Sunday, February 12, 2012

Preschool

 What a week we had last week. Rachel was supposed to start school on Monday but was getting over a cold we all had the week before. I ended up starting her on Tuesday. We originally thought that Morgan and Rachel would be in the same class, but that isn't the case afterall. More on that later.

So Rachel was excited to go to school. For the past couple of months, I had been calling their sensory motor gym class and toddler talk class school (that was part of their therapy program). This time, I told her it was a new school and that Sophia and Morgan were going to stay home with Grandma. Then I said Mommy will say bye bye and come back later to get you. I thought she'd be scared or upset when I dropped her off. She happily surprised me. She did great. She walked into her new classroom and just started playing with the toys. When I left, she just looked at me and then went back to playing. I'm told there were no tears.... on her part. As for me, I cried like a baby. I couldn't believe I was leaving my little baby at school all by herself with brand new teachers and therapists that she didn't know. This is such a big adjustment for us.

She did great. I'm told she is enjoying herself and is generally happy there. The second day when I was getting her ready to go, she got excited and said "friends" and "backpack" because she knew she needed her backpack. Here's a picture of her that I snapped before we left the house the first day.



Rachel is in school four days a week for about three hours per day. Sophia and Morgan ended up being placed in a less intensive speech program together. They are going two days a week and their little class is only an hour and a half. Thankfully, the girls are all in school at the same time for those two days so I get a little break. 

Sophia and Morgan were super excited to go to their class. They looked so darn cute walking through the elementary school with their little backpacks on. I need to get a picture of them next week. Right now, their language skills have improved so much so they can actually have conversations with us now. I know for most people, it's normal to have conversations with your three year old, but we've taken just a bit longer to get to where we are. I'm so proud of my girls. So they understood that they were going to school and that I wasn't staying. When I left, they said "bye bye" to me and were just fine. When I went to pick them up, Sophia didn't want to leave. The next day, she talked about school non stop and begged to go back. I'm really happy that they like it. 

Here's a pic of Rachel and Sophia in the truck all ready for Sophia's first day. (This was Rachel's second day in her program.)

Here is Morgan all ready for her first day!

It's so hard to believe that my babies are three years old and are preschoolers. I'm not ready for this! I'm not, I'm not, I'm not!!!!

Their new schedule just about wore me out last week. Naps are a thing of the past.  My girls are on the go now so this mama has to keep up! There isnt' much time between their drop off and pick up times. It's go go go until Rachel's bell rings. They are at two different schools. At least both schools are close to our house and close to each other. I can't imagine it working if they weren't. 

I'm so thankful that they all qualified and are still getting the help they need. We've had our ups and downs with all these therapies, assessments, and such. Some days I feel like my head is going to spin right off. But we are very blessed that we live in a county that has an amazing "first 5" program for the kids who really need it. 

Friday, February 3, 2012

Happy Birthday to our precious daughters!


Three years ago, at this very moment, I was in the hospital with Morgan in my arms for the very first time. She was released from the NICU just hours after her birth. I remember looking into her precious little eyes and crying tears of joy.  I was too weak from the c-section to be able to go down to the NICU to see Sophia and Rachel. I didn't get to see Sophia until around 6:30am the following morning when she was out of the NICU. I would finally get to touch Rachel that night at around 8:30pm. I didn't get to hold her yet because she was so small, but I got to touch her precious head. I remembering feeling the most overwhelming feeling of love for my girls. It's true that you really don't know how strong a mother's love is until you become one. 

It's hard to believe three years have passed. Our girls are our everything. We are so blessed to be their parents. Rachel is such a silly little girl. She is going through a phase of making the funniest little faces. She does this super cute thing where she looks at you kind of from the side of her eyes. She loves to laugh and play around with us. Sophia is using full sentences now, and we can have little conversations with her. She loves to play with Little People toys and has a favorite little doll. Morgan has blossomed so much in the past month. She's talking to me, asking for things that she wants, and her eye contact has improved. Her favorite toys right now are Wonder Pets stuffed animals. She carries them around with her all day long. 

My girls are three years old. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was staying up all night feeding each one of them, one after another. Those nights are still so vivid in my memory. I remember holding them in my arms when they were all less than 5 pounds. Now I can't even call them toddlers anymore. 

Our babies have blossomed into preschoolers. I just don't know where the time went!

Happy Birthday sweet girls. Mommy loves you more than you'll ever know!