New Beginnings

Hello blog friends!

I am having a bit of a rough morning because Emily started at a new daycare today. Of course, she barely gave me a backwards glance once the teacher scooped her up and started chatting about earrings and purses. But for me, it was a little difficult.

Emily has gone to the same daycare since she was 7 weeks old. So, to even consider switching was a difficult decision. But her old daycare was in the next town over, a 15 minute drive, and we rarely go there anymore except for daycare. We used to drive through that town when we were both working at our old jobs. Now, we're both in our town. So there's that.

Also, old daycare was an in-home. This has been great and wonderful for such a long time. Emily got to experience a small group of kids, all different ages, and I really feel that this has helped her grow and learn in every area. She is super chatty, has great motor skills, and picked up on things earlier than if she would have stayed at home. No doubt in that. But ultimately, she will be going to school in our town and needs to make friends here. Also, she loves "school" on Monday nights through the Early Childhood & Family Education program, so we felt that she was ready for more of a "school" type setting. This new daycare offers preschool as well, which will be great next year.

So, we pulled the trigger and made the switch. All weekend long we've talked about going to the new school and how it will be different, but fun! She got a special new blanket and backpack to keep there, and mom now has to pack her lunch so she got a new lunch box. She was pretty stoked.

Here she is, ready and rarin' to go. I'm so happy that she is excited! Being a mom, though, leaves me wondering if she'll cry at some point today, or be scared when she wakes up from nap and is unsure where she is. I'm sure she'll be fine, but there's still some nagging thoughts!

In packing her lunch, I realized that I have no idea how much she eats at daycare. Sure, I know what she eats at home on the weekends, but how she acts at daycare is sometimes very different that how she acts at home. So here's what I packed her:

Some sliced turkey, cheese, crackers, mini cucumbers, carrots, blueberries, and some apple juice. We'll see how much of it comes home. I've found several neat blog links on Pinterest for toddler lunches - easy, finger food type things that are healthy, fun to eat and manageable for a toddler. It may be more than she needs, but I figured I'd rather err on that side than not enough.

So, hopefully she has a great day and can't wait to go back tomorrow! I'm anxious to pick her up this afternoon!