Diagnosing Quirky

So, it's been an exciting few weeks in our household. The biggest news is that our little girl was diagnosed last week with High Functioning Autism. The news came as quite a shock to us, since several evaluations we'd had already had "ruled out" autism. In the end, though, this team of six professionals through an all day evaluation came to a careful conclusion and we are inclined to accept it. They suggested that we read about girls with High Functioning Autism or Asberger's Syndrome and that they thought we would begin to see a lot of Sprout in those descriptions. They were right. Girls present differently than boys and Sprout is very high on the "High Functioning" end, which means she has already developed a lot of coping strategies that mask her symptoms.

Still, it's a tough pill to swallow. Our hope that our issues with her could be resolved with some Speech Lanugage and Occupational Therapy are giving way to understanding that she will likely struggle in some of these areas for many years. Reading about adolescent girls on the Autism spectrum is especially scary.

But, there's no question that she is amazing. Everyone falls in love with her, even when her quirky behaviors drive them crazy. On a brief reading assessment, she was reading on a 3rd-4th grade level and she just turned 4! And they thought that she would have scored higher with a more thorough assessment, though she struggles a bit with higher level comprehension skills. They suggested that eventually, she would qualify as "twice exceptional" and enter a gifted program as well, but it's really too early to tell.

They also reassured us that we are already doing a lot of the things we needed to be doing for her. We intuitively developed strategies for her that are just what they recommend for kids on the Autism spectrum. And she's in the perfect educational setting and making amazing progress. We feel like she's going to do fine, but hopefully we can help her with her challenges now that we have a better idea what they are.

On the other hand, they also suggested that we have her evaluated for services through the school district's Exceptional Children program to get an IEP in place before she starts elementary school and we are also working to have her entered into a therapy program. All in all, it is a lot to wrap our brains around, but everyone around us has been supportive and we are appreciative of that. I think there are quite a few people who question the diagnosis or dismiss it as irrelevant because "she's so smart" or "she is going to be just fine." While I'm sure those words are meant to be encouraging, sometimes it seems that people don't recognize the areas where she struggles, which can be a little tough.

So, there's the latest on our super, spunky, amazing, adorable Sprout. She's growing like a weed, reading like a whiz kid, and is still the same kid she was before all this came to pass, so we are just continuing on and trying to learn as much as we can to help her be successful and meet her challenges.

Hyperlexia, speech therapy, and my amazing little girl

Sprout has always been behind on her social milestones, but never enough to hit any of the big red flags. She just decided to do things on the tail end of normal. Last fall, we decided to have her evaluated by a psychologist and speech-language therapist just to make sure there wasn't something we were missing. Her articulation is darn near perfect, but she had a lot of trouble interacting with other people. She also never asked questions or engaged in back and forth conversation unless it adhered to a script that she had memorized. Books, Super Why! and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood are the most common sources of her scripts.

So the first round of evaluations showed a social delay, but nothing that required immediate intervention. The general consensus was to wait six months and see what happened. So, we waited six months. She's made huge progress, but still lags behind socially. She's trying to interact but just doesn't know how. Then, DH came across literature about hyperlexia. Hyperlexia, at is simplest, is precocious, self-taught, early reading.

Have I mentioned that Sprout can read? I mean she can read anything. She reads signs everywhere we go, pulls books of friends' shelves and reads the titles and opens to random pages in novels and can read them. She floored my brother-in-law when she read a sign at the zoo. It said, "Komodo Dragon Exhibit." I know people don't believe it. I mean, I don't believe it half the time, but she can read anything you give her. She doesn't comprehend at nearly the same level as she can read, but she does comprehend a lot, especially things that are age-appropriate.

So, anyway, Hyperlexia is often paired with some social and language development difficulties, so we decided to consult another Speech Language Pathologist. Our experience with her has been amazing! We had a long conversation about our concerns and her possible hyperlexia (it's not an official "diagnosis" just a self-identified trait at this point). She works with another student at Sprout's preschool, so she went there and observed her and interacted with her in the classroom. She pulled her out and evaluated her individually. She came up with a detailed report and we met and talked about it. After all that time watching and interacting with Sophia, she completely saw what we were concerned about. She also fell in love with Sprout and Sprout fell in love with her. We decided to start therapy once a week. During school, she had her therapy at school and had part of the time in the classroom to work on those social interactions. At home, a lot involves her coming to tell me things or have conversations with me. It's so amazing to see the amount of thought and preparation the therapist puts into her sessions with Sprout. And how she really uses her amazing ability to read to help her learn how to speak and interact. I'm so happy we found her!

