Taster Sessions

In England, nurseries allow new children to have 'taster sessions' so they can acclimate to their future childcare situation.  Some nurseries have unlimited sessions available, but for Jackson's nursery, he had two assigned times to go which were Wednesday for an hour and today for two hours.  Both sessions seemed to go very well according to the teachers and they gave us a thorough report of his goings-on.

The first day, he began playing with Play-Doh at a table with four other children.  This is when I made my exit, and although he saw me through the window wave good-bye, he smiled and then continued playing with the blue, squishy new texture.  After I left, I waited in the car for an hour while it rained outside--how fitting.  The weather matched how I felt inside.  I managed to talk to a friend and read the car manual for child-lock safety settings and windscreen wiper options.  (Admittedly, I should have brought something to do since his nursery is in the middle of farmlands and I didn't think it would be worth it to travel anywhere when I would have to be back in an hour anyway.)  Before it started raining really hard, I had the windows rolled down and I could hear a squealing baby every 15 seconds or so.  I knew that it sounded like Jackson, but how could it be him when I was far away from the building in the parking lot and he was in the back room of the school?

It did indeed turn out to be Jackson.  When I went to get him from his classroom, I peeked in first and saw a group of toddlers listening to a story being read by one of the teachers, but I couldn't see Jackson.  So I crept into the room and found him--he was playing with the Fisher Price farm and animals while listening to the story.  He noticed that I came into the room and he crawled to be picked up.  His teacher told me that after the Play-Doh, he crawled in the sand, played with the baby doll in the role-play area, and tried to climb into the baby doll's bathtub!  She also said that he is "very vocal."  Thank you; I'll take that as a compliment.  Also, he fell and hit his cheek on the bookshelf, but when his teacher tried to hug him when he was crying, apparently he pushed her away, sniffled, and stopped crying.  Then he crawled toward a new toy.

On his second visit, he played outside and got his first set of clothes a bit muddy.  For lunch, he had a turkey dinner and trifle for dessert.  His teachers said that he ate the whole serving.  I wish I could have seen his reaction to trifle and how he was with the other children.

During both of his taster sessions, he didn't cry when Lee or I left him, so we were proud that he seems to be well-adjusted and proved to fit his 'sociable' title.

This is the hardest thing about nursery:  I want him to socialise with other babies and try new things, but the hard part is knowing that he will be making memories and I won't be there with him to see his reactions.  It's as if on Monday, he will start his own life with friends whose names I don't know.  He will be taking naps and waking up without his mom or dad in the room.  And he will be left in the care of teachers whom I hardly know.  It feels really unnatural to be dropping Jackson off at nursery, but I hope he knows--or one day he knows--that I'm going back to work to give him the best life possible and if I could be with him all of the time, I would.

Halfway through our shopping trip at Cheshire Oaks on Monday, Jackson crawled around the play area to use up some of his energy.  Then he posed like a model.

He rode his first coin-operated ride and loved it!  

Playing at his friend's house for an end-of-Summer party

Thank you, Ralph, for inviting me!  I had an awesome time in the bouncy castle!

Steadying himself one-handed with his walker.  This was just minutes before he took his first steps with his walker.

First day of nursery

Playing an original song

Developmental updates:  On Tuesday, Jackson took his first steps with his walker!  It happened in the exact spot where he crawled for the first time, so it must be a place of good luck in our house (near the dining room table).  He has a newfound love for the keyboard and has been tickling the ivories--white plastic keys--daily, mainly sticking to the higher octaves, but sometimes moving lower toward Middle C.  He even held a note out fermata style with his toe!  Jackson is coming up with new sounds every day and he talks non-stop.  When I rock him in the glider, he has made a consistent habit of reaching for the book in the side pocket, Sesame Street:  Cookie Soup and Other Good-Night Stories.  Sometimes I have to read it at five A.M. three times in a row.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.