Graduation day

Yesterday LM officially "graduated" from the infant class to the toddler class. Actually she had pretty much moved over the middle of last week, and she had been spending a lot of time over there during the past few weeks. She's been napping on the cots and sitting on a chair to eat, so we were hoping the transition would be fairly easy.

Well Monday was a little tougher than we had expected. LM was very clingly and didn't want me to leave, even when other kids came over to play with her. Monday was also picture day, which we forgot, so I ran home to get a nicer outfit. When I came back, she was crying. I helped get her changed and then calmed her down and took her down for her picture. That went OK once she finally settled down, and we managed to get a bit of a smile from her, but she certainly wasn't herself. I guess this is understandable, coming back from a weekend at home and being dumped in a new class with new teachers. Luckily the toddler and infant rooms are only separated by a knee wall, so she can still see her old teachers and they can come over to comfort her if they need to.

The strangest thing so far is that LM doesn't like to go outside. They've told me that even when she's doing fine inside, she will cry outside unless someone is holding her hand. It's so strange considering she LOVES to be outside at home and is never afraid to venture into the grass or far away from mommy and daddy. And we've taken her to our neighborhood playground and she runs around, completely unintimidated by the other kids. But even when I was with her at daycare, she wasn't happy unless I was holding her hand or at least right there next to her. I know this is just something that will take her some time to get used to and she'll be fine, but it sure is heart-wrenching to see her crying when I leave and crying when I pick her up, wondering if she ever stopped in between!

Side note: today was a little different story. Lately LM has been throwing fits while she's eating. We're not sure if she doesn't like the food or maybe she's just teething. (She's 15 months old and STILL has no bottom teeth and only five top teeth.) This morning she would be eating happily, then suddenly start screaming and throw everything on the floor... then turn around and ask for more. Coupled with the new toddler environment, I'm sure today will be interesting for LM's teachers.