a little one who naps because you can hang out at the pool while they sleep.
Mia is very affectionate. She loves to give hugs/kisses. And, she's very nurturing. She has a doll - Baby Ava, who she named after one of our neighbor's babies - and she feeds her, wraps her in her blanket, puts her to bed at night, walks her in her stroller, etc. She also likes to brush her teeth with real toothpaste and feed her food when we're not watching, so Baby Ava is constantly getting her face washed :)
Perhaps the biggest hurdle we crossed was POTTY TRAINING!!! After months of peeing in the car seat, in restaurant seats, at the playground, etc., she finally decided to go to the potty full-time. And, yes, it was a matter of her deciding. She got the potty thing the first week. But, if she was playing, or eating, or riding in the car/stroller and didn't want to get out, she'd just go in her pants. Finally, I threw in the flag and put diapers back on her. I calmly explained that if she was going to act like a baby and go in her pants, she'd have to wear diapers like a baby. And, I swear, I went to change her diaper three hours after I put it on her (we were in Richmond visiting friends), and it was completely dry. I said, "Mia! Your diaper is dry!" And, she said, "yea - I hold it. I go potty." And, off we went to the potty. It hasn't been a problem since. So, at 26 months, Mia was potty trained - and I was relieved (and proud - you go girl).
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