This picture was taken the morning of her first day of school (Parent's Morning Out). She did very well even though she cried when I left and did switch between being a little upset about Mommy not being there and enjoying the new things. I'm really happy with the school and her teacher and I think this will be a good year for her and me. It will allow for one morning a week of Mommy/New Baby time (otherwise known as time to run errands with only one child in tow) - and she'll start to learn some really great lessons... like preschool calculus and physics... actually more like playing, art, music, and eating in a group. So our reactions to school paralleled... at least for the first five minutes. Even though I've dropped her off countless times at church nursery and friends' houses, for whatever reason this was more significant to me (or it was the pregnancy hormones). I cried as I walked out of the building and got into my car. Something about the word "school" I guess. Don't know what I'll do when she's really in preschool!
A few other adorable things she's been doing recently (yes I posted not even a full week ago, and there are more!):
I think she's got one of her first jokes going on - when something finishes, like a nap or a song, or something happens, like the lights coming on she says "Dong!" and then laughs. It's like she's ringing a bell. It's hilarious to us, which I'm sure has encouraged her more in it.
Another joke/activity recently is that when I go to get her up in the morning or from her nap (meaning she's been calling out "Mommy"), she plays like she's still asleep. I go in and say, "Oh, is Anne Marie still asleep" and then she picks her head up really quick with a big smile to show that she's awake. Then we repeat for awhile. Occasionally she'll throw in the most adorable "Boo" like we say in Peek-A-Boo. She also likes it when Mommy or Daddy play asleep and then she says "wake up" or her equivalent, and we pop to life.
One of the joys of being her Mother recently has to be the abundance of heartfelt "Thank you Mommys" I'll hear through the day. When we ask her to say thank you, she'll distractedly do the sign (if she's not too preoccupied with whatever she's supposed to be thanking us for). However, when it actually occurs to her that she's thankful about something, I get a "Thank you Mommy" with the sign while she's looking me right in the eyes. It happens more and more and melts my heart just about every time. You're never quite sure what it will be that puts her in that thankful mood - reading a book, handing her a ball she wants, the other day it was even cutting her fingernails (or being done cutting her fingernails, I wasn't sure) - but as she's able to interact on a more abstract level- I've really enjoyed getting to know her more.
We were reading a book the other day that talked about Curious George being LOUD - so then we'd yell and generally be loud. When I then said something about quiet, she, quite out of the blue as far as I'm concerned, put her little finger to her mouth and said "shhhh". I'm not sure if she's seen me do that, or if it's something she's picked up elsewhere, but I thought it was interesting. Shhhhh is a nice concept for her to understand!
A little while ago, when she was outside with Daddy, she leaned up against the tree and started scratching her back. We think she picked it up from Jungle Book's Baloo the Bear. Occasionally I think I see her doing it in a doorway too. Pretty Funny. She is figuring things out and learning new tricks daily it seems!
She's certainly becoming our big girl now. Can't wait to see her as a big sister!
