The Three Amigos and Adios

Since the arrival of Baby Wallaby, we have been falling into a daily routine. It's been a lot of fun playing and interacting with the three boys currently in our care. Meerkat and Otter play really well together and love to play outside. It will be a bummer when the weather gets too cold to go outside!

Meerkat is very big on choo-choo trains these days and Otter loves to play peek-a-boo. Wallaby is smiling now and getting busy moving his arms and legs quite a bit. It's a lot of fun to see each of them grow and change each day.

In other news, we said our goodbyes to Kitten last month as her short six-week stay with us came quickly to an end. It was a lot of fun to have her here for that time frame. She gave us lots of laughs and smiles while she was here. We are thankful that we will be keeping in touch with her family and possibly have opportunities down the road to see her again. Here is a sample and tribute to her playfulness while she was with us. She loved to just sit on the stairs and just hang out. Thanks for a great time Kitten! We love ya!

Our final news is that we got Puppy back for after-school care on a temporary basis. Puppy has been with us for a long time, and we have missed having her since she started Kindergarten. We are so glad to get some more time with her, and it's been so fun having her here.

Stay tuned for more news from the Den.

Welcome, Baby Wallaby!

After 6 weeks of waiting, October 4th was a very special day. We had the privilege of welcoming Baby Wallaby into our care. He was born in August, and we were chosen to be his caretaker. We are very blessed to have him and his family join our daily life in the den.

One of the things we enjoyed the most was being involved in Wallaby's life even before he was born. We counted down the days excitedly until his arrival, and we were thrilled to get a picture of newborn Wallaby the day he was born. We also met him in person a week before he started care and bonded with him right away.

Wallaby is very little, has big expressive eyes, adorable dimples, and loves to be in a front pack. Thus, we felt it very fitting that we chose an animal name with a pouch! The name Wallaby seems to fit him just right in my honest opinion. He is a very good baby, and we are enjoying his cuddles and sweet baby smell.

Otter's impression of the baby has been to continually point at him and say "baby" and then nod his head up and down knowing that he's communicating at deep levels with us. Kitten has noticed the baby, but is too preoccupied with other things to pay attention.  Meerkat, on the other hand, has had a bit of a different reaction. Let's just say he's a bit jealous, and we've had to give him lots of extra TLC.

The first day we cared for Wallaby, I was holding both Meerkat and the baby in the rocking chair. Out of the blue, Meerkat placed his hand on the baby and said "shoo, baby". He tends to need "Miss Kanna" a bit more these days, and I often end up with Meerkat and Wallaby in my arms at the same time. Recently Meerkat has warmed up to Wallaby and now insists that he "hold, baby! hold, baby!" with my help.

Rabbit has been wonderful in helping me care for Baby Wallaby. She insisted on doing most of the bottle feedings the first few days and also gave K-Bird a time limit when she asked to hold him. Her excitement has calmed down a bit since then and now K-Bird, Rabbit, and Kangaroo are each enjoying their special moments of holding Baby Wallaby. He's definitely a keeper in our home, and we are very thankful for the opportunity to care for this new little blessing.

Majestic Mondays

On Monday of this week, I was driving K-bird home from the chiropractor. It was a beautiful fall evening, and we decided to take a more scenic route home. We were on the west side of town, where the houses are in a more wooded surrounding and deer are easily spotted. I was hopeful we would come across a deer or two to brighten our day. Sure enough, K-bird spotted three deer as we took our detour. As we sat and watched them eat berries in front of a home, I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be cool if we found as many deer as we've had cubs in our care?"

As we started up the road, we found six more. We came to the top of the hill where we saw the Waldo Canyon burn scar. We got out of the car to reflect on the impact that fire had on our community. Coincidentally, we just started temporary care on Mondays for a little girl whose family lost their home on Majestic Drive.

As we got in the car to head back down the hill, we spotted a herd of six more deer. This time, several bucks with huge antlers were sitting and standing on someone's lawn. We commented on how majestic they appeared. I then realized our count of deer had reached eighteen, which was the exact number that we had calculated a month ago as the total number of cubs we had cared for to date. It was very symbolic to me that God knows our numbers, and each one has been significant in our eyes. They each have their own majestic beauty.

