Preschool Diaries

I hate to admit it, but the "preschool frenzy" has gotten to me. Many of the moms that I encounter in Los Angeles act like preschool is going to determine whether or not their child becomes the next CEO of Google. Lately every playgroup or class that we attend someone is talking about it and asking where we have applied. Apparently most of the moms in LA started thinking about where to send their kid to preschool while they were pregnant.

First, let me be clear that I do not buy into the whole exclusivity and prestigious preschool snobbery that exists here. Seriously, people! These kids are still babies. Most of them still poop their pants, spit and throw food, and have meltdowns reminiscent of a cave person on a daily basis. I am definitely not looking for an academic program (with a $20,000 tuition) that will require her to sit at a table all morning and participate in a structured curriculum. Trust me, as an educator, I know all to well that there will be plenty of time for that later in her school career. Instead, I want her to play, socialize, and learn that the world does not revolve solely around her wants and demands. I believe that preschool for a two year old should focus on a couple of realistic learning outcomes: learning how to function in a group, following basic rules, and sharing/playing with others. It should also provide mommy and daddy with a much needed break a few mornings a week.

Now I will get off of my soapbox and tell you one of my favorite Everly stories of all time! Since we are only about four months away from Everly's 2nd birthday, I figured that I should start exploring our options. After some research and recommendations from some level-headed moms in our area, we decided to tour a small church-based preschool program that is focused solely on play and socialization. We decided to take Everly with us on the tour to see how she would react to the setting and all of the children. From the minute we walked in the door Everly was ready to put on a show. As we were waiting in the lobby to start the tour with about 5 other sets of parents, Everly decided it was time to share her extensive color knowledge with everyone by pointing out all of the colors on the tile floor. She enthusiastically shouted and pointed to every single color, over and over, until she was sure that she had every one's full attention. It was actually quite funny. Here was this tiny little 19 month old girl walking back and forth and shouting out "yellow", "purple", "blue", "red", "orange", "green" with such authority and pride. I secretly couldn't stop laughing because all I could think about was how the other parents were probably thinking that we had staged this performance. Too bad we weren't at one of those snobby preschools that actually conducts interviews and requires applications, huh?

As part of the tour we were able to visit all the classrooms. This was Everly's favorite part of the whole experience (mine too!). As soon as the door to the two year old room opened, Everly cut in front of the director who was leading the tour and walked right up to one of the tables where the children were having snack and pulled up a chair. I am just thankful that she didn't say "move" as she barreled through the door (which is one of her favorite, yet not so charming, commands that she has picked up from our interactions with Bama). She looked over at the teacher who was serving apples to all the kids and waited patiently for her snack. Before the teacher could get to her table she discovered a reading center and immediately darted out of her seat, grabbed a book, and made herself comfortable in a small chair in the back of the room. No one on the tour could focus on what the director was saying about the classroom because they were all watching and laughing at Everly's assumed familiarity and eagerness to join the class. Her readiness for exploration and social play was never more obvious than at that moment. This same behavior continued in every room that we toured. The teachers in the four year old classroom could not get over how comfortable she was interacting and playing with the "big" kids. She did not even hesitate about joining in with a small group of four year old boys who were playing together. She walked right up to the group, grabbed a handful of Legos, and sat down right in the middle of them. She also grabbed some freshly glued craft sticks right off of a little girl's art project. Luckily, I was able to stop Everly's path of destruction and put the sticks back in place before the little girl had a meltdown. Of course all of the other children on the tour were standing quietly with their parents or being held without protest.

Needless to say, Danny and I were both sweating by the end of the tour (big beads of sweat were running down my back actually). I was secretly afraid that we would be blackballed after Everly's show, but thankfully we were still able to secure a spot in the two year old classroom. It makes me a little sad to think about my baby starting preschool in the fall, but after observing her behavior on the tour I am convinced now more than ever that she needs it for more than a few reasons. :)

"Say-Yow"

"Say-Yow": Everly's pronunciation for "flower".

She makes my heart smile!

On a side note, she is the flower girl in our cousin's wedding next weekend. I can just picture her running down the aisle shouting "say-yow", "say-yow" as she throws flower petals in the air. This should be good! 

Mommy, Wow! I'm a Big Kid Now...Sorta!

A couple of months ago we bought a potty chair so that we could slowly introduce Everly to the idea of going to the bathroom in the toilet. From the minute we unveiled the chair she thought it was the best toy ever. For months she has climbed on top of it, pulled it from one corner of her room to the other, shoved her dirty clothes and toys in it, and hidden some of her most valuable treasures inside of it (i.e. pacifiers). I honestly wasn't sure when we would start trying to officially begin potty training, but over the past few weeks she has become more interested in the whole bathroom process. She LOVES to flush the toilet after I go and exclaim, "Bye-Bye Pee-Pee, Bye-Bye Poo-Poo" (TMI, I know, but she has to learn somehow, right?).