In the process of her evaluation, she noticed that her language skills were profoundly different in the classroom setting versus one-on-one and even noted when she came to our home that the appropriateness of her interactions were on an even higher level (eye contact, initiating conversation, etc.). She suggested we get Sprout evaluated further to make sure she didn't have some kind of auditory processing disorder because she is extremely sensitive to sound and has so much more trouble functioning in the classroom or group settings. It may just be the social/language delay, but we want to make sure that there isn't more going on.

So we sent in all the referral paperwork for a clinic at a university about an hour and a half away to have her evaluated. They will look over what we've done so far and determine whether they would like to see her. It would be interesting to see what they came up with, for sure. In the meantime, we ask ourselves, "Should we be proud or afraid that the SLP finds our daughter fascinating?"

She is truly amazing. There is no question about that. I don't really want to find something "wrong." I believe that all of this is a side affect of some kind of gifted-ness, but we also don't want to ignore things that may cause her trouble in the future. Hopefully, we'll get a better idea of how she thinks and how to help her be her best self.

Who would have thought?

When we chose not to continue fertility treatment and explore adopting, we had a lot to learn and it is been both interesting and overwhelming. We've put a lot of thought and prayer into this journey and we are certainly still very much in the discernment process.

What I did not expect was that we would both feel that we may actually be called to become foster parents rather than moving directly into an adoption process. While coming to terms with not adding a child permanently to our home is a work in progress, using our resources and knowledge and skills to truly serve children in need seems to fit what our family is all about.

So, we have begun a new exploration process. We aren't sure where it will lead or if foster parenting is indeed where we are headed, but it has been my experience that when life takes me in a different direction than I ever imagined, and yet it is filled with a sense of excitement and peace, it usually indicates I'm headed in the right direction. So, we continue to think and research and pray and will soon be taking the next steps toward determining whether this is indeed where we are being called to serve. If you're the praying type, please say an extra one for us as we continue on this journey.

Cold Feet

I've been having some serious second thoughts about the whole adoption process and whether or not we really want to start down another emotional journey. There is just so much to think about and consider and it's overwhelming. Some of it is related to normal worries about having second children and other anxieties are specific to adoption. I just don't know anymore. It's really hard for me to imagine Sprout as an only child as she grows older, but it's also hard to imagine introducing a new child into the family. I guess this is all part of the discernment process, but it's still really hard and I'm really struggling with the fact that my family is going to look very different than I imagined it would, no matter what road we choose to take.

On a related note, through my research, I've come across embryo adoption as an option I didn't even really understand might exist. It's kind of out there and I don't even know if we'd be good candidates for it or how it would work, but since I've already carried a successful pregnancy... well, I just wonder. But then, how on earth would you talk to a child about that? And is that just too high-tech and strange for our family, anyway?

Ugh. I don't know about any of it anymore. I feel a little stuck and just not sure what path we are to take. So, we're waiting and praying and hoping that the path forward will be made clear.

Potty Training Marathon

We first started trying to potty train Sprout in June of last year. I figured we'd do the whole weekend potty training routine and we'd be done with it (more or less). Shows what I know! We're now about 9 months in and sometimes I feel like we've made no progress at all. Clearly she wasn't ready when we started, but now? I just don't know.

It reminds me of when she was an infant and I read all those books about babies showing their "tired cues" and how you had to catch them at the first sign and get them to sleep during the "magic sleep window." By all accounts some babies do have obvious tired cues and fall into these methods easily. Then there is my girl. I nearly made myself crazy trying to figure out whether she was "showing sleepiness" by twitching her eye. Turns out, some babies have neon signs and others like to keep it all a secret. My girl is the secretive type.

So it is with potty training. No warning. No poopy face. No pee pee dance. We only know after the fact. As we've moved along we have been able to recognize her needing to go sometimes, but she can still be pretty stealthy. And when she wants to use the toilet, she does. We just haven't managed to convince our little genius that it's a good idea all the time. She just can't be bothered. We've tried every trick in the book.

So for now, we've taught her everything she needs to know to take care of her accidents by herself. She knows where the towels are to clean up her puddles and how to put the dirty clothes and towels in the washer. She knows where the panties and pull ups are and extra clothes. She needs a little help with the stinky accidents, but otherwise, it's all her. If she wants to go to college wearing diapers, then she will just have to change them herself.

