A Family of Five

It sounds unbelievable but it's true: I've got five babies now! Since Texas law allows only four babies to one caregiver I now have an assisstant; her name is Lena. And you know what? I was her caregiver when she was a little girl. Lena attended the after-school program I worked for back in the '90's. Now she's grown and has a daughter of her own--and works with me at Kiddieland. What a small world!

I really like my two new babies, Tina MayLee, 3 months and Kaytrin Faye, 7 weeks. They're the youngest babies in our little "family", which now consists of two girls and three boys. Arnie is now the oldest, a fact that I'm still getting used to, and so is he. :0) Anyway, back to the girls. Tina and Kaytrin are very precious girls. They're both so small compared to my boys; when I pick them up it's like picking up air. It's been a few months since I've had babies this young. It's a nice change of pace. I was worried that the girls would upset the boys' nap routine but they fit right in. T and K actually require less intense care than my boys, two of whom are mobile and constantly getting into everything. And they're soooo cute!

Tina reminds me of Maya, my favorite baby in my first class, when she was Tina's age. In fact, when I saw Tina I instantly fell in love with her because she looks so much like Maya. She has the same chubby cheeks, straight hair, and pretty round head that Maya had. Now that I've been with Tina for a couple of weeks I'm starting to love her for herself, but she's got a special place in my heart because of her resemblance to my beloved Maya. Kaytrin is a different story.

Kaytrin Faye is cute but she also has a...unique look. When I first saw her she reminded me of the elves in the christmas cartoon "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer". Now I think those elves are cute but when I called Kaytrin my little christmas elf in front of her Dad, he wasn't too happy. He would've really been upset if I called Kaytrin the other cartoon character she looks like, Arnold the football head boy. I know, it's a stretch from christmas elves to Arnold, but they aren't the only fictional person Kaytrin resembles. She also looks a little like Gollum in the "The Lord of the Rings" movies, but a cute Gollum. Really. Ok, don't believe me, but it's true. A cute Gollum.

That's about all I have to say about my new babies for now. They're both so young that they don't do much but eat, sleep and poop, oh, and Kaytrin pukes BIG TIME. But I'm glad they've joined the fold. Welcome to the family, Tina and Kaytrin! I love you!