Thursday, June 01, 2006

Changing of Guards

Today was the first partial day of Tanner & Morgan going to daycare.

What a radical change...to think that a little less than two years ago, Tanner and Morgan looked like this:















It was the first time that they had gotten to share a crib together, and just a few short days before Tanner was transferred to the University Hospital.

This is what they looked like this morning as they got ready to go into "school" for the first time.




















I don't know whether to be proud or sad. A short two years, and look at how much they've grown. What will they look like when I put up the picture of the first day of kindgergarten?


So, the question of the day: how did they do at daycare? Disappointingly well...is that an acceptable answer? When we dropped them off this morning, Tanner originally stayed very close to Randy's legs. Eventually, he found the books and we pulled up a small chair for him to read. Randy disappeared, and a few short minutes later I slipped out the door. When I peaked in 10 minutes later, they were playing away.

When I returned around 10:30 to pick them up (we're doing partial days today & Friday), Morgan grinned and said "Hi Mommy" as she slid by me in a scooter and Tanner just grinned from across the playground. It took me 20 minutes to drag them off the playground and get them into the car.

The kids spent this afternoon with Ms. Ashley - and they'll have a few hours with her tomorrow, too. It seems weird that I won't be saying "see you Monday" to Ashley and little Ms. Riley. And, I can only imagine the "Ashley" and "Ry-wah?" questions that we'll be getting for the next few weeks.

Tanner & Morgan adore Riley. I truly think that they think she's a sibling. They love to play with her and give her kisses. Riley laughs at Tanner's dancing (well, really, we all laugh at his dancing) and Morgan dotes on her.






(No, we didn't intend on the kids dressing alike today - it just happened that they were dressed very similarly - so we couldn't help but snap a shot.)


It's a difficult transition for us. Not just from the prospective of having them in a daycare, but from the perspective of not having Ms. Ashley around. Ashley has become a member of our extended family and helped us through such rough times. It's impossible to express how truly grateful we are to her for being a part of these formative years of the kids lifes. She has helped mold these two beings into the little people that they are. Thank you, Ashley. Thank you for being a part of our lives and for helping shape these wonderful little people.

3 comments:

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah said...

We're starting Ian and Claudia in September. Is it scary?

Stacy said...

It was horrifying - but only for us. The kids LOVED it. I've had to drag them out of school both days.

And, it's been great for them. Tanner has started talking up a storm after only 2 days (and he's in speech therapy - so this is huge). Morgan came home yesterday and started pointing at numbers and correctly identifying them (shapes, too). They were definitely ready for the stimulation.

Amy said...

I'm crossing that bridge on July 31st. I hope I can report that it went disappointingly well, too.