Parker Progress & A Proud Momma

Parker started daycare back in August at 20 months old.  Although we were so blessed to have his grandparents watch him for so long, it was a mistake to start him so late I think.  I know with the 2^nd one (if God blesses us with a 2nd one) we will start him/her a lot earlier.  For 6 LONG
months Parker cried EVERY.SINGLE.DAY when I dropped him off AND when I picked him up.  It was heart-wrenching to say the least.  For the first 4 months, Parker was in the “1’s” room.  Although I was not happy with the teacher and her lack of engagement with the kids, I knew he was in a safe place, so I held out hope that he will be moved to the “2’s” room soon enough and just maybe he will have a better experience.  In the “1’s” room, every time I picked Parker up in the afternoon all the kids were just roaming around doing nothing educational and nothing fun.  My sister-in-law would peak in on him in around lunch time and would report back to me on how Parker was doing.  Same thing…. Lots of roaming.  No wonder he hated the place, he wasn’t engaged!  On top of that, the “1’s” room is so very small and there wasn’t a whole lot to do.  I was also not happy because I stopped getting notes on what and how he was doing each day.  For the first 2 weeks or so, I got at least a few sentences on what went on each day in that teeny tiny room, but once Parker wasn’t considered “new” anymore, the notes stopped coming home.  I had NO idea what his day looked like, and that made me mad!

               Picture Day at School.  This was a BAD day. We like to call this his mug shot.

                               My SIL captured this little gem one day.  Happy? I think not.

Then came November, I went to pick Parker up one afternoon and to my surprise he was moved to the 2’s room.  What?!?  Nobody told me he was going to be moved, but a sigh of relief came over me that maybe, just maybe, he will have a better experience in this room.  They said did great that day! Happy momma!  And notes! I was receiving notes EVERY.SINGLE.DAY on what the class learned and did each day.  It was awesome.  On top of that, his new teacher, Ms. Tessa, is A-MAZING.  She is new, young, vibrant, fun, and entertaining.  In addition to all of those great qualities, she is well educated with a college degree and is even trying to get certified as a teacher.  I had such a good feeling about her right from the start.  I don’t know what it was, but I knew she and Parker would just fit well together.  Well, about 2 months went by and he was still crying when I dropped him off on Mondays and Tuesdays, but was pretty much okay on Wednesdays.  Ms. Tessa always said he was perfectly fine after I left.  Yes, I still had to hand him over to her every morning, whereas the other kids just walked happily to the table and sat down, but I was okay with it, and was actually happy because even though he cried when I left, he was happy when I picked him up and I was actually bring stuff home!  Notes everyday on what he did and… art projects! Nobody told me how much momma’s LOVE art projects! 

Then came last week.  A change of heart one might say.  Parker all of a sudden stopped crying when I dropped him off.  Last Tuesday, we walked in, put his stuff in his cubby, and my little boy happily walked over to the table, sat down, and waited patiently for his breakfast to be served.  What!?! Who is this little boy?  Where is the sad crying little man that I know and love?  No longer was it baby Parker.  He is definitely a big boy now.  And I am such a proud momma.  That morning, I got in my car and immediately texted my mother-in-law and Matt and told them the great news.  Then, the day got even better…. When I picked him up that afternoon I was able to sneak in without him seeing me.  All the kids and Ms. Tessa were holding hands in a circle and singing “ring around the rosie”.  Parker was joyfully screaming out of excitement and was having the time of his life.  BEST.MOMENT.EVER. I still picture that moment in my head and a huge smile comes across my face.  It was so amazing to see him having so much fun.  I mean, they told me that he’s been happy there, but this was the first time in 6 months that I actually witnessed it.  Now every day when I pick him up he gives Ms. Tessa I huge “bye bye” hug before we leave.  He LOVES her!  I seriously don’t know what we will do when she is not his teacher anymore.  I pray pray pray she moves up with the kids when it’s time to change classrooms.  She is simply the best. 
I brought my phone in this morning so I could capture his "big boyness".  Happy little guy....

It's like he's saying... "Don't worry, mom, I got this".......