Ready for Launch

We survived Ella's first week of school! From getting two kids out the door in the mornings, to stricter bedtime schedules, to added laundry loads, to my nanny in tears from her empty "nest"; it was a week of adjustment on all fronts. But, Ella Joy is doing fabulously. Her first morning, she woke up in great spirits. She put her uniform on, sat and ate breakfast with Brother, all with no resistance. It helped a lot that her exuberant brother was amping her up with exclamations of "Ella, you're going to school today!!! YAY!!!!" I think she was just thrilled to be leaving the house with him instead of being left behind as usual. No tears at dropoff that day, apprehension yes, but no crying. When I picked her up they told me she started whimpering a little at nap time, but that she slept 45 min. It was really good for a first day.

On her second and third day, we got a lot of "I don't want to go to school" and "I don't want to sleep at school." She seemed surprised that this was going to be a more regular affair. A bit of whining at drop off but no tears, just a very "on-the-brink" frown. Napping there seems to be a hard thing for her. She didn't nap her second and third day. Needless to say, she was wired and crazy when she got home. But Friday, she was happy as a clam when I picked her up. The first thing she told me was, "I not upset today!" Her teacher told me that Ella said "I not going to be upset today. Mama loves me." Today was her fourth day there. With the weekend and Monday in between, we kind of got reset. However, when I picked her up she was ecstatic to see me and just brimming with stories on what she ate for lunch, who she played with, where she went. When she saw me she yelled to the class "It's MY Mama!!" It was delightful to see. She donned her Disney princess backpack and we scooted across the school yard to go pick Greyson up from after school Chinese. She babbled to anyone who would listen, "I went to school today! I have an Ariel backpack! That's Ella's preschool..over there!"

Day 1- Putting on shoes together.

Day 1 - Walking into the school yard together.

Day 1- At pickup. She doesn't look too traumatized, right?

Day 2 - We left her sitting in a bean bag reading with this little cherub.

Day 3 - At pickup. She was having so much fun with these beans she went back to them after she greeted me.

Ella has only been there a total of four days and already she's different. Her speech is more complete, she's super aware of the alphabet everywhere, even upper and lower case letters. Her independence in the bathroom has increased. She tells me all about her day as best I can comprehend. My greatest rejoicing this past week has been the knowing that I got the timing right. I followed my instincts pushing her start date to mid year, timing her potty training, assessing her readiness, and all of that came together this week in triumphant validation. Yes, we are still adjusting. But Ella Joy is ready for school.