In which the fusspot proves yet again why we need to leave NYC

Subtitled: failing her first big school test.

But first, thank you so much for de-lurking! You have totally made my week. Sona, will you post a link to your blog? I can't seem to get there from your comment (which speaks oodles to my technical incompetence). And thanks for all the sleep advice (more on that below).

On the day we left NYC the fusspot had her first (and only) daycare interview. You should know that my child has been with a nanny/in daycare since she was 5 weeks old and she has no stranger anxiety, is super social, and loves blocks. That combined with a cute outfit (although not a clean nose) made me feel pretty confident as I dropped her at our local Montessori "meet and greet."

And what did my beautiful child do after I set her down next to a basket of blocks? Um, well ... she sat there with her mouth hanging open watching the other children. For 20 minutes. That's right folks, the fusspot did not lift a finger to touch a block (demonstrating her excellent fine motor skills from a combination of baby led weaning and her love of eating), crawl to any new toys (displaying her somewhat lackluster gross motor skills - our otherwise normal pediatrician keeps recommending PT for her), or even smile at any of the three teachers sitting with clipboards watching or the other children.

Nope. She sat there with her month hanging open for 20 minutes. Reclined on my lap during the subsequent circle time. And fell asleep within 60 seconds of being placed in her stroller.

School fail.

For the record, other children in our 'group' looked at books, built towers, ran around the room, matched plastic zoo animals to photos on the wall, counted (granted the age range was 13 months to 20 months).

So that pretty much finalizes it for us - an offer will be made to our top choice nanny on Sunday. More on that later and the traumas of American healthcare (in short, the nanny will lose her subsidized health care because of our general pay schema. We feel awful, but we also need to pay her on the books. How's that for making you feel guilty?)

New topic: shopping. I love, love, love to shop for the fusspot. Specifically really high-quality wooden toys. To that end, I peruse the local craigsli.st almost daily and visit goodwill at least every other week. Thus far the fusspot has an incredible collection of wooden toddler toys (including a pedal-less bike, 2 walking toys, gorgeous wooden stacking blocks, colored blocks, a round stacking ring, wooden animals, and a baby-safe marble roll (with very large wooden shapes instead of marbles). One thing which I saw during our 'meet and greet' was a really nice looking wooden balance scale. It seems like the type of toy she'd love now just for taking things on and off and that might actually be educational in a year or two. Something like this: balance toy or maybe this far more sophisticated balance toy but the one I saw was all wood and had a few more parts than option one but less complicated than option two. Any ideas where to find it?

For that matter, here's a list of the awesome toddler toys I wish I could buy for the fusspot over the next year:
felt alphabet letters (found through spearmintbaby.com)
doll sling (not that she's into dolls at all but you never know)
a wooden rainbow puzzle (like this one but larger - very popular over here in Lalaland or one of these)
a felt noah's ark (there's one I've been eyeing in a store on my walk to work all year - why don't they do sales over here?)
If you're wondering why all the classic toys are missing, it's basic my parents saved every. single. one. of. them. And since my sister is barren, I have free pick of them all (please read that with a good deal of sarcasm. I would trade all of those toys and more for a niece or nephew in an instant). Brio, big blocks, fisher price village, 1970s dress-up clothes, 2 suitcases of dolls and doll clothes ... they're all still in my parents closet. Of course, we don't have room for them yet but we will at some point.

And while we're dreaming, I'd love for my father to build the fusspot a much smaller version of this. Nothing cooler than a designated reading nook in your bedroom.

New topic: sleep.

We didn't do CIO yesterday night because I was having an I-want-to-cosleep-forever moment. And I was remembering all the good times. Like how the fusspot and I curled up on Monday night after getting back to Europe and slept for 16 hours. Yes, SIXTEEN. She ate, I moved her from my left to right side, but neither of us got out of bed. We were that tired.

And then tonight three things happened in rapid succession which convinced me we'd try again (nothing like consistent parenting, eh?)
a. She tried to push one of our barricades out of the way when we got into bed (New readers may not have heard my rant about how our 1970s-era furnished mid-19th C. mansion has a built in bedframe and not enough floor space to put the mattress on the floor next to it. As a result instead of sleeping on the floor like I'd prefer we sleep in a pretty low bedframe surrounded by a barricade of pack 'n play, unused crib, and 2 overturned wooden dining tables. It's secure enough that a sleepy baby couldn't roll out but probably not secure enough that an awake and focused toddler couldn't squirm out).
b. The fusspot pooed all over herself as we were leaving daycare. Up to her neck (thank you disposables) and I realized that I absolutely had to wash those clothes out tonight because they'd reek tomorrow.
c. I broke a bowl in the sink while making dinner. I thought I'd just clean it up after the fusspot went to sleep and then she wasn't going to sleep and I was worried I would fall asleep next to her and I realized that I absolutely could not wake up in the morning to an unwashed high chair and broken glass in the sink. Not possible. So after nursing and snuggling the baby for 45 minutes (after our bedtime routine, of course), I unceremoniously dumped her in her crib. Where she is currently howling.

Ah well, at least the poo is cleaned up and the broken glass has been removed, right?