The end of Mia's first term

I can't believe that Mia has finished her first term of school already. I sat in the carol service at school this morning, having been there for the last two years with her sitting on my knee, and this year she looked so grown up sat down there on the floor with all her friends. 

This was her very first day. I'm afraid that she doesn't always look quite as neatly turned as this (and she definitely doesn't by the end of the day!). She is enjoying her hot school dinners which is brilliant because Harry only lasted with them two weeks, and she is trying all sorts of different foods. The trouble is that while Harry could wear the same jumper all week she really needs a clean one every day, and we don't own enough jumpers to keep up to that standard, so along with her wild hair she generally looks pretty scruffy!

She's settled into school absolutely fine, we've had no clinging, no tears and no complaining. I've noticed that she tells me a lot more than Harry does about the relationships between children in her class, who plays with who, who says mean things to who, and she's also obsessed with which children get to take home one of the special teddies at the end of each day.

Mia has been very much a Daddy's girl since she was a baby. As a toddler she'd often scream if I tried to hold her when Ram was about. Once when we were going through US immigration I was convinced that the officer would think I was trying to kidnap her because she screamed the place down when I held her so that Ram could do his fingerprints. When out and about as a family she's always naturally gone to Ram and Harry has gone to me.

But since starting school Mia has been much more clingy to me. I get so many more cuddles, and when we are out she often asks to walk next to me and hold my hand. It's lovely, and it makes me wonder if she took me for granted before - perhaps now that I'm not around all the time she realises that she does want me after all!

I'm so proud of her!