2021 Updates and New Babies

Where did the last 6 months go?  Wow, we have definitely kept pretty busy with all the littles in our care. We are living in some crazy times right now with all the illness in our community and guidelines that are continually being updated. We are thankful that we have all stayed healthy for the most part, despite a few kids having to go on quarantine last year. We are so blessed to have time with each cub in our care and grateful for each day that they are here.

Let's get things up to date for the new year and start with a recap on Owlette. She was supposed to leave in August, but ended up being with us until November 12th when she headed off to preschool for a second time this year. It was hard to say our goodbyes, but it turns out that we've been able to have some additional drop in days with her since then since preschool didn't quite work out and her parents are looking for new jobs. They are also planning to relocate to another state at the end of the month, so we are hoping to find ways to keep in touch. Our 4.75 year journey with their family has been a blessing, and we've loved all of the special memories we made with them. We will miss our little helper, dreamer, leader, and adventurer. You will do big things in this world, I'm sure of it!

Owlette

Last day with Owlette; big brother Alligator joined our picture

Next up, Hippo, Sea Horse, and Platypus are still with us full-time. They have all grown up considerably since our last post. Hippo finally figured out crawling after several months of the army crawl. He's still not walking, weighs 28 lbs, and has gotten very tall! The girls are great helpers and very gentle with him. Snow Leopard unfortunately had to go down to part-time care this month and Kinkaju still visits us on a drop-in basis. 

Platypus, Snow Leopard, and Sea Horse

(The Three Musketeers)

Sweet Hippo

All four girls hanging out together

Kinkaju                            Snow Leopard

Sea Horse                                 Platypus

Platypus has a little brother that was born in October and joined us on January 3rd. He is a very easy going guy so far, and we are loving all of the snuggles. He's already 14 lbs, so I am working on strengthening my biceps, haha!  Because he came right after Christmas, Sea Horse calls him Baby Jesus. Gotta love it! Stay tuned as we figure out his cub name.

In other news, we will also be having our former client Caterpillar's little sister join us at the end of the month. He is now seven, and we are thrilled to be supporting this family for a second time around with their surprise little blessing born in November. We seem to be entering a season of younger ones this year, and are enjoying the treasured moments it brings.

Caterpillar and his new sister at home

Our final news for 2021 is the loss of our beloved ash tree in our backyard. Unfortunately, the windstorm on December 15 caused our tree to break at the top, and we had to cut it down. We loved that tree so much, and it was a faithful provider of shade for many years. We will have to get creative in the spring and find new ways to stay cool, but we are grateful that not more damage was done.

 

As with every new year, we are trusting for new blessings, new cubs, and new adventures!

A Prince and His Princesses

This little guy, Hippo, turned 9 months old this month! He's growing up so fast and is surrounded by little princesses this summer! He is a pretty laid back guy and has yet to learn how to crawl! He keeps busy watching all the girls, while laying on his belly and excitedly kicking his legs or sitting up by himself playing with toys. 

He gets continuously smothered with love and snuggles from all the girls, and they love to make sure he has all his needs met. He also loves his food and is a big eater! He recently explored the sand box with Platypus. She will be having a new sibling in October, a little brother, so we will be taking care of another little guy beginning in January 2022.

Ladybug has joined us this summer while she is out of school, and we have had a lot of fun with her! She has inspired the little girls to get out their pre-school workbooks each day while she works on her Kindergarten book, and they all wait for lunchtime together. It's very adorable to watch them learn and thrive on routine.

She will be heading back on August 17th, so we only have a few more weeks left with her on summer break. Owlette will also be venturing out again in August to try a different preschool. Both girls are amazing helpers and have taught 3 year old Snow Leopard how to carry the torch well when they leave.

Sea Horse and Platypus are also quite the busy helpers at 2 yrs and 18 months!

Kinkajou has also dropped-in over the summer months to visit and play with the girls. Her family's need for childcare isn't as necessary for them this summer, but we have been grateful for the times that she does come to see us. As we head into another season of transition, I feel so blessed having the privilege of watching each of these precious children as they come into our home, and look forward to meeting our new cubs very soon! 

Spontaneous Playdate

 We had the privilege of hanging out with our buddy, Tortoise last night. He gave us a huge belly laugh when I opened the door for a visit. His mom decided to surprise him with a playdate for the evening. We had fun playing with planes, cars, the tent, and swinging outside (all his favorite things). So glad he asks to still hang out with us. He makes us laugh and is so inquisitive about everything. 

See you next time!

Missing Iguana Already

 After being with us for a year and a half, this little guy headed home last month to be with his Mamma and baby brother. She unfortunately was laid off, so we had to say our goodbyes to Iguana. We have enjoyed the joyful and exuberant spirit of this energetic little guy. He spent his last day with us playing playdoh with his buddy, Owlette. They had such a good time and couldn't stop laughing together. He will definitely be missed and hopefully can come visit for some drop-in days down the road. 

