Mother's Day Out

Oh my, are y'all ready for this? The bigger question is, am I ready for this? (And the answer is yes AND no!)

Kaitlynn started Mother's Day Out today!

Here's the story: I wasn't planning to start her in MDO until January. She's only 15 months which is very young and she's technically 2 weeks too young according to the age guidelines at the school Connor attends. But I've noticed that Kaitlynn just seemed ready for a program with other kids. Plus, my Tuesdays/Thursdays without Connor are a lot less productive now that Kaitlynn doesn't take morning naps. So I had decided that when a spot opened in the MDO program at Connor's school, I would be ready to enroll Kaitlynn.

Last week, the call came. When the program director told me there was a spot for Kaitlynn, I jumped for joy! But within an hour of thinking through the details, I was feeling panicked. What would I pack Kaitlynn for lunch? Will she actually sleep on a nap mat? How would she handle being the youngest in the class by several months?

After a few days and lots of encouraging words/emails from friends, I felt good about the decision. Then I got to meet Kaitlynn's MDO teachers and they were SO gracious and reassuring.

So this morning, it was time to go. Kaitlynn didn't have a clue it was any different. But I packed her lunch kit, gathered her backpack and nap mat, and did some last minute labeling of her things.

Here's Kaitlynn watching some TV before getting ready for school.



And here she is brushing her teeth.



Here she's all ready for school wearing her backpack for the first time.



Connor was very excited that his sister would be going to school with him today.



I think it was pretty obvious in the hallway that I was a Nervous Nellie dropping off Kaitlynn for her 1st day. Several of the Moms were encouraging me and one even offered to take my picture with Kaitlynn. She said, "Oops, I got a little boy in the background." No big deal, that little boy belongs to us anyway. :-)



When it came time for Kaitlynn to go to her classroom, they opened the door and she just walked right in!! No tears, nothing. I was surprised, although I don't think Kaitlynn had any idea that she wouldn't be able to come back out! Here she is with her sweet teacher, Ms. Sara.



I didn't want to peek in the window and cause Kaitlynn to see me and start crying so several Moms in the hallway were giving me a report. Kaitlynn just stood around watching the other kiddos and then she wandered over to one of the tables to start playing. Still no tears!!

When I picked up Kaitlynn at 2:15, the teachers had written this on Kaitlynn's chart: "We had a fantastic day! Not a single tear! Kaitlynn even saw her brother and didn't get sad or anything. She ate all her food and then fell straight asleep."

Yay! I'm so proud of my big girl! And now I'll have 10 blessed hours of alone time each week. All together now, "Woo hoo!"