Two days under our belt

This week was the boys’ first Tuesday/Thursday at daycare. On a positive note, Grant was awesome and took to it right away. We weren’t sure how it would go since he’s going through a clingy phase, but he surprised us completely. He played all day long and laid right down on his little cot at naptime and took a nice long snooze.

Kyle, on the other hand, is let’s just say, slow to transition to this experience (translation – a mess). Let me preface all this by telling you that if I use the word ‘pathetic’ in this post, it’s pathetic in a truly break-your-heart kind of way; not in a “oh that’s just pathetic snap out of it” way.

In general, Kyle doesn’t cry about anything for long. He sheds a tear or two and flails his head in a most dramatic fashion, making sure we’re clear of his displeasure. Then he’s typically done.

Here are the highlights:
- Starts crying within a block of school and then cries in anguish when we leave
- Cries on and off throughout the day
- Every time the director, assistant or even the chef (he’s a cook) walks in, Kyle goes to them, arms up, crying pathetically; he’s just sure that one of them is bound to be his savior who has come to rescue him from the torture
- When they go outside, he paces up and down his side of the fence, waiting for Grant’s class to come outside onto their playground on the other side of the fence
- When Grant comes out he immediately looks for Kyle and starts crying for him (this is sad and all, but darn it it’s awfully sweet)
- Both times I’ve picked him up, the teacher is on the floor with kids around her and she’s reading to them. She’s also reading to Kyle, but he’s laying on his tummy, flat as a pancake, with his head to the side on a makeshift pillow. He’s listening to the story but has near-dry tears on his face and is obviously still upset.

Hopefully things will get better because I’d love to see the positive aspects of them going to ‘school’, like learning how to take turns and share more.

Lots going on in Kyle-world – I have a feeling my next five posts will be about him. In the meantime, I’m off to consult all the toddler books and websites about how to deal with temper tantrums (until this morning I actually thought we had experienced a temper tantrum; after this morning I’d have to say we weren’t even close until today) and how to get your toddler into a big boy bed because he can launch himself over the railing.