Daycare Update: Abby is a Strawberry!

I realized that I hadn't posted an update on daycare in quite a while. I'm happy to say that Abby is doing great at Tutor Time! We had our very first parent-teacher conference in May, and Miss Natalie told us that Abby is doing really, really well. She is reaching her developmental milestones: pulling toys toward her/pushing toys away from her; perfecting her pincer grasp; responds to her name; smiles when she is spoken to; watches the other children; plays well with other children and by herself. Since this conference, she has developed so much more! She's now able to feed herself finger foods, she pulls herself to a standing position using furniture for support, she is starting to cruise, she is able to crawl over items (like toys or pillows) that are on the floor, and (my favorite) she gives me kisses! She'll turn her face toward my face, open up her mouth, and just lean in to give me a big, wet, open-mouthed kiss. So precious!! She still doesn't really give daddy many kisses. But, I think that can be explained by two factors: 1) mommy asks for kisses all the time, so Abby knows that mommy expects lots of kisses, and 2) daddy sometimes has a scratchy face at the end of the day, and I think Abby doesn't like stubble!

The one concern that Miss Natalie had is that Abby didn't really seem to have any fear of strangers. When different teachers would come into the Shrimp Room to give the regular teachers a break, Abby had no hesitation or anxiety. Miss Natalie said that this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Some babies are just more social, or some reach the fear of strangers at a different point. I think Miss Natalie just wanted to make us aware of Abby's social personality so we can be watchful and vigilant as she grows up. Since the conference, we have noticed that Abby shows some hesitation when surrounded by unfamiliar people. For instance, this past weekend, when Carey's entire family came to our house to celebrate Father's Day, Abby was always looking to see where Carey and I were, and it took her a while to "warm up" to the relatives that she hadn't seen in some time. So, I think we may be seeing the beginnings of the fear of strangers...

Finally, the latest daycare development: Abby is a Strawberry (or will be very soon!). As of the summer, Tutor Time is renaming all of their rooms. (Right now, the rooms have ocean animal themes, with Shrimps, Angelfish, etc. as the classroom names.) The classrooms will now be named after fruits, and Abby will be moving up to the Strawberry Room! This room is actually connected to her current room and separated by a baby gate. So, Abby has actually spent time in that room, with those teachers, already, but she will be making the move official come next week. Starting on Monday, she will be spending more time in the Strawberry Room as she adjusts to the new children, new teachers, and new surroundings. Miss Natalie and Miss Aleeta have both said that Abby has been doing really well during the times she has been in the Strawberry Room, so they said we have nothing to be worried about. An added bonus is that several other babies from the "Shrimp" Room are moving into the Strawberry Room at the same time, so Abby will have some of her friends with her as she makes the change. We're excited that Abby is moving on up, and we're very proud of our little girl!

So, that's Tutor Time in a nutshell. Abby has been doing well, and every day when I go to pick her up, I have some surprise waiting for me in her cubby, whether it's a "gram" (a record of Abby's day) that says that she was crawling all over the room today or enjoyed watching the cars drive by in the afternoon, or a piece of artwork made with little hand prints or footprints. The pictures of Abby that decorate the room show her with huge smiles, and that makes Abby's mommy smile, too!

Abby in our living room, standing up and playing with her toy. She's such a big girl now!!