My Liana is baaaacccckkkkk!  For a little reminder of why this is so exciting..Last year, Zuri started
Pre-K.  I really wanted to go back to work or school part time.  School didn't work out.  The classes I needed either started too early and I wouldn't be able to get the kids to school, or they ended to late and I wouldn't have been able to pick them up from school.  Before even looking for a job or enrolling in school I knew that I am a mother FIRST.  Until the kids are older and I can trust them to stay home, this will be how things work.  I refuse to put my kids in EDP so that I can work.  That would be selfish of me.  We decided to enroll Liana is preschool three days per week at a local church that has an incredible preschool program.  I took a tour of the school over the summer, was put on the waiting list.  About a week later I get a call that she has a spot.  Day one of school comes, she runs to her class, doesn't even say goodbye to me and off she goes.  About 3 hours later I get a phone call that she just stopped crying.  Donnie and I get there to pick here up and she is sitting at the table with a few other kids coloring and doesn't want to leave.  We figure the next class day would be fine then. We figured wrong.  The next few weeks go by and everyone tells me that she will adjust.  The kid had NEVER been away from me.  EVER. The next few weeks get progressively worse.  We get to the point where she cried from 9-230 every day, wouldn't eat there, wouldn't go to the bathroom there.  I would get there to pick her up and her face would be swollen from crying.  I volunteer one day to stay the whole day at preschool to try to help her acclimate.  We made good strides.  After I don't return it goes back to normal.  My mom came in for a visit and tried to stay with her...again no such luck.  We tried everything.  Late drop off's, earlier pick ups, and hour at a time and slowly increase to full day.  I could not take my baby being pulled away from me in tears any longer for my own benefit.  I never fully understood how good of a program this was and how much they teach until I had stayed for that full day and saw for myself everything they do.  I was devastated that she quit the program.  Yes, Liana is a pre-school drop out.  Every mother's dream.  She had been doing gymnastics for a few months before that and was great.  The week she started pre-school, she broke down into tears at gymnastics because I was away from her.  I was where she could see me, but not at her side. In November she quit gymnastics.  Devastated again.  After quitting all this, I figured she would get back to her normal self quickly.  Again, I thought wrong.  The next few months we endured not being able to sleep by herself, the constant " hold me", some severe separation anxiety issues.  In the next few months after that, Liana stays home with dad a few times while I did various errands like grocery shopping.  I would come home to her telling me " I didn't even miss you!"  Well, Fantastic Liana!!  Play dates start to get going, and she decides she's going on a few play dates with her big sister. She was good!  She starts to be able to be gone a little longer and a little longer.  I think we are finally moving on from the preschool experience.  She started soccer two months ago and has actually done really well.  I'm the coach, but still she was learning to trust other people and their authority.  I'm finally positive that maybe we are making some strides with this kid.  In the past few weeks, I notice she's starting to talk to other soccer and gymnastics moms. 
Zuri really wants to be a cheerleader.  Our gymnastics gym has a cheer leading program for kids ages 3-12.  Liana has expressed interest in this as well, but we never considered allowing her to do it as well.  Honestly, its expensive.  It's 1400/per child per 10 month season.  Zuri's clinics were this week on Tuesday.  She goes and LOVES it and its really adorable to see the little cheerleaders.  Since we had no intention of allowing Liana to do until she shows us she can do well in PRE-K this next year, she didn't participate.  Placement clinics are the next day.  Zuri has a slight meltdown bc a good friend of hers doesn't show up.  Mrs. P comes out to do gymnastics and Zuri is all good now, but Liana decides to join in the placement and they were ok with that.  Liana goes up with 3 or 4 other girls and does the cheer.  How does she know the cheer when she didn't do the clinic??  She then proceeds to do the gymnastics assessment and rocks it.  Mrs. P, the owner of the gym, says Liana even gets extra points for her cute little voice!  Both girls make the squad.  I text Donnie to see what he thinks of L joining bc of the financial aspect, and he could care less about how much per month this is going to cost us.  One stipulation of being int he competitive cheer squad is that they are required to do the cheer class each week and one hour of gymnastics per week.  L knows this.  Gymnastics is Thursday's.  Liana says she is going.  We have had this before.  She's told me at the point of pulling into the gym parking lot that she is going in, we get there, and is a NO, I'm not going in.  She has a favorite coach.  Every week he asks her if she's coming back.  All day Monday, I'm reminding her that if she wants to be a cheerleader, she has to do gymnastics on her own, without me.  Thursday's gymnastics class was her test.  We get there, I get her hair in a ponytail, I tell her to give me her thumbs up to let me know she's good, and off she goes.  She went it!! OMG, she went in!  It's exciting.  I'm at the window like the hover mother I am, watching my girl strut her stuff on the floor like she didn't just take a 5 month break from gymnastics. Every few minutes, she gives me a double thumbs up with her cheesy nod to go with it.  Other moms have noticed and think its hilarious.  I was so proud!  She tells me this morning " I'm not gonna quit doing gymnastics."

My baby is BACK!!!!!  She''s serious about cheer. I'm sooo good with that.  This might not be so exciting to other people, but these are huge steps for us.  Its been a really hard year with this kid.  I could only hope that she would grow and mature since quitting preschool and not have this issue in August when she goes to Pre-k.  I'm so glad that my baby is back and now I have two TCA cheerleaders!