Punky Update

If you recall, Punky is our babysitter. She has a daycare out of her home, but the whole first floor is the daycare and she is licensed by the State as a center. She has 4 other ladies that help out as well. It has been a blessing that we found her to care for our little guy while we work.

There were a few points here and there where I had mixed feelings about all of this, but I think it had more to do with me and my mommy guilt versus the actual care Lucas was getting. Everyone is wonderful there and they truly love our little man. So anyways...I thought I would share some stories about Lucas at Punky's.

His little temper is starting to show more and more. One day Punky was sitting in a circle with a couple of the kids around Luke's age and a couple of toddlers. They were taking turns pushing a toy truck around. When it got to be Lucas' turn, she was helping him to push it to the next person, well, Lucas was not in the mood to share! She said he just started crying because he was soooo mad that it was taken away from him, and when she went to give it back to him (because as she said, they work on sharing, but he is still too young to quite get it), he threw it. He didn't want it anymore now! Temper, temper!

We had some trouble with Lucas re-adjusting to Punky's after being home with Wally all summer. His napping was not going well or well, not going at all some days! Therefore, he would fall fast asleep on the drive home and would still be sleeping as I took him out of the car so I would bring him right to his room. There were a few days where he would sleep for like an hour and a half or more, but he would still go to bed around his regular bedtime because he was so tired. This was not ok with Wally and I...that is our precious time with him so we want him to be ready to play. The past couple of weeks have been better - no more naps when we get home, just a catnap in the car most days. Well today, Punky said she finally thinks she figured out a good schedule for Luke. It has worked the past 3 days anyways. Come afternoon nap time for the older kids, Punky would try to get Lucas to nap in the crib in the baby room, but being the nosey baby that he is, he wouldn't do it or wouldn't sleep for very long. He is afraid that something is happening in the other room, and he is going to miss it. Punky decided this week to put a mat down on the floor (all of the other kids sleep on their individual cots) in the room with the older kids so Lucas could see that everyone else was resting...it worked!! The past 3 days he has napped right there with the others. So now he is taking an hour nap in the morning and an hour and half to two hour nap at 1 in the afternoon - perfect! Let's hope this sticks!

Today when I picked him up some of the kids were playing outside. Lucas was in a stroller sitting face to face with Amaya who was in another stroller. Amaya is 2 months older than Lucas. Punky saw me pull up so she took Lucas out, and he was standing holding on to Amaya's stroller and Punky's hand. Amaya was rubbing his arm - it was too cute! They were just looking at each other. I have a feeling those 2 are going to be best buds there. Amaya (My My) just started walking, and Lucas is trying really hard to follow in her footsteps (literally). Lucas was pretty mobile towards the end of the summer, but he was mostly just scooting. It seems ever since he went back to Punky's for the school year, his mobility has increased significantly. As I mentioned in my 9-month post, he is crawling on all 4's at a pretty high speed, pulling up on everything and anything, and attempting to stand on his own. I have a feeling he wants to be just like the "big" kids, especially little My My! This is something that I remind myself of everyday and it makes dropping him off just a little easier...I know he is learning and seeing so many things there that he just wouldn't get if it was just him and I at home all day. Don't get me wrong - I would love to be home with him everyday, but this interaction is great for him and I can already see the difference it is making in our little Lucas!