Love the curls

Playdoh fun

Hanging with the girls

Owlette Returns, Quarantine... and Kinkajou

 As always, there have been more changes around the den! We've had our share of chaos, even though it's only been three months into the new year. By far, the biggest change was that Owlette, much to our surprise, came back to the den on January 18th! Her transition to preschool did not go as well as planned, so her parents decided to come back after a week and spend more time at Lion's Pride. 

Her return was very welcomed considering we missed having her around, and she missed us as well. We've been implementing preschool activities into our weekly routine, complete with hand-drawn worksheets by my daughter, Rabbit. She thrives on attention and one-on-one learning, and we're so thrilled to be able to have the opportunity to experience that growth alongside her. The other cubs are also so glad to have her back, especially Snow Leopard. I love this picture that her mom took recently in front of our house before daycare. She's growing up fast and, as you can see from her smiles, glad to be back!

A short time later on January 29th we had an unexpected closure due to my son getting Covid. The next three weeks were a bit stressful as he isolated and we quarantined. Thankfully, the rest of us did not get sick! Some days were pretty challenging as we waited things out. We really missed all the kids, but did our best to stay busy with various projects around the house. My taxes got done early and our closets are a bit cleaner. We re-opened on February 19th and had a joyous return with three of our cubs. The rest of the crew reunited on February 22nd, and we started care with a new part-time cub the following day! (More about our new cub below.)

Let me introduce you to Kinkajou! I called her Honey Bear on the first day she was here because of her sweet and adventurous spirit. In searching for an animal name, I discovered that a Kinkajou is also nicknamed a honey bear because of its cute big eyes and love of honey. Well, this little one has gorgeous, bright eyes and is very sweet. Her love of the outdoors and exploring is also a big part of her personality, so this animal name seemed to fit the best! We are enjoying getting to know her.

Even though the past few months have been busy with a baby, two toddlers, and several preschoolers, I am so grateful for the daily opportunity to serve these little ones. Our quarantine was a bit of a break from the busyness and definitely a different pace, but my heart continues to enjoy the blessings and laughter that little ones bring to each day. We are also glad to be back!

New Beginnings and New Chapters

The start of  a new year often brings new beginnings!  It's only been a few months since our last update, but we've turned the page of another year with some new changes. Some of our chapters have ended and new chapters have begun. The last few months of 2020 were definitely busy with the holidays, and we experienced a few more transitions to round out this very unique year. 

We had Shark come back to visit us for a few weeks over Christmas break and also watched a very sweet and special, little guy named Beaver, who is very focused when it comes to using his fine motor skills to put things together. Both were here on a short-term basis while we waited for our newborn Hippo to begin care in December. We also had a delightful visit with Lady Bug over the Christmas break which was a lot of fun!

Two month old Hippo joined our den on December 16th. His name fits him pretty well. Even though he wasn't a big baby like his dad predicted, he's got a pretty bald head with cute little wrinkles. He is a very easy going baby so far and loves to eat, sleep and cuddle. All our other cubs have adjusted well to having a new baby here and often give him loving snuggles.

Last, but not least, our biggest change occurred last week when we said our goodbyes to Owlette. She has been with us for three and a half years, but ventured on her own new chapter to begin preschool. She was very excited about it considering her long time buddies, Piglet and Tortoise, already began their journey last year. She was such a delight to have in our care and was extremely eager to be our BIG helper all the time. She'd assist with getting Mr. Lion his yogurt or lunch, help the babies with their needs, and often wanted to be the one in charge, lol!  We miss her terribly already, but look forward to some future visits with our little leader and snuggler. We were able to get some great group pictures with her before sending her off with goodbye hugs. She wanted to make sure we included everyone, even Kangaroo's girlfriend.

We pray blessings on all these little ones and look forward to a new year!

Fall Fun and A Snow Leopard

 Here are some fun pictures of our annual leaf pile that the kids always enjoy! Luckily, I was able to get it all bagged up before our snowstorm last weekend. I also love how my daughter Rabbit is not too old to join in the fun by laying in the leaves and Sea Horse's attempt at trying the big kid swing. Owlette was so proud and cheered her on! I really enjoy this season of the year and the memories it brings!

Fall also tends to bring new cubs into our den! On October 19th, we began care three days a week for a 2 1/2 year old little Snow Leopard. She is a big fan of our animals and gets so excited when she sees them. She often says "Ace out?" when our dog is resting in his kennel and also loves to follow the cats around when they come downstairs for food at the end of the day. We recently had our laser pointer out to play with the cats, and she tried catching the little red light just like a cat would. It's for this reason and the very light color of her hair that we came up with Snow Leopard. We had several animal names picked out as choices, but her parents liked this name the best. We think it fits well, and she is a very sweet, lovable new friend. Owlette has enjoyed having another playmate. We enjoyed the nice weather outside on her first day and were able to capture a group picture of all the cubs together.

This is our crew! Our newest cub was born on October 14th and will be joining us in December. His dad has already requested that we call him Hippo, lol! Looking forward to experiencing some new adventures as we near the end of this crazy year!