emmy's teacher

I hesitated to publish this. But this is my blog about life (and Emmy) and I write things down so I don't forget them and so that Emmy will know what life was like before her memory started saving things for her. 
 Emmy's teacher left the daycare yesterday. I am not sure if she was fired or quit or if that all happened at once. What happened between her and her boss is not my business so I won't speculate.  
But I loved her teacher and I am so sad that she is gone. She was hard on the kids and I knew that but I also liked it. Emmy's first week with her was rough but once she adjusted, her development seemed to take off. Her teacher and I talked every day... about Emmy's progress, the words she was learning, how she was getting along with her friends, what her favorite toys and activities are and even just the silly things Emmy did that day. Basically, she filled me in on everything I was missing out on and it was the highlight of my day. 
Just yesterday I asked for her thoughts on Emmy's verbal and physical development. I think Emmy is doing great but I like to hear from her teacher about her progress so I can make sure that Joe and I are doing our part to help out at home. She offered tips and we talked about the other kids in her class and the affection in her voice made me go soft over them too. I drove away feeling so happy about Emmy being in daycare, learning more than most kids her age and having friends that squeal her name when she arrives every morning. 
She was the first teacher Emmy had that was as good with adults as she is with children. I felt a connection with her and I wish I knew her last name so I could find her and tell her that she was good for Emmy and I am sad that she is gone. I want to tell her that it may not have worked out for her at this daycare but she should not be down on herself, and I would tell her my similar story in case it might make her feel better. 
 I had a very short-term career once. It lasted 6 months and I wish I could block it out of my memory. My boss was irrational, immature and rude. He yelled at me when I made a mistake, even if my only mistake was not catching his.  He would listen to me talk to someone on the phone then call me in his office to tell me how he would have said it. I hated to talk to anyone because I was so nervous that I would say something wrong.  I kept a daily journal of every little thing he asked me to do and check off what I got done so he couldn't lie and say that I forgot something. His constant critique was so frustrating, I cried on a weekly basis and I was no fun to be around after work. 
Finally, one day he was yelling at me and I started yelling back. It wasn't the first time I had stood up for myself, but I remember my vision getting kinda blurry and having that "out of body" experience. He told me that he thought I should "take some time off to think about whether or not I want my job" and I told him, "I don't need time to think about it, I quit". I remember the words coming out as if someone else had said them. I looked at my desk, hands shaking, face numb, trying to think of what I owned on my desk and how quickly I could get my hands on those things and run.  I jumped in my car, called Joe and sobbed.
It took a few weeks for me to find a new job, I almost left the industry altogether. I blamed the stress of the job on the nature of the business. I started working for my current boss who is 75(ish) years old and just about the smartest, kindest person in the world. He knew me from a previous job and trusted my work ethic and was eager to get me started. He trusted me completely with decisions, he didn't micromanage me, boss me around or ever once remind me who he was. He didn't have to. I would do anything for him, I pushed myself, I learned how to do my job more efficiently and then his job so I could be more helpful and when I inevitably made mistakes, he would offer support and we would find a solution together. He let me grow, showed me respect, increased my responsibility then compensated me fairly. I can't imagine ever wanting to leave this job.
Everyone here works together. We have zero drama and there is simply an overall goal of customer satisfaction & getting loans closed. I used to look back on those 6 months and think about how I should have handled my boss differently. Instead of crying, I should have calmly communicated that his expectations were irrational and I may not be the right person to work for him if he doesn't want to trust me to think for myself. I know that there were times that I was defensive with him and it was hard for me to admit if I did make a mistake. I own up to mistakes quickly now. I work on fixing them and I move on, no one gets upset, no one gets blamed. And, if my boss asks me to do something, I may voice my disagreement with him but I will do it his way because at the end of the day, this company has his name on it, not mine. 
I hope Emmy's teacher can learn from this experience and I really hope that she is able to find a new opportunity where she can apply her skills with children. Emmy and I are surely gonna miss her.

18 months

I've said it before, I know... but I'll say it again: I cannot believe how fast Emmy is growing. Emmy is one and a half!

She is walking, talking, and expressing her thoughts in many ways. Sometimes she is sweet, sharing her toys and giving us kisses and hugs. Other times she is frustrated, stomping her feet or running to a corner to cry. She is always an entertainer though. She is making silly faces, sounds and dancing all the time to get Joe and I to watch her and laugh. It is so much fun to be around her most of the time. 

Emmy's favorites are so personal that I decided to just take a picture of all of them to capture not only what she likes but the actual items. The current condition of those things are important since some may get "well loved" in the future years. 

