Proud Mama moments

This afternoon, Evelyn took a pretty big step forward socially: she joined in with a small group of children without any adult assistance-- meaning that I didn't direct their play and that I didn't have to step in and speak for Evelyn while they were played. Evelyn happily joined in the conversation to the best of her ability and initiated a system of taking turns with the lone fireman's hat (the kids were playing for a while on a big firetruck, driving to an imaginary palace). The other kids understood what Evelyn was talking about and they incorporated some of her ideas into their play.

I helped Evelyn say "hi" to the other kids and I stayed near by (most of the time, I was within five feet of the kids playing, if not closer). Of course, she is only twenty-one months old and can't exactly advocate for herself when a five year old begins to use mean language and bullying actions. (And, not to detract from my overall "I am so proud" theme, but why didn't this girl's Mom speak up? Her daughter was bossy at best, and at worst she was just flat-out mean to the other kids.) Fortunately, the vast majority of the play was happy. It was just music to my ears to hear Evelyn giggle and run along with the others (whom she had never met before today), saying "kids, let's get going! Let's go in the truck!" She totally entered into the world of pretend and became a capable citizen. Evie makes me so proud.