Month: October 2011

Dayla has been at school now for 2 months and it so fun to see how much she has grown and changed in such a short time.  The transition to school was not easy (to put it nicely) as our girl thought it was “boring” and “not as much fun as she hoped”.  Daniel and I knew that we just had to push through; we knew that once she liked it, she would love it.  For 3 weeks we kicked and screamed to the car.  The fourth week she came home with the announcement “I have a new best friend!!” and it has been wonderful ever since.

[Dayla and her “new best friend” Katelynn stand in the back of the group together next to the teacher]

Everything about North City Preschool we have LOVED so far.  One rule they have (that I think is brilliant) is no parents in the classroom for the first 2 months so that the teacher can be established as the main authority.  So this last week was the first time that parents got to come and stay; we came for the Halloween Animal Parade.  Is there anything cuter than a bunch of preschoolers dressed up in costume, marching in a parade?

 

The parents all lined up on the fence, cameras in hand, proud smiles on their faces.  Many of the kids were shy and just walked following the person in front of them, but not Dayla.  She was a bee, so she flew and ran most the way with a smile on her face.

They did the parade for two days (so all the kids could participate) and on the second day Daniel was able to come.  I can’t begin to explain how excited our girl was to have us both at her school.  Each time she walked by us, she looked something like this:

It was so fun to see her in her element for the first time. She was confident and energetic, but also a great listener, a great helper, and a great student (the only one in her class who knew what “utters” were called when Miss Karen asked).

 

 

[Miss Karen is on the right in the cow costume]

We so love North City Preschool and the director (Miss Karen) and Dayla’s teacher (Miss Cullison) who are both amazing with Dayla and her dynamic personality.

Each morning we go we are often the first one to the classroom door, and Miss Cullison always matches Dayla’s enthusiasm for whatever it is that Dayla has to tell her that morning. I love this picture below because it captures perfectly how Miss Cullison greets Dayla each morning:

 

Dayla goes to school Wednesday- Friday so she has the chance to be with two different sets of kids. She is beginning to make more and more “best friends” and, like we hoped and predicted, seems to be more in love and more passionate about school everyday.

[Top class picture is her Thursday class and bottom picture is her Wednesday and Friday class]

What more could we ask for than an amazing preschool with the world’s best staff to transition our girl to the idea of school and grow her love for learning? We are SO thankful!

I have put off doing a lot of pregnancy posts, mostly because this has been such a rough (read emotional, physically, and spiritually draining) pregnancy for me.  But I will say, at the end of each day, whether it was a hard day or a “slightly better” day, I knew in the bottom of my heart that this pregnancy is nothing but a blessing and gift.

Thank you God for this boy.  We pleaded, longed, waited, trusted….and now he is almost here.

Now I am ending my third trimester, and this trimester  has by far been the best one….and I am daily praising God for the relief and joy that has come with this last month! I am finally not sick or nauseous and have managed almost all of my “pregnancy aches and pains” with the help of herbal teas, vitamins and medications.  I am so thankful to end the pregnancy on a good note.   As I have been enjoying the last month here and really trying to soak it all in as we get ready to welcome baby boy into our life, I thought it would be fun to list all the things that I like about pregnancy.

 

The things that fill my heart:

People who hold doors for you…bless their hearts.

Not having to “suck it in” for 9 months.

When I take a bath, I love that I have a little island to rest the book on and I don’t have to worry it will get wet!

The wondering what baby will look like, who he will be, and the blissful dreaming of the future.

Listening to Dayla talk about and to baby brother.  It is not everyday, and I would even say that her affection to my stomach is pretty rare compared to other kids I have seen with their moms, but to me infrequency makes it feel that much more precious and true.

Stopping to think about how there is a person, a life, a little baby fresh from God’s arms growing inside me right now.

When Dayla thoughtfully picks out things when we are at the store for her baby brother…and even buying them with her own money.

Having no one balk at the strange food I want to eat…seems everyone let’s you off the hook when you are pregnant.

Knowing I have a husband who is willing to go to the store late at night to fulfill my craving.