Hellobee

With Lil’ Pizza starting preschool, I feel like I’m slowly stepping into new territory. It’s only 2.5 hours, two times a week but it’s still a noticeable shift from how things used to be at home. I also registered her in a dance class, which was the first time I signed her up for a class. I wasn’t in a rush to sign her up for anything in the past because I wanted to be sure she would actually participate and be excited about the activity, especially if I was going to be paying for it. Over the summer, Lil’ Pizza was flipping through the pages of the park district activities catalog and pointed to a picture of a few girls in their dance attire and said she wanted to be friends with them. I took that as my cue to sign her up for a class.

Lil’ Pizza loves preschool and dance class. When I drop her off, she’ll give me a quick hug, yell out “love ya!” and then she’s off doing her own thing. She’s growing, learning, thriving and having fun and it’s really great to see as a mom.

I asked her what she learned on her first day of class and she quickly got into first position.

While it seems minor to the great experience that Lil’ Pizza is having, I am also experiencing changes myself with this new routine and with my first baby being in school.

Connecting with parents – I’ve been lucky that I haven’t had to go too far out of my way to make mommy friends; I had a handful of moms I already knew who had kids around the same age as mine, so playdates and getting together with our kids came pretty naturally. But now I’m often around parents I don’t know and feel this tug to get out of my comfort zone to connect. While it’s not easy for me to connect with strangers, I’m realizing that I may cross paths with some of the parents more frequently as my kids grow older.  Thankfully, Baby Pizza acts as a good buffer for me to connect with moms while Lil’ Pizza is in her dance class.

Naps – Another reason why I didn’t feel the need to put Lil’ Pizza in any classes before was because of Baby Pizza’s evolving naps. Mornings can be a little tricky. I’m often driving around feeding snacks to keep Baby Pizza awake or telling Lil’ Pizza to act silly for Baby Pizza to be entertained. Lil’ Pizza will let me know if Baby Pizza is starting to look tired and will shout, “she’s starting to blink slowly!” On the days Lil’ Pizza has dance, I usually have to deal with a cranky baby because Baby Pizza only ends up taking one nap. When Lil’ Pizza goes to preschool, I often have to wake Baby Pizza up from her nap in order to pick Lil’ Pizza up from school. And on days I go to a mom’s bible study group and take both girls, I try to get Baby Pizza to fall asleep while I drive to the study for a short snooze. As much as I try not to be consumed with how to handle the day, I would be lying if I said that Baby Pizza’s naps surrounding activities didn’t cause me any stress. Although there are some perks to Baby Pizza napping twice still, I know that when she is down to one nap in the coming months, it will give me a bit more flexibility in the morning.

Being apart – I have definitely enjoyed the time in the morning when it’s just me and Baby Pizza. It’s even more glorious when I’m by myself once Baby Pizza goes down for a nap. I feel like I can catch my breath, enjoy my coffee and feel reenergized to play and care for my girls.

Lil’ Pizza was so excited for her first day of school.

One on one time with baby – It’s been nice to have the one on one time with Baby Pizza. I feel like she is calmer and has less tantrums because I’m giving her my undivided attention. She gets full rein of me and whatever she wants to play with and that definitely brings more smiles her way.

Having a routine – Everyday there’s a bit of a routine that Lil’ Pizza has enjoyed. She wakes up and asks what day it is and gets excited knowing where she will be going that day. Baby Pizza has also enjoyed it and added “go!” and “shoes”  to her small list of words. It’s been helpful for me as well, because I don’t have to be the one “in charge” of these activities. It definitely relieves a bit of stress as I no longer feel like I have to constantly think of things to do to entertain Lil’ Pizza.

Meaningful time – On the days that Lil’ Pizza has preschool, I am able to come home and put Baby Pizza down for a nap which gives me about an hour to do something. This time feels so precious to me that I have to make the most out of it and don’t want it to just fly by with me laying on the couch looking through social media (because I swear time flies so much faster when I do that). I’ve been trying to use the time to be more self-reflective and work on a bible study. It’s also been a time when I’ve been able to prep for either lunch or for dinner.

Growing up – There’s something about having my kid in school, even preschool, that makes her seem older.  She’s growing up so fast before my very eyes. Mr. Pizza and I are always asking her when she grew up so much. Lil’ Pizza loves learning how the world works and is so much fun. And Baby Pizza is always quickly trying to catch up to her big sister with so many things.

I love seeing these two grow up together.

While Lil’ Pizza is growing and learning in this new stage, I’m not feeling the baby stage so much with Baby Pizza anymore.  She’s adding on to her list of words she knows all the time and her personality is growing and shining all the brighter each day!