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

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.