Year-End Update 2024

Hello from the current crew: Roly-Poly, Monarch, Hippo, Dalmatian, Mouse, and Fox! We have had several transitions and changes since our last post in July! Let's start with the goodbyes:

Polar Bear and Seal moved away to South Carolina with their family right after Labor Day. 😢 They are very missed, and we enjoy seeing family updates of their new journey and also their precious, sweet smiles on Facebook. They are very special kiddos, and we are thankful for the season they were here!

We had an unexpected and very short time with our little friend Guinea Pig. Her mom found out that she was expecting twins and made the necessary decision to stay home with all her girls. We had our last day with her on November 21st, and the twins were born 10 weeks early, right before Christmas! We will miss the fun-spirit and imagination of sweet Guinea Pig! She was a great, little friend to Monarch, Hippo, and Dalmatian.

We also saw Sea Horse off to school in August. Now that she's 5 she's started the new adventure of Kindergarten. We have had a few visits with her since then with snow days and holiday breaks, but miss seeing her big grin and adventurous, creative spunk on a daily basis. Once again, we are thankful for being able to keep in touch with them and do drop-in care. She's growing up so fast!

After saying our four goodbyes, we said four hellos to new friends beginning in August through the month of December! Let me introduce all of them:

Our first addition to the cub family is Alpaca! He started care at 18 months old, in August, shortly before Polar Bear and Seal moved away. Their families are actually good friends of each other, and we have him in our care on Wednesdays. He is a sweet and fun toddler who loves snacks and playing with Monarch and Mouse every week. His vocabulary has picked up since he started care, and he asks for his special buddies even when he's not here! 😆

In September, we started care with Porcupine, who is the little sister to Hippo. She has joined us three days a week, along with her brother, and has a head full of spikey, dark hair. Her brother is super sweet and protective of her as well. She is now 6 months old and a petite, sweet snuggle baby. It's been a lot of fun to have a little one again. Roly-Poly is now 10 months old and walking, so it's fun to see them grow up together with such different personalities.

Trout is another new friend who started care in November. He is now 20 months old and a very smiley guy! He also loves to dance and starts flopping his arms and body around whenever we play bouncy music. He's starting his 2 year-old stage already and just lays down on the floor if he doesn't want to go along with someone's direction or plan. 😂 He's a busy toddler and we've enjoyed having him here!

Our most recent addition to the crew, Manatee, joined us in December. He is a big and very strong 7 month old who comes on Fridays. His family is also friends with Polar Bear and Seal's family, so we are very thankful to have him here! We are still getting familiar with his schedule and personality traits, but he's definitely in the process of getting teeth and scooting around more each time he comes! He had a bit of tummy trouble right before our Christmas break, but we managed to capture this cute picture of him shortly beforehand. 

As we close out this year, there is one last thing I'd like to share. We applied for a grant in May of this year to help replace our old deck which had several rotting boards. We were approved in July and able to have the deck completed in October right before our first big snowstorm this year and also before the busy holidays. Our new deck is now a cozy and safer space for us to walk on as we transition to the backyard for our playtimes. We are so grateful for all this year has brought us, even through all the transitions. We look forward to the new year and all the new surprises it will bring!