It all started with a tackle

As most everyone knows, I have this high-strung toddler who may or may not have a raging case of OCD.  My husband and I adore her because she's so...her.  The daycare "thang" has been interesting because she really did NOT like it when she started, and slowly she's been making her way into socialization.  Not well, because remember who her parents are.  But she's making her own strides.

My little J has a very low need for physical affection.  She may or may not pull away if you give her an unsolicited hug.  She says, "I need my space," a lot.  From my perspective, that's fine because I. Am. Just. Like. Her.

About a year ago, there was a little incident on the playground.  This little boy Daniel decided to run over to Julia and jump on her - you know, like a big dog might do and then the person falls backward with a huge kerplop.  Daniel leaped on Julia, which propelled her backward, and then he was on top of her.  Of course the daycare workers were ready for a Julia meltdown for 1) someone invading her space 2) the anguish of falling backward into the wood chips 3) and the boy that was bigger on her sitting on her.  So they immediately go to her rescue, and my little "I need my space" girl is laughing.  She's absolutely loving it.

So what does she do the next day?  She tackles Daniel in the same way he tackled her.

Then somehow we got dropped into a Daniel obsession.  She started singing the Daniel song, talking about him, and generally resembling Glenn Close in "Fatal Attraction."  Her daycare teacher said that she always insisted on sitting by Daniel, and she spent most lunch and snack times staring at him instead of eating.  She would stare at him, sigh, and say, "Daniel," in much the way 13 year old girls say the name of the boy they like.

It was pretty weird to have a not even 2 year old so obsessed with another kid, and of course since it was a boy it was even weirder.

Over the summer things started to change at school.  Julia spent more time with 2 girls.  They would play on the seesaw and take care of baby dolls together.  I was relieved that she was getting along with girls.  Of course, they would have their fights.  It seemed like Julia was ticked off at one of the girls a lot, but for the most part they got along okay and she stopped being Glenn Close-like towards Daniel.

The not-so-great part is that at the beginning of January, both of these girls stopped coming to daycare.  One is on an extended vacation internationally, and the other's mother is on maternity leave.  There are other kids at daycare, but Julia is one of those picky kids who will only play with who she wants to play with.  Ummm, yeah, she ignores the kids she doesn't like (who does that remind you of?).  There is one child that she's been in daycare with for 2 years now.  They started the same time as 6-7 month olds.  We talk with his parents, and they seem like good people.  The boy definitely gives off the vibe that he's going to be a football player.  His favorite activities are throwing balls and running and just generally being a *boy*.  He's that rough and tumble, all-boy type.  Julia never talks about Brayden, despite them being together for 5 days a week, 8 hours a day for two years.  If I ask about him, she knows who he is, but she's not much for actually talking about him spontaneously.

This is the conversation I had with Julia yesterday.

Me: What did you do at school today?
Julia: I played with Daniel.
(I remember seeing Brayden when I dropped off Julia.)
Me: What about Brayden?  Did you play with him?
Julia: No
Me: Why?
Julia: Because
Me: Because why?
Julia: Because I like Daniel.