Little Boys, Babies, and Blessings

How does nearly 7 months go by just like that?  Haha... Once again, we are due for an update!

Two sweet boys joined our crew earlier this year in January.  Both boys are super shy and took a little time to adjust to being in our care. Llama joined us several times with drop-in care January through March, and he recently turned 2 years old in April. He is a super sweet little guy with big, expressive eyes and likes to climb on things with a cute, little smirk on his face. We hope to have him again in the fall for some more visits, but currently his grandparents and aunt are helping out with his care.

Llama

Fox is an adorable red head that comes on Fridays. He loves to have his blanket nearby, play magnets, and often likes to show off his jumps. He also signs for Mom and Dad a few times a day to let us know he misses them and has gotten quite used to our busy crew. Since he turned 2 in May, his vocabulary has blossomed quite a bit, and we've enjoyed having him here!

Fox

We've had several more changes in our pride in the past few months. In May, we started care for a 3 month old baby girl named Roly-Poly. We call her this because she already knew how to roll from her back to tummy, but still can't quite roll back now that she's 5 months old. She easily gets frustrated, but definitely wants to be on the move and is super wiggly when being held. She's curious, engaged, and very intrigued by everything around her. She also is very cuddly when it comes to naptime and wants to often be snuggled or holding a hand to know you are nearby. 

Roly-Poly

We also started care for Seal on July 15th. She is the sister of Polar Bear and is 3 months old. She will be with us for a short time since her and her family will be moving to South Carolina sometime in August or September. Roly-Poly and Seal's families are very close friends and having both babies together is pretty special! Seal is still adjusting to daycare since she is a nursing baby and has trouble taking bottles. Mom is coming to feed her every few hours as needed to help us out with the transition. She gives us the best smiles though in between the fussy moments when she's hungry or tired. 

Baby Seal

Glad I have my daughters to help hold these two precious little ones!

Roly-Poly and Seal

Polar Bear, the babies, and Monarch

K-bird and Roly-Poly

Rabbit and Seal

In addition to Seal starting in July, we also began care for 5 year old Dalmatian in June and little Guinea Pig on July 15tth. They both come 2 days per week and have been a lot of fun to have around. Dalmatian loves rescue vehicles and heroes, so we thought his name would be appropriate since you often find Dalmatians in a firehouse. He loves to tell jokes and has the best laugh. He's also very good with the babies and helps out quite a bit when he's here. His mom requested that pictures not be posted of him, so we gave him some cool sunglasses to fit his cool personality!

Dalmatian

Guinea Pig is 2 years old and is very verbal and tall for her age. She loves to ask me what various animals say and also what the farmer and tractor says. She calls her mom by her first name and kept calling me Mister Karen the first day she was here. I also love that she tells me she's "texting her mom and dad." She's quite advanced for her age and fits right in with Sea Horse and Monarch.

Guinea Pig

We've also said a few goodbyes this year. Hummingbird's mom had a baby sister in February, so she no longer needed care. Thankfully, we have been able to keep in touch with their family and see them on occasion. Moose also said goodbye (and we'll keep in touch) at the end of May. Mom is a teacher and had the summer off to take care of him and Platypus. She will begin teaching a part-time position in the fall at Platypus' school and Moose will also begin preschool there. It was a great change for their family, but we will miss having them around, especially since they have been with us for 4 years!

Hummingbird's last day

Moose's last day

Saying Goodbyes to LPC friends

and Kangaroo

Overall, we are busy enjoying the all the precious kiddos we have in our care and are thankful for the warm weather and rain we've had this summer. It makes the grass greener and our playtime adventures outside have been super enjoyable. In closing, here are group pics of our crazy crew of over the past several months!

We look forward to what the second half of 2024 will bring!

Until next time....

Meet the Cubs - Season 8

It's fall, and we've had some changes in kiddos, so we thought we'd put together another slideshow to show you what's been going on lately around the den! It captures our last year with Pony and our time with Bunny, Wolf Cub, Horse, Giraffe, and Starfish. We love each and every one of you and are so glad we got to make some fun memories with you.

Mid-Summer Update

Well, we had our last day with Giraffe and Starfish on June 1st. We will miss having our little friends around but are very thankful that they live not too far from us. In fact, KylieBird has babysat for them a few times, and it's fun to hear all the great stories of their adventures!

On June 3rd, Caterpillar returned to our care! He was with us for a month last year for temporary care while his sitter was on leave. He's now joined us for long-term care, and we are so thrilled to have him back. He's grown quite a bit and is now a happy, cute, and chattering two-year old. He fits right in with the other kids, and Butterfly just loves to give him bear hugs. He also enjoys watching Little Einsteins, AKA "Wocketship," and now all our little cubs enjoy chanting "blast off" with him during snack time!

