Me!

I had always thought that little kids spoke in the 3rd person until they were pretty old.  It turns out I know nothing about such things and should probably go back to reading some kind of parenting book (a hobby I gave up when Babykins turned 1).

Without brothers and sisters at home, Babykins is not particularly tough when it comes to defending herself and her toys, so I often see one of the other kids at daycare pull a toy out of her hands and run away.  She's never upset about this, so I just tell her to hold on tighter, then direct her to another toy.

Last week I went to pick Babykins up from daycare and arrived just in time to see her walking across the room with a toy clutched under her arm.  As I watched, another toddler zeroed in on the toy and started making his way toward her.  I started toward the projected collision point, prepared to intervene if necessary.  But just as the boy got close and started to reach his little hand out for the toy, Babykins grabbed the toy tighter, turned her shoulder to block him, and yelled, "No, ME!"

I couldn't decide whether to launch into a talk about sharing or clap with pride.  I settled on a big hug and an internal cheer.  Go, Babykins!

Dai Car!!

It's happened.

Babykins no longer cries when we drop her off at daycare.  Instead, the last time I dropped her off, Babykins wriggled out of my arms, ran over to the other kids, and only grudgingly stopped playing long enough to give me a hug goodbye.  In fact, the other day when I went to pick her up, she actually cried because she didn't want to stop playing with the toys!

This new development has given Hubbykins and me a huge sense of relief.

Despite knowing how much Babykins now loves daycare, though, we were still surprised last week when we asked Babykins if she wanted to go to daycare and she responded by nodding, picking up her shoes, walking to the door, and loudly shouting, "Dai car!!"

Our 15-month-old has 10 words in her command, and daycare is one of them.

Babykins has been making good use of this word.  This week as Hubbykins walked Babykins to daycare, she saw the top of the building from two blocks away.  She proceeded to spend the rest of the trip pointing at the building and repeatedly yelling, "Dai car, dai car!!"

It's been amazing to see this transformation, and one of my favorite times now comes around 7 when we tell Babykins it's time for daycare and a huge smile lights up her little face.

Thank you, Wobbler Room teachers, for giving Babykins such a wonderful place to play and grow.

Fashionista

When I pick Babykins up from daycare, I try to sneak in quietly so that I can spend a few minutes watching her play before she notices me.  Last week, I walked in to find her prancing around the Wobbler room in a fluffy pink princess skirt. 

When I called her name, Babykins was thrilled to show off her new skirt.  The teachers told me that during dress-up time, Babykins had immediately picked out the skirt and carried it over to them for help in putting it on.  When dress-up time ended, she refused to take it off and spent the rest of the day swishing in sparkly pink tulle.  Add to this the green purse that Babykins has started carrying around all day, every day at daycare, and it seems we have a fashionista on our hands.

To encourage Babykins' budding fashion sense, Hubbykins and I have started letting Babykins pick out her own outfit in the morning.  For the most part, this is a success.  She has an affinity for onesies and seems to like pink, which could partly be due to the fact that that accurately describes 90% of the clothing in her dresser.  Admittedly, she doesn't have a large range to choose from.  Babykins does occasionally like to be cutting edge, though.  Friday she wanted three different colored barrettes in her hair, and proudly went to daycare with them accessorizing her outfit.

Yesterday I watched as Babykins patiently stood still while the teacher fitted her with the hand-painted hula skirts they've been working on for a week.  And last week Babykins came home with her hair in two "palm tree" pig tails on top of her head.  Although she'll often run away half way through a diaper change, it seems that even Babykins is willing to make exceptions when it comes to fashion.

The Number 1 Reason I Love Daycare

Babykins and I are both finally starting to adjust to her daily trips to daycare.  She has fabulous teachers, they do fun activities, and every time I walk in there, someone's cleaning something.  The number 1 thing I love about daycare, though, is the art projects Babykins brings home.  There's just nothing cuter than seeing the end result of her daily foray into art time. 

For Mother's Day, she finger painted paper plates, which they turned into a bouquet of flowers.  All together now...Awwww :)

Babykins' Handmade Mother's Day Bouquet

Tricks of the Trade

I love the daycare Babykins is going to.  The facility is new and clean, there are fun activities and crafts everyday, and most importantly, the women who run the Wobbler Room (where the 12-18 monthers stay) are fabulous.

Unfortunately, Babykins isn't quite as thrilled.  We're on day 8 of her attending without me, and she still cries and reaches out her arms to me as I leave (go ahead, let that tear out - it's a very sad sight).  The teachers tell me she's crying less each day, but for some reason, she has started on a hunger strike and refuses to eat during the 4 hours she's there.

To combat this hunger strike, the blessedly patient teachers have resorted to some fabulous tricks.  It started with the Pacifier Bait and Switch.  First they pop out Babykins' pacifier, and when my little one opens her mouth to get it back, they quickly insert a spoonful of yogurt.  As soon as it's swallowed, they reinsert the pacifier before Babykins begins to cry.  This method is long and messy (Babykins usually comes home with her hair plastered to her head with yogurt), but highly effective.

I was impressed with this tactic, but they weren't done, yet.  For solid foods, these saintly women have developed the Drive-By Feeding.  They wait until Babykins is sitting quietly in the high chair, focused on what's happening around her, then they casually walk by and drop food on her tray in the hopes that she'll eat it if she doesn't think it came from them.  This doesn't have quite the same success rate as the bate and switch, but it does drastically reduce the amount of food that goes flying across the room.

Finally, in an effort to get Babykins to drink something, Teacherkins pulled out all of the stops yesterday with the Stealthy Straw maneuver.  Over the weekend, Babykins learned how to drink from a straw.  I was hoping that if I sent her drink in with a straw this week, she'd drink it down just for the pleasure of practicing her new skill.  I was wrong.  After Babykins refused her drink multiple times, Teacherkins tried putting the straw and the pacifier in Babykins' mouth at the same time, figuring that in the course of sucking on the pacifier, Babykins would end up swallowing some juice, too.  Unfortunately, Babykins quickly figured out this trick and spit out the straw, but I was still very impressed with the concept.

If there's anything I've learned this week, it's that you should never go head-to-head with a daycare teacher in any game involving strategic maneuvering.

The Big D, Revisited

Before the holidays, Babykins and I had started researching...drum roll please...daycare centers.  The original plan was for her to start in January so that I could start back to work.  That plan didn't work out, largely due to the fact that Babykins still nurses many times a day.

This week, however, we took a major step.  On Tuesday, I turned in Babykins daycare application.  She's scheduled to begin 2 days a week in March.  By then she'll be 11 months old, and supposedly able to go 8 hours without her mama.

I have no doubt that she'll be fine.  When we stopped in to drop off the application, we said hello to the Auntie that will be Babykins' primary caregiver (in Hawaii, Auntie is a common term of respect, especially for women who care for children).  As we stood there, Babykins just about climbed out of my arms in an effort to go play with the other kids and toys.

I, on the other hand, am not sure I'll make it.  While the thought of 8 whole hours to focus on work and home is exciting, the thought of leaving Babykins for an entire day makes me sad.  Over the next month we'll be making changes to prepare for this new phase, but I have a feeling neither one of us will make it through the first few days without some tears.