Soccer Begins and a perfect tee

This morning, Mairead had her first soccer game of the season.  She did SO much better at this game than she had in the past.  As in, she stayed at the field complex for the entire time without running away.  The first 30 minutes are for practice and the last 30 are for a game.  She LOVED the practice.  She waited her turn, dribbled the ball, shot on goal, and listened to her coach.  She was excited to play with the other kids and was having a great time.

Once the game started, though, she had a hard time.  The noise of all the parents cheering, the whistle, and the chaos of 20 four year olds kicking one ball was a little much.  She did sit on the sidelines with us and cheer on her team, though.  Her team is The Sharks so I told her she could yell, "Go Sharks!"  She shouted, "Go Sharks!  Go Dolphins!"  No idea where the dolphins came from, but she thought it was fun!

Her coach did a great job with the kids and made sure they all had fun with the game.

This kid, Calvin, is a superstar.  He is seriously amazing- incredible natural talent.  And, he is super cute, too.

Since I took Mairead's picture on the first day of school, she now expects me to take her picture every day before the bus comes.  I was happy to take this one since this t-shirt is pretty much perfect for her.  It says, "Everyone loves me just the way I am."  And it's true... we do!

First Day of School

Yesterday was a big day for Mairead- her first day of school!  She was excited to go and was all smiles while getting ready.  She is in the same class she was in last year, and even has the same teacher.  She loves Mrs. M, and we know that she is in good hands with her.  She practically ran to the car and was jumping up and down like a nut when Mrs. M came to the door.  It was so great to see her excited about school!  She had a lot of anxiety about going in last year, and that seems to be gone (knock on wood).  And, as a teacher, I love to see my kid excited about school!

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Now, I have to I brag about her for a minute. I feel like I haven't done it in a while! We were waiting outside for her teacher and she was running around with another little girl. They both started peeking through the glass doors and saw some older kids walk by. The little girl said, "Those are big graders" (so freaking cute). Mairead said, "Big graders? What's big graders?" I said, "those are older kids. They are 8." She said, "Oh, I am four." The little girl said, "Me, too!" Mairead said, "Me three!"

Can I just point out what happened here? 1- she did NOT freak out about going to school. 2- she asked a logical question as a follow up to something another child said. 3- she had a (sort of) back and forth conversation with another child her own age. Halle-freakin-lujah! I can't even tell you how huge this is.

THEN- I go to pick her up and we ran into a friend of mine, whom Mairead has never met. The friend said, "Hi Mairead. How was school?" Mairead looked up at her and said, "Good." Cue me falling over in disbelief. I was so proud and happy. These are little things and may not seem important since other kids do this every day, but to me? These are little miracles all happening at one time.

THEN- my dad comes home from work and asks what she did at school. SHE TOLD HIM. She told him 3-4 things that she did at school. This has NEVER happened before.

She just had a banner day today. She was so "on." There are some days that I feel so disconnected from her, like we are on two different planes (the spatial ones, not the ones that fly), but today, she was really "there," you know? It was awesome.  Here's hoping I see more of the kid I saw today, especially since she starts taking the bus tomorrow!

She has been doing other great things, too.  She is always trying to help me around the house, saying, "I can help you!" about whatever it is I am doing.  She has been talking so much more, and it seems easier for her, too.  Today, she came downstairs and said, "I peed, then I washed my hands and dry them.  Then, I brush my teeth and have the cup and spit it out!"  It's great to see her gaining independence, and to hear her tell me about what she can do!

I hope that the rest of the school year goes as well as her first two days did!