Grace and School

Grace is loving school now! Yay! In fact, we have been reading the "I Love School" book repeatedly each night, by request. She's talking about her teachers and singing classroom songs. It makes me so happy to know she's happy to be in preK now!

Anecdote

Grace woke up this morning and said "House? Watch House Mommy?" She's referring to "Bear in the Big Blue House," a favorite show. I said, "I don't know kiddo, let me think about it." Grace responded, "Just one episode?" First time I heard her say "episode." She's so funny.

School Update

Gracie goes to school three days a week. Monday and Wednesday of her first full week were rough. She kept saying "I don't want to go to school" and "Mommy don't leave me." She would cling to me and cry and scream.

Friday was better. She still said the same things, but once we go to school, I was able to get her to participate in one of the table activities. When she was distracted, I slipped out. I think it was a tear-free morning. Her Grand, who picked her up from school, said she came running out with friends. Progress! Now she's talking about school a little ("Mommy, I have teachers!"), so that's a good sign.

Pat and I went to her Back-to-School Nite to learn about her day in preK. It was nice to learn more about Grace's day. There were only two other sets of parents there. However, one mentioned her son would be having a birthday party soon and she planned on inviting the class. I look forward to that as it will be an opportunity for Grace to continue to build friendships and get to know her classmates.

Grace Loves School

When I walked into Grace's classroom to pick her up from school, she was in the process of trying to get her teacher to lay down next to her on the mat during rest time. When she saw me, she was so excited. As we gathered her things, she hugged her teachers. I don't know what she did that day exactly. The only thing she mentioned was playing on the playground and driving the toy car and saying, "beep, beep!" All in all, she had a big smile on her face and seemed very pleased with her first school experience. She even did a bit of a hop as we talked and walked to the car.

Hooray!

Yay for PreK!

Here's Grace running to get to her preschool!

On Wednesday we went for her preschool orientation so she could meet her teachers and a few classmates. Today was her official first day of school. She had a hard time sleeping last night and ended up coming into our bed at 11 pm and finally dozing off a while later. I don't know if she was excited or anxious...but hopefully she's in a pleasant mood for her teachers (she gets grumpy when she's tired!).

She was excited to get to her class and immediately sat down and started playing with puzzles. No tears shed on her part, nor on mine. We were both pretty excited. I am working from home so I have the chance to pick her up at the end of the school day. I just want to hear a first-hand account of the day! I will let you know how it goes!

Summer's End

So, it has been a while since the last post. Sorry about that! We've had a very busy summer! Some highlights:

• Orlando trip: I had to fly to Orlando for business, so Grace and Pat joined me. They had fun together going to Universal Orlando and Sea World. Then we all went to Disney's Magic Kingdom so Grace could have breakfast with princesses. The breakfast was really well done, however, Grace was quite a grump. We left two hours after getting to the park so our princess could get some R & R. Alas, we'll have to try the Disney World trip again another day!

• Lake trip to NJ: Grace rode a wave runner for the first time! She loved it!

• Sesame Place: This amusement park is just 1 1/2 hour's drive away. We met up with Pat's cousin and his family and sister-in-law and her daughter (our niece). Three kids in total between ages 2 and 4, and five adults. It was a good time and nice to get the little cousins together for a day with Elmo and friends! This time Grace got to enjoy the water park, which we've missed enjoying in past trips.

Now we're preparing for the next adventure--Grace's first day of preschool! This Wednesday is her orientation where she'll meet her teachers and a few fellow classmates. I am so excited for her because I know school will be right up her alley. She's incredibly social. Case in point: While in the car with the window down, Grace saw a group of people exiting a deli and yelled out the window, "Hi people!" She's always saying hello and introducing herself to everyone. She gets so very excited when she's around kids especially. So, cross fingers, her first official day of preschool will go well!