3 days in a row...

EK started back to preschool on Monday morning. After 2 weeks off for Christmas break, I was a little nervous about how sad she'd be when I dropped her off and how long it'd take her to get back in the routine. When I picked her up on Monday, I was SO relieved to hear that she hardly fussed that morning. She was happy all morning long! She participated in music therapy by playing the guitar. She worked on fine motor tasks with her teacher and she colored with a marker! This last thing is a BIG deal. For some reason, the past 6 months or so, she would NOT hold a writing utensil. I'm not sure if it's because I used to tell her constantly to not put it in her mouth or if it became a sensory thing or a control thing. Whatever the reason, she just wouldn't even try to hold a marker, pen, crayon, etc. If you put it in her hand, she'd drop it or throw it. We literally had to firmly hold her hand around the writing utensil to keep it in her hand long enough to scribble a little. But on Monday, she held it and scribbled a little on her own. :)
I figured Tuesday wouldn't be as good as Monday. Monday seemed too out of the norm. EK surprised me by having another great day! She was very happy all day. She did participated in calendar time by doing some new parts (normally she does weather). She said "go" several times to get the wagon/scooter to move and made many happy babbling sounds. She even colored with markers again and decorated a snowman.
Today has surprised me again. I pray this is becoming a habit! It's so much easier to drop her off knowing that she's having fun! :) Her teacher told me today that she was very cooperative and participated in ALL activities with no protest. They moved some of the manipulatives to an area in the room hoping that she'd engage spontaneously. She did a couple times on her own, but also complied when prompted. EK also said "eye" and "hi" appropriately.
The biggest accomplishment (in my eyes) is that she said "mommy" when Ms. Sharla held up my picture. That may seem silly but for the past couple months she just hasn't said my name. Before, she'd say it when she cried, like she wanted me to rescue her from the hard work or a new situation. Even though it wasn't really appropriate, she said "mommy". Recently she's started saying "da-da" again. It was super sweet to hear that she said it when she saw a picture of me. If only I could've been a fly on the wall... :)
Just wanted to brag on my sweet 3 (almost 4) year old!