Storytime success!

Maddie is a shy little girl. Well, when it comes to certain situations she's shy, but other times she is a wild thing! Anyways, I registered her for storytime at our library and it is always a big ordeal to go. Every morning she asks me what we are doing that day. So every Tuesday I tell her that we are going to the library for story time and every time she says she is scared and will not go. I continue to explain that it's fun, that Ethan (her friend) will be there and that she will really like it. Then she replies that she won't have fun and that she wants me to stay with her, etc, etc...We go on like this, back and forth, for a while, until I tell her we should stop talking about it because she's getting too upset. I bring it up again later in the morning and she's still not keen on the idea. I always manage to convince her to go, but she wants me to stay with her. The first class I stayed with her and halfway through she had forgotten I was there! So today I told her she should try going solo.

As soon as Isaac woke up from his nap (or should I say cat-nap, a whole whopping 43 min), I proceeded to get her ready and she did her best to stall our efforts at leaving. First she had to pee, then she had to pick out a toy to bring, then she couldn't put her shoes on...I finally told her we were still going, so she gave up her tactics. When we got there I could see the hesitation in her little face, but it didn't last long. She really surprised me. She held hands with Ethan and together they bravely entered the storytime room without a peep. I waved bye to her and told her exactly where I would be when it was done and that was that. While I waited I browsed the movies and by a stroke of luck, I found her favorite movie right now, Barbie: Swan Lake. Ever since we had to return it a couple weeks ago, she has been asking when we can get it again. We've looked for it a few times, but it was always out. I knew that checking it out again would be the frosting on the cake for her! Half an hour later she came out smiling and holding the book she had picked out. When I showed her the movie her face lit up and she gave me a huge hug. I told her I was really proud of her for trying something new. To top it all off, my friend (Ethan's mommy) asked if Maddie wanted to go home with them on the bus and then I would pick her up later. Riding on the bus has been on Maddie's "To Do" list for a while now, so of course she jumped with joy at the suggestion. So I watched them leave, happy that she was so adventurous and brave, but a bit sad that she is growing up so fast.