Then and Now (Part 4) - Social Butterfly

Then: 6 months - We called his first day of school a success, but reading between the lines you could probably tell we were still a bit nervous about the whole affair and whether Gavin would thrive there.

Now: 11 months - Gavin blows kisses to the teachers, pushes out of my arms to go play with his friends the second we walk through the door (although he still whimpers when I finally leave . . . for a whopping 15 seconds), and has indeed thrived. He is getting ready to graduate from the Butterfly Room to the Monkey Room (1 year to 18 month olds), which means one nap a day on a big boy mat rather than a crib, constant outside playground time, and eating at the table in a proper chair. It is bittersweet. I've watched other infants from Gavin's class make the transition, and they instantly turn into big kids. Definitely more sweet than bitter though because each and every phase of this wonderful person's life has been better than the previous one.

Sampling of Daily Notes from the past 6 months:

"Gavin had a great day today! He enjoyed going outside on the buggy and watching the butterflies fly around the flowers. He also really liked playing with the blocks and trying to give Bailey kisses."

"Gavin was the Butterfly dentist today. He would crawl to Bailey or Gretchen and gently put his finger into their mouth. He also liked going on the playground and going down the slide."

"SUPER HAPPY BOY! Loved going out on the buggy and climbing in and out, in and out, in and out of the donut. He also must have had one crazy weekend, because he talked nonstop. Also played chase with Daisy and Lula around the chair."

"Gavin had a great day! He liked being king of the room. He made sure to pull ALL of the toys off the shelves and made a nice big mess. =) He liked getting to play with Kai (new Butterfly). Kai would chase Gavin all around the room and Gavin loved it."

"Gavin had a wonderful day. He liked watching the rain from the open window and the birds that kept landing on the porch - very interesting! He liked crawling up onto the big singing block and made his surprised face each time it would start to sing. :0 He also found the LOUDEST toys to play with while Henry and Bailey were sleeping."

In case you need a visual on the referenced surprised face that occurs each time Gavin here's a noise (music, dog bark, chickens next door, loud truck, lawn mower, car alarm, etc.) or sees any animal (dog, cat, bird, fish tank) or someone that he wants to meet (kids at the grocery store, mailman, random stranger walking on the sidewalk while we are stopped at a red light) or on command/response to your surprised face: