You know that part in “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” where Hermey and Rudolph talk about being “inde-pen-dent”?
In the few weeks Brianna has been in preschool, I’m noticing some big changes.
I can do it Mom!!
is a familiar phrase now in our house, and I’m happy to let her try! (most of the time!)
After seeing her classmate climb into her car and get into her own car seat, she now does the same. “What a big girl you are!” I tell her! She also can go to the bathroom all by herself. She was potty trained before preschool, but now, there’s the routine. She flicks the light on, goes, wipes her own butt and washes her hands. Hallelujah! It’s the little things, right? She also likes to help herself to whatever she can grab on the counter or open the pantry, so that, we need to work on, because if I tell her “No, we’re not having fruit snacks again today” she will go right in there, grab one and demand I open it so she can eat them.
She’s also singing new songs that I don’t yet know the words too and have asked her to teach me. “How was your day?” I always ask her when I pick her up, “Good” “What did you do today?” “I can’t tell you Mom” I get sometimes, or “I’ll tell you later, can we listen to Frozen?” So, I don’t push right away, and instead have learned I get snipits throughout the day, a little story here and there about her friends, or who pushed who in line, a song, the playground, what she ate. I’m learning too, that even though I want to know about every little moment during the day, that’s part of me letting her have her independence. But, I’m happy to help when she can’t quite get her sneakers on or can’t figure out how to get her shirt off or her pants on.