Two years ago, right before Lily was starting preschool and I was in the height of mommy flip-out mode, I wrote a 5 page document about Lily’s favorite things which I gave to all of her teachers and therapists.
Two years on, I find myself in the same place. Freaking out about her going to a new school – new teachers, new therapists, new friends, a new routine. And so I revisited the ‘Lily’s favorite things’ list to update it for kindergarten.
I’m not going to lie. A lot of it was heartbreaking. I had to remove all of the things Lily was able to do at 3, but can no longer do at 5, like:
- Shooting hoops: Lily can pick up tiny basketballs and puts them in the basket. She even independently bends down to pick up the ball from the ground so she can put it back in the basket.
- Turning the pages of the books we are reading. And we often prompt her to use her pointer finger to point to an item on the page (dog, moon, bird, etc..). If you start by asking her ‘are you ready?’, she will most likely reply, ‘I’m ready!’…
- Approximating the word ‘omelet’
- Approximating the word ‘berry’
I try not to get mired in the depression of the regressions. It’s not easy. But I will continue to be proud of all the other things she can do, like:
- Dancing: in preschool, she was known as the disco diva as she would always try to start a dance party during class-time.
- Running: Lily has really gotten into walking fast (almost running) when outside and she gets a huge grin on her face once she gets booking.
- Walking up steps: she has a lot of determination and likes to challenge herself. Sometimes she will need an extra hand to step up but she’s getting to the point where she can independently walk up a few steps without assistance.
- Hiking/climbing hills: maybe it’s because she loves the ‘Elmo climbs Mount Biggest Everest’ episode so much, but this kid loves hiking up hills.
- Climbing on furniture: just the other day, I turned around and ‘poof!’, this kid had figured out how to pull herself up to stand. On my sofa.
I’m going to work with her new therapists to try to get her back to being able to shoot hoops, turn pages and talk, and more! We will get there.
But wow, what a difference two years make! She’s grown into such a sweet kid, who’s almost 4 feet tall.
blueberriesandgiggles 
Omg she got soooooo big. Keep the focus on all the positive. She going to thrive at her new school. I know because she has the best mom in the world. We are here for you Chrissy. Let me know what we can do….. love you two to the moon and back
You will get there!
Christine, take heart in the words of Winnie the Pooh,” always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think!” You got this girl!!!