Almost Halloween

Gateway reminded us all week to dress Emily for Halloween on Friday--both of her teachers were dressed as black cats, and several of the kids in her class had on costumes. We decided to go the simpler route and just let her wear this cute little onesie from Aunt Jenn, since a costume might have been a little much for all day long. When I picked her up in the afternoon, she had on a different outfit, and Miss Amanda told me she almost made it through the day without changing :).

Another Eventful Walk

I picked Emily up this afternoon and her teacher told me about the wonderful walk they went on today--Emily and Evan sat next to each other in the stroller, and held hands again on the walk! I told Miss Christina that they were going to HAVE to take a picture for us!

The other cool thing was that Emily met another new friend on her walk today. Gateway is located next to a neighborhood, and apparently there's a lady in the neighborhood who likes to come out and see the kids when they're walking. Today, she came out with her Golden Retriever. Miss Christina said every child in the stroller was afraid of the dog, but Emily stuck her little hand out and petted him! She said she smiled the whole time, and was so excited to see the dog. I'm sure she thought it was Bella or Gracie coming to visit her :).

OOPS...it's Evan!

If I'm going to keep up with Emily and her boyfriend, I do need to get his name right. It's actually Evan, not Kyle...I'm not sure why I mistakenly called him Kyle!

Anyway, I picked Emily up this afternoon and Miss Amanda told me they took another walk outside today, and Emily and Evan held hands the whole time...again! I just couldn't believe it. I would give anything to have seen them. When I mentioned to the teacher that Emily's daddy wasn't quite ready to deal with boyfriends yet, she said "don't worry, he comes from money." Too funny! At least we know Emily already has expensive taste :).

First Boyfriend

Today was a beautiful fall day, and when I picked Emily up this afternoon, her teacher told me they went for a walk outside today. They have a big 4-seat stroller that they take the babies outside in sometimes--today, they put two of the older babies in the front seats, and put Emily and Kyle in the back seats. Kyle is a cute little boy about Emily's age, and just moved up to her class this week from the younger class at Gateway. Miss Amanda told me this afternoon that Emily and Kyle held hands for the entire walk, and just loved being outside. I can just imagine how adorable that was!

A Good Day

Yesterday was the first full day of school for Emily, and it was pouring down rain when we got up. We had things pretty well organized to take in with her, but still got off to a bit of a late start because I always feel like I'm forgetting something these days (most of the time, I am).

Gateway has a good setup for Emily, so we really only have to take in her labeled bottles each day. There's a locked closet where she has her own cubby--we have extra clothes, diapers and wipes stored there. There's also a cabinet in the kitchen area where we can store baby food or rice cereal for her. They send us home with a daily "report card" to let us know about eating, naps and diaper changes, and also make notes if she's running low on food, diapers or wipes.

She has her own crib, and the sheet is changed daily. Of course, it doesn't look or smell familiar to her, so we took in one of her blankets and one of her favorite toys that she can have in the crib with her. We'll take her blanket and sleep sack home on Fridays (or as needed) to wash them, and I found out yesterday how important that is to her. Emily had spit up on her blanket, and they tried substituting one of the school's blankets for her, only to learn she would have nothing to do with it! Hearing that made me smile, and I packed an extra blanket in her bag today for a backup. Our sweet girl needs to always have something that reminds her of home.

Yesterday was also the second time I got there to pick her up, and one of Emily's teachers (Miss Amanda) was rocking her while she slept peacefully. I think Miss Amanda has a soft spot for our little Wiggles, which makes me feel really good. They said she ate well yesterday, and took three naps. It was a good day!

First Day of School

I've dreaded this day from the moment I found out we were having a baby. Then after sweet little Wiggles was born, I just couldn't imagine how difficult it would be to walk away and leave her behind--it's like having your heart ripped out!

Maybe I'm being a little dramatic...but unless you've had a baby you needed to put in day care, you're not allowed to judge :)!

It was rainy and cooler this morning, so we broke out some fall clothes to make sure Emily stayed cozy all day. I had already planned to work from home so I could take her in late and pick her up early--we just wanted a couple of transition days to hopefully make it a little easier. I stayed with her for a couple of hours to make sure she was okay--she sat in the floor and played and had a great time.

Overall, the teachers said she did well for her first day. She has a lot of new things to get used to, and she was so distracted by everything going on that she didn't want to eat or sleep very much. For a little girl used to taking naps in a dark, quiet room, I'm sure it's tough to settle down with five other babies making noise constantly.

By the time I picked her up, she was exhausted, but the look on her face when I walked in was enough to make me quit my job. Her sweet tired eyes just lit up, and a huge smile formed. One of the teachers was holding her, but she put her hands up when I came over. What a great feeling to pick her up and feel her soft little body snuggled up to me!

I hope dropping her off will get easier each time as she gets a little older and makes friends, but I can already tell that picking her up will be the best part of my day!

The Search for the Perfect Day Care

I decided I needed to take the afternoon off on Wednesday in order to secure a spot for Emily at a day care. We all knew my mom couldn't stay with us forever, and we've had September in mind for the past couple of months as the date we'd transition. Emily will be 6 months old, and we thought that was an age where we wouldn't feel like she was so tiny and helpless.

I set up tours with four places that were all rated as 4 or 5 stars (the highest ratings) by the NC Division of Child Development. The tough thing for us is that we had a great place picked out in Atlanta before we moved, and now we had to start all over! The other tough thing is that a couple of the places we were excited about seeing initially had wait lists of over a year, so we had to take those off the list. I told Mick that even if we'd known we were moving when I was pregnant, it still might not have been enough time!

After leaving each of the first three places, I called Mick in tears. Nowhere was going to be good enough for our little Wiggles! Maybe it was the cribs lined up against the wall that made me feel like I was in a baby prison, or the fact that none of the people seemed like someone I wanted to hold Emily--whatever it was, I came away wondering how I could resign and be a stay at home mom. The fourth place, Gateway Academy, was different. I got a good feeling from the minute I walked in the door, and it just felt like the right place. The people were fantastic, and all of the kids seemed genuinely happy to be there. I liked the place and the curriculum, and it's only a few miles from home. I even singled out a little girl about Emily's age who I just know will be her best friend :).

Emily would start out in the Infant 2 room, which is babies from 6 to 10 months. Since she'll be right at 6 months when she starts, they thought it was better to start her there rather than have to transition her twice (once when she started in the 0-6 month room and once a couple of weeks later). They also recommended that we move in gradually--so one day I might go in with her for an hour or two, then I'll drop her off for an hour or two, then maybe go a couple of days a week. I like the idea, and hope that will be easier on both of us than just dropping her off on day one.

The next step is for Mick to go with me and see the school; then we'll pay a registration fee to hold a spot for Emily and choose her start date. While I still know that dropping her off that first morning will be the toughest thing I've ever had to do, I now feel like this is the best thing for her. There was a one year old boy in one of the classrooms who had just started day care for the first time, and he didn't stop crying the whole time I was there. The teachers said the transition had been really difficult for him, and I can't help but think that the older she gets, the harder the transition will be for Emily.