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

Beat the Heat

It has been so hot this summer! We've spent a lot of time trying to beat the heat with the water table. It takes a bit of time to get everyone ready to play outside and covered with sunscreen, but once we do, it's fun watching them splash and play in the water.

Since I recently acquired my experienced provider licensed, I've been able to watch Owlette's older brother, Alligator who's visiting from South Dakota.  We've also had Crocodile on summer vacation as well, so he's been hanging out with his brother Cheetah and the other boys. It's been a unique schedule this summer with my part-timers rotating days, so some days we have a majority of boys and other days we have mostly girls. The babies stay pretty consistent though.

Piglet is visiting her dad in Florida, so we've been missing her, but will get to see her again in a couple of weeks. Here are some fun pictures to reflect on all of our summer fun so far!

The girls: Ladybug, Chick, and Goose

 The boys:  Cheetah, Crocodile, Alligator, and Caterpillar

All the crew above, but on different days! Below, Cheetah and Ladybug who will be headed to preschool in the fall. Fawn (in the black and white polka dots) will also be going to preschool, so we will miss having her one a day a week. Caterpillar has especially enjoyed hanging out with her! We wish you all the best on your new adventures and hope to see you on some school breaks.

 Last, but not least... the little ones Owelette and Tortoise. The first is starting the adventure of walking, the other is learning to crawl!

 

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.

So Many Changes....

Once again, as I sneak a few minutes away from my busy schedule to write a blog update, I am reminded of all the changes we have encountered. This summer has had a lot of transition for us. We've learned that life brings changes and with those changes we often see the cubs in our care move on in different directions. Several of our cubs have left our care in the past several months due to varying circumstances, and we've had the opportunity once again to begin care with some new little ones.

So, without further ado, let's get things up to date! First of all, Little Robin's mama found out they were expecting a second child, so in May she made the decision to be a stay at home mama and also nanny other children. We definitely miss this little spunky personality and hope to have visit's with her when we can! I am certain she will be a great big sister.

Next up, our little guys Chinchilla and Hamster are staying full-time with their Grandpa now. Although they were only coming once a week, we definitely miss their personalities and adorable smiles. We were so glad to care for them this past year and enjoyed our time together.

The month of August brought the most change for us as we said our goodbyes to three of our daycare kids.  Two of them, Bullfrog and Butterfly had been with us for 2 1/2 years! Bullfrog ventured off to a new adventure in preschool and Butterfly's departure was a bit unexpected, but it worked best for her mom to have a daycare closer to Bullfrog's preschool. It was a sad goodbye considering we've had so much history with these two, but our hope is to stay in touch and still make it to their fun birthdays and other visits since they are like family now.

 

 

The third cub, Dove, who also left in August was only with us for 6 short months. Her mama's plan all along was to be a stay at home mommy, so we knew initially that we would only have her for a little while. We had the privilege of watching her grow and learn so quickly! She was almost walking when we said our goodbyes at only 10 months old and her vocabulary was also starting to blossom. It was a bit mind blowing to see how smart she was! Dove will also be missed, but we are so glad she can be with her mama now.

We miss you already Robin, Chinchilla, Hamster, Bullfrog, Butterfly, and Dove. We hope you will be blessed in your new adventures and pray God's continued protection over you as you grow up.

To be continued with all the new faces......

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!

Year-End Update

As 2016 is nearing an end, I thought I would use my day off to catch up on the blog. So many changes have occurred since August, so I'm well overdue for an update on our cubs.

When Pony headed off to preschool, we gained four part-timers! Teddy Bear Hamster and his brother started care mid-August on Wednesdays and Fridays so his mom could go back to school and earn her teaching degree. It's great having Hamster back and seeing how much he's grown over the past year. We've named his brother Chinchilla since they look alike but are unique in their own personalities. They bring lots of smiles, busyness, and laughter to our home. Bullfrog and Caterpillar love to push trucks around with Hamster and enjoy having their buddy back. Chinchilla recently started walking everywhere and celebrated his first birthday. He is just as sweet as his brother, and we love his cuddles!

In August and early September, we began care with Fawn and Robin. Fawn is a very sweet 3 year old who loves Paw Patrol along with all the boys. She loves to giggle and when you ask her to take a picture, she sticks her little tongue out and makes a goofy face. She fits right in with the crew and is super helpful when it comes to clean up time or helping someone with a need. Unfortunately, her dad lost his job in October, so Fawn's 3 days per week have changed to drop-in care. We sure do love her visits though!

Robin is our sweet and quiet little toddler who is now 18 months old and comes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She is very laid back and very mellow around all the kids. We are told by her mom, one of KylieBird's childhood friends, that she talks all the time at home, but here we are lucky to catch a few words from her. She tends to be shy yet very interactive with us. Her first few days were an adjustment for her in leaving Mama, but now she gets dropped off and loves to jump into playtime with the others.

So, our crew has grown. Our part-timers join our full-timers, Bullfrog, Caterpillar, Butterfly, and Ladybug. They are all learning a growing each day and building some special memories with each other. They especially enjoy puzzles, toy cars, building activities, singing and dancing, and train tracks on a daily basis.

A few more changes are coming in January with Hamster and Chinchilla coming on Fridays only and another family potentially starting care on Wednesdays with their two little girls. We also hope to have a new little one starting care in February. It's been a lot of work but also a lot of fun having all of these blessings in our care! We are thankful to be a part of each families lives and look forward to what 2017 has in store for us.