At the Park

In light of having only 18 more days left of living in Maine, I've been trying to take pictures of regular, day-to-day events. I've been bringing my camera along for things I usually wouldn't bother to take pictures of, like picking up Claire from school and stopping at the playground for a few minutes. After all, this is what I'm going to remember when I think about Claire's first year at school.

A Few Changes

Yesterday was Claire's last day at her current school. I took a job as a teacher at a preschool and I'm able to take Claire with me. I'm really looking forward to it. The school is a 'special purpose' school, with the goal of integrating children with developmental delays (specifically Autism spectrum) with typically developing children. They have a range of classrooms, from an intensive one-on-one setting to a fully integrated preschool classroom, where Claire and I both will be. We start tomorrow. I loved working with the Autism Project in Wisconsin, so I'm really happy to have found something similar here. The news hasn't really been an issue for Claire. I think I was more sad when I picked her up yesterday than she was. Maybe I'll get some resistance in the coming weeks, but as of right now, she's just thrilled she gets to go to school every day.

And I think she's going to need five days a week to start teaching her new classmates the fine art of fashion. She's been making some really wonderful choices lately. A lot of times, we'll be just about to head out, and she'll say "Wait wait wait! I'll be right back!" and then run off to find a missing piece of her outfit. Today it was goggles (to keep cold wind out of her eyes) and the shorts over the pants. She wore it to the grocery store, post office and bank.



















She has also has been getting a lot better at jumping on her bed.














And a few days ago we were able to catch the sunset at the beach. We do this quite a bit in the summer, but with the sun setting so early in the winter its more difficult to make it in time. You wouldn't even know that it is winter by these pictures. There isn't a lot of snow left anymore.

School: Day 3

Today when I was helping Claire get ready for school, she asked me to put a barrette in her hair, on the side, because thats how the other girls in her class wear their hair. I did, and she looked in the mirror and said,
"Hm. Thats okay... I guess."
She was then finished getting ready, so I left the room. A few minutes later, she came running into the kitchen and said,
"THIS is how I want to wear my hair today! With a HEADBAND! Not with a barrette like all the other girls, okay Mom?"



















So off to school she goes. This is better than fine with me. I hope this trend continues well past the third day of pre-school.

Building Immunity Already.

After only a week into school, Claire already got sick this weekend. I guess it could have been food-related (Mike thinks so), but it does seem like quite the coincidence: start school=get sick. Last night was rough, but she's doing much better now.

So far school has been great. She really loves it. Tuesdays are show-and-tell days, and she's been deciding which item she's going to take next week since last Tuesday. We picked up a small purple backpack that is perfectly sized for her, and she'll choose one thing to share and stick it in only to decide on something else a few minutes later. Every day, she brings home a sheet that gives a little summary about what she did that day, including what her favorite part was. So far, she's listed 'snack time' as her favorite both days. But what she talks about the most is painting. Followed closely by circle time, feeding the fish, story time, and free play. She's obviously not quite at the age yet where you do 'nothing' in school all day. I can't believe how great its been for both of us already.

First Day of School

Claire's first ever day of school is today. She has been so excited for this day, and I have too. She will go for three hours every Tuesday and Thursday. Just the idea of that much free time is wonderful. I have no idea what I will do with myself, but I know I will enjoy it. And I know Claire will enjoy preschool. She's going to a school a friend of mine owns and runs. Claire knows her and her daughter, and I think that helps both of us feel really comfortable with it. Its going to be great!

And here are the mandatory traditional first day of school pictures. She picked out all of her clothes last night, and since we don't have a backpack for her, she insisted on taking her Strawberry Purse, for all of her "school things and stuff".






































Also, I have to comment that in the first picture, it looks like she didn't completely miss out on the coveted Fitzgerald Eyes.