Too many changes

August was a big month for Ryanne. She started pre-school (mother's day out). She moved to the teacher class at Little Gym (no more mommy and me). I think it was a little rough on her.

We went through about a week where she was just plain mean. She was kicking and hitting everyone - me, kids at school, kids at gym. I got complaints from the teachers. I was tired of it. It was ugly.

We talked. We talked about it until we were blue in the face. She cried. She screamed. She kicked and threw fits. I told her it was all ok. I told her she could be mad that I wasn't there with her for all of this anymore. She learned to be 'fwusterated'.

She stopped hitting. She stopped kicking. I get compliments on how well she's listening and adjusting. We made it.

On the flip side, she plays for really long stretches all by herself. She does it at home, too. She will get out her PlayDoh and play with it for 45 minutes or more. She'll color. She'll play with her doll. She plays with her dollhouse. She's learning to tell stories about her day. She's 'reading' books based on the pictures (really cute when she reads the color book she got for Corin to him). She's memorizing everything - books, songs, stories. She sings me songs. She does things she's learned at school (saying "spiders, spiders, spiiiiiiiderrrrrs' as she tickles up my tummy). It's amazing to see this independent little girl developing, and quickly.

She crawls into my lap. I lay her over and cradle her. She tells me she's not a baby and tries to sit up. I tell her she'll always be my baby girl and she tells me she's a big girl. A part of me misses my baby, but the rest can't wait to learn more about the girl she's becoming.