Daycare update

17 months
We've spent the last couple weeks calling potential daycare providers. I called about 27 home-based providers and 3 centers. Most of the home-based providers refuse to take kids on a part-time basis, and although the centers would take him on a part-time basis, they'd require us to pay for full-time care (no thanks).

We have narrowed it down to two people, both home-based. One has a girl Evan's age and a 3 yr-old boy, and we like everything about her except for the huge TV they have in their living room. When we went over for a playdate, Evan was obsessed with pushing all the buttons and watching the TV. We fear he'll either drive her crazy, or at the very least, he'll watch TV all day and be a zombie when we pick him up.

The other provider had two boys -- ages 3 and 5, and she also watches a 6 month-old girl. This seems to be a great fit. We had one playdate, and her 3 year-old boy shared Craisins with Evan -- handed him one at a time, Evan would eat it, then he'd receive another one. They didn't play together, but each did their own thing while sharing Craisins. They have about a 9" TV, which they never watch (brownie points). And the mom is loving towards her boys, who are well-behaved and sweet. Plus, they have a pretend kitchen that Evan liked playing with (more brownie points for good toys).

We're excited about Christmas. We bought a small tree and let Evan pick out a couple ornaments -- Spongebob and Clifford the Big Red Dog. For the most part, he's unimpressed by the tree, but he did seem to enjoy it in the beginning. At least he's not trying to pull it on top of himself. He's still a bit young to get it.

This weekend we bought Evan a toddler bed. It's so cute. It's dark pine, a cross between craftsman style and a sleigh bed with slats. He "helped" Jerry put it together, and when it was all done, he crawled on top of the bed and pulled the blanket up over him, up to his chin. He understood right away that it was his. Last night he slept in there until 3:30, then crawled into bed with us. We keep telling him what a big boy he is to sleep in his big boy bed, which seems to mean little to him, but you never know. Now we just need to get him to sleep there all night.