Daily Archives: June 2, 2008

Random Liam Stuff

I’m feeling slightly apprehensive, because today is the first day the boy has gone to daycare in underpants. As of Friday morning we went off pull-ups. There were several accidents on Friday morning but only one Friday afternoon, two on Saturday, and only one on Sunday. He’s been lazy and depending on the pull-ups-just-in-case too much; now he can’t, and he’s realizing it. We’ve also dropped the ever-present sippy cup, which has helped the step to big-boy underwear. We offer him a drink regularly, and if he wants one otherwise he asks for one and he gets it in a real glass. I foresee accidents now and again for the next little while when he gets distracted, but accidents happen, and he helps clean them up. We still use a diaper at night, although it’s only a little damp in the morning; he sleeps very soundly, and I think having him feel secure during the day should be the first goal.

Late Friday afternoon we visited a preschool. We’ve been looking for one for a while, because Liam’s at the point in his development where he could really benefit from a structured class-like environment. Despite the several messages left with preschools and older daycares over the past three months, however, not one of them has called us back. HRH finally got a referral from his office mate to one on the south shore (we’re not sure why we didn’t think of looking near the college where he works, but it’s ideal) and we checked it out at an informal open house. From the moment we walked in the feeling was right. Liam evidently felt so too, because he seamlessly merged into the kids there while we toured and talked and got to know the educator. We love the layout, the program, and the philosophies demonstrated by the educators and assistants. The boy didn’t want to leave after our hour there, even though the other kids had left, which was also a good sign! The educator told us frankly that we were at the top of her list, because she wrenched her shoulder last season and would prefer to take an older child who doesn’t need to be carried; Liam fits right into the proper age range she’s looking for, and she shares the same good feeling about him and us. It’s nice when instinct and intuition support the otherwise observable facts.

So suddenly our little boy seems very grown up: real underwear, real cups, and school. “We’re going to see a school? A school for me?” he said with delight and excitement when we told him about the open house. That and the seamless merge into the environment and activities seem to support our ready-for-preschool theory.

And a final amusing anecdote to balance the grown-up-ness: Lately we’ve been listening to the Muppet albums in the car. The boy has now taken to mumbling “Ow, ow, ow, ow, owwwww” as he walks along. I first heard it the other day and said, “Liam, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” He looked at me uncomprehendingly. Then I realised that we’d just been listening to Marvin Suggs and the amazing Muppaphone in the car, and the boy was echoing ‘Lady of Spain’ as he took each step, but without the actual note attached to the sound the Muppets make when they’re whacked.