Kitten, Karebear, and Meerkat on a majestic Monday

We've added a few more cubs since then, and our legacy is growing. I think the name Kitten fits our Monday addition well with her fluffy, wild hair, the way she is amazingly content at playing on the floor, and her friendly interaction with others. However, someday down the road we'll definitely need to consider having a cub named Deer.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?

I see Kare-Bear giving hugs to me.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?

I see KBird smiling down on me.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?

I see Kangaroo giving high-fives to me.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?

I see Rabbit playing peek-a-boo with me.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?

I see Otter blowing lots of kisses to me.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?

I see Canary skyping online with me.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?

I see Lion singing over me.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?

I see Meerkat asking where I could be.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?

I see all the cubs saying goodbye to me.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you finally see?

I see Mommy taking care of me.

We'll miss seeing you, Brown Bear!

(Adapted from the book by Bill Martin, Jr./Eric Carle)

Introducing Otter

On August 21st we had the privilege of welcoming Otter into our home. He is our newest toddler, and fits right in with Brown Bear and Meerkat. He tends to go with the flow of things around here. When we first met him, we hit it off really well, and he especially grew attached to Rabbit. He likes to get lots of cuddles from her and will often cry if she sets him down.

One of things that charmed us about him is the way he sticks two fingers in his mouth, and holds them in place with his other arm. This lets us know that he's getting tired and needs a good cuddle. He also loves to wrap his arms around Rabbit's neck for long hugs and gives adorable, slobbery kisses.

Most of all, we have learned that he loves snacks and makes cute little approving humming sounds when he eats his lunch.

Simply put... he's a keeper.

Brown Bear’s First Steps

Canary’s Last Song

In June, Canary and her mom moved out-of-state to their new home and new adventures. We had the privilege of spending extra time with her on her final day, through the evening hours, while her mom spent time packing. It was so great to have some quality time with her and she knew she was the center of attention. We giggled, danced to music, and gave lots of hugs. We will miss her so much – thank God for Skype.

Below are a few snapshots of our beautiful day.

Music to Their Ears

One of our favorite things to do around the Den is play songs for the kids. YouTube is a veritable treasure box of educational and fun songs that bring smiles to the kids' faces. Over the past couple of years we've found some specific favorites, and so we thought we'd compile together a list and share it with you.

A YouTube channel that contains a lot of songs that we love is called Super Simple Songs. You can view a playlist of our favorites by clicking here. (Please note that we avoid the Santa song and "Go Away, Big Green Monster" because they're our least favorite.)

We also like to play Sesame Street videos. Some of our favorites include: Outdoors, the Alphabet with Elmo, Elmo's Ducks, and 1, 2, 3, 4.

Another favorite is King of the Jungle. Dolphin especially liked that one and we can't hear it without thinking of her.

On the more educational side of things, we sometimes like to play songs from a YouTube channel called KidsTV123. One we play a lot is The Animal Sounds song, as well as Phonics song 2.

We also like to play a lot of kids' worship songs, and this one is the current favorite. Brown Bear likes to point his fingers in the air in a repeated fashion while we're playing it.

We've found a band called Go Fish that sings fun worship songs for younger kids. One song that has been a major favorite for many of our children is this one--I'm A Soldier In the Army of the Lord. Lately Meerkat has been walking around saying, "Yes, sir!" Go Fish also put out our favorite version of Jesus Loves Me. It's very calming and well done.

And last but certainly not least is In the Jungle, a song that Canary absolutely loved during her time here. We still enjoy the song and look forward to playing it for the kids to come.

These are the songs we play most often, but in addition to all of this, we put Praise Baby on during the morning for the babies. The other morning, Miss Karen couldn't get the DVD player to work and they were miserable. Fortunately, she was able to wake up Lion and he got it back in working order. Crisis averted!

