day care

I REALLY can not express how grateful I am for our day care. When things changed and I had to start working I was devastated. I loved being home with Cooper all day long. Sure I had the frustrations of being home all day and wanting a little "me" time but I really enjoyed it. When I was offered the position at Bridgeview I only had a few days (3 to be exact) to find a day care. I searched EVERYWHERE. I called around to so many places. I ended up finding the place we chose through the information center (411). They sent me a packet of every day care around that "fit" what we were looking for. Sure enough it was the most expensive but we are finding it's worth EVERY penny! Cooper is learning so much from there:

- socialization skills. He loves loves loves other kids and is pretty welcoming to strangers/visitors (good and bad thing).

- limits. The whole sharing, no pushing, be nice type stuff. Things that are more difficult being an only child. He's learning how to be "soft". He'll come up and be rough with Brady and I (he'll pat our heads hard or our stomachs hard). All we have to do is say "Cooper be soft" and he immediately starts to rub instead of hit. This is something we've been trying to work on a lot at home too. Especially with the baby coming.

- how to use utensils. at home we put him in his high chair and let him use his fingers...you know-finger foods. Well, he's insisting on using utensils and tries REAL hard to use them correctly. I've seen what day care does and they get a plate with finger foods and utensils...like adults! It's to the point where if he's hungry he'll run straight for the utensil drawer and open it.

- the newest is that he's learning sign language. The last couple days Cooper's been rubbing his belly and I automatically think "are you hungry?" but it didn't always fit the situation. Then today on our information sheet there was a note saying he signs "please and more". Of course I asked the teacher what the signs were and then I realized I've seen him do it! And then of course I had to ask him to show it to me. Sure enough he signed them both when I asked!!! Then tonight we've been practicing and I showed him "thank you"...he picked up on it and has done it several times! so surprising since we had no help at all.

- he loves day care so much that he doesn't mind if I leave. Of course he waves bye and cries every once in a while but for the most part he does just fine.

I really really do love our day care. He has wonderful teachers who love him and teach him things that I am currently unable to do. They stick to a routine and it works great for us. Of course it's different than the routine I would have at home but it works and it keeps Cooper somewhat on the same schedule. This day care center has been a huge blessing for us and I am so grateful for finding them in the last minute.

Oh and...they were the only day care center that I didn't cry at! I cried my eyes out at all the other ones - they were NASTY!