Who is this young lady?

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been off work for fall break and since my daughter goes to day care at the public high school where I teach, she’s spent that time with me. People always say that when you are too close with someone you don’t see them change, grow, get bigger, taller, etc… but I’ll tell you that by the time those two weeks were up, I wondered who this young lady was and where’d my toddler go.

Before break, Claire had been biting at day care. She use to be the bitee, but then she learned her lesson I suppose. They told me that if she bit 4 times within 3 days that she would get suspended for two weeks! Me, a school teacher with a daughter who is suspended, and not even three years old yet! Anyway, the very last day before break the day care director calls me to tell me that Claire just bit the same little boy that she always liked to bite, but this time there was a little bit of a smirk to her voice. I thanked her and told her I would pick up Claire at the end of the day, which was the first day of a two week break for the school. Her “suspension” would coincide with two weeks when none of us would be there anyway, so I was lucky. No problem. So now we’re back to school this week, and you know what? That same little boy that she so liked to bite is now the same little boy who she plays with ALL DAY LONG and sits quietly in the rocking chair and reads books to. The other day I told her to go say goodbye to her “boyfriend”, and out of all of the kids there, she ran straight to him and gave him a huge hug. Go figure.

Claire has also been in swimming and gymnastics classes since June. Over break she began floating on her back. Now you may not think that’s too wild, but to a father of a 2 1/2 year old, that is a pretty cool deal. It look liked after weekly lessons for 4 months that something just clicked. She started floating and at her last lesson they said she’d graduate soon.

She returned to day care this week talking more, carrying on full conversations with complete sentences that now make sense, she is taller, thinner and her face continues to share into what she’ll look like for the rest of her life.