(Not so) Wordless Wednesday No. 1

I first learned about Wordless Wednesdays from two peas, no pod, and I've decided to start doing it here. It's late, but it just sneaks in today! The idea is to post a photo of mine each Wednesday (I hope) to share, with a few details of the 'where', 'when' and 'what' of the photo's subject (and maybe 'how' of the photography), and to leave it at that – let the photo tell the story. Hence 'wordless' Wednesday. You can learn more, and find other participating bloggers at the home base of everything Wordless Wednesday.

This is my second son, Jamie, at San Remo on our way home from our Phillip Island beach holiday. He has this amazing capacity to sit and occupy himself – amazing for one his age – as he was when I took this photo. He's also wearing my favourite of his t-shirts.

This being my first such post, I'm going to break the rules and say a bit more. Besides, it's also a week since I last managed to post here, so this helps to break the drought.

Tomorrow will be Jamie's first full day of child care. That is a big thing for us, as it means that we will be trusting him into the care of people who are not his extended family or close friends of ours for some stretch of the day. This will be a big thing for him as well, I'm sure.

It will be for two days per week, for now, and somewhat different from the weekly three hours of occasional care we've had him in the last six months at the local Neighbourhood House. But this means that his mum can start going to uni this year, and his dad can keep going to work to pay the bills and fit in study and writing as well, so we are really appreciating the fact that so far he has taken well to the new day care centre.

He has had his orientation there: a number of two- and three-hour stints over two weeks at his new child care centre so that he can get used to the place, the setting, the carers, and the idea of being in care there. We feel that we can trust the carers and their ethos, and we know that Jamie is ready to be in child care a couple of days each week, but this is still a big thing for us. He will be growing and doing things some days that neither of his parents will get to see, and I can admit to some trepidation at the whole thing.

Sure, we've done this before, over a number of years, with his older brother, but it's been two years since we've had a child in day care so it's still some getting used to all over again.

It is certainly shaping up to be a busy year for our family. What I'm thankful for, though, is that I can fit in study and child-rearing responsibilities around my very family-friendly part-time job, including my working from home on Tuesday mornings while Jamie is at the Neighbourhood house, and then going to get him and spending the rest of the day caring for him! This means we can still spend some decent time together each week!

Jamie, you're growing fast, and this year you're going to do some of that growing beyond our eyesight. So it is my privilege to record and share here some of that growth that I do witness!

Okay, from now on, Wordless Wednesday posts are going to be a lot more wordless!