"Mommy, I'm tired"

We are glad to be have gotten through Ella's first week at daycare- it's been a roller-coaster of emotions for all three of us. Thursday (yesterday) was her first full day and she had a pretty hard time. When I got there to pick her up in the afternoon, I could tell by her red, puffy eyes that she had been crying quite a bit. Her teacher said she kept asking, "Where's Mommy and Daddy at?" Talk about breaking my heart!! When we got home, she was wiped out. She said, "Mommy, I'm tired" and grabbed her blanket and just wanted to lay on the couch and cuddle. Awww...

Friday was a little better. She was more upbeat when I went to pick her up. They have an aquarium with baby turtles and she gets to feed the turtles before she leaves. Today when she saw me, she said, "Mommy, let's feed the turtles and go bye-bye!" Then when we got in the truck, she said, "Mommy, school was lots of fun today!"

When we got home, she grabbed her blanket and hopped on the couch, saying, "I'm tired." I think I see a new routine forming here. :) It's great because I love the cuddle time.
As hard as it's been for Chris to leave Ella there screaming and for me to be at work knowing she's with people she doesn't know, I did see a small change in her tonight. We were at Macy's and a lady looked at Ella and said, "Hi, what's your name?" Ella looked up at her, waving and smiling and said, "Hi!!" That might not seem like a big deal, but usually when strangers talk to Ella, she hides behind my legs or looks at the ground and doesn't say a word. So yea for the little things and for daycare maybe bringing Ella out of her shell a little bit.