Breakfast At The Zoo

O.k. so it wasn't really the zoo.......it was the toddler room at daycare, which is pretty darn close to a zoo! HA! Those kids are C-R-A-Z-Y! There are moments when it seems like every kid is crying and then suddenly they are all smiles. Anyway, earlier in the week there was an invitation in Lili's folder to come have a Mother's Day breakfast with her on Friday. She helped to paint the flower on the front of the card and I found her thumbprint next to where they wrote "Love, Lili". It was very cute! I was really looking forward to the event and even blowdried my hair, wore a stainfree shirt and dabbed a little coverup on my face. I was definitely fearful of being the only white-trash-dress-like-a-slob-Mom, so I had to look presentable...for Lili's sake. I was the 1st Mom there and eventually found that only one other Mom would show up!!! There had to have been 12-15 kids and yet we were the only two who could make enough time in their busy schedules to have breakfast with their toddler? Nice. Granted, they're a little too young to understand what Mother's Day is or to relate breakfast with Mom to that...HOWEVER, as a parent, wouldn't you want to see that excited look in your child's eyes when they realized that you were there to spend some extra time with them? I could tell that Lili was truly happy to have me around and when I sat on the floor in the play area, she came right up to sit in my lap...as if to say to the others, "This is MY Mom!". At one point, another little boy tried to make himself a spot in my lap too (which I had absolutely no problem with...he was so cute!), but Lili would have none of that!

It was so fun to watch as breakfast arrived and the kids ran to get in line to wash their hands. One by one they climbed onto the step stool, got their soap and washed and dried their hands before grabbing a seat at the "S" shaped table. One of the teachers came around with bibs, while another started serving....cereal, muffins and fresh fruit were on the menu. I was amazed at how all of the kids knew exactly what to do and where to go. There was a routine that I had forgotten Lili was being trained to follow! I thought it was hysterical to see them stuffing their faces, spilling milk everywhere and dropping food on the floor. Every minute or so there was another cry of "More! More!" (with some of them signing it as they said it) and a teacher arriving at their place to find out what they wanted and give them a refill. Of course the meal wouldn't be complete without Lili dawdling and then suddenly bursting into tears. There was no one near her, so everyone was shocked by the outburst...except me. "Sorry, I think she's pooping"..........and she was. The poor kid has my bowel issues and therefore she often finds it very painful to let anything go. After breakfast there was another round of handwashing during which I realized just how the kids were getting soap. Obviously they aren't coordinated enough yet to push the lever on the soap dispenser and cup their hands underneath to catch it, so they actually hit the lever and then wipe up the soap from the counter after it falls out. It was SO FUNNY!

Here are some pics of our fun time this morning!


Me and my little girl...
Right after we arrived...when Lili tried to escape to the Great Room to play!

Eating at the table with her friends...

Push the lever...

...let the soap fall onto the counter........then wipe it up!

Washing her hands like a big girl!

Lili & Miss. Dixie...

Lili & Miss. Jessica...

Lili & Miss. Kim...

Lili hugging boys...

Lili hugging more boys... O.k., I was laughing uncontrollably while watching this. These 3 little monkeys just could not stop hugging each other! If Lili gave one boy a hug, then the other one wanted a hug and it just kept on going. Then Lili decided it was time to kiss them...so she walked up and planted one on one boy's cheek and of course the other then needed a smooch too. My kid is a player!