First Day of "School"

 Yesterday was a big day -- Elsa's first day of "school." She hardly had a thing to worry about as we readied ourselves yesterday morning, hopped in the car, and headed over to Ms. Gabriela's house. She knew she was going to "play with the other kids," but I think might have been confusing things a bit with going to the gym, as she also "plays with other kids there" and "go down slide," which she was also repeating in the car. (Thankfully Gabriela did have a slide in the backyard, though I don't believe Elsa ever attempted to go down it.) I, on the other hand, had a stomach full of butterflies for her. I was not sure what to expect out of the day, but had my expectations set fairly low so that perhaps I would be happily surprised.

We arrived a little after 8:00 a.m. with a large package of diapers, a big box of wipes, a change of clothes, a vaccination record, and an apple in hand. Wednesday is applesauce day; hence the need for an apple. There were about four other children in the house when we arrived at the doorstep, and Elsa did not seem to want to cross the threshold. Not wanting to force her into anything, I just let her take her time in making a decision, but eventually Gabriela suggested the rest of the children join Elsa outside. We looked around the yard some, and Elsa was especially happy to see swings (though no baby swings), a dump truck, and a little car to ride around on. I went inside to put some items away in Elsa's shared cubby, and Elsa was not at all happy for me to even go that far. I joined her back outside again and we talked to Gabriela some and ventured around a little more. Gabriela asked that I write my phone number down on a piece of paper by the phone in case she needed to call me, as it was obvious things were not going to go completely smoothly, and she realized that Elsa was unfamiliar with both the surroundings and Gabriela, herself. At one point Gabriela asked me if I was crying. I was not. There were some emotions swirling around inside of me, but no tears -- well, perhaps the slight welling of tears, but nothing that obvious.

I left close to 8:30 a.m. and gave Elsa a hug and kiss goodbye as I headed out the back gate, telling her I loved her and would be back soon. She cried and yelled, "Mommy! Mommy!," after me, but I figured at that point it was probably best to just keep on going. Gabriela had agreed to call me by 9:30 a.m. if Elsa was not doing well, as Kate and I had plans to head to the mall. Gabriela also said she did not really want Elsa to cry for more than 20 minutes, if possible, so I was sure I would receive a call prior to Kate picking me up.

But, alas, 9:30 a.m. rolled around and the phone had not rung. So Kate, James, and I went to the mall, completed our errands, and even grabbed a cup of coffee. I was definitely pleasantly surprised. Then the call came at about 10:50 a.m. Gabriela said that Elsa had been doing fine, but had started to get upset again, and that it would probably be best for me to come and get her. Of course, at that point we had a 20- to 30-minute drive ahead of us before I could get there, but we promptly left the mall to go back to the car.

When I arrived back at Gabriela's house, I at first could not see Elsa anywhere among the other children who were either washing dishes at the outdoor sink or running around and having fun in the yard. Then Gabriela pointed toward the picnic table, and I realized that Elsa was asleep in an umbrella stroller that was tilted backward and resting on the bench of the table. (I assured my mom that it was much more safe than it sounds.) Apparently "Grandma," Gabriela's mother, had soothed her and eventually, from what I could gather, Elsa fell asleep in her arms. (Gabriela's parents, who are Romanian, do not speak much English, so sometimes the language barrier gets in the way -- I am sure I will get more used to communicating with them as time passes.) She slept for probably around 15 more minutes after I got there, and then woke up relatively happy. The day before, I had left her with Kate for about an hour while going to an appointment with Dr. J., and Kate had explained to her where I was, so when she woke up, she said something like, "Mommy at Dr. J." So maybe now she'll think I am at Dr. J.'s every time I leave her. :)

We ended up staying at Gabriela's until around 1:00 p.m. We played outside for awhile more -- Elsa had fun climbing up a wooden play structure that goes up to a platform. A swing dangles not too far above that platform, and after falling backward off of it just once, Elsa quickly learned to hold onto the chains more tightly and was actually swinging a little on her own after a few attempts. The climbing up and climbing back down scares me somewhat, as without my help she probably would have fallen, but she will figure it out eventually, and the adults seem to be good about keeping their eyes on the children.

After a bit, all of the other children went inside, and I was finally able to coax Elsa indoors with the possibility of having some applesauce. Perhaps this was a mistake on my part, as since Elsa refused to go inside even while I was away, she missed out on the pasta meal everyone ate earlier and was therefore very hungry and thirsty. But Gabriela moves through the day on a schedule, albeit a light and breezy one, so food was not immediately on the table for little Elsa. First, all of the children helped hand-grind the apples for the applesauce. Elsa wanted nothing to do with it. She wanted to eat a piece of apple, and Gabriela even handed her a couple of pieces, but I guess because they were cooked and soft and not what Elsa was expecting, she would not eat them. Then it was time to wash hands, and Elsa actually complied and went into the bathroom with the other children, where each one stepped up to the sink in turn. (Elsa went to and fro several times, but eventually did wash her hands.) The treat after handwashing was a cinnamon stick, given to each child by Grandma. Most of the kids happily took their cinnamon stick and sat down in one of the small chairs and started chewing on the stick with joy, readying themselves for storytime. Elsa, on the other hand, did not want the cinnamon stick and was whining and complaining. She did sit on my lap for a brief amount of time, while Gabriela went around the circle, putting a dab of essential oil (also cinnamon, I think) on each person's hand, and then went around a couple of more times with a silky toy and a feather, allowing each child to experience the sensation of the items' touch. Elsa seemed to like that, but as soon as the story began, she did not want to sit quietly. So I removed her from the circle, and Grandma pointed out some wooden trucks and trains, which appeased Elsa just long enough until it was time to sit around the table for applesauce, rice cakes (with or without cream cheese), and homemade popsicles. Elsa took one bite of the applesauce and wanted no more, but did eat an entire rice cake (sans cream cheese). She turned her nose up at the popsicle (I mean, really, what child does not like popsicles?) She also attempted to drink gobs of water from a small stainless steel cup with a handle. She does not quite understand yet how to drink out of a cup properly, and instead of placing the edge of the cup between her lips, she sticks her entire mouth into the cup and tries to drink that way. The result? A lap full of water. She was still able to drink a decent amount, though, and was obviously quite thirsty. I noticed several of the kids with sippy cups brought from home, but since I had not remembered seeing any when we visited last year, I did not bring one for Elsa, figuring it was expected that all of the children learn how to drink out of the cups. I am still not totally sure, but might take a sippy cup with us tomorrow. Once Elsa got some food and liquid into her tummy she was a little better off, but it was still clear that she was tired and cranky.

I tried to put her down for a nap again when we got home, but to no avail, which was really no surprise. If the child falls asleep at all prior to naptime, there is usually no nap later on. She still rested in her room for awhile, though, and was just a wild banshee the remainder of the evening.

My hope for tomorrow is that Elsa will at least now go into Gabriela's house at will and without me there. It is a small step, but an important one. I will remain close by at the house too, in case I need to come to the rescue once again. I think Elsa will eventually grow to love Gabriela's, but we'll keep our steps small and deliberate for the time being. All in all, I am excited for this change in Elsa's life.