Worth Every Penny

I have mentioned our daycare here many many times.  We love them and think that they do such a great job with Andrew. He loves it there and they love him.  

Of course this year the cost went up, and not just a little.  I kind of freaked out, especially now that we have 2.0 on the way. Two kids in daycare will be more than our mortgage (yeah, that's a tough pill to swallow).  Because of that we have been exploring our options.  

Do we move Andrew to a traditional daycare center once 2.0 is here?  I would prefer the baby to be in the small in-home setting because I am more comfortable with that so basically Andrew would give up his spot to his little sibling. (He wouldn't have to really give up his spot, they have room for both of them). The baby will also cost less because right now we are paying $100/month for Andrew to be on the lunch program (which might seem like a lot, but he eats so much better for them than he does for us and she cooks them a real meal everyday - they aren't just eating sandwiches. It also includes all milk and snacks).

Or we could suck it up for a few months until Andrew is three and can go to pre-school.  There is one that is actually right by daycare that I have been meaning to look in to, but haven't gotten around to it.

I think by the time we would need to move him he would be fine at a bigger center with more kids (he'll  be almost 2 1/2), but then I worry about too much change at once.  His world is going to be rocked when the new baby arrives - something that causes me anxiety on a regular basis.

I really would like to keep him where he is until it's time for him to move on to pre-school.  He's comfortable, he's happy, and he's learning SO much.  Yesterday Andrea posted this video of my little smarty pants:

Yes, I realize that there is most likely some memorization going on there, but I did spell out a few of the words with his foam letters in the tub last night and he said them there, too.  I am amazed every single day at how much his vocabulary is exploding and at how much he is learning.  With only 4 kids at the daycare now he is getting a lot of one on one attention and it really shows.

So yeah, they may be a little more expensive than I would like right now, but I really think they are worth every single penny.

Update:  I realize now that the video is not working for others to see because of the privacy settings she has on it.  Bummer, because it's an awesome video showing him going through the "Baby Can Read" book and recognizing the following words:  eyes, clap, nose, tiger, cat, arms up, reach (and then messing up on a few other words).  I know he can't actually read yet, but I am so proud of him for starting to recognize some words.  I need to have her email me the video so I can get it posted another way.