Growing Up

Crossing her legs like a big girl

Leah moved up to the next "level" at day care this week. They've been slowly transitioning her for the past month, and she took it like a champ. I was nervous about this, because she was really attached to the caretakers in the nursery. On the other hand, I was looking forward to it, because she was now the oldest in the nursery, and while she loves hugging babies, she couldn't really interact or play with them. On her first official day Monday, the kids all greeted her with a "Hi, Leah!!" It was seriously one of the cutest and sweetest things ever. Kids can just be so loving. She has now become attached to her new teacher, and when I spied on her at the playground this morning, she was hanging out, chit chatting with the ladies like a grown up. I'm hoping as she gets more comfortable with her new class, she will interact and bond with the kids more. 

Another major grown up step she took was weaning off her binky! We were fortunate that she weaned herself from using the binky for bedtime a couple months ago, but I was unsuccessful when I tried to not give it to her for naps. We also used it for the car or during fussy times. Last week, we got a little paranoid about it when a friend mentioned their pediatric dentist recommended they stop ASAP.  Also on Monday, when the teacher saw her binky in her cubby, she told me none of the other kids in the class use one {talk about guilt trip!}. So Tuesday before her nap, I cut the tip off, and told her it was broken. She agreed to throw it in the trash can, and after 5 minutes of crying, she was asleep. Wednesday, she was napping after 1 minute of whining! Although she asked for  it a couple times during car rides, once we got her distracted, she forgot all about it. Woohoo! I'm so proud of you, Leah!

It's been a slightly emotional week seeing our baby girl mature. Can't we keep them this age forever?