Last night was the first night of VBS (that's Bible School, in case you don't know). EGR is attending the preschool class this week, regardless of the fact that she's only 2. I've had a few worries about her readiness, but mostly I think it's something she will enjoy. I sold it hard over the weekend and she even assisted me in putting together the first night's snack, insisting that we sing Jesus Loves Me while we worked for God.
She was so very excited to have her own VBS t-shirt, just like Mommy and Daddy's - so excited that she accepted no less than I strip down in the middle of the kitchen and put mine on while she watched to make sure it got done. She was so cute in her t-shirt and ponytail (a rarity these days), marching in line with the other preschoolers to the opening rally. She made it half way through the night before she melted down because she had come to snack time and didn't want to leave me to go back to class. I retrieved her and convinced her to watch the movie while I stayed with her, but she just wasn't going to finish the night without me, so I took her back to the kitchen. My thinking was that I didn't want her to be so traumatized that she didn't want to go back. We are in it for a week, that I think she'll enjoy, and that, frankly, I don't want to spend with a toddler glued to my leg while I assemble and serve snack every night. We met up with her class again at the end of the night for the last song, and she was much more composed at that point.
When we got home, my sweet little girl played Bible School with her baby until I thought I might have to pull a Good Fairy move and Bop! her on the head to get her to go to sleep. The baby had it's Bible and bag, and she went to Ms. Amy's (that's Amory) class. As she started winding down, she began naming off her teachers and the kids in her class and we had to pray for every one of them (more than once); then we had to pray for the "other kids" whose names she couldn't remember. She kept asking me their names and I told her she would have to learn them tonight and tell me, because I don't know all of them (side note: there were 14 - FOURTEEN!- preschoolers there last night - Ms. Amory is a patient soul). Alas, she fell asleep.
She woke up after 3:30 and then again many times crying about snack. I considered that she was hungry, but she didn't seem awake enough to actually eat, so I didn't get up to get a snack. She just kept screaming for 'ogurt bites, and "open my snack!", etc. I chalked it up to sensory overload after VBS and a late bed time.
Fast forward a couple of hours to wake up time. Holy cow, I've never seen her act the way she did this morning. She was not the sweet 2 year old I put to bed last night. Oh no, caged porcupine is a more accurate description. I couldn't even get near the child as she alternated between cowering into the headboard of the bed and lashing out with limbs and snarling teeth, all while giant tears ran down her face. She didn't want her clothes on and other garbled things I couldn't understand through all the racket. When I finally got her to calm down enough to hear me, I asked her what hurt (that's the only explanation I could think of for her behavior). She said, pitifully, "My teeth! My teeth! I need teething tablets!" Whew! Finally, something I could work with.
For the first time ever, I sent my child to Grandmother's house in her night shirt. She did have a clean diaper, but that was all we could do this morning. She settled for a milk cup, 'ogurt bites, and the promise of Motrin and teething tablets as soon as we got there. When I left her, she was all "Bye Mommy, 'ove you!" like she had not just tried to maul me moments earlier.
It turns out - she was hungry. Very hungry. I've known that she can go from happy to empty in 60 seconds, and I've known that hunger is one of her triggers for tantrums, but I've never seen what I saw this morning. Reports from Grandmother tell me that by noonish today, she had eaten a breakfast burrito and hashbrown from McDonald's (at her request), eggs and sausage after her short nap, and rice, beans, chips and cheese directly after her 2nd meal. And, she ate ravenously, like she hadn't been fed at all.
I'm thinking she might have a growth spurt, and I really hope there will be 4 shiny new molars with it. But what I know is this - we will be packing the food into that child until she stops eating it. I'm only hoping she'll make it through VBS tonight on the snack provided. I'm hoping she'll make it through VBS tonight without a melt down since she has a better idea of what to expect and there will be a slight change in the snack schedule so that she doesn't see me until it's over.
At this point, because I've been awake since 3:30 am, I'm hoping I make it through VBS tonight without a melt down.
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