This past month covers most of Ingrid’s summer vacation, including our trip to Estonia, as well as her first day at school.
Well, not school school: school starts for real next Wednesday, but the after-school care started today, and since there is no school yet, after-school care lasts all day. Ingrid was noticeably nervous about it all. We met her teachers and some of her new classmates at an information meeting in June, and saw the school building as well. But the after-hours care is in a different building, run by different other teachers (at least until school begins) and with different kids (it is for kids from grades 0 to 3).
Luckily one of her friends from preschool also started today, and was already there when Ingrid and Eric arrived this morning. When I picked her up in the afternoon she told me she had had a great day, showed me around, handed me piles of drawings she had made, etc. A great relief for all of us.
Last week was a dad-and-daughter week. Adrian was back at nursery and I was at work, so Eric and Ingrid spent some time together, just the two of them. Since her baby days Ingrid has always shown a clear preference for me, much more than Adrian ever has, but now she is old enough to “detach” somewhat from me and more happy in Eric’s company. Especially if that involves visiting Liseberg!
At Liseberg, she tried all the rides she could, skipping only the ones where she didn’t make the height cutoff. No rollercoaster is too intense for her, and no merry-go-round too dizzy. More is better!
Ingrid has been in a really good mood for most of this month. Happy, pleasant to be around, polite even. She says please and thank you; she looks out for Adrian, helps me when I ask her to, and even offers her help sometimes. There are no sulks, no arguments about bedtime, no complaints about tired legs when we are out walking.
She even speaks Estonian to me at times, and I know for certain that she does it for my sake only. She knows that I really like hearing her speak Estonian, and makes an effort to do so. Of course it helps that she’s had two weeks of practice and Estonian now comes more easily to her. Those two weeks make a huge difference every year.
She is developing a greater capability to relate to others, and is now finding pleasure in making others happy. (This hasn’t been her forte in the past.) For example when her friend M was with us for half a day, and was in a somewhat obstinate mood, Ingrid was quite willing to compromise and suggest solutions when they found themselves disagreeing. She could pause and reflect enough to remember that their day together is more likely to turn out pleasant if they can play rather than fight, and then she made an effort to make it so.
When she and her friends tire, they often take a break, and Ingrid reads aloud for both of them. (Bamse, of course.) She is now reading fluently enough to read with a suitable inflection, getting not just each individual word right but also the tone of the entire sentence.
Favourite food: flat nectarines (like paraguayo peaches) and plums.
Favourite iPad app: Where’s my water.
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