My Heart

In less than two months, we will have a three-year-old.  

Here is a conversation Cub and I had the other night while I was putting him to bed.  As a little background, Warblers is the name of his current classroom and Cardinals is the name of the classroom he will move into in a couple of months. 

Me:  Cash, you're one of the oldest Warblers now so you need to help the younger Warblers.

Cash:  I need to help them? 

Me:  Yes, you need to help all your teachers with the Warbers who are younger than you.  Because one day soon, you'll be bigger and you'll be a Cardinal.

Cash:  Mommy, I don't want to be a Cardinal.  I just want to be small. 

Me:  You just want to be small?

Cash:  Mommy, is it OK if I just be small for a little while? 

Me:  Of course.

Sweet little boy, I don't think he could have said anything better.

Here are Cub and Pup playing together today.

Parent/Teacher Conference

Yesterday Buttin and I had a parent/teacher conference with the lead teacher of his classroom and the head of the school.  Sadly, he is way behind in physics and calculus (we have failed aunt Liz). 

The focus of our discussion was on transitioning from offering the toilet to mandating it as part of our daily routine - even if he doesn't do anything productive.  We also have to help encourage him to do more things on his own and start relying on us less.  They said this will be great for his self-confidence, especially when chicken arrives.  This is sometimes easier said than done.  I told Buttin that I'm the "lazy parent" - because instead of forcing Cash to get frustrated (a little) by his own limitations (like putting on socks, for example) - I just do it for him.  

I'm sure both his teacher and the head of the school know all about Cash's good attributes, but our conference seemed to focus on his deficiencies (aside from physics and calculus).  For example, they said Cash is a pretty emotional child and that his zero to full blown dramatic crying is McLaren fast.  From what they described, other children usually go from zero to annoyed to verbalizing their frustration to physically showing frustration (like pushing or hitting) to all out crying.  They would like Cash to start talking about why he is upset.  This seems easier said than done. 

Here's my little drama queen:

Parent-Teacher Conference

Today we met with Cub's teacher to discuss how he is doing after a month in his new classroom.

Good news:  He's fully settled in and very bonded to his peer group (I think I've mentioned before he's has a few friends almost exactly his age and they all started school right around the same time - when they were 4 months old - sniff, sniff). 

Bad news:  Since he's so comfortable, he has started biting again.  

His biting is kind of odd - he doesn't do it out of anger or frustration; he's just curious.  His teacher is pretty confident that he'll eventually learn what is socially appropriate (it's either that or he'll become a hermit). 

We also discussed Cub's (lack of) speech. 

Again, his teacher is not concerned.  She gave us some ideas of ways we can try to encourage Cub to speak up (and out) a little more.  

Here is Cub today drinking diet Coke out of a water bottle (I'm a good mom).

School Fundraiser

Buttin and I love Cub's school.  It's very nurturing and educational, but some of the hippy-dippy things crack me up.  

As an example, we have a school fundraiser - For Small Hands.  Essentially, it's a catalog of experience facilitators (toys) for Montessori education.  

I hope Cub wants his own composting pail and replacement filters for Christmas.

Here's Cub giving Buttin kisses today.

Recovery Run & Biting (again)

Today was a "recovery" run.  I'm not exactly sure what we were recovering from, but maybe it's the months of training in the heat.

We ran 6 miles -

2 mile warm-up

2 mile (straights and curves on the track)

Straights - 5K pace

Curves - easy jog

2 mile cool-down

It was a cooler morning and it felt good to run - even if it was on the track (for the middle two miles).

In other news, little Cub had THREE biting incidents at school today.  I guess three was too many to write up on a report, so I just had a mini parent/teacher conference when I picked him up this afternoon.  The teacher said he's not doing it maliciously - just bored or teething or "more of an oral kid" (her words).   I really thought we had gotten over this little stage of life, but I guess not.  He's not really biting at home so they're going to watch him a little more closely at school to see if they can identify triggers (like chubby little arms within biting range).  

Speaking of the little criminal, here he is playing with his new favorite toy, a wagon (his Christmas-in-September present from Gigi).  He's telling me his wagon is "hot", which is one of his new favorite things to say (well, sign).  Everything is "hot" right now.

Here he is telling me is other favorite thing, "one more time".  I always put my finger up when we're going to do something "one more time" . . . like read a book or play with my phone or (apparently) bite a friend at school, so now he loves to put his finger up when he wants to do something again.

