I was biking away from daycare this morning after dropping Ava off, and I had to shake my head at my conceit. See, Ava had cried and tried to cling to me when I left her. She did the same thing when I dropped her off the other day, too. It’s not a fun episode for either of us, but one of the staff usually comes over to pick up Ava and comfort her while I head for the office.
I’ve seen this same scenario played out dozens of times with other parents and kids since Ava started at daycare. To see Ava going through this stage now serves as something of a rude awakening to the fact that she’s very much like most of her classmates. I think it’s good for me to see that Ava is developing in a normal way. On the other hand, I’m having a hard time accepting that she’s normal or average in any way.
Ava’s really into mimicking lately. Her verbal ability is getting to the point where she can quickly and fairly convincingly repeat just about any word or phrase she hears. The three of us were gathering around the table for a meal the other day, and I said “mofo” almost without thinking. A second later, Ava said, “mofo” clear as day. Leah was not pleased at all, but I couldn’t help thinking, “that’s my girl!” Frankly, I’d much rather have her constantly testing her vocabulary and speech than to have her sitting mute in a corner somehere, twirling her hair. I’m sure I’ll eat these words the first time Ava says “s*#t” to the mall Santa Claus, but at least for now, more talking is good.