50 months update

Penny turned 50 months old as of the 21st. Ha! She's adjusting well to school. It took until this week for her to go willingly. She has cried everyday at drop-off, but this week no tears so far (*fingers crossed*).  She had a lot of behavioral problems associated with the adjustment period, but those have tapered off as well. She was mostly just being very disagreeable, wanting to do or say the exact opposite of what we told her to do. We've definitely been working on "listening" for the last few weeks, but she's thankfully settled down quite a bit.

Her best friend at school is named Heidi and they play together everyday. On the second or third day of school the teacher moved their seats so they'd be next to each other (wise? her call.). Penny loves to report to me when other kids get in trouble. She doesn't like it. She takes it as a personal affront when they get in trouble. She is very much still bossy. The other day at pick-up I heard her reprimanding a classmate about tearing up a book he had. Penny was scolding him like she was his mother.

She is generous too though. They race in the gym sometimes and she's fast so she usually wins the races with the other girls, but sometimes she hangs back and lets Heidi win, yelling for Heidi to "Go! Go!" the whole time. Yesterday, she brought me a fist-full of coins from her piggy-bank and told me I could have some of her money since "things are so expensive at the store." Lol! I'm always telling her this or that is too expensive when she picks something up I don't want her to have. She tried to give Tray some of her money too.

She doesn't like the boys in her class. Her opinion of them is a scowly nose-wrinkle. But, yesterday, she played "going to football practice" with Trent and then they played one of her favorite games together: pretend to take a nap and then wake up. Boring activity? Perhaps, but she and another friend of her's, Alice, can play pretend-sleepover over and over for an entire playdate. Regardless, nice to know she can play with a boy too.

We have been taking a break from gymnastics this semester, but she's still into dance class on Monday afternoons. Both Heidi and Alice are in her dance class so they have fun. One last anecdote: before dance class this past Monday I asked her if she wanted me to put her hair in a ponytail. She said, "Ok. because today is make Mommy happy day!" I laughed and said, "Penny, it's okay. If you don't want to have a ponytail, you don't have to." She said, "ok, I don't want one." Ha! She still won't wear her hair in a ponytail or put barrettes or bows in it. Honestly, I'm lucky if she lets me comb it!