To School We Go

Lots of changes have been happening around here and we are getting into a new routine because I returned to work yesterday. I wasn't looking forward to it as much as I thought I should, but once I got there, I was happy to be there and am glad that I get to be with all the kids again.

Here is Holly with her hair up in pigtails for the very first time. Oh, she looks so cute that way! As you can see, her bangs were getting way too long. I bought her baby hairclips and quickly realized that I needed to use the regular adult size. How crazy is that for a 10 month old baby?! I was putting her bangs up in clips every day, but had to take them out at naptime, then put them back in afterward. That is a waste of time, if you ask me, so I decided she needed her first haircut (well, first haircut in the United States! She had 3 of them before I ever picked her up in Taiwan!).

Here is a picture of her before her haircut.

Here she is after having her bangs trimmed. She was so good and sat still the entire time. I don't think her hair is quite as cute as it was before, but she can at least see again. The rest of her hair I left long and is still long enough to put in pigtails.

Before I went back to work, I took Holly over to "Grandma Millie's" almost every day for a couple of hours for two weeks. I wanted her to get used to the place, the kids, and Millie before I had to leave her all day. As usual, she did her own thing, played with toys, and pretty much ignored me. I knew she would be fine anyway, but wanted it all to be familiar to her.

Holly on Grandma Millie's lap.

Monday when I dropped her off, she went right over to Millie to be picked up and didn't even notice when I left. Another teacher, who takes her daughter there also, popped into my classroom when she got to work and said that Holly was busy playing and perfectly happy when she dropped her daughter off about 15 minutes later. No surprise, but definitely reassuring.

She must have played very hard both Monday and Tuesday, because she has gone to bed an hour earlier than she did before she started daycare! I was worried that she would wake up earlier in the morning, but that didn't happen today. Hopefully, it won't happen tomorrow, either.

Holly has had a lot of "firsts" lately! On Sunday, during the third quarter of the Super Bowl, she took her first steps by herself. She took one and I thought I was just hallucinating, so I stood her up and she took another step. She really wants to walk, so it could be pretty soon. She's already lightning speed when she crawls; there won't be any stopping her when she walks.

She can say Mama and Kitty. When she says Mama, she likes to get right up in my face and say it. When she says Kitty, she whispers it, which is so cute!

Another first happened this morning when I dropped her off at daycare. Millie told her to wave bye bye to Mama and she actually did! I didn't even know that she knew what that was. Maybe that's what she learned at daycare yesterday!

Anyway, things are going great. She keeps growing, changing, and learning new things every single day. I count my blessings every day and am so thankful for having a little girl like Holly!