Would you mind watching our handsome little man? We're desperate!!!
Time sure does fly when you become a parent. It seems like yesterday I was shocked to hear the doctor tell Supermom her blood pressure was too high, and asking "are you ready to have this baby today?"
Cooper's odometer rolled seven months last Friday (March 5th). When I look back at all we've been through, all he's learned, and the new things he does on a daily basis it really is the "golden" time in his baby development. At least that's how the the parenting manual "What to Expect the First Year" describes this stage. While the experience may differ for many parents, I can't disagree that being the parent of a child at this stage is one of the most remarkable things I've ever witnessed.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) for the little man he looks more and more like me every day. I did a little comparison of six-month photos, side-by-side, and the results are pretty overwhelming. See below.
The biggest stress for working parents is finding quality childcare. This process is torture, agony, and frustration all rolled into one giant ulcer. Supermom and I looked for weeks leading up to her return to the workforce. After an exhaustive search we finally found someone we liked; a stay-at-home mom, a military family with just a couple of other children and really close to our house. For a few weeks everything seemed to be going very well. Cooper was happy, I was able to drop in at lunch and spend a few minutes with the little man, and the other children weren't mauling him. All in all, two thumbs up.
That was until our childcare provider was offered a full-time job and decided it was time to go back to work. Less than six weeks after we thought we had found a great fit, we were looking once again. The State of Texas Child Protective Services has a website listing all certified and registered day cares, and this seemed like a good resource for the next search. And it is. Within a few days we were interviewing daycare providers, and Supermom found one a few blocks from our house. We scheduled a visit, and really liked the layout of her daycare (which was in her home). After visiting for a few minutes she told us another family had visited the night before, and paid a deposit for the only remaining space.
Do not pass go, do not collect $200.
Back to the website, and many more options. Being the middle of the spring semester, most (but not all) daycares have no available space. But we found one that could take him, which meant another interview visit. Supermom didn't get a good "vibe" during our meeting, but we were a week from getting booted at daycare #1. What to do? Stay tuned.
