I don't mean to brag...

Okay, I TOTALLY mean to brag, who am I kidding?
I had the thrice annual parent/teacher conference with the Mud Puddle’s daycare teachers. That is where they tell you where your child is developmentally (the standardized testing starts early I guess) and how they are doing generally.

The Mud Puddle is a ‘joy’ and a ‘wonderful little boy’. Those are direct QUOTES people, not me paraphrasing.

Now I have always known that he is a good kid, polite, and well behaved. The one thing that made me a little misty was when they told me about his empathy. Whenever another child is crying, hurt, or upset he is the first one there to offer comfort and help. That to me is one of the things you hope for in a child. Be happy, be healthy, but if you can show genuine caring to those around you? That right there is the trifecta my friends. A triple threat if you will.

They have started sending him up to the 'fours' (the room with the four year olds) on a regular basis. Even though there are older ‘three year olds’ he qualifies based on his potty accomplishments, and his ability to be self sufficient. That’s right the Mud Puddle is trained and independently capable. NICE! And he LOVES to visit the fours, I am not sure if it is the better paints or the sophisticated games (they have a foosball table) but he threw a hissy fit one day when I picked him up. He wanted to STAY, for the first time in his daycare career.

But I digress, in addition to his empathy, independence, and potty prowess, he is also a LEADER. When the other kids are playing and he joins in, he suggests different ideas and ways to do things (I got the sense that this is welcome help and not some bossiness in the making). For example, the Mud Puddle joined his chums (the shyness is apparently not as wide spread as I had suspected, right, tell that to Coopah!) in the block area the other day and went about constructing a snake house. He apparently has quite the imagination as well as project management skills.

I am trying not to get ahead of myself, but my daydreams of him raising the Stanley Cup have been replaced with Doctor, Engineer or Noble Prize Winner. I figure if his daycare teachers realize he is this good, the sky is the LIMIT. I have just glimpsed how those pageant moms get their start. One good review and your kid is the next Marlon Brando. I will try and keep myself in check! No tap shoes or French lessons… yet.