Jack Frost

Our daycare is phenomenal. Stephanie's program is focused on letting the kids learn through play. They do tons of art and science activities, but don't wear aprons or smocks because then the kids aren't inhibited by the worry of "getting messy." Instead, our guidelines say that the kids need to come to school in clothes that can get dirty. This works for Owen.

During the summer, it was pretty common for me to pick him up and find 2 pairs of drenched clothes in his cubby. Stephanie would say, "some kids get REALLY into the water play..."

And last week, they had suspended giant balls of paper from the ceiling, so the kids could paint them as they swung around. Guess who though the best part was letting the painted balls smack him in the face?
Note, these pictures are after Stephanie gave him a thorough cleaning. I actually had to pick him up early that day because he was coughing so bad and Stephanie warned me that "the kids look like smurfs today."
(Oh, and yes, that's Owen testing out the Bumbo seat we are borrowing for Josh. We really didn't need any confirmation that he's got a skinny bum, but geez.)

Fall Picture Day

We had another picture day at "school" today. Since Owen doesn't go to daycare on Thursdays, we made a special trip over there to get his picture taken and participate in the group shot. I also spent the hour as an extra set of hands to help the teachers - getting 15 babies and toddlers lined up for photos is not an easy feat!

I forgot to snag a picture of Owen until right before bedtime, but he was still a good sport about it. I don't think he cracked a grin during the school photos, but we'll see when the proofs come back.

Ever wonder what happens when a toddler wants to feed himself yogurt?

Missing Miss Megan

Daycare was closed last week, but that's for another post. This morning, I was really excited to drop Owen off and share with his teacher all the great things he's learned in the last week. Miss Megan is always so happy to see him and his two little friends - Kaden and Brice.

Imagine my surprise to walk in this morning and find out that Miss Megan is gone... for good. We knew that she recently got married, but didn't know she was moving away. The owners found out two weeks ago, but didn't tell us until this morning. I was surprised, frustrated, and now...sad. We chose our daycare because of the owners and their great program, but I fell in love with daycare because of Miss Megan.

I'm sure Owen is doing fine - he is great with new people - but I am really sad that Miss Megan won't be caring for him anymore. At this point, she knows Owen better than anyone. She's celebrated all his milestones and endured the frustration of his messy reflux. I am sad for Owen - that he won't get to be around her joy, enthusiasm, knowedge, and loving care on a near-daily basis. And, I'm sad that we didn't get a chance to give a proper goodbye. We'll miss you Miss Megan!!

Did I mention that I am sad? I've cried today... at work... twice... and it's only 12:30.