We like preschool

It's such a relief! He really loves going now, and has made some good buddies (shout outs to Giovanni, Sebastian and Ninna!). I was worried that he'd really freak out and refuse to go while we were in Naples earlier in the week, but my mother-in-law said he woke up every morning raring to go. We now have our little ritual, which is that I pick him up at 3:30 p.m. and we go to eat gelato in the park if it is warm. If it isn't warm, we go ride rides (Dylan is on one of the motorcycle rides above) at this indoor carnival or to the children's library, which I only recently discovered. This schedule works really well for me, and because it is a consistent schedule every single day, I seem to have more time to work than I did before.

On Friday his teacher told me that he has integrated really well, that he's very sweet and that his verbal skills are off the charts, but that we all need to help him work on some behavioral issues. She said that he plays very rough with the toys and, as a result, with the other kids. He's always played rough with toys, but I thought that was just normal for his age. He's always smashing things on the ground, overturning tubs of blocks or running his cars into things, which would sort of be OK if he were playing alone at home but these behaviors are dangerous when he's playing in a room with other kids. I love, love, love his teachers. They are incredibly sweet and really know their stuff. One teacher gave me a 20-minute description of how Dylan is a child who "plays with his entire body" and what that means in terms of motor skills and development. Another teacher kept me after school showing me a Powerpoint presentation on the importance of finger painting, playing with Play-Doh and polenta flour. I guess I'm glad they are so enthusiastic!

Before Dylan started school, everyone told me that he'd come home so tired, he'd fall into bed by 8 p.m. No such luck. If anything, he seems to be so stimulated that he has even more energy. Even though he naps earlier than he did with Cristiano's aunt, he is wide awake at his normal (already late) bedtime, and it's a struggle to get him into bed each night. Oh well. I'll take sleep deprivation over him crying every day before school!