Two Steps Forward...

We've turned a corner somehow. I don't take any of the credit, though. This is all Olivia. These days, it appears that she's dropped the thumb sucking habit like someone else might drop smoking. Cold turkey, is what I'm saying.

And with that, she's stopped pulling her hair out. I know, right? Big time YAY!!!

On top of those wonderful steps in developments, she's gotten to the point that she's going pee on the toilet 98% of the time, which means she's only peeing in her pants 2% of the time. Sadly, those two percent happen at my mom's... And of that 98% that she's using the toilet, about half the time she goes by herself, as in:

1. She announces she has to pee.
2. She goes to the bathroom.
3. She pulls down her pants.
4. She climbs onto the toilet.
5. She pees.
6. She wipes.
7. She climbs off the toilet.
8. She pulls up her pants.
9. She flushes.

All of the above? She does by herself, without assistance.

The only thing she consistently needs help/reminding is washing her hands.

So all this is good, right? Yes, yes it is.

And in a week, she starts preschool.

The Negative Nellie in my expects that the start of preschool will cause her to lose ground in all of the above developments.

See, preschool will be three hours a day, four days a week. And during this time, she will be in the school with her teacher and classmates, without me or my mom or Tom. This will be the first time Olivia has spend any significant time away from any one of us. It's going to be tough on her. Heck, it's going to be tough on all of us. I really do expect the thumb-sucking and hair-pulling to return with a vengence. These are self-soothing activities for Olivia. I hope that it'll only be a month or so until she's comfortable with school and finds self-soothing unnecessary.

And hey!! She might surprise us all and just take to school right from the start.

But I'd rather be pleasantly surprised than disappointed.

So she'll be wearing Pull-Ups the first month of school (or longer, if necessary) and we'll just not talk about the thumb or the hair.

She's growing up, my little girl. And there are alwyas growing pains, for her and for me. We'll get through it, it just might take a little time and patience, from all of us.

The good news is that she's been placed in the morning preschool class. I requested this but was told that it would be determined by transportation.

Olivia is a morning person (much to my dismay, as I am most assuredly NOT a morning person.) Her class will be from 8:00am until 11:00am, which is perfect for her. She's at her most energetic and alert during these hours of the day. She'll be home in time for lunch and a restful afternoon. She's in class Tuesday through Friday.

This is going to be a good thing. I know it. Sure, she's my baybeeee, but I do know how much she's going to grow in the coming year. I know she's going to benefit so much from the setting and the classmates. But yes, I'm worried about the beginning, the transition. But we'll get through it. It's all we can do.