The trouble with socks

They won't come off when you want, and don't even get me started on how long it takes to get them back on imediately afterwards.

Mia's new life

At the beginning of the month, Mia started her Montessori program. Her class has 11 toddlers, ages 17 months to about 30 months. She is on the younger end, and one of only three girls.
Her first few days were a mix of joyous exploration and separation anxiety. She would cry when I dropped her off. As I would leave the room, the sound of 11 toddlers bawling was enough to break my heart. Each day when I returned, however, she was happy as a clam, talking about her friends and teachers and her cubby.
She's in the fourth week now, and starting next week we're going to change her from half days to full days. She loves it so much there, and she's learning so much already. It makes me sad to know she'll be there for 7 hours a day, but I know that she's well taken care of and that I'll get more work done as a result.
From just the few short weeks she's been at school, I'm beginning to see where Mia's intelligences are growing. I'm a firm believer in the idea of multiple intelligences, the idea that some people are good at things like spatial relations or interpersonal relations while others are mathematicians or scientists, artists or musicians. Mia is incredibly strong in the interpersonal area. She knows everybody's name in her class, and can identify them by the pictures that hang outside the classroom door. She comes home each day and lists each friend, one by one. When she's finished listing her school friends, she then lists all of her other friends, as well as their parents. She's going to be one of those people who remembers everyone's names at cocktail parties, and little details like the type of dog they have or the status of an elderly grandparent. She is empathetic and generous, holding hands and asking for her friends or loved ones to sit with her. While she's not the kind of kid to jump into a group of kids playing at the tot lot, she's definitely already a loyal companion and a true friend to those she knows.
Here she is, holding hands with her BFF Jesse.

Shalom y'all

And a very happy (belated) Rosh Hosannah to you all.

Hanging in

It's been so long since I've posted. Luckily Ben has taken over the reins for a while. I've been traveling for school, starting a new project in the UK of all places, and generally trying to keep my head above water with work, writing, mommying, and life in general. Everything is good, but there are so many adjustments going on at once it's hard to keep track.

The biggest adjustment is Mia's entry into school. So far she seems to really enjoy it. We walked from our house to school today, and as soon as she saw the corner before the school she said, "Friends! Hi friends!" I think she likes her new classroom. When we walk in she immediately goes to her cubby. She knows where all her favorite things to do are in the room, and she seems to like all of her teachers. The initial transition has been only mildly challenging. She has cried on 2 of the days I dropped her off, but seemed to be content on all of the others. When I pick her up she looks happy and she's always talkative about her day as we make our way back home.

While she can say more words than I can count, I do wish she could tell me a little bit more about what happens at school. She can answer yes and no questions but not any questions that require a developed response. I know this will change over time, but I'm eager to learn more about what happens while we're apart. I'm very used to dropping her off for babysitting, but this feels different somehow.

Back to work for me. The young babe sleeps, and I must charge forward.

First day of school

Well, looks like she's all grown up now, and off to school. We're just finishing up "transition week, in which we spend some time with her in class until she's comfortable with us leaving, so I was able to observe the children in their "natural habitat".

We started with a quick intro to the playground outside, with some double black diamond slides for her to play on. She started the day playing with the 'materials' on her own, but soon enough started working with the others. It's a class for the youngest kids, and she's the youngest of the bunch. She's played with groups before and has her regular friends, but it was still something to see her in a room with hyper boys bouncing off the walls. Against my best intentions, it brought out the protective instinct in me. She gives up almost a pound to the next smallest kid, and we haven't covered a proper defensive stance yet.

Regardless, she had a blast, and the kids and teachers all seem great. It should be an interesting year.