On June 10th, we had the privilege of having Wolf Pup join our pack! He is 18 months old and reminds us of the little wolf pup from the newest Jungle Book movie and looks a little like Mowgli with his dark hair and complexion. He's been coming two days a week for the past month, but unfortunately he's had a lot of sickness lately. His doctor is advising he waits on being in daycare until his immune system can get stronger and healthier. So, we just found out this week that Grandma will watch him awhile longer until he can return in the near future.

We've had a great time this summer playing with water and trying to beat the heat! The kids have really enjoyed getting wet and have even discovered the joy of playing in mud. Our hope is to do a slideshow soon to capture our season with Bunny, Giraffe, Starfish, Pony, Bullfrog, Butterfly, and Ladybug, and we look forward to the adventures ahead with Caterpillar joining the crew.

Lady Bug and Bunny.... Lots to update!

It's been awhile since we've updated the blog.... After our last slide show we've had many life events occur such as a surgery, the holidays, goodbyes to loved ones, our anniversary, and birthdays!

As usual, life in the den does not always stay consistent. Little ones come and go. We've had to accept the hard fact that for every hello, there will someday be a goodbye. We will only remain in each child's life for a season. That is the hardest part of caring for little ones that are not our own, yet we love them as such. We have to remember though, that we do create memories with the cubs and hopefully, somehow, these little ones will know in their hearts that they were very special to us.

In December 2015, we started part-time care with little Bunny, who was born in August. In April, her family's circumstances and needs suddenly changed, so we had a very short season with our little friend.

The four months we spent with her were very special as we watched her grow and learn to crawl! We gave her many cuddles, and she will hold a special place in our hearts! I didn't get a chance to introduce her on the blog, but we will fondly remember her little grunt/growl she gave each time she was hungry or tired. She was one of the most easy-going babies we've known. Most importantly, she gave smiles instantly with her little tongue hanging out. It brought us so much joy and made some more challenging days much brighter! We will miss her dearly, but we do plan to keep in touch with her family so we can keep up with her journey.

    

In January 2016, we started care with another little one, also born in August of last year. Lady Bug has been a joy to care for as well since she came to the den. She is very dainty, with long delicate fingers and great big eyes. Due to personal preferences, her parents do not want to post pictures of her yet, but we can give you a hint of her sweetness at least. Lady Bug had a rough time when Mama first went back to work and had some fussy days. She has made  a lot of progress in adapting to her home away from home. We've grown to love her little coos and fascination with faces. She recently started saying "bye, bye" and loves to be cuddled. We are very thankful for her sweetness and the blessing of having her here three days a week.

Giraffe and Starfish have been with us since August. They will be staying home with Mom starting in June since she will not be going back to work in the fall. Once they transition back home, Caterpillar will be joining us again for full-time care! Pony, Bullfrog, and Butterfly are also still with us. We've had a lot of fun playing with playdough, train tracks, tools, puzzles, bubbles, and all our outside activities. These little cubs keep us on our toes! We look forward to sharing another slide show this summer of all the great pictures and all the great faces in our den.

 

Meet Our Cubs - Season 7

We've been working on an updated slideshow in honor of the cubs that have moved on this year: Duck, Pony, Hamster, Caterpillar, and Bumblebee. We've enjoyed having you with us, and we'll cherish our time with you. In addition, we've captured highlights of the new cubs that have joined us. We've experienced some new memories, and we hope you enjoy watching the show!

Meet Starfish and Giraffe

We want to welcome Starfish and Giraffe. They are siblings and come two full days a week and one half-day. Starfish is 5 months old and pretty laid back. Her name comes from the use of her zippy (sleep sack). She loves her hands and can't easily fall asleep since they distract her quite a bit. So, her parents use a sleep sack with triangular arms. When she wears it, her limbs spread out, and she reminds us of a starfish.

Giraffe is the big brother. He turned two in May, but is a very tall boy, so he looks like he's almost four years old. In fact, he is taller than Pony and Bullfrog, so it's easy to forget that he's only two. He's a big thinker and learns words quickly because he imitates things we say. He plays well with others, has good manners, and reminds us of a safari dude with his cool hat and bright red hair. His dad is a taxidermist and his mom's a counselor, so it makes sense. He loves the outdoors.

We look forward to getting to know these two as they join Bullfrog, Butterfly, Pony, and Bumblebee in playtime at the den. Bumblebee will be flying back to Grandma's house in a week and no longer need our care. She will be missed!