A big thank you

Two years and one month ago I had to find Chase a new babysitter. With Chase being only 9 months old and our first and only child, Matt and I were nervous to leave him with just anyone. I met with Leslie, a stay-at-home mom to Samantha who was 6 months old at the time. Leslie's husband, Tim was (and is) a graduate student at Duke and she wanted to use her previous work experience as a preschool teacher to bring in extra income while staying at home with Samantha. We met at Bean Traders, a coffee shop very conveniently located close to both Leslie and us and decided to give it a try.






We felt like it could be a good fit and just had a good feeling. After visiting many other in-home daycares, this definitely felt like the right decision to us.

Now, looking back, it's crazy to think about. Chase couldn't talk. He couldn't walk. He couldn't feed himself. And we left him with a complete stranger. We trusted Leslie to take good care of our sweet little boy.

And man did she. Within the first day, our 9 month old was painting, drumming, shaking noise makers, playing, laughing and learning all kinds of things. She was so creative and Chase had an absolute blast every single day.

For quite awhile, Chase would cry when I had to leave in the mornings. I would fight back tears, remind myself that it was just a phase, that he would be fine as soon as I left and I would walk out the door. Every single time this happened, I would have an email by the time I got to work with an update and reassurance that Chase was not only fine but playing happily.

These little things that she did meant more than this first-time-Mama can even tell you. She just gets it.

We have been so happy with every day that Chase has spent with Leslie and she is definitely more than a babysitter to us. So when she told us that she was pregnant with baby #2 we were very happy to hear the news but also nervous since we knew this would inevitably change things a little bit. She has been very honest with us in saying that she's not sure how a newborn will change our current situation. I so appreciate her honesty and took this as a sign for us to begin looking into preschools. Chase has learned so much during his time with Leslie and I knew that he would be getting close to being ready for preschool. So we've been looking. and that day is now here. (sniff, sniff).

Tomorrow will be Leslie's last official day keeping Chase on a regular basis. And next Tuesday will be Chase's first day at "school". This is such a big step. He will do fine... I know. But I'm not sure I will...

Leslie has become such a big part of Chase's life and we are so thankful for all that she has taught him.

Thank you, Leslie, for being the best babysitter we could ever ask for!!!