Ever since Auntie Libby had the nerve to have her own beautiful little baby and become a mama we had to start figuring out a new plan for childcare. What does one do after a member of the family has been caring for your children since they were born? We considered many different options, and after a lot of discussion and consulting with friends and coworkers, and hours of google searching, we came upon a lovely daycare center not too far from our house that ended up being a perfect match. And so we decided to make the switch to daycare. 

Because Autumn is getting to be a big girl now (almost three!), she qualifies to be in the preschool room. Over this past year she has carefully observed her big brother going to preschool and has become more and more excited about being able to attend preschool herself. However during the past few weeks she has developed a growing anxiety about either Chris or me leaving for work or going somewhere without her, and sometimes it’s been so much that she needs to be within arm’s reach of me all day long. Eventually, if we mentioned preschool, she would begin to cry, clinging to me and begging me to stay with her. So naturally we began to worry about how she would handle the first day of preschool. We talked a lot about all the fun toys they have at school and how nice her teacher is. And we read one of my favorite stories, about an elephant mama who goes away and then comes back, called Meet Me at the Moon by Gianna Marino. And then, miraculously, the night before our first day, Luca and Autumn decided all on their own to role play going to preschool. I handed them their imaginary backpacks and lunch boxes, they waved goodbye, and drove in Luca’s imaginary car to preschool. Autumn didn’t even bat an eye, and had a great time. As she put it in her own words, she “calmed down.” And guess what – that’s exactly how it went yesterday, on the actual first day of preschool. Despite the typical first day chaos and disorganization in the classroom, both Autumn and Mia got straight to work enjoying the toys and making themselves comfortable. Autumn looked at me and waved, saying, “bye Mama!” When I kissed her goodbye she told me she could calm down. And then I left. I was totally late to work, but I felt so much better knowing both my girls were happy. And when I picked them up at the end of the day, there they were – still happily playing away. What a relief for this first time daycare mama! I know, I know – who had the real anxiety problem here? Autumn or Mama?…😀

Successful first day:  
Mr. Monkey Moo also had a big first day yesterday – summer camp! We ended up with a one week gap between preschool ending and kindergarten beginning with no one available to watch the monkey. Not to worry though, turns out his gym was offering a final week of summer camp at just the right time. Sounds like a great way to finish off the summer – a whole week of gymnastics camp!

Ready for a day full of tumbling, swinging, jumping and flying!  
Needless to say, everyone in the family, including Mama and Daddy, passed out right away last night. 😴😴😴