On Tuesday, September 4, 2012, Emily started preschool. Her teacher is Miss Peggy. Dad takes her around 8, and they've been busy learning this week. Emily painted and colored apples and butterflies as they practiced letters A and B. She's learning sign language (this week was boy, girl, and I), has music (Peggy plays piano and they learned about fast and slow), talked about parts of face, and numbers 0 and 1. Plus all the story times and art times and play times throughout the day. Preschool ends at noon, and then it's lunch, recess, nap and more playtime before I pick her between 3 and 4.
You can see Emily's tracing the letters and numbers in pencil. She's left handed, by the way!
I can't believe she's not a "toddler" anymore, but a preschooler. This is what she's like right now:
Bedtime is a process, and we're lucky if we can get her to bed by 9. I don't know how all kids learn to ask for water, one more kiss, one more snack, but she goes through them all. She likes to tell you it's too early to go to bed! She also forgot how to sleep through the night. It's usually around 2 AM when I hear her tiptoe into the bedroom not wanting to be alone anymore.
It's around 7:30 when she wakes up, although it's a bit earlier now that school has started. If it were up to her, she would never wear a dress, but always wear her flip flops. Most of the time, she's not much of a breakfast eater, but loves to make Belgian waffles with her dad (but she never eats any of them!)
Most of her play these days involves her two baby dolls. She loves to change their diapers, put them to sleep, or push them around in a shopping cart or stroller. She has a few apps that she plays with on the kindle, will watch Sesame Street, loves music from Barney, and coloring with markers.
Lately she has been talking a lot about Nadia. One day she asked me if I left Nadia in Twin to make room for her baby brother. Another day she told me she's not going to be Emily, that she's Nadia now. And when she's delaying bedtime at night she tells me she wants her sister.
I asked her what her favorite color was, and she told me green (she was wearing a green shirt). When she was asked at preschool, she said it was purple (she was wearing a purple shirt). I don't think she's settled on just one yet! She eats a lot of raspberries, mangoes, and kiwi, and loves most fruits. She also loves her artichokes, and is quite content at restaurants when we order her one.
Tantrums have hit big time, but it's just a phase we need to get through. She has a strong desire to be independent and opinionated right now! We're anxious for the high pitched scream to go away (especially her dad).
She's very shy and it takes her awhile to warm up to people. She adjusted okay to daycare since Peggy used to work at Aaron's store, and three of her daycare pals made it to the same preschool. When she's nervous, or out of words, she likes to yell, "Boo!" and will talk about new people long after they've gone away. Right now, she's very much a Daddy's girl!
She likes to see diggers (excavators) and horses. I handed her an old camera the other day and she's been taking picture after picture of the dog, of her babies, of Elmo on TV. She loves to sing and makes up new words to old tunes, and is pretty good at it. " La, la, la, la, It's Elmo's World" became "la, la, la, la I'm daddy's girl". And Baby Bop's (from Barney) song "I love my yellow blankie in the day and night" has become "I love Miss Peggy in the day and night."
She's sweet and lovely and absolutely perfect. She's still our miracle and makes us laugh daily. The 8th of September marks 3 years since she made it home from the NICU. You've come a long way, my little preschooler.