Running & Biting Part 2

A few months ago, I wrote about Running & Biting.  Both both topics came up again today so I thought I'd write about them again.

Running

When I was a young swimmer every once in a while there would be a kid who was really, really slow (physically, not mentally) competing in race.  The kid would struggle to finish and every other kid in the race would be out of the pool, dried off and eating a snack by the time the slow kid finished.   All the spectators would watch as the struggling swimmer (they weren't drowning or anything, just slow) touched the wall and then the audience would break into applause.  

I am that slow kid (adult) in my running group. 

Today, I had about 15 people tell me "great job" or "way to run" as they lapped me for the umptenth time.  My coach actually told me that she thought I was getting faster.  Which is to say, I'm now more of a slug than a turtle. 

Today's workout was identical to the one we did a few weeks ago.  I enjoyed it and was supposedly faster than last time.

Biting 

Cub got another incident report at school today - although again - they were very sweet in how they worded it.

Apparently, Cub was playing with a friend when the friend crawled between Cub's legs and  (teacher's words on the paper) "Cub got scared so he bit his friend on the hand" (I'm still at a loss for how Cub managed to bite the hand of a child who was crawling between his legs on the hand, but I'm not a flexologist so what do I know.)  Cub's teacher and I had a mini-parent/teacher conference to discuss being consistent with home/school discipline.  

They're so very understanding (not the right word here, but I'm not sure how to describe it) at Cub's school.  The head teacher (she's new) said that she thought he was biting because there were some new kids in the classroom and because he misses the old head teacher and he's just going through some adjustments.  They would never just come right out and say, You're a bad parent and your child is a bully.  

Of course, we don't really think Cub is a bully (or that we're bad parents), but we do need to escalate the "NOs" a little more when Cub bites.  I guess telling Cub, "teeth are for eating" or "we don't bite our friends" isn't really cutting it.

Buttin says that Cub is just a really good teeth-kisser. 

Here's the little bully today - obviously trying to attack me with the hose.

The Yale Class

Yesterday we went to the first birthday party of one of Cub's classmates, Fischer.

It was fun watching the little guys play and talking with the parents. 

I hadn't heard it before, but apparently they call Cub's group of boys at school - The Yale Class.  I'd like to think it's because they're all so smart, but really it's because of their names, I guess they all sound Yale-ish - Fischer, Emmett, Bennett, Everett, and Cash.  

I wonder if all the parents would be OK with Stanford?

This afternoon we went swimming (kind of), this picture is for Mormor (notice the block, Mormor?).

Friends Bite Back!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!


Today at school Cub was spending time in his new classroom (with the bigger kids) and he decided to bite one of his friends on the finger (kind of difficult to call this one a "kiss"). This friend bit Cub back - ON THE FACE! Seriously, I'm beginning to think these kids are either really fast at biting or the teachers are really slow.

Oh well, I guess this is all a part of growing up - sometimes you're the biter and sometimes your the bitee and sometimes your both (like Cub) all in one day.

Parent/Teacher Conference

Today we had our first parent/teacher conference.

The main topic was the transition plan from Cub's current room (for infants to 12 months) to his new classroom (12 - 18 months). Some of the changes include:

• One nap/day - usually from around 11 - 1. This will be a pretty BIG adjustment, but most children between 12 - 14 months start taking only one nap a day.
  
• More structure - for example, snacks and lunch are at the same time everyday - although he can eat or drink whenever he wants.
• Group activities - like circle/singing time and story time.
  
• More use of sign language.
• No more bottles - Hummingbirds (he's now a Chickadee) only drink from a cup (non-sippy).
  
• Shoes! I think Cash has only worn shoes for about 30 seconds during his entire life, but as he starts to walk he needs some bendy, flexible shoes.
• No more onesies - in order to help him use the bathroom, no more clothes with snaps in the crotch. They have the kiddos sit on the potty during EVERY diaper change.
  
• A lunch box - he needs to bring a lunch box/bag everyday to school. He's also going to start feeding himself more, which means about five wardrobe changes/day. I'm not sure how it's possible for him to get MORE messy than he already does, but I'm sure he'll try hard(er).
  

We also discussed THE BITING. Cash bit another little baby today - ON THE FACE! Poor little girl. I think his teacher is semi-anxious to move him up so that he's in a classroom where the kids can run away from him. There are quite a few baby-babies in his current class and they don't move yet (lazy babies).

Here he is today practicing (kind of) some of the skills he'll need when he moves up to his next class.

