An Official Preschooler (Written August 2018)

I type this today as Grace has her first official day back at preschool for the fall (AUGUST 2018).  Right now she's in the "summer fun" program, and "school" will actually start in September.

Grace and I just spent half of June and all of July together.  All day, every day, her and me.  No work, no daycare, no preschool. We took family trips, we met up with friends, we went to many parks and pools.  And I loved every minute of it.

I had no idea what was in store for us when I decided to pull her out of daycare/preschool for most of the summer.  I didn't know I would love it so much that I delayed sending her for one extra week.

But I also know that she loves being around friends, and preschool is wonderful for that.

So, in this way, we'll ease into fall.

Here is an update with Grace's life (AUGUST 2018):

Sleeping:

Grace sleeps through the night!  10 hours or more every single night. It is absolutely amazing and I don't know how I survived those first two years of night wake-ups.

This summer, we've gotten off track with the 10 hours (usually being 10pm - 8am).  But with the early wake-ups coming this fall, we'll be back to early bedtimes soon as well.

Bedtime itself is a pretty giant process, and I'm trying to cut it back.  It sounds simple enough: snack, potty, bath, teeth brushing, pajamas, books, bed.

But she has ways to procrastinate every step of the way.  And sometimes once she's been in bed for 20 minutes, will call out "I need to tinkle"!  So, even when I think she's down, she's not quite down until she's fully asleep.

Eating:

For the first two years of Grace's life, I gave her ZERO chocolate.  First, because I tried to mostly avoid giving her sugar.  But second, because chocolate has trace bits of caffeine and I didn't want to make bedtime take longer than it already does.

Well, sometime between age 2 and 2.5, Grace had some chocolate, and it is now her absolute favorite of anything.  I can't blame her, because I myself love chocolate!
So, I try to get it to her in "healthy" doses. I bought organic chocolate cereal to give her with whole milk. and There are frozen yogurt protein packed popsicles that we sometimes get.

Other than her new favorite of chocolate, Grace is also turning out to be quite the meat eater.  She loves hamburgers (not the bun), bratwurst (not the bun), and meatballs (spaghetti optional).  She also eats a steady stream of fruit and yogurt all day every day.

Language:

Grace's language is truly beyond age 2.  Her pediatrician said that she sounds like she is 2 going on 7 with how much she knows and can speak.

Grace impressed her preschool teachers today by counting to 24 when they were teaching counting to 5.