Gems like these...

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about." - Angela Schwindt

And Kaylen's first daycare, First Friends, taught us what we wanted to find in our next daycare. We were lucky enough to have some of the most amazing, caring, giving teachers we could've ever hoped for. And her friends became family. She spent 5 days a week with these people from the time she was 3 months old. It was one of the most difficult things to say goodbye to.

The one and only, Weston.

Kaylen's school boyfriend declared early on. This short hair cut of his was a newer development, but always quite the beef cake! He was always sweet and Kaylen took to him from the beginning. It's been 4 weeks in Portland now and his name comes up out of the blue as I'm sure she still retains so many of her memories of him.

Lilly was Kaylen's other BFF who had been around since the beginning. For some time, they went back and forth biting each other. Usually the Action Notice we got was either that Kaylen got bit or did the biting. And we could almost be 90% sure that the other participant was Lilly! But all in all, they were friends and it was funny to have her friends be going through all the same stages at almost the same times.

Kaylen has always been a social butterfly. She has always thrived being around other children, so I know that it would be important to find another great daycare for Kaylen in whatever city we were going to end up in. She has always been a leader in her class. Gregg and I often joked that Kaylen pretty much walked into the classroom and announced her arrival. She usually had Weston or Veer take her coat off for her. Ha ha... she definitely had far more than just us wrapped around her little finger!

First Friends Director, Mirna. Kaylen loved to yell out every night as we headed out the door... "Bye Mirna! Bye Minney!(Mindy)"

Miss Melinda. She worked in the Infant Room even when Kaylen was with the Toddler class, but always took a fondness toward Kaylen and we loved her dearly for that.

Miss Rosie... Kaylen LOVED to get her dance on with her! Miss Rosie gave Kaylen a little Latin rhythm!! ;-)

Miss Linda. With the kind of motherly love you would hope to find in a daycare. Each day we knew that Kaylen would find the kind of love we'd hope to give her in the Toddler B Classroom like Miss Linda could give her.

One of the gems we had to leave behind. Miss "Kika", Monica, was definitely one of our favorites while we were at First Friends. She was one of the teachers who fell in love with Kaylen the way that Kaylen fell in love with her. In the Infant Room, it was Miss Becca, and as a Toddler, in was Miss Kika. Kaylen attended her 2nd birthday party, she thought of Kaylen when she went out of town and bought her her first tutu dress, she would think to share special treats with Kaylen, and the list goes on. We, as parents, really connected with Monica, but it was the special attention she gave to Kaylen that always meant the world to us. We always knew Kaylen was loved, adored and well taken care of, as we would do at home. It's people like these, who your child grows to adore herself which makes it hard to switch "schools". These people become family... which always makes it that much harder.

We couldn't be more grateful for the amazing care and memories First Friends gave to us and to Kaylen. We always knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she was in the best of hands. She was loved, nurtured, cared for, educated, praised and disciplined the way that we would've tried to do ourselves had we been able to at home. It's always been hard to know that we both had to be working parents, that staying home wasn't an option. And if you had to have your child in daycare, this is the kind of place that you would want them. We loved the facility, but it was the people that we're most grateful for. The teachers were more than we could've asked for and trusted them with our most prized jewel. Thank you First Friends for all the care and love you gave to Kaylen and being the best second family we could've possibly provided her!