Eating finger food - really he's just offering me a Cheerio.

Drinking from a cup (shot glass) - lots more water on the table and on his clothes than in his mouth, but he's trying.

Running & Biting

RUNNING

I ran this morning for the first time since STOMACH BOMB 2011. It was a nice, cool morning and even though it was just a quick 3 miles, it felt good to move in a direction other than towards the bathroom.

BITING

Cub got his first "incident report" at school yesterday for biting a child on the arm. I also got a call from his teacher. The incident report is worded rather sweetly (I think they're trying to protect my feelings):

Cash was giving kisses to a friend and then bit the friend on the arm.

Whoops.

Maybe the friend had it coming? Just kidding.

In addition to discussing Cub's biting with the teacher, she also gave me a nifty little article about oral motor development and sensory activities. Parent fail.

She doesn't think Cash is biting because he's frustrated or angry, she thinks it has more to do with him needing variety in his food textures. The problem is Cub doesn't seem to like finger foods (like puffs) very much. She recommended chewy things like dried fruit. Cub didn't seem to enjoy dried fruit. We also tried beef jerky last week and he seems to be much more fond it than dried fruit.

We're having our first parent/teacher conference on Tuesday to discuss ways to focus his biting away from human flesh as well as his transition to the next classroom. That's right, sniff - sniff, Cub is moving up. Apparently, he's already been spending time in his new classroom with the bigger kids and really enjoys it. He might be ready to move up, but I don't think I'm ready.

Biting!

I got a call from the school yesterday.

Cub is biting.

This isn't a behavioral issue (some kids bite around age 3 or 4 when they act out), it's just developmental. He's teething and learning how to use his mouth and his new utensils.

Here is a modified transcript of my conversation with his teacher - what I said and then the actual truth.

Teacher: So, at home, what language do you use when Cash bites you?

Me: Um, I say things like, "please be gentle with your teeth" or "teeth are for eating"
THE TRUTH: I laugh.

Teacher: So, at home, do you let Cash play-bite you?

Me: Um, no, not really.
THE TRUTH: Yes and we laugh hysterically when he comes at us - mouth open wide - ready to bite/kiss.

Teacher: So, at home, do you play-bite Cash?

Me: Do I bite my child? Um, no.
THE TRUTH: Yes - I stick his little feet in my mouth (after bath time) and say, "maw, maw, maw" and he giggles and giggles.

Teacher: So, at home, do you have him practice giving gentle kisses to your animals, real or stuffed?

Me: Oh, yes Cash is very gentle with our animals. We demonstrate how to give sweet kisses to our cats and dogs.
THE TRUTH: This is what Cash does to Mouser.

Cash: Oh, look a kitty. Perhaps I'll use this as an opportunity to practice gentle kisses.


Cash: Hold still kitty, this won't hurt one bit.

Cash: Gotcha now. This is gentle, right?

Mouser: Help me.


Teacher: OK, so it sounds like we're doing the same things here at school. Maybe you can bring in one of his favorite stuffed animals and we'll practice being gentle here at school too.

Me: Oh, great idea - I was just thinking that myself.
THE TRUTH: Oh crap, my kid is a biter without a favorite stuffed animal and he'll probably grow up to be some kind of strange biting Boo Radley-esque man with rocks for friends.

I called Buttin right away and told him that we have to stop laughing when he bites us (or the animals or his friends or our friends or his grandmas). It's just so freaking hard not to laugh at his adorable toothy cuteness.

Nap Mat Colors

Graby is now the oldest child in his class. I remember when he was the youngest (sniff, sniff - as my baby mama friend Candy would say, stop growing - stop growing). Part of growing up in class means transitioning from a bed to a nap mat. This nap mat will stay with him as long as he takes naps (so if he's anything like me, this means forever) at school.

Last week the head teacher said there were a couple of mats I could pick from or I could wait until the next shipment of nap maps were ordered. I checked out the mats - two pink and purpley ones and one camouflage.

I'm FINE with Cub having a pink and purple nap mat, but I'm not sure how he'd feel about it when he's three or four. Obviously, I have no issues with blurring the gender lines (I put barrettes in my son's hair and make him wear a tutu), but I just don't want to strap him to a pink and purple mat FOREVER. I'm also not really a fan of camo so that one was just automatically eliminated.

I became a little more conscious of my "no girly" nap mat decision when talking to another mom whose son is also transitioning to a nap map.

