Hodge Podge

Scarlett is settling into preschool more and more.  Her two teachers are so wonderful.  They give me full updates on her progress when I pick her up.  They tell me she is getting a little more comfortable and at ease each time she attends.  She was having accidents so I was putting her in a pull up, but on Friday she told them she wanted to wear her underwear!  And then she did fine all day using the potty for them with no accidents.  Also on Friday she finally participated in art time and actually enjoyed it they said.  She loves going to music too.  She still gets panicky when I drop her off, and she won't play on the playground for some reason.  At home, she's always asking when she can go back to preschool though and wants to include her teachers in our prayers to thank God for them. 

On another note, Scarlett has started drawing faces at home, and I think it so fascinating and sweet! The first time she drew a face and showed me, I was quite surprised.  Here's one she did, saying it was Vito, our cat:

 She did this one yesterday:

Also this weekend, Scarlett said something very funny when were were eating out.  The waitress was talking to Scarlett.  It went something like this:

Waitress: What's your name?
Scarlett: Scarlett!
Waitress: How old are you?
Scarlett: I'm two!
Scarlett: (Pointing to me) And that's Michelle!
We all died laughing.
Waitress: (Pointing to Chris) And who's this?
Scarlett: That's Daddy!

Every day we get such a kick out of the things she says.

She's also developing quite an imagination.  She told me this whole story about how she had to go to time out at preschool.  When I asked her why, she said it was because she hit.  I asked her who else had to go to time out, and she said "that girl." She included many other details.  I couldn't wait to ask her teachers about it.  They laughed when I told them saying they don't even do time out there, and that they couldn't even imagine Scarlett hitting anyone. (To which I told them, Oh just wait!) They said she has never even done anything remotely bad. (Again, just wait!)  So she made up that whole little story! We've definitely got our hands full with this little two year old!

Digital Scrapbooking: Fall 2009

Just made these digital scrapbook pages from fall of last year, and I used the same kit to make my new fall blog header.  I have so much fun doing this it's ridiculous!

Good-Bye Paci

Scarlett will be 2 1/2 in October, and she still sleeps with a paci. I've been dreading taking it away, but I don't want it to affect her speech or her teeth, and I knew the longer I waited, the worse it was going to be.  She's been sleeping at preschool without one so I got brave, and we threw them away yesterday.  I tried to make a big production out of it so she would get that they are really gone for good.

First, I told her we were going to give all her pacis away to baby Jaxon because she's a big girl now. (Which is funny because baby Jaxon is my cousin's little boy who quit using a paci a long time ago, and he's almost two, but Scarlett thinks of him as "baby" so I went with it...)

She colored a picture for "baby Jaxon" as well during which I let her have one last paci fest.

Ta Da!

One last time...

In the box they go!

 

In goes the picture too...

Ready for the mailman!

Bye-Bye Forever! 

Since she only had them when she slept, I knew it was going to be awful at nap-time and nighttime, and I was partly right.  That first day she never took a nap.  She just cried in her room for an hour.  Once she cried out, "I need a paci for just one more minute!" Poor baby! Then the last 30 minutes, she just sang songs, but she never slept.  That night she went right to sleep and never cried or asked for it. 

Then today, she had a hard time at nap-time again and only fell asleep after Chris laid on the floor by her bed.  It's pretty sad for me too; that was the last real "baby" thing she had.  But not having those nasty things around as a crutch will be very very nice!! 

Dallas Arboretum

Then & Now...about a year in between....

First Day Blues

Yeah, that's right, the first day was not all smiles and giggles for Scarlett at preschool. I thought it was going to go better than it did because she seemed so ready to go. We talked a lot about it, and I had her help me make her lunch so she wouldn't be so surprised when she had to eat there.

I reminded her a lot that she was going to get to go play with new friends and that I would be there to pick her up after rest time.

When we got there, we said our goodbyes outside the door of the classroom, and then she marched right into her little room without a tear or a protest. I was shocked! She always cries when I drop her off at church on Sundays so this was new behavior! I left feeling naked without her with me. It was so strange. I thought about her all day.

I got there 30 minutes early to pick her up. I waited in the car for a minute, but then I couldn't stand it so I went inside and piddled around the church until I gave up and went to her room about 15 minutes early. 

She had actually just woken up, and when she saw me, she burst into tears. I was mostly surprised to find out that she had slept on her nap mat! I never thought she would go to sleep, especially on the first day. That was the first time in her life she has fallen asleep without a paci!  (Now I'm motivated to take it at home too...)

Her teachers told me she had been very nervous all day, but that she didn't cry. She's potty trained, but she had two accidents and would not let them take her to the bathroom. They said she told them, "No, mommy takes me potty!"  In fact, they said she used that phrase all day. Like, "No mommy reads the books!" or "No, mommy gives me lunch!" and so on. She also only wanted to watch during art time, which was surprising because that's what she loves to do most! They said she enjoyed music time though. She ate hardly any of the lunch we packed so she was starving when we left. She said, "Let's eat lunch!" I tried to explain that she has to eat lunch there. 

They did say that she had a good day considering it was her first time to be away from me for that long with "strangers." And I'm also happy she didn't cry all day. I know that it can only get better. She will start getting used to it and will hopefully enjoy it more and more each time. I can't wait for the day when I arrive to pick her up and she doesn't want to leave. Only then will I feel completely okay with it, but I have faith that that day will come!

Pre School

Scarlett is starting Early Preschool tomorrow! She'll be going 2 days a week from 9-2.  Besides family, she has never been "watched" by anyone for this long. I mean, she'll eat lunch there and everything! I was really worried about how she would feel when I leave her there for the first time until we went to "Meet the Teacher" earlier this week. After that, I felt much better and very relieved. This must be one of the best Christian Preschool's around! My niece attended all last year, and loved it. They are so organized. Her room is nice and big, filled with so many fun things to do. She has two teachers, and they were so sweet and on the ball. Each day, Scarlett's class will have art time, playground time, music and movement time, lunch time, and rest time. And of course she'll be learning about Jesus. They even asked us what some of her favorite books are so they could read them to help them feel more comfortable there. One of her teachers even reminded us that she'll be praying for our kids. You can't ask for much better than that! One funny thing is that by chance there are only little girls in her class. Those poor teachers and all the drama they'll have.

Here's what we've been doing to get her ready.

We had to get her a nap mat. She loves playing with this, but I would be very surprised if she actually goes to sleep!

New shoes! Ked's have come a long way haven't they?!

New outfits...(those boots are mine though...she loves putting them on!)

New lunch box and backpack!

She's ready to go! Good grief.  I hope we both survive the first day.