The New Thursdays

Before I start our little update, I want to say thank you to everyone who sent messages, emails, texts, and hype my way today. I really appreciate it and it made this day even more exciting.

Things went 90% beautifully today. Burl was a ball of energy this morning, literally bouncing with excitement.
"I want to go now, Now, NOW."
"Rock'n'Roll" (repeated 100 times)
Before we got out of our yard, "This walk take a long time."

This boy was very talkative and excited up until we walked in the room and it was time for me to leave him. With strangers. The teachers were very kind and helpful. (One had a boy who was almost three and a daughter almost one who had red hair as well! It was my sign. These ladies are good.) Burl got scared and nervous and started crying. One of the teachers asked if she just wanted me to grab him, to which I said yes. I told the second teacher that this is common (when we leave him in church nursery), but he should calm down within 30 seconds. She understood and said her son was the same way. Sign #2 that this was going to be ok. When I'm leaving my crying child with strangers, I tend to look for "this is ok" signs. A few minutes after I left, a friend confirmed that he stopped crying and was playing. Sign #3, and I'm home free.

The best part was the pick up, the walk home, and putting Burl down for his nap. That boy did not stop talking. (My friend warned me that her daughter didn't answer any of her questions, so she had to lay off and just let the stories arise. I was fully prepared to be the kind of mom to create ways to make him comfortable and eager to share about his day. Because sometimes we're all a little nervous to gush. I so get that.) That was good advice because it kept me from pouncing on Burl for information. He started with, "Mama, I ate all my cookies!" From there the information came.

He liked school. He wants to go back. He got to go to the big playground. Deb came by his classroom. He didn't drink his water at lunch. His room had a firetruck hat that was black and a little pokey. The rest mats were blue and red and his was red. He peepee-d in their potty and got all his peepee in the potty and none on the floor. He washed his hands. He made an apple picture with stamps. Isaac fell asleep during rest time, but not his cousin Isaac, just the boy Isaac. His friends got in trouble for scratching toys and being loud and fighting.

While these are all good and the cute, the real kicker is that he thought they were noteworthy enough to tell me. They were big things in his world by himself.

Now onto Thursday, Part 2. Fern's little world changed today as well and it was a big deal.

The five hours that I have with Fern each week are going to be pretty special. I spent most of today focusing on her. We played together on her terms, we went outside, we made a smoothie, we picked flowers, we had a picnic lunch, we wrestled, we ran some errands, and we stopped at Starbucks. I plan to devote a portion of each Thursday to one-on-one playtime, which anyone would agree is special. Beyond that, into the errands, is that I get to focus on her the whole time. She dominates the conversation, the tickles, the snuggles, and me. 

If today is any indicator of how this will go, we will not only see a change in Burl, but we'll see a change in Fern. She was totally smitten with the attention, and I saw an increase in giggles and conversation between us. My cup runneth over with excitement.

For example, the pictures. I usually get serious or focused pictures of this sweet girl. Today, I got so many cute, laughing pictures of her that it was hard to pick which ones to use in the post. I just can't stop looking at them.  

There it is. Part one and two of our new Thursdays, which I think is perfectly splendid.
Now, I'll quote Burl now: "I've used all my words to tell about it."