Carson's Last Day at JCS

Carson will be going to a new daycare in a couple weeks. We had to say goodbye to JCS today. He can't start the new daycare until he turns one in two weeks, but we would have had to pay for a full month at JCS, so we are going to improvise with the grandparents' help. We had mostly pros over the last year and a just a couple cons. We loved the teachers and facilities. I know he was loved and well taken care of. Also, it was very close to mine and Darrin's offices, which was convenient and comforting to have him nearby. The major con was that I felt like it was run more like a school (they also have K-12) without the daycare in mind. The daycare/school was closed for spring break, fall break, teacher planning days, etc. And, sometimes I felt like the teachers were inconsistent in the afternoon b/c again, after the school closed at 3pm, it was treated like an after school program (which also costed more). Just two cons, and thankfully the most important things like health, love, and safety were all perfect.

The lead teacher, Ms. Kristen, sent an email with these sweet words that definitely made me tear up.

It is with a sad heart that I say goodbye to Carson this year. I will admit from the beginning he has been something special to all of us. I will miss his easygoing attitude and big smile.  We get a big kick out of how fast he wants to eat.  He has come so far during our time together.  I have also enjoyed getting to know your family and look forward to running into you as the years go by. 

She also sent a link to almost 300 pictures that she took of Carson's first year. I think that is amazing that she kept pictures for every child and organized them to send to each of us. Wow! She was so personable and easy to communicate with. The teachers were absolutely perfect. He had a bunch, but we loved Ms. Sarah...

Ms. Amanda...

...and Ms. June. I can't say enough about Ms. June. She was so kind and loving. She was so happy to see Carson every morning. She was on vacation this week, so we mailed her a note with this picture. We all will miss her.

I knew JCS wasn't a long term commitment for us, so I didn't let myself get too attached. It was still a little sad today b/c milestones like this with kids are always sad. Carson will start his new daycare, Presbyterian Day School (PDS), two weeks from Monday. I've heard great things about it. It sounds a lot like Miles' daycare, which was amazing. We wanted to get Carson into PDS b/c he will grow up with kids that he will eventually go to school with. It's also quite a bit cheaper and that doesn't hurt my feelings at all. So, while we hated saying goodbye to wonderful teachers at JCS, I am very excited about the future at PDS.

I'll leave you with a few pics from Carson's first year! From all the smiles, I'd say he had a pretty great year.