Looking Back

Today was Caroline's last day of her first year of preschool! Here's a flashback to her very first day:

She has loved going to school this year. She gets so excited in the morning if it is a school day. She loves playing on the playground (what kid doesn't?). Whenever I pick her up in the afternoon and ask her what she did, she always recounts her lunch item by item first. She then proceeds to tell me whether they played in the gym (rainy/cold days) or the playground, and what color car she rode in (red/pink). I was somewhat apprehensive about putting her in this year, but it has been great for her. She started the year as such a terrified, shy two year old who said exactly six words (Mama, Dada, ball, car, "nuk" (milk), and "nana" (banana)). Now she likes to show off her sandals to whomever is next to us in the grocery store (as long as it isn't a large man with a beard) and can carry on pretty hilarious conversations. Here are a few of my recent favorites:

Caroline: "Mommy, I have a baby in my belly!"

Me: "Really? Where did it come from?"

Caroline: "God!"

Me: "Really?"

Caroline: "Yes! I went in my heart and asked God for a baby in my belly!"

Although her speech has drastically improved, she still is a two year old with unique pronunciation abilities. If she is with someone else and they don't understand her, she will say, "I wanna call Mommy," aka Translator via Cellular Device.

Another habit she has developed is the "when I get a little bigger" reference. For example, "When I get a little bigger, I wanna have coffee." "When I get a little bigger, I wanna cut with a knife." "When I get a little bigger, I wanna not sit in a car seat." There's also the "next time" phrase that she throws around a lot. "I wanna ride in a school bus next time." "I wanna eat my dinner all gone next time." "I wanna go see Mickey at Disney World next time." Someone (who shall remain nameless) must use the phrase, "Maybe next time," a lot. :)

She is also quite the music buff. When we finally got smart phones recently, C inherited Philip's old MP3 player. He loaded it up with "her" music and got her a small portable speaker. She carries it around the house and asks for particular songs. Often I don't know which song she is referencing, and she will then tell me the name of the artist so I can play it for her. If she can't remember the artist, she'll say, "I wanna call Daddy on the phone and ask him who sings that song!"

Well, there's a few things I wanted to remember about this year. Maybe one day I'll get it all in a scrapbook. For now, the blog will have to suffice.