We'll Miss These Girls!

These two girls have brought a lot of fun and laughter into our home. We'll miss having them around! They enjoyed playing together the few times they came on the same days. Mermaid was quite sad when Deer stopped coming in September and started preschool. Mermaid's Mommy just had a baby brother, so she will be taking time off to spend time with them while Mom's on maternity leave. Both girls have new adventures ahead of them as they learn "the big sister" role since Deer's Mama is also expecting a little one in February of next year. They are both good helpers, so I think they'll do great! Thanks for some fun times, girls! We love your smiles :) !!!

Little Man Lemur

We've had the privilege of of watching a new little guy since September 10th. He comes 1 - 3 days per week and started with us at the age of 3 months old. We have been anticipating his arrival since spring and were so excited to hear about his birth date in June this summer.

We received his birth announcement in the mail and immediately fell in love with his big, dark, and bright eyes and adorable little smirk. We've decided to call him Lemur because of his inviting eyes, the way he moves and squirms so much, and his many outfits with stripes on them! His personality reminds me of the song "I Like to Move It" from the Madagascar movie.

We are sad to say that we recently found out that Lemur will be moving to another state in December because of his daddy's new job offer. Our time with him will be short, but we are doing are best to make every moment special with him while he's here. We've captured some snapshots of his cuteness, so please enjoy!

 

This little guy has been a lot of fun to interact with, has great smiles, and does really well with his naps and eating schedule. Wallaby, Pony, Duck, and Mermaid have all really enjoyed his time with us so far. They've adjusted well to having him here and like to "boop" him with their finger or give him hugs and kisses. Mermaid especially likes to practice being a big sister when Lemur comes. Her little brother will be born in a few weeks, so she will get to be home with Mom for awhile and enjoy his company. We wish Deer was still with us, but she started preschool in September.

 

Thanks for coming Lemur! We sure are enjoying our time with you.

Our New Friend, Mermaid

We have the privilege of introducing Mermaid to the den! I know it's not exactly an animal name, but it is to this little girl, as you can see in the video clip above! We tried to come up with an animal name for her, but sometimes things just don't fit as well, and you just have to go with what seems to fit the best. She joined our crew near the end of March, and we are so happy to have her adorable sweetness here 3 days a week.

Mermaid received her special name because she has a stuffed Mermaid that she loves to play with, and she recently enjoyed visiting the aquarium in Denver with her family on her 3rd birthday. She was very fascinated by the swimming mermaids and to this day still talks about seeing them. She is also very cautious and highly observant of sights, sounds, smells, and what's going on around her. Sounds similar to the life of a Mermaid, if you ask me...

She loves to read books and Daniel Tiger is her favorite show. Every day she brings her stuffed kitties named "Winks" and "WayWay" as well as her special blanket named "Corners". She is very girly and insists that I call her pants "leggings" and her barrette a "clippy". She has grown quite fond of Rabbit and Puppy, especially when they play as if they are all kittens with specially designed tails and great imaginations! She also has become an instant friend to Deer since they are the same age and enjoy being playmates. Mermaid is a good little helper in watching out for the toddlers and will be a wonderful big sister in November.

Meet our Cubs - Seasons 4 & 5

It has been quite awhile since we've posted due to the very fact that our little cubs keep us quite busy. The evidence is below with our newest slideshows. SkyBird has been working very hard on these for awhile, and her ability to manage putting these clips together is amazing. I am very grateful for her hard work to capture the fun and eventful moments we have around here.

The first slideshow has highlights from last summer and early fall when Otter and Panda were still with us. Our seasons overlapped a bit with our cubs and because we had lots of pictures to show, we decided to make make a second slide show of pictures from early 2014 to capture the our daily experiences. Some of the second slideshow highlights our last and very special days with Kitten before she moved on to a smaller daycare home setting.

We hope you enjoy the shows!

New Hellos and Even More Goodbyes

Once again, the past few months have brought some changes and transitions in the den. I think we are learning that this is a more common thing than we anticipated since people's lives and circumstances can change pretty quickly. We've said some new hellos and some unexpected goodbyes in the past few months, so let's see if we can get things up to speed for anyone interested.

HELLOS.... Kitten, Pony, and Duck!   

(A Mini-Farm in the Den)

Kitten

As mentioned in a previous post, Kitten, also know by her mama as Pickle and Puggle, has returned to the den and comes two days a week. We've enjoyed having her two-year old spirit and excitement in our home again. She is a very diligent and committed fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and says "Oh, I'm coming, I'm coming" if she hears the music from the show (not surprising, since her mom used to work for Disney World). She also calls K-bird and Rabbit "lady" when she can't remember their names. My name has suddenly become Karen's House. Otter was very taken to Kitten when she arrived and showered her with lots of hugs and kisses. They became best buds very quickly.