She loves her white fluffy pottery barn chair. It is her spot to read her books, eat a little snack and draw on her magnadoodle. It was a little pricy for a child's toy but still totally worth it. Once she gets settled, she'll hold up her blanket for me to cover her legs only to kick it off moments later. She gets hot like all the Bascom women before her!

She still loves "Beary" but her bunnies have moved in to her heart. She isn't attached to any one particular animal but these three are her top picks.  

The little hard books are great. There aren't too many words and she is able to flip the pages without causing damage. Occasionally we will pull out a big book but getting her to sit for a full story is tough. 

Her biggest love, though, is her shoes. 

"Shoes" might as well have been her first word. She is never found without at least one on and we have to hide the ones that don't fit because she will have a complete meltdown if we can't squish her foot in a shoe. She tried to bring me one of my own shoes while I was in the shower. She stood there, my shoe pressed against the glass, and cried because I wouldn't put it on. 

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Another big milestone for her this week is that she moved up at daycare again. The adjustment has been a little rough. I really loved her teacher and Emmy did too. I don't know why they moved her up exactly, but they thought she was capable of handling the more mature classroom. Instead of free play all day, she is expected to sit for reading time and to sit around a table for learning. In her old classroom, those were options and she was not required to participate if she got bored. 

Don't get me wrong, I think that's great. I want her to learn, it's why I picked her daycare. They focus on teaching kids as early as possible and if they challenge Emmy, I know she will be better for it. The only problem is that she started biting every other kid in her class. I can just imagine her getting frustrated with her inability to communicate or her struggle to adjust and just literally biting a kid. 

I am so thankful that her teacher is understanding and hasn't asked me to do something about the biting. I have offered to help but I never see her or catch her in action so I'm not sure what to do. Today was the first day she didn't have an incident.

I braved Target with her again and she only had a few minor meltdowns. I was able to break them by telling her a joke about Rufus. The joke, in case you are curious, is to tell her that Rufus (Rooroo) says "meow". Gets her every time. 
 Joe said that she had a meltdown last night and just walked herself to a wall and cried. When she is acting out at school, they send her to a corner to calm down so she is carrying that over to home (yay!). 

The other day Joe told me that he could see why people only have one kid. Not because she is difficult but because she is awesome. Being part of her life is a treat that I don't intend to take for-granted so I'll treasure these moments and I'll find a way to laugh through the tantrums. 

school time

Isn't that just the sweetest smile you've ever seen?!

Emmy started with a new teacher at her day care about a month ago and we are so in love with her! She is a sweet, no nonsense woman. I have been looking forward to getting in her class because I've seen her with other kids and she is the perfect teacher. She is fun and joyful, allowing the kids to play and freely roam throughout her room. She is often found with two kids in her lap, reading them a book while the others go about their own interests. 

The thing I love most about her, though, is her stern side. She isn't mean and she never yells at the kids but she knows what they are capable of learning and she encourages them to be obedient, helpful and to listen. I noticed Emmy's behavior changing almost immediately so I asked her teacher to teach me as well. I want to reinforce her rules to make it easier on everyone. 

When we fix her bottle Emmy promptly sits down to wait for it. When she makes a mess, we point at it and say "Pick it up!" and she does. She runs around picking up books and bringing us toys that she wants us to play with or read to her. It's hard to explain how quickly her communication is developing now, she understands our requests and compliments and tries to repeat them leading to the sweetest mumbo jumbo of vowels and consonants. 

Everything is easier now. Joe and I rarely debate chores. We have  a routine that is comfortable for everyone and Emmy's sweet and silly nature make her such a joy to be around.

Most days go something like: 
7:00 Joe showers
7:30 I wake Emmy 
8:00 Joe takes Emmy to school
9:00 I leave for work
4:30 I leave to pick Emmy up
5:30 I get home and start dinner
5:45 Joe gets home and we eat
6:15 Family time
7:00 Bath and bedtime cuddling (better known as Emmy wallering time)
8:00 Emmy goes to bed

We are a little spoiled because of my work schedule. I like that I get some time in the morning to myself, to get ready without a kid pulling on my pants or curiously putting all of my makeup in her mouth to see what it feels like. It really makes me feel fresh and brighter about my day. 

I spend most days looking forward to the time when we get home and have our family time. I know this sounds cheesy. As I type this, I'm thinking.. who are you? and shut the hell up, no way is life this perfect! And it's not! Believe me. But today it was. Most days it is really great. Most of the time we are so happy and I can't imagine it will ever be easier and more enjoyable than this. Life really is laughing and loving for now so yeah, I'm going to be cheesy and I'm going to appreciate it because I know it won't last forever. 

 Here is a little clip of Emmy being goofy during cuddle time...

   

Bell doesn't even have to bark for her to give us her "surprised" look - if we mention Bell, she gives us this look and starts laughing which gets us all laughing too.