Early Mothers' Day

Eli had a celebration for moms in his class this morning. His teacher asked us to arrive at 10AM, just a bit after we dropped the kids off. Maddie and I ran a quick errand and went right back to the school. We walked in to all of the kids (six today) sitting on the rug, hands folded. The tables and chairs where the children sit were decorated with a pink table cloth, heart name tag place cards, and a few vased flowers. We were asked to sit by our name and our student would stand next to us...ready to serve. (How cool!!) The kids got us muffins and drinks (of course Eli wanted to share my muffin with me, so he was eager to do this part). After we ate, the kids helped us (the moms) decorate a paper crown for us to wear all day. Then the kids were asked to stand behind us while the teacher turned on music. Soothing orchestral sounds filled the air as Eli started to massage my shoulders. No joke. He wasn't bad!! Eli's teacher told us that the kids had learned how to massage this week. After about a minute on the shoulders, the kids got small containers of lotion and started to massage our hands. I was in heaven. Eli then proceeded to massage (aka rub lotion) on my arms too. He got really into it. Finally, the kids presented their moms with a small gift. They made flowers for us out of tissue paper, pipe cleaners, and egg cartons, and they had each painted us a tile. So cute. I thanked Eli before Maddie and I left to go home for a short bit before returning to pick Eli up. What a nice treat for the teacher (and students) to do for us!!

Speaking of Eli, yesterday was a great day with him. Not only did he share and interact so well with Maddux all day, but he obeyed. Almost 100% of the time. And what's even better, he was REALLY good about apologizing for unintentional fouls. As I've mentioned, this is something we struggle with. (Remember the time-out at Jazz Fest?) All day yesterday I heard Eli say, "Did I step on your foot? I'm sorry." or "I'm sorry for bumping you." And I never saw him intentionally doing something hurtful just so he could apologize...Eli seemed very genuine in his regret. CLICK!