So, I guess, if independence is our goal, we've made progress, but she is also recognizing her need to go more and choosing to respond to it more often. One day, maybe she'll be more consistent. Until then, we'll continue to put off buying new carpet and get used to cleaning up accidents and smelling her before we can see her. Crazy girl decided to be completely clean and dry the whole day we traveled on airplanes and rental cars last week while wearing panties. I thought we'd had a major breakthrough, but three days later, it was all back to her normal ambivalent attitude.

My pediatrician husband reminds me that we can't make kids sleep, eat, or poop on the toilet, so we just keep trying new strategies and hope that something sticks. Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood potty episode helped more in 10 minutes than the last 6 months of our attempts, so it probably won't be anything we try that makes the switch flip. Like everything else, she's on her own schedule and she's not about to change it for us. Just seems crazy that the girl can read on a first grade level at age three, but can't figure out potty training.  Oh well! More material to embarrass her when she's a teenager.

My Grandma

Been thinking a lot about my grandma the last few days. I'm not sure why, but I just miss her an awful lot right now. Yesterday, I thought about how much I wanted to call her. Today, I'm curled up by the fire with my computer under the quilt my mom made from her clothes. It's been more than a year now since she died, but it's still hard to believe that I'll never have another hour long talk with her. I hope that I'll be able to let Sprout know what a very special great-grandma she had. She already seems to have inherited her height and her strong independent streak.

Traveling to Tampa

I long ago realized that traveling with a baby/toddler/child means that we now take "trips" rather than "vacations." They certainly aren't relaxing, but we still have a lot of fun. We spent last week in Tampa, Florida, soaking in some sun and seeing the sights. Sprout was a trooper, as always. She had her toddler moments, of course, but all in all we are fortunate to have a good traveler. She enjoys exploring new places, doing new things, trying new foods. I think she got a touch of the adventurous spirit of her mother and great-grandmother. I'm glad to see that inquisitiveness and joy in new experiences.

Of course, she didn't nap at all, and because she is now three, we definitely have to cater more to her needs and wants. Gone are the days when we could leave her in the stroller for a couple hours while we explored little shops or a museum. Gone are the days when she would at least nap in the stroller so we could get an hour or so of peace. But, that's okay. It's all part of growing up, I guess. My husband has been a little slower to this realization, so he was a little grumpy on this trip because his expectations were not in line with the reality of a three year old. But he came around eventually and I think it was a good learning experience for our little family. We are on the go quite a lot and are already planning our next trip, so hopefully we can be a little better mentally prepared for our next adventure.

Being home again is nice, but I brought with me a nasty cold. I was already pretty sick on our day traveling home and fluid backed up into my ears during the plane flight and I was in a good bit of ear pain for a couple of days and unable to hear out of one ear. Luckily, it has mostly cleared and I'm just left with a runny nose. I just went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago with a nagging cough and was on all sorts of medication trying to get things under control. Naturally, as soon as I started feeling better, I got this cold, so I should be back to baseline coughing by the time I have my follow-up appointment next week.

This parenting stuff is always a learning experience, but I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to watch Sprout grow and learn and to see her joy at touching stingrays, riding her first roller coaster, and meeting Rosita from Sesame street. No question that while we may be experiencing some struggles, we are so very blessed in our family.

Big Questions

I thought I was relatively informed about adoption. I knew that there was plenty to learn, but I assumed that most of it was technical stuff that I'd figure out as I went along. As I've begun dipping my toes into research, I've realized that ethical issues are much bigger and more complex than I understood. Since I've lived and worked in a developing country, I was already a bit uneasy about the prospect of international adoption. This always surprises people I know because they all assume I'll want to adopt a baby from Africa. But, while I know that there are children who need help and need homes there, I also saw how easy it would be for corruption and deception to enter into an adoption process and that I'd always wonder whether the story I'd been told about my child was true. What if my child had been placed in an unethical way? What if that child had loving parents that didn't really understand what was happening to their child? There are stories upon stories of such things and while I have no doubt that there are very ethical adoption agencies that do their best to ensure that everything is handled appropriately, I'm not sure I could ever be completely comfortable without actually knowing a child's whole story. But I was willing to look at International Adoption objectively, especially since we are willing to adopt a toddler. Unfortunately, between my ethical concerns and some prejudice in the developing world concerning antidepressants, it seems that we would only have a chance of adopting a child with significant special needs or a much older child. I don't think we're ready for either of those options, so it looks like International Adoption is not an option.