The following is a brief transcript of our conversation. Her son has two mommies so I instantly felt a little silly when complaining about the lack of variety in nap mat choices.

Other mommy: So, what do the nap mats look like?

Me: Well, two are pink and purple with flowers and one is camo. I'M TOTALLY FINE with Cash having a pink & purple nap mat, but I'm not sure if he'll like it when he's four. I'm going to wait till the new mats come in.

Other mommy: My son is fine with pink & purple.

Me: Gulp (that's me feeling a little silly).

I'm fine with whatever toys Cub wants to play with and whatever he decides to be so long as it makes him happy (and he goes to Stanford - that's for Aunt Liz). But I can't help but think, am I already putting some kind of weird pressure on my son to be boyish (maybe my subconscious is trying to balance out my conscious actions - you know - barrettes, pigtails, etc.)?

Oh well, I didn't think about the nap mats too long - the new ones came in yesterday and I picked one out with lots of zoo animals. I could have picked one with cars or sailboats, but I selected a nice, gender neutral zoo animal nap map.

Here's Cub today, he is begging for my lunch - a grilled cheese.


Here he is not quite eating the grilled cheese, but squishing it in between his mouth and hand.

School Picture Day: Fail

Today was picture day at Graby's school.

The plan was to have his picture taken sometime between 8 - 9:30AM.

Graby, in all his wisdom, decided he needed to take a morning nap (which, he really did need - he's teething, in case I forgot to mention it).

After waking up at 5:45, he fell back asleep (after quite a bit of coaxing) at 7:15 and slept until 9:15!

We rushed through the door just as the photographer was walking out.

When I told Buttin that we missed picture day, he said, It's a shame that we don't have any pictures of our son. Smart-ass Buttin.

Good thing - she's going to be there again tomorrow, so we can try again!

Here's a little preview of Cub in his "picture day" outfit.

Fall Festival

Yesterday we went to Graby's school for the fall festival. He was a little overwhelmed by all the activity.

Here are a few cute pictures.

Change Of Plans

I was planning to devote my entire post today to running.

However, the weather was so nice and the cub was so happy that I decided to take a bunch of pictures and make a little photo essay of our day (with a little running thrown in) instead.

This morning I woke up not sweating and the air conditioner was not running. My first thought was that the (going on 6 months now) postpartum hormones had finally left my body. To my surprise, a cold front (a real one) had come in and it was a chilly 58 degrees outside. I wasn't able to run this morning (sad face) because cub slept in till 7:15 (happy face) after having been awake from 2:30 AM - 4:00 AM (sad face). It's still somewhat difficult to plan my morning runs because his schedule is still so wacky, but I didn't wake up in a puddle of my own sweat and I got a total of 7 hours of sleep and it was chilly outside so I knew this was going to be a good day.

I had to dress cub in REAL clothes (including socks) today. I made a mental note to buy him more stretchy pants. He has about 1500 onesies (although only 1 - long sleeved onesie) and two pairs of pants. He looks so freaking cute (a common theme for today) and he was in love with his socks:

After a good morning at work (no pictures from work because there was no cub at work), I went to pick up Graby. He was fast asleep in his little school bed, so I had to take another picture:

I waited at his school and played with some of the babies while cub slept for another 20 minutes. When I put him in his car seat to go home I noticed how blue his eyes look (kind of the way mine do) wearing his blue shirt, so I had to take a picture:

We got home and went immediately outside to play. Our new object of the day was a spoon (as you can tell - it was a BIG success):

Just for good measure, here's another picture of him playing outside and looking happy:


After about an hour outside, it was time for some for a snack and a nap. I didn't take a picture of him napping, but trust me - he was cute.

When he woke up - I decided TO GO FOR OUR FIRST RUN IN THE JOGGING STROLLER. It was only about 80 degrees (the temperature I think it was when I went for a run on Sunday morning at 6:30).

We went for a short 1.5 mile jog. I'm kind of an arm flapper when I run, so having to keep my hands on the stroller while running was a little awkward at first. I discovered that when going straight I only need to keep one hand on the stroller, leaving the other arm free to flail about. I'm sure my free arm slightly overcompensated and I probably looked a little silly, but it felt wonderful to go for a run in such beautiful weather. Cub really seemed to enjoy it too. He just looked around and ate his toy.

Here's a picture of the two of us (with a close up of cub's foot) post-run:

Here's a cute picture of cub post-run:


We came inside and cooled off (I actually DID break a sweat during the short run). Since I had my exercise, it was time for cub to have his - so he played around in his jumperoo.

