Meet the Teacher: 2014!

Ava's Valentine Party.

Yep, you read that right. Nothing is getting done in a timely manner these days :)

Here are some photos from Ava's Valentine's Day party at her school. I am so blessed to be able to make it to some of her events at school, depending on my work schedule, and this was an adorable party I loved being a part of!

And So It Begins...

I have always been one to take education seriously, and have been looking forward to the day when I had my own children and was able to be involved with them and their schooling. My mom was awesome - she stayed home with me, and was involved in all my school projects, etc - setting the example that parents are just as important a part of a child's education as their teachers.

I somehow didn't realize that this urge - the need to be the overachieving parent going the extra mile - would consume me starting with preschool. That's the only possible explanation, right, for why I would, a month out from having a baby and someone in charge of running three different households in some capacity, volunteer myself as Ava's class's room mom. I mean, REALLY?! I couldn't tell you what came over me, only that I thought it sounded like a great idea at the time and totally within my abilities.

Another thing I thought sounded like a fantastic idea at the time? Volunteering to bring Ava's bunny, Babs, to "B" show-and-tell yesterday, despite the fact that it was a logistical nightmare both for myself and my poor, unsuspecting husband. Um....

What it is, at heart, is that I want so badly for her to love school and love learning as much as I did as a child, and to me, an active parent, especially given her anxiety about being away from me, is the way to ensure that early on. But someone please remind me of that when I'm knee-deep in nursing pads and diapers and eight days post-op and I have to tend to Ava's school's Halloween party....

Ava's First Day of School!

 

Yesterday marked Ava's first day of preschool. Sure, she went to Plug & Play last year for a morning a week, but it was a mixed age day care of sorts, with a bit more structure than a daycare. This year, she's attending an actual curriculum-based preschool three days a week, with full on themed days and labeled school supplies and a Christmas and spring show and I LOVE EVERY SECOND OF IT ALREADY!!!!!!

As it turns out, so does she! We had taken her to meet her teacher last week, which went great, but she was definitely nervous about starting school. I feel like she was overwhelmingly excited up until the night before, but she tossed and turned last night, calling out for me on multiple occasions. We read "The Night Before Preschool" and "My First Day at Nursery School", and talked about her fears, but she was still nervous about what was going to happen and meeting new friends.

When it came down to the wire, though, she did great. We arrived early, and so I let her show off her school and playground to her nana, which helped to distract her from her fears and helped her to get excited for the day. It worked wonders on easing the immediate tension, and then when it came time for me to walk her into her classroom, she was hesitant, but ready!

She walked in with her backpack and lunchbox, and I put her stuff on the hook and in her cubby, and I pointed out a potential friend playing with Legos on the floor alone, and prompted her to go say hi to try to get the ball rolling on easing her anxiety. She caught on, though, and proceeded to get a bit shaky-lipped and say, "I love you, mommy!" repeatedly as she inched closer to me at the door. I told her how much I loved her, too, and that I would be back and she would LOVE preschool, and then left before we both had meltdowns. Thankfully, though it was touch and go for a second, neither of us shed any actual tears.

Here she is with her teacher, right after we walked in:

Clearly that bow didn't last for long :) And what would a post about going to school be without the obligatory what-I-packed-in-her-lunch picture? Heart-shaped PB sandwiches, cherry fruit leather, carrots, fruit skewers, applesauce, and Angry Birds graham crackers. YUM! SO glad she's going to a school where she can have peanut butter - woohoo!

And here's Ava with her nana, who's in town for the week for the baby showers and beginning of school :)

I was so excited to pick Ava up, and the feeling was mutual. She ran up to me when she saw me - she was getting her picture taken for my ID to scan for pick up - and gave me the biggest hug around my waist (can we call it a waist at this point?) and her first words were, "I had a great day at school!" YES!!! Such an amazing thing to hear, especially when followed by, "I missed you, mommy!" Aww, I missed you too, baby bear! One of the other first things out of her mouth was, "I made four friends!" As a shy kid in my school years, I'm SO grateful that Ava is a little social butterfly and makes friends so easily. She talked about playing with her new friends and making a friend with a "baby" on the playground (anyone shorter than her - which is everyone, LOL), and also how there was someone in her class who cried when his mommy left until he "throwed up". Aww. So glad that Ava took the first day in stride, and also that her teacher and teacher's aide both reported that she was "the sweetest little girl" with great manners! Score one for mama :)

How was everyone else's first day of school? And - what are some good dairy-free lunch ideas to mix things up? I could see it being easy to fall into a lunch rut :)

Wordless Tuesday: Ava's First Day of Preschool.