So, that leaves us with domestic adoption. I figured that was a little more cut and dry. Baby is released for adoption. We adopt the baby. Sure, I knew that there were laws that made this more complicated, that birth father rights have to be considered when dealing with an expectant mom exploring adoption, that mothers may change their minds after the baby is born. But, after reading more and more, I see that there are also ethical issues surrounding domestic adoption that I'd never considered. Will my agency pressure a mother to make an adoption plan? What if I agree to an open adoption and the birth family becomes destructive or unstable? In my state, I would have the right to close it, but would that be wrong if I'd agreed to an open adoption? What about paying the expenses of the birth mother? Some moms are in great need, but the amount of money in some cases seems extreme. I still think that adopting domestically will be a better fit for us because we will likely be able to have some contact with the birth family so that we can be sure that they are really making a decision they believe to be the right one without duress, but it is not free of ethical concerns. There are some big questions ahead for DH and I to consider and what I've written here is really only the beginning.

Are you ready to learn more about adoption? Come along for the ride. I don't know where we'll end up, but at least we'll learn something along the way.

Marriage

Apparently I have reached the age where marriages begin to unravel. Friends in all of our circles have been experiencing major marital upheaval and divorce. It is extremely disconcerting, especially when it is unexpected. It makes me acutely aware that, even with my closest friends, there is often a lot I don't know about their lives.

Inevitably, it makes me wonder, could it happen to me? DH and I have talked a lot about how we can keep our marriage healthy and weather the storms that come our way. I believe that we can and that we are doing really well. Knowing the stories of others, though, helps me understand just how important it is to deal with issues and problems as they arise, trust my instincts when they tell me something isn't right, and not allow myself or my husband to retreat into isolation when times get tough.

The latest round of divorces have rattled me, I'll admit. I hope that I can take away something positive. I'll definitely be praying for my own family and for those in my life hurting terribly right now.

You know what's really unfair?

When you've finally started to come to terms with the idea of not having another baby and then your period decides to be a week late, just for the fun of it. That will play with your mind, I tell ya.

One of the hardest parts of this all for me is that, after everything we've been through, I don't think I'll ever again not be hyper-aware of my cycle. Unlike many people who deal with infertility, I have a very regular cycle, and ovulate normally. I just have old lady ovaries and eggs. So, even though I'm starting to understand that pregnancy is not going to happen and have stopped buying pregnancy tests (though I did use my last one when my period was late this month) and have begun imagining what adoption might look like, I have the constant biological reminder, that while everything seems to work just like it's supposed to, it's actually broken beyond repair.

I think I've long been very sensitive to those struggling with infertility, but obviously I'm in a different place now, and relate on a whole new level.

When I peruse websites about adoption there are so many conflicting emotions - sadness, excitement, fear, worries, frustration, hope. It's a tough thing to navigate, but I'm working on it. And I have great people to help me through.

One Step at a TIme

It's been awhile :) We'll see if I become more regular this time or not, but as we begin a new phase of our parenting journey, I've found myself with more to say.

After a lot of discussions, we are leaning toward beginning the adoption process this summer. We will likely pursue domestic adoption. Nothing is certain yet and we are still working through some grieving over our inability to have biological children and trying to wrap our heads around a family that be different from the one that we had planned.

It's also hard to imaging adding a new little one to our family when things are pretty awesome right now. Sprout is every bit a three year-old, spirited, independent, and determined. She loves to learn and is reading everything she sees. She's a bit precocious (which I think she comes by honestly). But it's also hard to imagine her being an only child. So while no decisions have been made yet, we're leaning toward at least a more formal exploration of our options regarding adoption.

Needless to say, this is the beginning of a new emotional roller coaster and it's going to take a lot of patience and a lot of prayer.

Hopefully, I'll have more to say about all kinds of things as we move forward. Thanks to the few dedicated followers that haven't given up on my little blog!

Where one chapter ends

It's been an eventful few months in our household as we have struggled to conceive another child. It began with much optimism and plans for the future. Then the reality set in. I had a very low AMH, meaning that I have an extremely low ovarian reserve (As in, the measurement doesn't go any lower) and therefore would likely not respond well to fertility medications. During an HSG, they discovered polyps that I had to have surgery to remove and then because of the large number, I had to be on hormone therapy for about 6 weeks to rebuild the lining of my uterus.

