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.