first day of school.

We survived!  Olivia had her first day of "school" (Mom's Day Out) today and I am happy to report that all went well!

I didn't have to wake her like I thought I would.  She began to stir around 8am just as I was going to go in and get her.  She wasn't really ready to get out of bed yet though, which she demonstrated by snuggling up with her blanket and retreating to the farthest corner of her crib!  A corner which is very difficult for me to reach with my big belly and all ;) 

First day of MDO,
August 2011

I didn't bombard her with "today is school!!!" when I went in and got her because she was already grumpy enough!  Instead, we did our normal routine of a cup of milk and snuggling on the couch for a few minutes.  Then I whispered "do you know where you get to go today?" and she whispered back "school" with a grin!  Ahhh, success!


Getting out the door was relatively simple and I was able to snap the required "first day of school" picture out in front of the house!  Andy looked at me like I was crazy when I mentioned this, but I am sure he is the minority in not knowing that you must take a picture the first day of school each year!  Mine growing up was always taken out in the driveway while waiting on the bus. I'm sure your family has their special place too.  However, I've digressed....



Olivia impressed me with her eagerness to get into the building!  She took off and I had to hustle to keep up (which actually isn't all that uncommon these days;)

Please disregard my appearance.  I know I had a terrible
night of sleep and my hair was slicked back while still wet,
but I had no idea I looked this rough this morning! eeks!

She was a little hesitant in the classroom and stuck out her bottom lip to pout a bit, but all in all the drop-off was uneventful. No tears! She began to play, pausing to give me a goodbye kiss, and that was that!  Our girl was starting her first day of school!

my view as I left her for the day

When I picked her up I was so anxious to hear how she had done (mostly with nap time!).  She gave me the hello hug of a lifetime!  Actually she tightly hugged my neck at least 50 times over the next hour!  It was the greatest welcome I think I've ever had!  The teachers said she was "great" all day and "was always their helper when cleaning up".  They also said "she was the little leader today"!  Leave it to our girl to act like school is no big thing ;)  Now if I could only get her to be that enthused about cleaning up at home!

Apparently she didn't sleep at all for the 2 hour nap time, but they said she did stay on her mat and quiet the entire time (really?  my daughter laid quietly for 2 hours?  I don't believe it!).  Her spirits remained pretty good all afternoon and evening despite no nap, but we did put her to bed an hour earlier than normal tonight to try and make up for the lost sleep.  

I am so happy that we decided to put her into this program, even if it does make her seem so grown up!  However, school girl or not, I rocked her to sleep tonight......after all, she is still my baby ;)