New Year - 2019 Update

It's February, already?  Time sure goes by quickly when you run a daycare!

Last summer kept us hopping with extra kiddos here to play with while school was out and August brought some changes as usual. Ladybug, Cheetah, and Goose started preschool, but come to visit now and then. Miss Karen took a week off to recover from minor surgery, and our little babies have turned into toddlers!

We started care for a 4 1/2 year old (turned 5 in January), whom we call Spider since his favorite super hero is Spiderman. He has been a great friend to Caterpillar since the other preschoolers left. They play well together, and we had a great time baking with the boys during Thanksgiving week when the three toddlers were all out of town. It was a lot of fun and they did a great job staying focused and helping. The pumpkin chocolate chip muffins we made were delicious too! They will head to kindergarten in the fall, so we are enjoying doing fun things with them in the meantime.

                                         Spider                                             Spider and Caterpillar

Here are some pictures of our full-time busy toddlers and four year olds hanging out last fall.....

Piglet, Owlette, and Tortoise                               Spider and Caterpillar

Fun in the Leaves!!!

 

Here are our part-timers, Goose and Chick with Caterpillar on Halloween

Below: Piglet, Tortoise, and Owlette with Rabbit in their costumes

 

In January, we had the privilege of beginning care with Triceratops and Unicorn. Triceratops comes every day of the week and Unicorn comes with her brother on Wednesdays. We chose their names because they both like those animals the best (even if unicorn isn't a real animal... it seemed to fit.) Triceratops just turned three and enjoys playing super hero toys with the bigger boys, as well as, singing and dancing. Unicorn loves the color pink, ponies, kinetic sand, and anything related to princesses of course. She turns 5 in a few weeks and will start school in the fall.

                                 New Friends                                           Sister and Brother Buds

Here are recent, individual pictures of each of our kiddos that come weekly! They keep us super busy, and we look forward to the many adventures ahead!

                                        Spider                                                          Caterpillar

                                          Unicorn                                                   Triceratops

                                      Chick                                                              Piglet

                                             Owlette                                                 Tortoise

So Many Changes...... Part 2

This update is long overdue! As promised, I want to introduce the several new faces we have around the den since our recent transitions that we mentioned from our last post.

Let's start with two brothers Cheetah and Crocodile, ages 3 and 5, who started care with us at the end of July on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We picked these names for them because they both showed interest in these animals as we got to know them. Cheetah is with us every week and Crocodile comes on days he doesn't have school. So, we can officially say, "after awhile, Crocodile!" These guys have big smiles and bring lots of joy and adventure to our home. They love the outdoors, playing with dinosaurs and cars, Wild Kratts, and enjoy doing interactive one-on-one activities with us. Most importantly, they are new playmates for Caterpillar since his buddies left.

Next up, we've had the privilege of caring for this little Piglet since July 31st. We picked out her name because she tends to squeal a lot and has very little, light-blonde hair. She is a very smiley and laid back Sweetie! She also has a tendency to stick out her tongue when she's happy and someone is talking to her. She initially came two days a week and recently moved up to three days per week. On the other days, she is with her grandparents, but she will be with us full-time several months out of the year while they are visiting warmer climates. Piglet was army crawling when she first started with us and has recently figured out the art of getting around. She is super strong in her arms and legs, so it won't be long before she ventures onto pulling herself up on furniture, etc.

Meet our little Owlette! She was three months old when she started full-time care on August 15th. We've had her here for 2 months now and it's been a delight getting to know her little personality. She's a cuddler and tends to pucker her lips at times and make little "whoo" sounds. She's becoming more interactive each day with us and starting to explore new toys each day. We've definitely bonded with her, and she has adjusted really well to being in our care. We certainly miss her when mom has occasional Mondays and Fridays off.

And this is our newest and littlest guy! He started part-time October 9th at two months old and will go full-time in November. We decided to call him Tortoise because it seems to fit his mature little face and serious expressions! He's pretty consistent in his schedule by eating every three hours and sleeping a lot or making squeaky whimpers in between when he needs something. We've also discovered that he loves to be cuddled in the baby sling we have. He's definitely a cutie!

All these new faces are getting to know our other full-time cubs (Caterpillar and Lady Bug) and part-time cubs (Goose, and Chick). Overall, it's been a smooth transition. We are thrilled to start this new season, and we are looking forward to watching all these new kiddos learn and grow.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

We've added three lovely ladies to our care thanks to Pony's family referring them to us! We are blessed to have all of them here, and they are a delight to watch. First up.... two special sisters only a year apart in age, Goose and Chick. They started care on January 11th one day a week so that Mama can get some errands done.

Goose is a busy, little lady and very silly in her expressions. She loves to relate with us through her facial gestures even though she can't quite verbally let us know what she's thinking. She's a lot of fun to interact with, and she actually looks a lot like I did at that age. I even showed her mom a picture of me, and she thought it was actually her daughter at first glance!

 

Silly Goose's sister is just as adorable! She is much more laid back and easy going compared to big sis! She will be a year old in May and has mastered rolling around quite a bit when she plays with toys. She is cute and very cuddly and quite rounded, so we felt naming her Chick was very fitting to her demeanor. We've really enjoyed getting to know her personality as well and look forward to seeing the girls each Wednesday.

Last, but not least, we've got a little baby in the house again. Little Dove is just 3 months old and started care with us on February 13th which is our anniversary!  We've had a very smooth transition in starting care with her this past week and all has gone very well. She's a pretty easy going baby and tends to have her fussy moments right before she gets tired. She eats well and enjoys Mama coming to visit during her lunchtime feedings. She loves her play activity mat and also loves to be cuddled and held. We are enjoying the opportunity and gift of loving on a new little one. She's with us for a short season as Mama would like to stay at home with her in a few months, but for now, we are privileged to have her in our care.

We love having these little special sweeties!