Erin at the Nursery

Today was a first for us. We left Erin at the nursery while the two of us went to Mass together. We have been going separate lately because she is hard to manage and it's just easier that way. I was reluctant to leave her at the nursery because I didn't want her to get too upset without us there. The child rarely is without one of us, or if she is, she's with a grandparent. The two times I can think of leaving her with people she didn't know, she played just fine for a little bit, realized we were gone and then freaked out. So I was never rushing to try the nursery.

But for some reason I wanted to try it this week. She was fine when we left and when we returned she was sleeping peacefully in a darkened room on the floor with a pillow while hugging her dolly. Apparently she played fine for a while and then started crying for us. They calmed her back down but she started rubbing her eyes and acting sleepy. So one of the girls rocked her in the chair and she fell asleep. It was a very cute sight to come back to.

I hope that as she gets used to the room and the babysitters that this will get easier for her. She'll see that we always come back for her and I think it'll do her some good to gain some independence.

As I'm typing this, we start to hear the fireworks show from downtown. Since we are at home with our sleeping toddler, we have to settle for watching it on the live TV coverage. Apparently, Knoxville has the biggest fireworks show for Labor Day in the country. It's cool to watch on TV, by somehow I think some of the effect gets lost. And especially for you, who gets to look at a still photo of it from the TV.