Thirty-Three Months of Preschooler Frances

I really can't call her a toddler anymore as she can out-run me is small bursts.

It has not been a quiet month here at Lake Woebegone, my home town.  Since starting school, all of Frances's rhythms have been unsynchronized, with unpleasant results for the household.  She used to sleep from 7 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.; last night, she slept from 8 p.m. to 5:45 a.m.  And, I can now say without hesitation that she has had temper tantrums, not just the meltdowns we've experienced so far.  It is tempting to put all the blame on the huge change to schooling, and therefore cut back on how much time she spends at school, but we're trying to have faith in her ability to adapt, even if it takes a few months.  And we're trying to remember that all two year-olds have temper tantrums and we've just been very lucky up until now, but, man, it's hard 30 minutes into a screaming fit.  On that note, I will try to be positive from here on out in this post.

Thirty-Three Month Fun Facts of Frances Elliott Upton

• Favorite reads:  Still Curious George.  I now realize we've been reading the same eight Curious George books for the past month and it is time to visit the library.  Frances's new explanation for anything she does that's a little bit naughty: "I'm curious, like George."
• School: She really does seem to love school while she is there.  Sometimes it takes her a minute to let me go in the morning, but she's all smiles when I pick her up.  She seems to like her teachers and the other kids.  She likes to pretend she's a teacher when she's home with me and she likes to line me up to walk around the apartment.  I know she likes their train set.
• Questions:  She is still a ferocious question-asker.  How can I put this positively?...She definitely encourages me to think about aspects of the books we read together that I would never have considered without her probing.  She can turn a seven page book into a 30 minute project.
• Food wars:  Frances will now eat apples (not the skins, but still, that's progress) and tortillas.  She willingly put more that one bite of scrambled egg in her mouth this month and last night she had half a bite of baked ziti.  She then turned to Cheerios, but half a bite of baked ziti is half a bite more than she's ever put in her mouth before.  Oh, and some hot dog, too!  Not many mothers get to be pleased when their kid eats some hot dog, but we're a bit special around here.  I'm very careful not to comment to her one way or the other to avoid power struggles, but maybe Frances's food boundaries are loosening up a bit.  Here's hoping.
• Favorite song: "High Five," by They Might Be Giants.  A decade ago, I would have said I'd be thrilled to have a kid who likes They Might Be Giants.  Now I can say that listening to one song over and over cannot technically make you crazy, but it can definitely push you along the bend.

To next month!  Only 30 days from now, we will be back in Maine as a family.  I'll keep reminding us all of that.