Bye Bye Ms. Lianne and hello Ms Leigh

Chloe is really into coloring these days and apparently LOVES the easel and chalk at Ms. Leigh's house.
Books always make Chloe happy. I love how her face looks so "pudgy" here. Yes - we have some crazy hair with the humidity this week!

Well, most of you know that we have had some babysitter drama lately. To make a long story short - we had to leave Chloe's babysitter since August, Ms. Lianne. Lianne's husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer about 2 weeks ago and last Friday he came home on hospice. That was Chloe's last day there and a very sad day for all. Sweet Lianne had a little party to celebrate "baby Rhett" - (as Chloe calls him) 's first birthday and to say goodbye. There were lots of tears shed as the parents said goodbye to Ms. Lianne. It is truly heartbreaking to me to watch this sweet loving couple go through this. Literally 2 weeks ago - she was telling me about their kayak trip they had planned for the summer and now they are talking about funeral arrangements. Life is so short and things can change SO quickly. Please pray for this family when you have a moment. Lianne even gave me a photo album she made for Chloe with pictures from her first day there until now. We are planning to stay in touch - I'll keep you updated on Bill.

So, I found myself in quite a predicament last week as I struggled to find someone to watch my little pumpkin for 2 more months until I'm off on maternity leave. Thanks to my friend Amy at work, I found a wonderful new sitter. Ms. Leigh stays home with her daughter Grace who is 3 and Amy's daughter Emerson - 17 months. She is a former teacher and after 3 days there, I'm very impressed with her. She does circle time and calendar and has themes every week. Chloe is coming home with art projects - she's learning to use glue sticks and paint. Chloe only cried for a minute on Monday and is super happy when I pick her up every day. I was SO worried about her b/c we have already had so many changes recently with the move and everything - I just want her to feel "settled" before the baby comes. But, so far she seems to be adjusting well. Sweet Ms. Leigh sent me these pictures Monday morning with an e-mail saying that Chloe stopped crying as soon as I closed the door and had been happily playing with the other girls. That was awesome because it is not fun to leave your child screaming in a new person's home in the morning. Leigh even made a scrap book page of Chloe's first day! (Guess I need to start a scrap book now) I feel so blessed to have found these 2 wonderful women to take care of my child.