New Friends

I’ve mentioned before that I love who sociable my daughter is. The Ladybug loves, loves, love people.

So, a few months ago, I decided to look into joining a playgroup so Miss Olive will have more opportunities to interact and play with other kids.

The Ladybug spends most of her time with me or other family. She has a cousin about 18 months older than her, but her other cousins that we see most often are years older.

Though I love that she gets to spend a lot of time with family, I want the Ladybug to be able to spend time with more younger kids, especially ones right around her own age.

I want her to learn to “play well with others” – share, not hit, not grab. I want her to feel comfortable and confident when she’s one of the group instead of the one and only.

Today, we attended our first playgroup activity, which included playtime, a light lunch and an Easter egg hunt.

Miss Olive was ecstatic. She was giddy as soon as she saw the other kiddos, and she gabbed on and on (and on and on) with everyone there.

I was so proud. Miss Olive was so sweet with the other little ones. She didn’t grab toys. She wanted to share everything – even happily giving some of her Easter eggs to another baby who didn’t have as many.

And as for this Mommy, I enjoyed it a great deal, too. The other Moms were friendly, well-mannered (as were their children), and very welcoming.

There were a few other first-timers at today’s playgroup among the regulars, and everyone seemed to mesh well. It was comforting to be somewhere that I could relate to other women going through the same experiences as me. I felt good about the fact that they seemed to have the same values and visions for their children as I do for Miss Olive.

Very much looking forward to becoming an official playgroup member and taking the Ladybug to hang out with our new buddies again soon.