Pony

We had an interview at the end of August for a 14-month old, and he joined our daily crew just a few days later. He is one month older than Wallaby, but also a bit smaller. He even has more hair, but that's what inspired his name. Pony has a small tuft of hair that covers his forehead like a horse. His petite nature, strength, and way that he nods his head back and forth reminds us of a pony. He loves to either climb over, onto, or into things or sit in my lap and cuddle with his pacifier and cow blanket. He and Wallaby have had some adjusting to do in sharing toys with each other and learning how to get along, but I think they are becoming quite used to each other now by the way they greet each other each morning when Pony arrives.

 

Duck

In March of this year, I completed additional training for infants and toddlers in order to obtain my three under two specialty license for daycare. I had a home visit in July to submit my new license capacity and expected approval within a few weeks. In August, I was referred to a new family with a 9-month old little girl needing part-time care on a daily basis. I had to pull a few strings to figure out the delay in my new license approval, but it came just in time to start care with little Duck just after Labor Day. She received her name because of her cute little cackle when she laughs, so we often call her "Affy Duck" since her real name starts with A!

She stays very busy crawling around, pulling herself up, and playing with toys. She is on the verge of taking her first steps as well, and just turned a year old. Her hair is growing longer in the front than in the back, so she has these cute little curls coming in around her face. I think her three favorite things are her blanket, noodles (oh my, does she love noodles), and playing in the sand. She has laughed with delight each time we've tried out the sandbox.

T-Rex

Do I have your attention now? I know it doesn't quite fit the farm theme here, but we'd like to give an honorable mention to T-Rex who was with us for about a month from August until the end of September. He was with us part-time for awhile and the first time I met him he told me "I'm a T-Rex", so it just seemed to fit. He was almost three and full of energy. He loved to play with trains and built a "Dinosaur Train" out of blocks. It was super creative, so I thought I'd post a picture of his hard work. I think his train is really cool...  Although his time here was short, we enjoyed playing and interacting with him.

GOODBYES.... Otter and Panda

We recently celebrated the fact that Otter was with us a full year! However, his mom has transitioned into working from home now. Though we are very, very sad to see him go, we are very, very glad that he can be at home with his awesome mama! We miss him so much already. He knew and understood so much and would have pretty mature and in-depth conversations with us as a two-year old. I know he will be a great communicator when he grows up because his mom communicates with him very effectively.

I will miss how Otter loved to play puzzles on my phone and the way he sucked his fingers by holding his arm in place. Most of all, I will miss his daily routine of shooting cars off the piano table and into a big pile on the floor. He would occupy himself with that activity for 15 minutes or more and create a huge mess to clean up at the end of the day :) In fact, one of his last days here, I asked him to help pick up the cars and he quickly said, "No, I'm too tired." He did help after some coaxing, but it was a little comical coming from a two-year old.

Panda's time here with us was very short. As you know she came under our wing this past summer, but as of mid-October, she is staying home with her mom for awhile while she considers other possibilities for her work situation.

Panda brought a lot of life and energy into our home. She was constantly on the move from one activity to the next. She was great at making messes and good a picking them up as well. She loved playing with puzzles, coloring, stickers and the makeshift fishing game with wooden spoons.

I remember her early days here when she was very shy and had to adjust to being away from home for the first time. She would ask all day long "Mommy, Daddy coming?". Towards the end of her stay here, she was very comfortable with us and didn't have to ask about Mom and Dad anymore. She knew they would come, and she knew how to make the most of her time here.

I will miss her bright eyes and curly, black hair and her helpfulness in letting me know what trouble Ace was into or what the babies were doing. She was very gentle with the little ones and quick to share toys with them. She will be a great leader someday based on her attentiveness and the determination she demonstrates even now at a young age.

Blessings to you, Panda and Otter, as you move on to a new season in your lives. We are so thankful for the time that we had with you in our home!

Meet Our Cubs - Season 3

This slideshow has been a long time in the making. Ever since we made our first slideshow, we have enjoyed making slideshows to remember the cubs we all had at the same time, hence the word seasons. Here is a slideshow to document and commemorate our time with Meerkat, Otter, Wallaby, Flamingo, Penguin, Kitten, and Puppy. While Meerkat, Otter, Flamingo, and Penguin have moved on to other opportunities and "seasons" in their life, we very much enjoyed the season we had with them. We love all of you very much!
 

Since we've had some more transition in the last month, Season 4 will be soon to come!

Memories of Meerkat

Here are some fun pictures of our visit with Meerkat back in May when we said some goodbyes and found out he would be home with mom for awhile. Since this day, we have had a few visits with him which has been nice since their family still lives here in town and sometimes watches our beloved Ace who was born and nurtured in their home on October 20, 2012. This collage is in celebration of a year with Ace and the dear family who gave him to us! 

Meerkat and "Acers" have brought many adventures and good times for our family. Our most favorite memories we have of Meerkat are his belly laugh and the way he would say "I am Iron Man" in a very gutteral voice for a toddler. The one memory we will treasure always is how he sat on Lion's lap on a daily basis to watch trains. Thomas the Tank Engine and diesels were his top requests. Ace, on the other had, has also given us many stories to tell as we've experienced the journey of puppyhood. But, that would take a whole separate blog. Let's just say... we've learned to hide all the cubs shoes :)