a new chapter in maya's life

the day has finally arrived :: maya started school this week. last friday night i was kind of a mess, worrying about how she'd do.

day 1 :: ian + i dropped her off at school

it figures she would pee just as we arrive to pick her up!

day 2 :: ian + rupert were going to take her to school since rupert doesn't go onto campus on tuesdays this quarter. when he mentioned she'd be going to school, she slapped her forehead and said, "a-gain?" rupert worried for a second that she was already starting with the "i don't wanna go to school" routine, but when he explained to her that we all now go to school each day, she easily agreed, "okay, let's go!"

day 4 :: the crying begins. i miss it because i have to be at work a bit early on thursdays. i'll let rupert's email to me later in the day describe what happened.

After you left Maya went on-and-off crying about not wanting to go to school. The compromise was that we took Ian to school first and then I took her to school. Another thing that helped calm her was that I let her wear a pull-up instead of underwear, and I didn't make her wear socks. I tried to avoid any "you have to [wear underwear, wear socks, etc.] to go to school" statements. [rupert got in trouble with the director for letting maya wear the pull-up -- the kids have to be completely potty-trained to go to this preschool.]

Oh, and I printed out a few pictures of the family for her to take to school.

By the time we actually go to her school she was in a better mood. She started getting sad when I first tried to say goodbye and then she took me to the bathroom. She went to the bathroom just fine, although the toilet does flush before she can wipe and get the toilet paper in.

When I tried to say goodbye for the second time I gave her the family pictures to hold. Then one of the other girls came over to look at what she had and Maya was like, "This is my brother. This is my mama." It was cute and I was able to leave.

So I think she's fine. Although I get the feeling she misses dropping Ian off at school. All the girls were there playing with her and I think that's what cheered her up. Dropping Ian off at school was probably the thing she looked forward to the most each day and now that she goes to school we took that away. So I'm thinking that maybe on Tuesdays and Fridays we can take Ian to school first and then take Maya to school.