We Couldn’t Have Done it Without Mimi & Dippy

Any of my long-time blog readers remember when I posted about being pregnant with Jack? Or when I was like, surprise I just had a baby at 31 ½ weeks! How about my letter to Jack on his first birthday? Or when our first childcare choice ended up to be a hoarder? Our various trips to the pediatric ER. Remember the end of Daddy Wednesdays? How about all those potty training shenanigans? Or our kind of weird bedtime routine. So many of you have been reading along, leading all the way up to Jack’s preschool graduation.

I’m so glad that my blog has captured so many little pieces of Jack growing up over the years. Some days it feels like it’s gone so incredibly slow (like the potty training saga) and other times the days and months have flown by. And now, Jack is starting Kindergarten next week.

With all the craziness over the last 5 ½ years, we could not have done it without my parents. Jack calls them Mimi and Dippy and they have been there for us every single step of the way.

My parents were at the hospital with us when I gave birth to Jack. I was so scared to go into a labor that couldn’t be stopped so early, and my mom literally held one of my legs as her first grandchild came into the world.

When I called my mom crying that our daycare choice didn’t seem safe, she immediately took Jack in and cared for him four days a week so that Travis and I could go to work. Once Jack started preschool, he still looked forward to his twice a week visits to Mimi and Dippy’s house. Often when we would try to pick him up in the evening, Jack would be outside playing with his Dippy and refuse to come home!

My parents have gone totally above and beyond, and we feel so lucky to have them so involved with caring for Jack. On days that I have to go out of town for work, my parents step in and keep Jack at their house so that Travis can get to his own (super early) job on time. On days that Jack comes down with a fever and can’t go to school, my mom drops everything to help us out. When we found out at his kindergarten assessment that Jack needed to work on his letter recognition, she immediately bought flash cards, prizes, and started with a plan to teach and review them all over the summer.

With Jack going to Kindergarten, this will be the first time in his life where he won’t be at Mimi and Dippy’s house every single week. Over the past couple years of preschool, those Mimi days have sustained him. At Mimi and Dippy’s house, Jack gets to play and snack all day and take marathon naps in the afternoon. It’s going to be a huge change for him to go to school five days a week. For him and for all of us.  We are hoping to do a special Mimi and Dippy weekend once a month where he can spend the night and hang out with them… but it will still be so different than his weekly grandparent’s schedule.

So, it’s the end of another era. And I don’t think it has hit any of us yet.

I don’t know if I could ever properly thank my parents for all that they do. We are so appreciative that we have them nearby and we are thankful to have them help us raise our little boy.