my little sunbeam

Our little Ellie got to attend Primary at Church today for the first time. On January 1st, all the kids who have turned 3 in the past year get to move up, out of the nursery, to the big kids' classes.

Now, Ellie hasn't once attended nursery by herself. From 18 months old until now, she's been too nervous for us to leave her there. The unstructured playtime with children going a little wild around her stressed her out. (To be fair, it stresses me out a little too...)

I knew she'd do better in Primary (less chaos, more structure and lesson time,) but I was completely surprised at how awesome she was.

We took her in, she marched up to her seat, sat down, folded her arms, gave me a kiss and said, "Bye Mom!" 

And that was that.

In fact, it was me, standing there looking at my big little girl; I was the one who had a little bit of a hard time with it.

I mean, isn't she still just a baby? How is she old enough to be in Sunbeams??

A healthy dose of sibling rivalry had a huge part to play in Ellie's bravery today.

Whenever Nicholas is acting out, disobeying, or being disciplined, 

Ellie steps up, sticks her chin in the air, and says,

"Look at me, Mommy. I'm being good." 

And then she'll go and do whatever it is that Nick isn't, just to prove that she's the good one.

It's actually quite hilarious. It makes Nicholas furious, but there isn't really a way for us to stop her from simply being good and obedient.  

She's learned all sorts of things out of her determination to prove that she's better. She's been chewing with her mouth closed at the dinner table for almost a year now, and we're still working on teaching Nicholas that. 

I think it's safe to say they're both rather stubborn.

Anyway, this morning, when I was chatting with the kids about how they get new primary teachers and classes today (all the children move up a level on January 1st),

Nicholas started to freak out a little. He doesn't do well with change, plus he kinda sorta likes for me to see him miserable....yes, he's got a flair for the dramatic.

Ellie watched him moan and complain, shiver and whimper, and say how he was going to be scared and how he didn't want to go to Church,

she tipped her head, and said,
"Mommy, I'm going to go to my primary class. I'm going to be brave. I'm not going to cry at all."

And that was that.

I'm really quite proud of Ellie. She's definitely attached to me, but she sat quietly with her arms folded and was happy and brave the whole two hours. 

 Nicholas did great also. As soon as I left the room, he cozied up to his new teacher. When we went to pick him up he told us all about how great his new class is and how he'll get cookies next week if they're reverent.