Music is something we love at Lion's Pride. It's one of the things that has helped the kids learn and interact and have fun. We've been amazed at how quickly they pick up on words through music, and interact with facial expressions and hand motions to the songs.

For those of you who have said goodbye to us, this list is especially for you so that you can continue to play these songs for your little ones.

Saying Goodbye is Never Easy

It's never easy to say goodbye. Last month Tiger left our care to be home with his mom. We miss his laugh and infectious smile. We miss the way he would play trains at the train table, play outside with the bikes and toy car, and also his picnics under the dining room table with Canary.

In two weeks, Canary will be moving to a new state. We are sad to see her go. She has been such a joy to us each day to watch. She makes us laugh so much and has such a helpful spirit. She loves taking care of the little ones and helping them out when they have a need.

Tiger and Canary will always have a special place in our hearts. We've had such great memories and experiences with them. Hopefully, new cubs will join our den soon, and we can expand our hearts to care for more little ones. Blessed be the name of the Lord; He gives and takes away.

 

New Faces Around Lion's Pride

We have some new faces to introduce to you, and they are: Tiger, Brown Bear, and Meerkat.

Tiger is three and has lots of energy. He came to us the end of October and from the start we knew he was a good fit. He adores trains, especially Thomas the Tank Engine. We've set up an area in the family room especially for him to tinker with trains to his heart's content. He loves interaction, especially giving hugs and receiving them. Our favorite phrase that he says is, "Can you pix my banklet?"

Next comes Brown Bear. He is big and brown. He came to us in December at 6 months of age, and we were only planning to watch him on a temporary basis for three weeks until his Grandma could come from California to take care of him. Well, plans changed and sweet little Brown Bear is here to stay. He is now 9 1/2 months old and weighs 24 pounds. He has yet to learn how to crawl, but actively loves to stand up and bounce around if someone has the time and muscle power to hold him steady. He has a very sweet smile and often laughs at random entertainment. He is very attached to KareBear and will loudly express his displeasure if she leaves the room, especially if his teeth are bothering him. We've learned that Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, In the Jungle, and Praise Baby are the keys to calming him down. It's been a lot of fun watching him grow and develop over the past few months. He's gotten stronger every day!

Last, but not least, is Meerkat. He is the littlest of the bunch, but not the youngest. Meerkat came to us in January after a friend and mentor had to close her daycare due to a family health situation. Meerkat was in her care since birth, and we decided to take him under our wings. He received his name based on the way he stands in one position with his arms in front of his tummy and looks around the room. He also has big blue eyes which are very attentive to everything around him. He is light as a feather compared to Brown Bear. He and Keegaroo have become best buds, and he helps fill the "little brother" need that Keegaroo has. He also has captured Lion's heart by crawling to the end of his recliner, begging to be picked up.

In the midst of the three boys, enter Canary. She arrived before all of them and has become known around the den as "Little Mama." Not only does she carry around her own baby doll with bottle and blanket, but she's right at KareBear's heels whenever Brown Bear or Meerkat need their bottles, blankets, or diapers changed. She is extremely helpful (sometimes overly helpful) and is quick to pat the bottom or back of a fussy baby. She also gives the sweetest kisses to their heads and helps sing "Twinkle Twinkle' and "Jesus Loves Me." Her most favorite songs to sing are "The Wheels on the Bus" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" over, and over, and over, and over again. Her and Tiger also spend a lot of time being a choo choo together.

On occasion we still have the privilege of watching Puppy. She is a delight to have around and is very eager to help with the babies or wherever there is a need. We are continually amazed at her servant's heart and very blessed by how she pitches in to help out without complaint.

Little Lamb has recently moved to a different city. We will miss her a lot, but hope to have a visit with her this summer.

We are very thankful for the new set of cubs that God has brought to us over the past several months. Each one of them has their own unique gifts and special abilities to make us laugh and grow. We had some adjustment having four full-timers, but we've seemed to adapt to our environment now and have fallen into a bit of a routine each day. We miss the cubs that have moved on and pray blessings on them often. Thanks to each and every one of you for being a part of our lives.