After some additional playtime, a bath and dinner - cub is now in bed asleep. I'm not going to risk flash photography on this one, so again you'll just have to trust me that he's very cute.

I know this ended up being just another post with a ton of pictures of the kiddo, but it really was such a beautiful day and he really was in such a great mood that I really had to change my post topic and share (I know that's a lot of REALLYs).

Transition - Day Four

The last transition day.

Today, the plan was to drop Graby off and pick him up at the same times we will do going forward (8:30 AM/1:00 PM). My dear MIL (the Gigi) is in town so she went with me to drop him off at school

I've come to realize that I'm OK so long as I drop him off real quick and never give him a chance to cry (not that he cries when I leave him, but I don't want to see him upset for any reason). Well Gigi wanted to play with him outside - I had to grab her by the shirt to pull her out the door. The longer I stay with him, the worse I feel (even though I didn't feel bad at all this morning) about leaving him.

At work it felt VERY weird. I was only there half a day, but I had all this time. I actually read stuff on the interweb! I still kept my phone right next to me on the desk.

When I went to pick him up . . .shocker . . .he was asleep! He was working on his second nap of the day. I spoke briefly to the lead teacher and she said that he was adjusting really well and that the only thing that really bothered him was hearing the other babies cry (like mother, like son). She said this is an adjustment for most children and had actually warned me about it on transition day one. Also while at school, Graby ate 5.5 oz of milk (3 oz at one time and 2.5 at another). I learned of this from his daily "report card" that I get from school. I wonder how many of these little pieces of paper I'll keep . . .

When we got home little man was very tired and very cuddly. I didn't mind one bit. Looking back, I think the two of us did pretty well during our transition week. I know that like most other things parenting related - it'll probably be a few steps forward, a couple steps back and I'll be patient with myself and with Graby while we both get used to this new schedule.

Here's a cute picture of little man sleeping (speaking of which, he now prefers the tummy and slept that way last night)

Transition - Day Three

Today the plan was to drop Cash off around 8:30 and have him stay (by himself) until 11:00.

Cash had a not so good night last night and he did not take a nap this morning. My only thought was that he was going to have an awful time at school because he was so tired.

He (of course) fell asleep in the car on the way to school. I brought him in (still in his car seat asleep) to school and stayed with him till he woke up. After he woke up, I handed him off to one of the sweet teachers and said good-bye.

I told the teachers that the could call me at ANYTIME and that if he was crying inconsolably for longer than five minutes - I MUST BE CALLED. They were incredibly sweet, but I'm sure they were thinking - yeah, yeah, yeah, crazy mom who can't let go. They do understand that this transition is more difficult for me than it is for sweet baby Cash.

Well, I still hadn't done our school paperwork so my plan was to come back around 10:30 to do the paperwork and take him back to work around 11.

The 1.5 hours at work was strange . . . I kept watching my phone and the clock -tick tock tick tock.

I drove up to the school exactly at 10:30. Thankfully, there was no screaming Graby on the playground (whoppee). I hurried it up to the front door and walked to the window of his classroom. I looked in (the room was dark) and HE WAS ASLEEP ON HIS BED!! Oh, sweet relief - I could not have been more proud than if he had solved the whole BP oil spill debacle. He had also eaten 2.5 oz of milk (he had previously been on a bottle strike) before taking his nap. He slept till 11:15 (I actually had finished my paperwork and everything).

Tomorrow is our last transition day - he goes from 8:30 - 1:00 (what will be his full day). I feel like I did a lot better today and I'm hopeful I'll do well again tomorrow.

Now, here's a cute little video of Graby & Molly:

Transition - Day Two

Today was Cash's turn to cry.

I got to the daycare around 8:20 - the plan was to stay about 10 minutes and then leave him there for an hour - by himself!

When I arrived they informed me that the power was out (something had melted - not in the school, but on something that controls the power going to the school) and if they couldn't get it back on the school would close at 10 AM. Thankfully for us - we would be long out of there before 10 AM. I was originally planning to fill out some paperwork (thereby only technically leaving the room, not the actual premises), but since the power was out they were busy dealing with that issue and they just told me to leave for 45 or so minutes.

Honestly, the drop off was better than I had expected. I handed him off to a very sweet teacher and met the mother of one of the other little boys in his class. I ran to a bakery (to pick up some goodies for my mom's group) and to work for about 10 minutes and then headed back to Cash's school.

