Time flies

My baby will be 4 tomorrow.... wow I can hardly believe it.
She has come so far. The last two years have been hard but oh so rewarding. From uncertainty if she'd ever walk to this bouncy, cheeky, heart warming and gorgeous little girl that fills my house with laughter and my heart with joy. She's talking up a storm now and mostly people are actually able to understand what she says. Admittedly she is still well behind her peers but at least she communicates without me translating, which means she is starting to make friends now too! It makes me so happy to hear her talk about her friends at kindy and to hear from those girls' mothers that their daughters talk about Annabel at home too. All the therapies and constantly practising and incorporating physio and speech excercises at home has paid off. As exhausting as it can be she is catching up. Next month she starts morning kindy and I have to admit that I think it may be harder on me than on her. I am so used to having her around me all the time. She won't leave me out of her sight. And then next month she'll be gone all morning, I won't know myself!
I worry though, about her safety on the play fort and equipment. Granted she will have someone with her for half the sessions but they will have to divide their attention between Annabel and another child with special needs. I worry she'll get pushed aside by the big kids. Her sense of balance is pretty marginal. I mean she can't even walk up and down the steps without holding on to something. When I take her to the playground I still have to watch her like a hawk, always hovering, cathing her when she misses a sport on the ladder yet again. I worry she'll be overwhelmed by the noise and activity that comes with morning kindy. She doesn't deal with large groups easily. But I have to let her go. Trust that she'll be right. It will be good for her too. But secretly I'm happy that I work there in the office two mornings a week so I can keep an eye on her just to make sure ;-).