Random Daycare Daily Report #5

Sophie was in a really happy mood and had a great day with her buddies! Sophie was saying "Thank You!" a lot- so polite :) Sophie also asked to read the book Oops! over and over again. She just loves those David books! Have a good night!

And an adorable thing that happened today during both drop-off and pick-up: goodbye and hello hugs. It's not like we've had a hard time dropping Sophie off but in the past, she would sometimes need to be distracted in one way or another (breakfast, toys, being carried by her teacher, etc.) when we said our goodbyes. But today, when it was time for bye-bye, Sophie just walked to me, hugged my legs, walked to Jude and hugged his legs, and then went off happily to the toy corner to play with her friends. It was amazing- both the individual goodbye hugs and the breezy, easy manner of it all. It was like her way of saying, "I know the routine now, Mama and Dada. Don't worry about me- I'll have fun. You take care too. Bye!"

And when we went by to pick her up, it was the same thing- she saw me walk in and broke out into that heart-melting smile of hers, waddled to me, and gave me a tight hug and a snuggle. Then she caught a glimpse of Jude, beamed even more widely, stumbled into his arms, and laid her head on his shoulders plus a few loving pats :) And then she just sat down and waited patiently as we put on her jacket while yabbering on about something (I assume she was telling us about her day and the pizza she had for lunch...) I was about ready to tear up! I'm not quite sure how to begin explaining why these hugs mean so much- I think it's more what they represent than the actual hugs themselves. It's her growing up and having developed the trust and faith that her parents love her and will always come back to get her at the end of the day, her joy when they do, the confidence and contentment with her surroundings, and a level of independence that we're beginning to see in her in other ways as well. She's made a transition and I'm so proud of her. And while there's an element of wistfulness once in a while for a time when she never wanted to leave our side, I know this is all part of her journey to toddlerhood. We just have to allow her to grow up...