After that we decided to try a few courses of timed intercourse with injectible FSH. During the first cycle I had 2 follicles, but did not get pregnant. Then I developed a cyst on my right ovary. I went on BCP for about a month and it didn't get any smaller, so we decided to drain it (ouch). We then initiated a second cycle on a higher dose of FSH - basically the same dose as many IVF patients and I still got 2 mature follicles. And a couple of days ago, we learned that the cycle failed as well.  Going in, we knew that we only had about a 15% chance with each cycle, but it still hurts.

The drugs have taken a toll on me. I have constant headaches and they have excacerbated some allergy issues. The clinic is also an hour and a half away from my house, so working out the clinic visits is extremely stressful. So, my DH and I sat down and had a long, tearful chat about whether we really wanted to continue and decided to walk away.

I'm sad.  Really sad. But it's the right decision for us. We are so blessed to have our miracle baby Sprout and now we know that she is very likely to be our only biological child. We've agreed to do a few Hail Mary cycles on our own, but once the New Year rolls around, we are officially going to stop TTC. I am relieved, but it is tough to face a reality that is so different than what we imagined it would be.

In the meantime, I am very busy with my deacon formation program. Taking three classes and I'm going to preach for the first time in church this Sunday. Sprout had a fabulous third birthday party. She continues to amaze us and her teachers. She is really reading now. You probably won't believe me. I wouldn't have believed anyone else telling me their three year old could read!

We're going to just relax into being a family for awhile. We decided not to decide anything more until next summer, when we'll sit down and start seriously researching and discussing the adoption process.

Maybe I'll be blogging more as I work through all of this, or maybe not.  But it is definitely a new chapter in my life as we grieve the end of one chapter and look forward in hope to the next.

Endings? New Beginnings?

I'm thinking about ending the blog.  I feel like it's run it's course.  I may start another with a different focus, but for now, I'm just not feeling inspired.  I'll probably leave it for awhile to make sure I have the important stuff saved somewhere for memory's sake.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll even change my mind.

I appreciate all of the support I've received here and those few faithful folks who still are following me even though I've barely written anything in a long time.

Filled with the Spirit

Sprout was a hoot at church today.  Apparently she was moved by the spirit - or they gave her too much apple juice in the church nursery.

DH went to get her from the nursery before communion. She came in and when we all were kneeling in prayer she sat and folded her hands and bowed her head and really tried to say the Lord's prayer with the congregation.  She managed a few words here and there and then, after everyone had finished, she shouted, "Amen!" to a quiet church. There was an audible chuckle.

Then, when we were waiting for our turn for communion, she kept begging, "Go up to the church, please!" As we were walking forward, she said, "Go up to the pillows!" (referring to the kneeling pillows at the communion rail).  On our way back, she told DH, "Very good job eating!" All of this was in her loud toddler voice in an otherwise very quiet church, so everyone heard the play-by-play.

Back at the pew, she spent a lot of time jumping up and down, she prayed some more, shouted, "Amen!" and "alleluia" at other appropriate times (though a few seconds after everyone else), and then got extremely upset during the recessional hymn when they were putting out the candles.  She cried, "turn them back on please!"

So, it was a memorable Pentecost Sunday for us.  And I'm a little proud.  She may still have a bit to learn about appropriate church behavior, but she clearly was paying attention, was happy to be there, and wanted to participate.  I figure we're doing something right!

Tough Times

So many people around me are going through some really tough stuff.  I've had a really heavy heart.

In our own lives, our struggle to conceive is starting to loom larger and larger.  I will likely be scheduling my HSG within the week.  Then we have to decide whether to go forward with treatment and when we will start.  It's keeping me up at night because I have a lot of conflicting thoughts and ideas and emotions about all of this.

Last night, the hubby and I cuddled, crying and talking about how unfair it all is - his siblings and all their "oops" babies, the middle school nurse talking about the number of kids getting pregnant, all the, umm, interesting parents he sees during a day of work.  It's nothing I haven't thought or felt before and certainly nothing strange to anyone who has faced infertility or loss, but it's just feeling so much bigger right now.  It's hard for me to think about much else.

Of course, it also makes us even more grateful for the miracle that is our Sprout.  It seems that she came into our lives against all odds and continues to amaze and inspire us every day.

And so I hurt for the dear friend still struggling to have her first child, for the friend going through a divorce with two young children, for friends experiencing other heartaches and losses.

