"Tot Wot" Diary

Giovanni's doing very well at Tot Lot. About 3 times a week, however, we have to call Daddy for a pep talk to get us out the door. Gio says, "I not going to Tot Wot today," or, "No! I stay home wif you!" Thankfully, Ryan always boosts his confidence and we get there in no time. When we get to the check-in gate, Gio stands there (not even looking at me), waiting for his kiss good-bye from his mommy (on the forehead, 'cause he doesn't make any more effort than that) and doesn't move an inch until he gets it. I think Gio's favorite day so far was when Ryan took the day off work and volunteered to be Mr. Tot Lot. A group of boys flocked to him and they all played ball together. Pretty cute.

Nearly every month there is a Tot Lot Excursion (like a field trip, but all the mommies attend and drive their own kids). In September, we had a meet-&-greet pot luck at a local park that had a train. Gio rode it twice and tried to sneak on it one other time without me. This month we went to a pumpkin patch that also featured tot-sized carnival rides. Once again, there was a train and Gio rode it twice, also. This time he got to sit in the engineer's seat. He also road some cars (like a merry-go-round) and visited the petting zoo. Here, he seemed to really like the little chicks. My favorite part was the pregnant goat. Gio pointed at it and said, "Oh no! What's wrong?" I explained that this goat was going to have a baby, like mommy. And then, of course, I had one of the attendants take my picture with her.

One Mrs. Tot Lot told me last week that Gio's the only kid there who comes up to her every day that she's there and has a conversation with her. She said he talks about whatever's on his mind. He's made a lot of friends and doesn't usually participate in the projects, preferring to ride the bikes ("motorcycles") at this time, instead. He seems to eat a good amount at snack time, at least when I'm there. He's had only one time-out. It was the 2nd day and he had pushed his best buddy from church! Not normal for him!

Overall, I think Giovanni's really enjoying Tot Lot and making the most of it. I'm really grateful that he doesn't scream and cry when I drop him off. I was worried about that, him being a mama's boy and all.