Ava's Going to Preschool!

This week, we celebrated a big milestone: I registered Ava for preschool for the fall!

As you may remember, she's been going to Plug & Play one morning a week since October, when they started their flex preschool offerings, and she's LOVED it. Seriously, she loves going to "school". But she's one of the oldest in her room, and knowing that she's so into the academic portion of things and that she's a pretty advanced kid, I wanted to capitalize on her interest and get her started in a day school program.

I will say, I felt REALLY overwhelmed initially. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of preschool options out there, and trying to find the right one that fit with our needs, my schedule, and the preschool locale of one of the kiddos that I watch seemed downright impossible! So I did what any mom with some sense would do, and polled the moms in my mom's group. Sure, you can read the offhand reviews available or "testimonial" section of a preschool page, but to me, the absolute best place to hear about the ins and outs - and especially if a parent knows of a negative experience - is through word of mouth, am I right? Anyhow, my mom's group did NOT fail me, and after some extensive research, numerous emails, and a pretty ridiculous pro/con list, we found the perfect school for Ava.

I don't want to disclose the name of the school (though if we're friends "in real life" I'm happy to recommend them based on our experience thus far and others' recommendations! - just message me), but I will say that it is church-based (which appealed to us - the potential to expand her knowledge of and comfort level with God through chapel seemed ideal, though I know it's not for everyone), very small class sizes, and their playground is absolutely amazing. Lots of shade (which you'll know if you've been a reader for a while that Ava is extremely heat sensitive), lots of room to run out some energy and swings and slides galore! Woohoo! Another big plus, and this may just me being a crazy mother, is that they put on twice yearly "shows", with a Christmas Pageant and Spring show. I'm already excited to attend! I seriously cannot wait for her to start!

Oh, and to sweeten the deal, they have a drop-off and pick-up line! I don't even have to drag myself (and my newborn) out of the car - SOLD!

The best part, however, is how excited Ava is to go! We drive by the school routinely, and she always asks, "Is this the day I go to school?" How we're going to make it for another four months I don't know, but we can't wait!

Now, for some school shopping... :)

How I Spent Ava's First Day of School.

First and foremost, her first day was not today, but last Wednesday. Circumstances around here lately have been such to where I have wanted to unplug and hide under a rock, rather than put myself out there, but it always seems that when I have that reaction to life, I'm more in need of support and channeling my feelings through my writing than ever, and so here it goes.

I imagined myself spending Ava's first day of preschool in grand style: a relaxing pedicure, reading a book without interruption, blogging to the sounds of peace and quiet, coffee with friends, you name it. I planned to feel nothing short of elation. Instead, I spent the morning a way I never would have imagined: having a mass in my breast examined by my OB/GYN. 

When I realized that I would be spending my first morning childless that way, I thought for sure that my doctor would tell me I'm a hypochondriac and need to turn off Parenthood. As embarrassing as that surely would have been, I would have much preferred that to the look of alarm on his face and the calling in of two other associates to - ultimately - feel me up with the same look of alarm. Moreover, I was completely unprepared for the referral to get a mammogram and breast ultrasound STAT and for my doctor to call in a referral to a surgeon himself. Trembling, I took my handfuls of paperwork and instructions, and sat in my car attempting to breathe. And, equally unexpected, I felt lonely without Ava.

Since then, I'm happy to report a handful of things. 

-I've had my mammogram and ultrasound, and ladies, it wasn't nearly as bad as you think when you think of complete breast compression, Then again, I'm not working with the double D's I dreamed of as a pre-pubescent girl, so maybe that's why. Either way, when your time comes, relax. 

