Reunions and Goodbyes

It's amazing to see how things have changed for us in just a few short months. With the onset of the pandemic back in March, things were definitely "not normal" for several weeks. We were thankfully able to remain open and stay healthy the past few months, but not all of our cubs were able to come since parents were heeding the stay at home order.

Several of our cubs went down to a part-time status for the summer and a couple of our cubs have given their notice since they will be heading off to preschool in the fall. Triceratops was our only cub that we were unable to say goodbye to because of COVID. His parents have been working at home this whole time and kept him home with his older siblings. We thought he would return over the summer, but their jobs have not yet transitioned back into the office. We will miss our little superhero friend and the sweet little way he would move his head from left to right.... not to mention his great, belly laugh too!

Triceratops our little Superhero buddy!

We will also miss Piglet's belly laugh!!! We have had her since she was eight months old, but her last day was June 2nd as she headed off to Florida for the summer to be with her dad before attending preschool in August. We were very blessed to have some quality time with her on her last day here. My kids all got some special moments with her to say their goodbyes. Keegaroo will especially miss her since they shared a special bond. We will always remember the way she was creative in play and decided that the mustard bottle in the refrigerator was a "baby". She kept having Keegaroo go check on Baby Mustard to see if it was okay.  Her vivid imagination kept us hopping each day as she played doctor, mamas and babies with Owlette, or buckling up to go to "Costo". We hope to stay in touch and have visits with her when we can.

 Piglet                                                     "Baby Mustard"

 Last Fall with Keegaroo                                   Last day cuddles

Saying Goodbye!

Platypus was with us for a few days the end of May while her mom packed up her classroom for the year. She's a bit bigger since the last time we saw her in March. She's off again for the summer months, but should be back in August depending on what the school situation looks like by then.

 

Platypus

 

Platypus and Rabbit

Iguana also was staying home for quite some time with his mom. He lives very close by, so we would have a few visits with him while Rabbit was doing her driving lessons around the neighborhood. He was so excited to see us and was finally able to return to care last week. He's coming part-time over the summer and hopefully will return full-time if schools open back up. We were thrilled to find out that his mom is having a baby in January, so we are hoping to have a new baby cub next summer if things all work out.  We've learned though that things can happen unexpectedly at an time, so we are learning to take things a day at a time.

 Iguana

Tortoise, Owlette, and Seahorse have been with us pretty regularly and little Swan has picked up some extra days this summer. Also joining us for the summer is Ladybug since her parents have returned to work in the recent weeks.

  Ladybug                                                    Sea Horse

Swan

Owlette

Tortoise

 Cooling off on a hot day!

All the kids with Puppy, Rabbit, and K-Bird

Last but not least we have a new little cub, Red Panda. She joined our cub family on June 11th and will be coming three days a week. We decided her touch of red hair and need for continuous snuggles are quite fitting with her cub name. She's been a bit fussy on her first few days day while trying to adjust to her new surroundings, but she's getting used to us the more often she comes.. We look forward to getting to know her personality more as she grows, but so far we love her little wavesd, smiles, and the way she clicks her tongue. We love her already and enjoy having her here.

Sweet little Red Panda

Now.... let's see what the last half of the year brings our way....

Summertime Again

Another holiday has come and gone, which means a little time off for me and the opportunity to make another update.  Recently I took updated individual pictures of our cubs before Piglet headed off to Florida for seven weeks to be with her dad. We are missing her quite a bit, but we are grateful we were able to also capture a few group shots of her and her friends before leaving town. Ladybug has joined us for the summer months while she's been gone, so it has been fun to have an old friend back with us.

 (Top: Swan, Tortoise, Owlette; Middle: Piglet, Triceratops, Ladybug; Bottom: Caterpillar, Unicorn, Spider)

There are a few new faces here for the summer. Swan is the little sister of Chick and Goose. She has been coming once a week since the beginning of June (instead of Chick, since she is now going to preschool with Goose). We thought her name was fitting since she is an easy going baby and it fits in well with her sisters' names. She is a lot of fun to watch and gives the best cheesy grins each time we look her direction. We are not sure how long we will watch her but hope to continue having her one day a week while her sisters take on a new adventure homeschooling with their mamma.

Another new face is Cat. She is here with us short-term during the summer months since her other daycare situation fell through. She is 5 years old and has beautiful curls. She is getting to know Caterpillar, Spider, and the rest of the gang pretty well despite feeling uneasy her first day here. We decided to name her Cat because she enjoys interacting with others, takes long naps, but also likes her space once in awhile.

Our previous daycare client Rabbit has been hanging out with us as well this summer. She's 12 now and her dad has been making some needed improvements to our backyard. We had an extreme make over with new railroad ties around the pea gravel area, fence repairs, trees trims, and fresh paint on our deck, ladder and porch swing. It's a huge weight off my shoulders and makes the yard much more enjoyable.

In the fall, Caterpillar and Spider will be heading off to kindergarten! It's hard to believe, but they seem ready for some new adventures in learning. I will miss their mischievous giggles while playing together and helping hands with the little ones. We will have 9 month old joining us in August and a newborn early next year. New seasons bring new adventures! In the meantime, we are enjoying our summer fun and helping Caterpillar adapt to having a cast on his leg after having surgery mid-July. He's been a trooper for sure!

 

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