Anyway, this afternoon after I got home from work, Danny and I were about to start the bedtime ritual when we casually asked her when she was going to start using the potty like a big girl. She immediately ran over to her potty and started trying to take off her diaper. As soon as we got the diaper off of her she climbed on and off of the chair a few times, summoned all of her favorite stuffed animals to sit with her, and then stood up suddenly and started concentrating really hard. In an instant she was peeing on the floor! I gave her a gentle nudge so that she would sit back down on the potty and before we knew it there was a small puddle in the pan (along with a much larger puddle on the floor!).

Even though the majority of the urine was on the floor we still celebrated her performance with squeals of delight and praise. The pride on her face as we sent her drops of "pee-pee" down the big toilet was priceless. I am sure like everything else in parenthood this milestone will be two steps forward, one step back, but experiencing this first moment with her was pretty awesome! Looks like we better invest in some pull ups and a prize jar sooner rather than later.

"Help!...Toe!!...Bama!!!"

Everly has been a regular little chatterbox for a while now, but this past week she made her first attempt at constructing a full-blown sentence. While I was cooking dinner "little miss busy bee" was fluttering around the kitchen pulling every item she could grab out of the cabinets and drawers, and then running to the laundry room to hide them next to the washing machine, when suddenly she stopped next to the trashcan and shouted, "Help!...Toe!!...Bama!!! I immediately stopped what I was doing and ran over to her because I could tell by the tone of her voice and the look on her face that she really needed help. When I got over to her I noticed that she was holding on to the trashcan with one foot lifted in the air. When I squatted down to examine her foot, I discovered that she had stepped on a piece of Bama's food and it was stuck in between her toes. Ahhh! Suddenly it all made perfect sense: Help!..Toe!!...Bama!!! translated to, "Help, Mama, I stepped on a piece of Bama's food and it is stuck in between my toes!" Pretty clever, huh?

3 Month Rewind

I can't believe it has been almost 3 months since my last post. Seriously?!!? Where does the time go? The holidays came and went in a flash and for some reason I couldn't get my groove back after the New Year started. Post holiday blues? The end of football season (Roll Tide!)? Going back to work? The sheer exhaustion from chasing a VERY curious toddler? The cold (50-60 degree) LA winter? A combination of all of the above? Who knows? Maybe it's the warm weather tease we are having here in LA this weekend, but for some reason I woke up today and was inspired to start writing on the blog again.

Since I completely neglected to properly document the holidays this year, I have decided to do a 3 month rewind to bring everyone up to speed on the latest happenings with our fam. Bear with me...there is a lot to share!!! 

Thanksgiving 2012

We flew to Alabama to celebrate Thanksgiving southern style. Family, friends, and fantastic food surrounded us during the entire visit and it reminded me once again how much I miss all of my people back home. I tried to soak in every second of my time there, but it is never long enough. My heart hurts every time I get back on a plane and head west because I know that my family will miss so many of the day to day milestones in Everly's life before we get to see them again. Growing up with such a strong extended family had a huge impact on me and I am realizing more and more how important it is to me that Everly have those same experiences and connections. It's funny how having a kid changes everything! Three years ago I would have turned my nose up at the idea of moving back to the south, now I long for the comforts of home and try to find any excuse I can to get back there. Here is the highlight reel from our trip:

Princess castle fun with Fairy Godfather

Peek-A-Boo

Putting up the Christmas tree with Poppy

Plotting with Aunt Shay

Telling MiMi stories

Turkey Baby! 

Snuggling with Dakota.

Two rascals! 

Exploring the rocks with Aunt Kay. 

Telling Nana all about it!  

Play time with her buddy Alex.

Fun times with Aunt Claire!

Adventures on the farm with MiMi!

Puddin' & Fairy Godmother

Baby Grayson and Matt

My Loves!

Christmas in Los Angeles

Since we traveled back to the south for Thanksgiving, we decided to stay in LA for Christmas. My dad was able to fly out and celebrate with us, so that made the holidays away from family a little easier to get through. In preparation for the big day we took Everly to the Grove for her annual Santa photo. This year she was not too sure about the bearded guy so I had to sit on his lap with her. We managed to get one decent photo but of course I can't find the flash drive anywhere. I guess that is what happens when you wait 3 months to post Christmas photos, huh?

She LOVED the big Christmas tree at the Grove. When she saw it she threw her hands in the air and shouted, "ta-da". As a matter of fact she said "ta-da" EVERY time she saw a decorated tree this year because every morning when I plugged in our tree I would exclaim "ta-da". Another reminder that I need to watch my language around her because she really is a little parrot these days!

Preparing for our annual Christmas card photo shoot was also quite a hoot this year. All the hours on Pinterest finally paid off after finding the inspiration for the scene below. 

The caption for the card read: "Naughty is the New Nice" 

Disclaimer: I refuse to discuss how many cookies Everly actually consumed while trying to capture the perfect shot. 

A few days before Christmas we spent the afternoon strolling through the canals in Venice Beach and checking out the shenanigans on the beach boardwalk. 

