Last Monday, after I took Lulu for her first visit to First United Methodist Preschool, I pulled out all the kids memory books so she could see that Madi, Charlie, and Joseph had all been students there. The one thing that caught her attention most in all three books were the birthday photos.
Lulu's all about birthdays, you see. She loves to sing happy birthday;
she loves to say happy birthday; she loves to celebrate birthdays.
I'm really not sure that she understands the whole concept, and I don't know if and how often birthdays were even celebrated in her orphanage, but Lulu had already made up her mind that she wanted her own birthday party at
preschool. Like pronto.
So, even though Lulu's real birthday took place in June, I promised our daughter that I'd ask if we could hold a belated celebration for her. Honestly, I wasn't sure if they'd be okay with it, but I knew this would be a perfect hook for her attendance at school! I spoke to the kind-hearted powers-that-be and they gave their approval instantly.
And the plan? It worked beautifully. We heard "Lulu Happy Birthday" out of her mouth every five minutes since Wednesday. She could not wait for this day! She told her baby dolls about it; she told me and Daddy about it (1000 times); she basically told anyone who would listen to her...
Yesterday, we went to Target together and picked out some cookies for the special occasion to share with her new friends. This morning when she entered the classroom, she was donned with her crown and sticker by her sweet new teacher, Mrs. Baraldi. This girl was in Heaven.
Do y'all have any idea how relieved I am today? Yeah, I guess you probably do. Thank you for all your prayers for Lulu. As she waved me goodbye this morning with a confident and non-crying, "Bye, bye, Mama," I knew it was going to be a beautiful day for her. And I feel cautiously optimistic that it will continue in the weeks ahead.
Preschool rocks. End of story.