-Though the ultrasound and mammogram tech kept pretty mum on the results (why do they do that? What is your job if you can't tell me what you see?!), saying instead to wait to hear from my doctor, she did make it sound like it wasn't cancer. Fingers crossed. 

-I have an appointment with the surgeon next week (also while Ava is at preschool), so if it is a worse case scenario, we're being very proactive in taking care of it.

-Most importantly, Ava had a fabulous day at school. In fact, though she teared up a bit initially when I dropped her off and went to leave, she told me later that day that she "can't wait to go back to school" and has had us reading her My First Day of Nursery School book repeatedly in anticipation! Needless to say, she loved Plug & Play just as much as I do and knew she would, and I cannot say enough good things about the staff and the facility. A more detailed post to come about her school days, but in short, we're so happy with our decision to send her both to school and to school at Plug & Play!

I'll keep y'all posted on what we find out, but in the meantime, posts may be short and sweet while I attempt to navigate a myriad of doctors and take care of myself, too. 

Also? Don't neglect your self-exams, ladies. Being proactive in mine, and in tune with my body, very well could have brought this to our attention in plenty of time, and could easily save your life.

Ava's Going to Preschool!

I've mentioned briefly in a previous post that Ava is soon to start preschool, but wanted to talk more about the how and why, and also why I'm so, so excited about this new development.

First off, she'll be starting next week at the co-working site Plug & Play Austin, which has found great success in the feedback they've gotten from parents who've left their kids in the child care room. For more about the Reggio Emilia-based philosophy they follow and more about Plug & Play itself, click here.

Due to the success they've had so far, they've decided to expand the childcare center to also have a flex preschool option, where you can pick any two days a week to send your child to their program, which includes art, music & movement, Spanish, circle time and free play! There are also two different timing options: a morning option (8:30-12), and an afternoon option (2-5:30) Ava will be in the biggest room, where children 2-5 will be, and like I've mentioned before, I love the Montessori-type of age staggering so that Ava will be with older, more advanced children that she can learn from. Ava is definitely motivated by watching other children - in fact, being with older children daily since birth has been a major contributor to her being so advanced in her language and motor skills - so this will be a huge bonus to her attending preschool with slightly older children!

Because of my work schedule and generally chaotic life, we've opted to only put Ava into school one day a week at this time. Mondays we're out the door for ballet shortly after 9, and Tuesday and Thursday we're out the door by 6:45 (!!!), so I don't want to overschedule her by adding a second day of preschool and leaving her no mornings to just veg out in her pajamas and have nowhere to be until the afternoon. Not to mention, we haven't been able to see a lot of our friends from my moms group since starting the new job, so it'll be great to have that unscheduled morning to attend meetups!

I'm so incredibly excited for her to go to school. She had such a fun time the morning that she was there visiting while I worked, and she brought home the most adorable art project that day also - something I'm always jealous of when I see them on mothers of preschooler's walls.
 Now I'll have cute school art, too! More than that, though, I think it'll be so good for her. When my husband and I were talking about our budget and the decision to send her to school when she clearly has years to go before Kindergarten and could potentially do preschool for years to come, one thing that he said that really stuck out to me was, "She deserves to go to school." I thought that was so perfectly put, and it immediately made up my mind that we should send her now. Ava is so curious and so interested in learning and being taught right now, and since the school year just started, was just bombarded with back-to-school excitement from the older girls. Even as a one-year-old, I have pictures of Ava holding S's backpack and lunchbox, exploring the classroom and wanting to go to "shool!" Now she gets to!

As for me, I don't even know what to do with myself. Well, that's not entirely true. I didn't for about five minutes, but then I decided that - at least initially - I'll stay on site and work on the "plug" side, getting some blogging and freelance writing assignments done without guilt or interruption! Woohoo! I may or may not also have scheduled a massage during her first few weeks - mamas need down time, too!

I can't wait to update with pictures of her first day of school (we've already bought her new outfit and everything!) and share how much she loves it!!