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day were both filled with excitement. I spent the evening baking my Grandma's homemade pound cake and other sweet treats, while Dad and Danny worked tirelessly in Santa's workshop. Everly's reaction to all of her gifts on Christmas morning was priceless. She was still a little too young to fully grasp what was happening, but she was certainly tickled by all of the fuss. I love the pure joy on her face in all of the photos below. 

Happy New Year! 

January came and went in a hurry. Danny and I spent New Year's Eve at home taking down the Christmas decorations. We were asleep (and stone cold sober) less than 20 minutes after the new year arrived. It really is incredible how lame we have become since having a baby. I am optimistic that we will get our mojo back one day, but to be honest, I am just too darn tired to do anything much past 10 o'clock these days. Plus, after our St. Patrick's Day outing last year we discovered life lesson #213 the hard way: "Babies and hangovers do not mix!"

My mom also came to visit for a few weeks in January, but unfortunately I don't have many photos to share because we were all sick the entire time she was here. Everly came down with the dreaded RSV virus the day my mom arrived and by the end of the week we were all 3 sick. Despite all of the sickness, Everly and MiMi managed to spend some good quality time together. One thing is for sure, those two are buddies! Everly loves her MiMi and talks about her all the time. Every time she sees the iPad she picks it up and brings it to me shouting, "MiMi, MiMi". My mom and I always joke that Everly probably thinks that she lives in a magic box because we Facetime with her so often. 

One of my favorite memories from my mom's trip is this video that we shot of Everly dancing.  It certainly captures the true spirit of our little dolly! 

February Fun! 

February was busy, but full of fun and some pretty big news too. We celebrated Valentine's Day, I was granted a sabbatical for the upcoming fall semester, Danny declared a major for his degree, and our nanny put in her notice because she got a job offer in video and film production that she couldn't turn down. Yowsa! It was heartbreaking to learn that we would be losing our nanny at the end of the month because she is like a part of our extended family. She has been with us since Everly was 3 months old and she was such a positive influence in her life. Our entire family adores her and I am having a hard time even thinking about replacing her. There was a warmth and a trust with her from the very beginning and it is hard to imagine that we would be lucky enough to find someone else that would care for our precious baby girl like she did.

Check out this February flashback: 

Valentine's Day 2012: 5 months old

Valentine's Day 2013: 17 months old

Everly is a just a few weeks shy of 18 months and I am constantly shocked by how quickly she is growing and developing into a little girl. I know every parent thinks that their kid is the brightest and smartest and cutest, but I am serious when I say that Everly is the cutest, sweetest, and smartest little angel I have ever met. She says please (peese), thank you (tank u), sure, help, no, and a whole laundry list of other words! She even said thank you the other day when one of my girlfriends gave her a cookie (without even being prompted)!!! She can also identify several different animals and can make the appropriate sounds for all of them. As a matter of fact, she does the best elephant impression I have ever seen (note to self: get that on video!). The zoo is one of our new favorite places to take her.  She is mesmerized and tickled by all of the animals. Can't you just feel the enthusiasm in the picture below? I tell ya', it is a real treat to see the world through her eyes.

She can secretly sing her ABCs and many other nursery rhymes, but she gets embarrassed when you catch her in the act. She can also name all of the plastic food items that go with her kitchen set. I love to hear her say "onion", "edamame", and "pop tart" (get that on video too!).  Seriously, friends, she is one cool kid! 

Like most kids her age, Everly can also throw a tantrum with the best of them. She truly is the sweetest little soul you will ever meet, but she also knows exactly what she wants and is not afraid to let you know if your plan does not align with hers. She kind of reminds me of a Sour Patch Kid on some days. Have you seen the commercial where the piece of candy does something bad and then immediately hugs the person before they can react? The quick changing temperament has probably been the most shocking and challenging part of her development thus far. I mean I knew the "terrible 2's" were around the corner, but I had no idea they would start so early or be so dramatic. Recently, I was totally that parent in the middle of Target with a screaming kid laid out in the middle of the floor and I am here to tell you that there isn't much you can do at this stage other than get the hell out of the store as fast as you can. I would also like to take this opportunity to apologize to all of the parents that I secretly judged (and maybe not so secretly: insert eye roll or dirty look) before I had kids. I had no idea how challenging it was to raise another human being so I hope it makes everyone feel better to know that the karma train has arrived at our house. Ha-ha! 

Never fear though! I am currently in the thick of research regarding early child development and parenting techniques. I am learning a ton of information about her current stage of development, which is giving me a better understanding of what is happening with Everly right now. I am also running up to 15-20 miles per week, practicing a lot of deep breathing techniques, and saying lots of prayers to get through some of the tantrums. Hell, I even broke down and cried the other day too. 

I've said it before, and I will say it again, Everly is going to be my best teacher in this life. We have survived 24 hours of labor, 3.5 hours of pushing, an emergency C-section, breastfeeding drama, colic, sleepless nights (hello woombie), sleep training, and a whole host of other milestones and challenges in the last 18 months. I am 100% certain that we will make it through the "terrible 2's", the "tantrum 3's" and the "f*#k you 4's" with flying colors. After all, this is preparation for the teenage years, right? Lord help us all!