I'm thankful for the love and support around me and for all the joy in my life.  But my heart is heavy today.  And I think that's okay, perhaps even necessary, so that I can find the strength and energy to face whatever may be ahead and be there to support the people I love.

Perfect Day

Cuddling in bed, reading books.
Keeping our pajamas on until lunch time.
Playing, singing, laughing, reading.
Tea parties and block towers.
A long nap for my girl and I.
Practicing Eskimo kisses.
An old friend from out of town for a spaghetti dinner.
Splashes in the bathtub and only smiles during tooth brushing.
Listening to a dramatic recitation of Harry the Dirty Dog after lights out.

Didn't get much accomplished, but there will be plenty of time for chores another day.
Because today was perfect just as it was.

TTC and me

So, it's been well over a year since we started trying to conceive our second child.  It took us about a year to conceive Sophia, so I really didn't start getting concerned until after the one year mark.  But, the time has come to look into what is going on and what we can do about it.

I had some simple blood tests done in the last couple of weeks and DH had an SA - everything was normal, so my OBGYN suggested seeing an RE.  He said that if I were younger, he might try a few things locally first, but since I'm no spring chicken, he felt better having us go directly to a specialist.  Fun times!

Unfortunately, the closes REs are about an hour away, so this will add complications!  Anyway, I met with an RE this week and really liked her.  I'll be having an HSG during my next cycle.  She didn't expect that to show anything, since I've already had a successful pregnancy, but wanted to make sure.  The following cycle, we are probably going to have a medicated, timed intercourse cycle.  This means that I will have the same drug protocol as an IUI patient, but we will not do the insemination, we will just be intructed how to carefully time our intercourse.

The good news is that everything will be covered by my insurance (in differing percentages).  If we were to go to IUI, nothing would be covered at all and given my history and all of our test results, the RE didn't think IUI would give us much better odds than timed intercourse.

I'm still a little leary of all of this stuff.  I am scared of all the drugs and the emotional and physical toll this can all have.  I am holding out hope that we will get pregnant on our own in the next couple of cycles so that I can avoid all of it!  I'm not even sure I want to do this, but I so want another child.  It's not an easy thing for me to think about.

So keep us in your thoughts as we begin our journey into IF and all it entails.

And as a little bonus, here's a silly picture of our little girl.  She's gotten so big!

I'm a Mess

I'm a mess.  My desk is overflowing.  I can't find things.  I need to get organized.

But I'm trying to figure out how to walk the line between actually doing something about it and making myself crazy thinking about how I need to do something about it.  I'm never going to have everything neatly arranged, but something has to give because it's stressing me out.

I had this problem when I was teaching and I was, in time, able to figure out systems that really worked for me.  People complemented me for having such an organized classroom.  Ha!  What they didn't know is that I had to get things organized (and have my students take over a lot of responsibility) or I was going to drown.

I'm at that point again, but I haven't figured out how to fix it.  And just like my classroom, I don't think any one else's system is going to quite work for me, so I have to find the time to figure it out for myself.  I don't think I'll ever be clutter free, but I need to find a place where the clutter and lack of organization doesn't cause me stress.  All the changes in my life (motherhood, ministry) mean that what used to work doesn't any more.

So, now what?

First Day of School

So, our little Sprout started school yesterday. DH actually picked out the outfit. Can you believe it?

As predicted, she loved it and begs for "school please," when she's not there. It sounds like she wore her teachers out, though. It's going to take her some time to get into the swing of things. She has to learn how to use one thing at a time and put it away and participate in group activities. All of this will be great for her, but will take some time to adjust. She is attending a Montessori school, so I'm really excited about the chance for her to grow and learn at her own pace and get lots of individual attention. We think she will thrive in this environment once she figures out the structure and rules. I think it will take her a couple of weeks at the most, but we shall see!

I really didn't think I would get teary, but when I was talking to the director, I did tear up a bit. It's just hard to believe that she is so grown up already. She is an amazing little girl and I can't wait to see what she has in store for us next!

Preschool

Is this really happening?

I took Sprout for her preschool "interview" today at the local Montessori school. They officially begin at age 2.5, but they said that they would interview her and if she was ready, she could start a couple months early.

Well, I guess she's ready! She starts next week. It's so hard to believe that she's big enough to start school! She is going to absolutely love it. She loved the interview so much she's been saying, "school please!" ever since. I can't wait to see how much she is going to learn.

She has done a lot of Mother's Day out programs, which has been great, but I know this experience will be wonderful for her.