Preschool??

This morning Lily and I went to the open house at the nearby preschool. It is the school that most of our new friends either attend or plan on attending and from what I saw today and read about them online, I really like the school. Here's my issue -- will Lily be ready in September for preschool? Fall registration is in mid-February and if you get in you have to pay a non-refundable registration fee. I was hoping to get her in and have until Sept to decide if it was the right time to start. A lot can and will change in her personality in the next 9 months! Right now she is so not ready -- it would be terribly traumatizing to both of us to drop her off and leave her there. Even while we were visiting today, a very nice lady showed us the classroom for 2 year olds and it was just me, Lily and the teacher and Lily was all freaked out and whenever the nice teacher talked to her she would run up to me and want me to pick her up. Lily is just so shy and attached to me. They said 3 years of preschool would benefit her since she is so shy, but I am thinking maybe 2 years of preschool is good enough and we continue with the playgroups and Gymboree for another year to help her better socialize with other kids on her own terms. Maybe that extra time with me will make the transition less difficult! She has already made huge progress in the last 6 months since we started going to playgroups and Gymboree, but she still has a ways to go. I wish I didn't have to make a decision in the next month. I want to do what is best for Lily. As far as the curriculum goes, most of the stuff she already knows (ABC's, counting, shapes, animal sounds, body parts, etc) so I can't imagine that missing this year of preschool would really set her behind as far as any learning goes -- she enjoys learning at home and I have fun teaching her new things. Any advice from my elementary teacher friends (Michelle, Erin, Amy . . .)???

Here she is all ready to go check out the school with her purse and baby -- just like Mommy!