The Transition...

In Blanden's first week and a half at school, we've run the gamut of emotions. Drop-offs are always hard; thank you to Dad for doing them. Blanden begins protesting when they pull into the parking lot and is all-out crying by the time he gets to his classroom. However, the cyring never lasts too long -- no more than seven minutes, as Dad waits outside the door until it stops. And today he stopped crying before Dad even left the room. Pick-ups are varied. Some days Blanden is just exhausted and relieved to see me. Some days he is excited to see me but wants to keep playing (I take that as a good sign). The one day I had to drop him off because Dad had a meeting, Blanden was downright mad at me when I picked him up, and made that clear throughout the evening! (Until Dad came home and was able to get Blanden laughing again, something Dad can always do.)

But we feel confident that Blanden is in the right place, and we know he is having some fun and learning good things during the day -- though we wish he could tell us about these things himself. He doesn't eat lunch, but he does eat the snack, and he's getting better at napping. We're told he's very good about staying on his bed quietly the entire nap time, even though he doesn't quite feel comfortable taking very long naps yet himself.

We really like both of his teachers. He has already begun bonding with one in particular who seems to have an extra special soft spot for him. Miss Lettie comes running to the door when Blanden arrives each morning and scoops him up with a big hug, and Blanden is often sitting on or near her lap when I pick him up at the end of the day and the class is having story time. Personally, I get a cozy, homey feeling every time I go in. It's clear that the children are being cuddled and played with, and great care is taken in structuring age-appropriate activities...Here are a couple of pictures taken this morning; Blanden is sporting his new comfy "kicks," as Dad calls them.