Week Two...

Well, this was the second week of school for Ally.  The second week of her brand new school!!!!  Remember last week? The first days that were so hard.... the days that were so hard on both mother and daughter?  Well, I am insanely happy to report that it appears those days are behind us!  Last Monday was rough.... Tuesday not much better... it was the first full day. The lunch routine was new. Recess different.  She was having a hard time and overwhelmed with the change.

One week later... and she raves about the lunches (it seems that Queens has quite the reputation for yummy food!).... she's all smiles each day I pick her up... she gets out of the car in the mornings, on her own and runs to the many friends she's made already... I hear through other moms that everyone really likes Ally and they are happy she came to "their school!"  Such words warm a mom's heart!!!

She is still waking up in the morning, excited to go to school! This morning, was their first all-school mass and she was excited to show me that she had the sign of the cross down and she's memorized some of their prayers. She's very proud of herself.  I asked her yesterday if she was happy with her new school... and she answered, "I miss my old friends, but I know I can still see them... but I am so happy to have ALL these new friends and Mrs. Engemann is the BEST!"

We had Parents' Night at the school yesterday, and I can attest to the fact that Mrs. Engemann is truly the best. Scott's exact words after she made a presentation to the parents were "Wow!  Ally's gonna have some high expectations from here on out!  That lady is amazing!"  Anyone who knows my hubby knows that he does not dish out compliments so easily.... so he was pretty impressed.  She is full of energy, a complete overachiever and you can tell she truly CARES about the kids! She recently became Catholic herself, so she is the perfect teacher to lead her class through their First Communion and Reconciliation this year, because she just went through those sacraments herself!

Ally has homework each night with the exception of Friday because her teacher believes the weekends are for family! Love it.  And, this week, Ally got a brand new desk for her room!!!!

Each day, after school, she is giddy to get her homework out and sit at her desk and do it!  Talk about a great motivator!  Now I know the newness of this desk might wear off... but for now, she is super excited about it... and happy to do work at it every day!  She has been working on her math facts, spelling and reading at it every day after school.  I'm very proud of her!

She is adjusting better than I could hope for. The first week, she really didn't eat much. Complained of stomach aches frequently and quickly lost noticeable weight.  But... week two has brought dramatic change in her... she's eating well again, no physical complaints... and most importantly, her behavior has not changed. She's not acting out.  I can gauge Ally's day instantly when she gets in the car.  If she starts yelling at me and acting out... I know she's had a rough day. Maybe she felt left out for some reason, or didn't feel that she fit into something her group of friends were doing.  Maybe someone was downright mean to her.  All these things are sensitivities to Ally.  And, she bucks up and puts a smile on her face at school... but when she gets home into a comfortable environment..... she melts down.

We have had none of these meltdowns in the past week. She has come home happy, hungry and even excited to talk about the day's events.  I can't ask for much more out of the second week of something so new.  I am so very happy for her. 

This week, we also started gymnastics on Wednesday nights! She's is going to Syd's... a gym that a few of the girls from her class and school go to as well.  She takes the class with one of her classmates from Queens which is another great thing for her... to have that one one one time outside the classroom with a new friend!  So far, she likes it.... but we've only had one class!  :-)

All-in-all, it's been a good week!!!  Ally went off to school today pretty giddy for the day ahead!!!  And she looked so darn cute.........