Dreadful Drop-off

My prize:

Last weekend I got crazy sick so Carlos took the boys and Cici apple picking.  They had so much fun without me!!  Carlos said that they didn't once fight or cry the entire day.

School is proving a bit tricky with Diego.  He screams at the top of his lungs and clings onto us for dear life everyday at drop-off.  After two minutes in the classroom he is totally fine.  It's been about a month and things aren't getting any easier at drop-off.  In fact, Diego has become a bit tricky all around.  Sometimes he is still my charming, loving, cuddly Diego, but other times he is whiny and obstinate beyond belief.

We've tried everything to try to deal with drop-off - leaving him on the playground, going early to play and make drop-off fun, Sandra does drop-off, going late, playdates with classmates...but nothing works.  He has only had 2 good drop-off days - the first day of school and then some random, glorious day when he was happy and sweet the WHOLE day.  I was so proud of him that day that I let him decide how to celebrate in the evening.  He wanted an ice cream from Silver Spork market and then to go to kids night (kids eat some gross food for free and get to sit in mini-Adirondack chairs while watching some terrible movie).  I was happy to oblige because he was so good that even his teacher emailed to say that Diego had "an AMAZING day."  I thought we had turned a corner and that my sweet Diego was back. But the very next morning he went back to crying.  Seeing him that day meant that this crying and behaviour is a choice he is making.  He knows that he doesn't have cry; he knows he'll be fine; he knows how to be my bag of sugar.

Charlie, on the other hand, is super sweet and well behaved these days.  He loves school, Cici is still his very best friend and he can play kickball for 3 hours straight (literally).  He loves kickball, baseball and soccer (probably in that order).  Kickball is the "easiest" for the kids to organize on their own, but that said, it is hysterical watching them try to organize and play a game on their own.  It takes about 20 minutes to agree where the bases should be, another 20 to agree on the teams and who will be pitcher and then comes the "how do you want the ball? fast and on the ground or slow and bumpy" negotiation.

He has taken to sounding words out and labeling things around the house.  I don't have the heart to tell him the spelling isn't quite right....