A Cute Story from Tutor Time

I have to work "the late shift" at work on Wednesdays (10 - 6), so Carey picks Abby up from daycare every Wednesday. I got home around 7:45 last night, and my little munchkin was already asleep! (Glad she is sleeping better these days, sad she was already asleep so I couldn't play with her...)

Carey proceeded to tell me a "funny daycare story." I braced myself, because sometimes Carey's definition of funny and my definition of funny are not always the same. (Carey's funny is sometimes my mortifying...) I think that I've mentioned Derrick, one of Abby's little friends at Tutor Time. Well, to borrow a phrase from Forrest Gump, Abby and Derrick are like peas and carrots. They always play together, one won't nap if the other is awake, and if one is upset/crying, the other is always right there, either trying to comfort or crying, too. (In fact, two weeks ago, Derrick's family went on vacation, so he was out of daycare for a full week. When I saw his mom after their return, she said that they visited Derrick's grandparents, and when Derrick's mom mentioned Abby's name, Derrick started looking all around his grandparents' house, like he expected to find Abby there! So cute!)

When Carey went to pick up Abby yesterday, he noticed that she wasn't wearing the same outfit that she'd left the house in that morning. (Okay, maybe he didn't notice. Maybe Miss Alita pointed it out to him. I just don't want to make him look bad on the blog...) Alita explained that, during the course of the afternoon, Derrick somehow manged to get the top off his sippy cup, and he and Abby proceeded to have a water fight. That's right: my little munchkin got into her very first water fight at daycare yesterday. According to Alita, the kids had a blast - it was a "good-natured" water fight.

What surprised me was that Alita said they've never seen kids of this age (Derrick is about 3 weeks older than Abby) play so well together. Oftentimes, kids will play pretty well with whatever other kids are around, but Abby and Derrick seek each other out and are always finding new games to play and new ways to interact with each other.

So, yesterday was another of those moments when I felt "not so bad" about having Abby in daycare. I miss her, oh boy, do I miss her during the day. (And I absolutely hate it when I'm not there to help put her to bed...) But, I love that she is social and is learning to play with other kids (yes, she does play with other kids besides Derrick) and is using her imagination when she plays. I love to watch her relationships with the other children in the Strawberry Room grow and develop as she reaches new milestones. (Let me tell you, when Abby started crawling, she became a little social butterfly!) I am constantly amazed by Abigail, and yesterday was no exception!

Follow-Up: Abby woke up a bit earlier than normal this morning since she went to bed a bit earlier than normal last night. So, I was able to get in some cuddles and kisses before I left for work. What a great way to start my day!! :-)