I have to brag about Ashley a little.  I am so stinkin’ proud of her!  For those of you that don’t know her very well, she is very introverted in public and social situations.  She’s a crazy wild woman at home, but it takes her a while to warm up to people in public.  She’s usually very quiet and reserved.

We go to a music class at Explore on Wednesdays.  I signed her up thinking it would help prepare her for preschool by being around other kids in a structured setting.  It is a wonderful class and Ashley gets a lot out of it!  We also love the teacher!  We dance and sing to different types of music, explore music making with different instruments, have group story time, and quiet time.  It’s also a chance for me to get good quality time with her without distractions.  There are about 10 kids in our class.  One of the activities involves the kids going up to the teacher and saying “ba ba” into a microphone.  The teacher says “ba ba” using different octaves in her voice, and the kids are supposed to repeat it back to her.  All of the kids go up and participate one-by-one, except for Ashley.  She has never wanted to do it…until now!

The past couple of weeks she has gotten brave enough to go up there, but she wanted me there with her.  So I stood (knelt) by her side while the teacher said “ba ba” into the microphone.  Ashley would have her face buried into my chest, and she would move her eyelashes up and down which meant she was doing them in her head; just not out loud.

But then this last week when it came time for the “ba ba’s”, she got so excited and was pulling at me to go to the front of the class!  At the time, it was another child’s turn so I told Ashley to wait for them to finish and then it would be our turn.  As soon as the teacher told Ashley it was her turn, she went walking up there BY HERSELF!  She didn’t even look back to see if I was following her.  And she held the teacher’s hand while she was up there!  I was so proud it felt like my heart was going to leap out of my chest.  Tears welt up in my eyes.  Now, while she didn’t say the “ba ba’s” out loud, the fact that she went up there to the front all by herself, is huge!  And when she turned around and came running back into my arms, the look on her face was of such joy and achievement.  You could tell she was extra proud of herself, too!  She lept into my arms and I hugged her tightly, telling her how proud I was.

It was such a sweet moment!  I imagine I’ll have that same warm feeling when she aces a test and learns to drive, but I’ll always remember the day when she was just 2 years old and went to the front of music class all by herself.  You go girl!