I thought for sure Cash would be fine - he loves being held and loves the breeze (and thankfully there was a nice breeze outside since there was no AC inside). As soon as I drove up I saw the same teacher holding him while he was wailing. It wasn't his normal little cry (that I rarely hear), it was red-turning, breath-holding, tear-crying wailing! I pretty much ran (sprinted, not jogged) into school and grabbed him away from the teacher (vaccine-style). She said he had been really good until the last couple of minutes when she could tell he was really getting tired.

He was BREAKING my heart. Usually, I can calm him down by just holding and talking to him. It took me five minutes PLUS the magic power of the boob to get him calm. I couldn't help but feel like I had abandoned him. I know I'm being dramatic, but I just wasn't expecting him to be crying after such a short amount of time. I guess it was a combination of a not so good night last night plus new people, new location and no boobie.

Tomorrow (for Transition - Day Three) the plan is to drop him off at 8:30 and abandon (I mean leave) him there till 11. I really hope he decides to sleep because momma's heart can't take much more.

Transition - Day One

Today was transition DAY ONE at daycare. It was horrible . . . for me. For Cash, it was sensory paradise.

The plan was for Cash and I to go in and hang out with the caregivers and other children in his group for one hour. That's it - no big deal, I wouldn't even have to leave him.

On the way to school the song "You're Beautiful" started playing on the radio. The song has nothing to do with children, but I started to cry -- thank goodness it wasn't something like "Letting Go". I also got a wonderfully, sweet email message from my friend Kara. She told me that it would be so much easier on him than it was on me and that going to school would be great for him AND ME. I received a similar email from my dear mother-in-law last night.

Cash and I arrived at school at 8:30 (I wiped my tears and pulled it together). We spent about 20 minutes with the head-teacher of his group. She's very hippyish and incredibly nurturing. She played with Cash and said to him, "you must have had a really good birth." I told her that having him was a very good birth experience and she said she could tell - I have no idea how, but I think it has something to do with magic.

Next we met the other two caregivers and the other children in his group. There are seven children total in his group and three teachers. We hung out with the group for about 40 minutes. Cash was tired, but he just looked around and took in all the new scenery.

I brought a camera and meant to take pictures, but I was having a little trouble working on NOT crying so I didn't take any.

At 9:30 we promptly left and told everyone we'd see them tomorrow. As soon as my feet hit the parking lot pavement I started to cry. Poor Cash - all he wanted to do was sleep, but I didn't want to put him in his car seat.

I drove the 2 minute trip to work and I couldn't wait to see Buttin. I pulled it together (again). As soon as I got Cash out of the car and walked in the building I saw Buttin walking out. I was fine until he asked me - what's wrong? - then I started crying. I couldn't go into work - I was a mess. Buttin and I had already planned to go see a movie so I just decided to drive around and get to the movie early.

I can't really explain why I was so tearful. I really expected to be so much more practical as a mom. I know that school will be wonderful for Cash and I know I'll enjoy the time we have together even more now (something else my friend Kara mentioned).

The thing that made me most uncomfortable was hearing the other little boys (yup, they're all boys) cry. None of them really cried like full on tears crying, but it just made me a little sad. I know Cash sometimes cries when both Buttin and I are with him, but I just never, ever want him to be upset (if I can help it). I know they'll take excellent care of him and I know I'm only two miles away and I know it's only for a half day -- these are the things I keep repeating to myself.

Tomorrow, for transition DAY TWO I stay with Cash for about ten minutes and then leave him for about an hour. Yikes.

Here are a couple pictures of Cash today:

I've learned that if I let Cash watch some cartoons - he likes tummy time - aren't I a good mother?
I only filled up the pool about an inch today and put Cash on his back and let him flop around - he really seemed to enjoy the freedom of moving around in the water.

In Denial

Cash starts his transition to daycare (thankfully only half days for now) tomorrow.

I don't think it's quite hit me.

Buttin told me last night he didn't expect it to effect him, but it is. Buttin usually spends a good couple of hours with Cash every morning at work (while I try to get some of my work done) and now he won't have that time. Sniff, sniff . . .

Tomorrow Cash and I just go in for an hour and hang out together at the daycare. It shouldn't be too horrible.

Tonight I went through all of Cash's clothes and packed up all the stuff that doesn't fit anymore. So much of it just looks so tiny now. It probably wasn't the best idea to do this the night before he starts going to daycare, but it had to be done.

Here's a little picture of Cash today doing tummy/fist time.