Rita starts school

Having fun in the kitchen!
Heading out to school.

Matching outfits - Lucy's choice!

Rita has 3 days of "school" under her belt. The first day wasn't so bad. She had visited the school before during Lucy pick-up and drop-offs, so she seemed comfortable. Once she got to her classroom, she got distracted fairly quickly. By the time I finished her paperwork, she was not crying and she was checking things out. I was able to slip out the door.
When I picked her up, Ms. Dani (her teacher) had made a beautiful photo book of her first day. There were photos of her outside, playing on the slide, getting ready for her nap. (She only napped for 15 minutes, but its a start) She was not crying in the photos, but she definitely wasn't smiling either. It is going to take some time.

All the kids in her class look HUGE! They all look so much bigger and older than Rita!

The 2nd and 3rd day were actually tougher than the first. She knew what was going on and she was not happy about the drop off. There have been so few times where she has cried for me. It was really, really hard to walk away while she was reaching out to me. I wanted to take her back and call in sick! Normally I would "console" myself by promising to leave work early to pick her up. But I knew I had a full day and wouldn't be able to get her until 6:30. Both times I picked her up she was pretty upset. The teachers told me that she does well during the day, but that she starts getting upset around 4:30 or 5 when other mommies start picking up kids. Next week we will have to find a way to get her earlier.

Today, Saturday, we finally got some family time at home! Lucy and Rita and I baked muffins. Then Rita went grocery shopping with me. She didn't want to sit in the cart, but eventually she got distracted and stopped crying. She didn't cry again until she saw the Pringles. It wasn't enough for her to eat pringles. It wasn't enough to hold the can. She needed to hold the can and eat directly from it. I think she ate almost half a can. That's approximately 50 pringles. That can't be good!
When we got back, Chris took the girls fishing on the boat. They had a blast! Then Lucy made fruit salad while Chris and I made dinner. We had a really good time at dinner. Rita clearly knows that we are her family and she is a part. She loves it when we are all 4 together. She is less and less Daddy-attached every day. She and Lucy are so funny together. It is so great to see her happy and laughing and running around the house. I think I have photos to post. Then I'm going to bed. Having two kids is exhausting.