My baby is growing up!

Kaitlin started going to daycare/preschool two days a week when school started back up in January. She is nearing three years old, and I wanted to provide her the opportunity to be around other children. We have been so fortunate for our moms to keep her all this time, but I want her to know how to play with kids....yep, that's right....she knows how to play with grown-ups, but would love to have more playmates her age.
As you can imagine, this transition was difficult and scary for me.....not Kaitlin....me. However, after seeing how well she has done, I am perfectly happy with her going.
Scott has been taking her each morning, and the funniest thing happened the first day. He walked her into Miss Cori's class (Miss Cori is FABULOUS by the way!!!) where she did the typical Kaitlin around strangers act (head down, playing with fingers, doesn't move, silent). Immediately Emma (Kaitlin's second cousin whom she has been around a few times) and another little girl we did not know came to her and began talking up a storm to her. The other little girl proceeds to smell Kaitlin's hair....are you picturing animals smelling the new meat? The girls begin to touch Kaitlin's lunch box, coat, and of course her hair. All the while, Kaitlin just stands there frozen in her stranger danger mode. None of this bothered her, but the poor thing was like a fish out of water.
Scott said his goodbyes that first day and left. Kaitlin did great! She sat in Miss Cori's lap for much of the day, but did venture out and begin to play a bit by mid-morning. I rushed there after school because I couldn't wait to get to her and see how she liked it.
We're in the third week of daycare now, and Kaitlin is doing fantastic! Not once has she become upset or shed a tear over going. She gets so excited about packing her lunch in her princess lunch box and making sure she has her princess sheet to take with her for nap time. I love hearing her tell about things she did that day and talk about friends she has made. We are thrilled that she loves it there so much. Interesting note....she still gets her hair smelled each morning when she arrives!