Los Pollitos!

Los Pollitos, aka the Chicks, are the older toddlers at the center. These children can all walk and feed themselves, so they are working on the next step...potty training!! Doesn't that sound like fun? Ok, so potty training is never the most fun thing to do, but the Chicks are doing great! They all sit on their little potties several times a day and are not allowed to get up for at least 15 minutes or until they go. However, that doesn't stop them from getting around the bathroom...they scoot around on their pots to get to whatever or whoever they are trying to reach. The Chicks are also beginning to talk, so they are constantly trying to tell you something. Combine toddler babbling with Spanish and you get children who are very difficult for us gringas to understand! But, we try our best and we always seem to communicate with each other.

Adalin is 2 years and 8 months old. She is almost always happy and very smart! She loves to read and learn new words and she will repeat everything you say. She is kind of the "mother" of the group. Whenever another child doesn't have a toy she will bring them one or if one is lagging behind when the group is walking to the bathroom or the lunch room she will hold their hand and make sure they keep up. Whenever we are putting name tags on the kids, Adalin is always the one to grab the other children by the hand and bring them to whoever is handing out the stickers.

This is Ana, better known as Anita. She is 3 years and 4 months old and just one of the sweetest little girls ever! She is very quiet and shy, but once she knows you she'll bring you toys to play with and books to read. She is pretty timid with the other kids and always shares her toys with them. Anita has the sweetest smile and such a tiny little laugh, but when she laughs you can't help but join her.

Andy is 2 years and 6 months old. He is so adorable and always wearing a hoodie...and he loves to keep his hood up! He is always helping Santos get into mischief and Andy will often set up some toys and proceed to yell "Santos, Santos!!" until Santos comes and knocks them all down. Then Andy just laughs and laughs and does it all again.

Brayan is 1 year and 10 months old. He is almost always smiling and has such adorable chubby cheeks! He loves to play with balls and is usually found throwing them around the room.

Claudia is 2 years and 5 months old. She is very smiley and loves to play with the other kids! She gets along with everyone and will always join in on whatever fun is being had.

Esdras is 2 years and 4 months old. He is always happy and loves to share! He is constantly bringing us toys to play with and loves to throw the ball back and forth.

Gabi will be 2 years old this Saturday (10/12)!! She is pretty timid, but is very active and loves to run around the play area laughing!

Ingrid 2 years and 1 month old and is the other "mother" of the group. If anyone is crying she will go to them to see what is the matter. She will even check the other kids' diapers to make sure they don't need to be changed!

Javier is 1 year and 10 months old. He is such a sweetheart and loves to rock in the rocking chairs. Javier also enjoys taking off his shoes and bringing them to someone to put them back on his feet all day long!

Jose Miguel is 2 years and 1 month old and is rarely called by his name. It seems that everyone who meets him has a different nickname for him! He can be pretty quiet sometimes, but when he is comfortable with you he will bring you lots of toys to play with. He is very ticklish and has a contagious laugh!

Mayra is 2 years and 2 months old. She is very affectionate. She always gives lots of hugs and kisses and loves to be held and rocked. Mayra enjoys being tickled and loves to laugh! She always brings a lot of toys for you to play with and particularly enjoys putting legos together and taking them apart.

Noemi is 1 year and 9 months old. She is very quiet and a bit shy, but when she gets to know you she will cling to you constantly. She always wants to be holding someone's hand or sitting in their lap and gets very jealous if you give attention to any other child.

This is Ovidio. He is 2 years and 3 months old and is such a ham! He loves to have his picture taken and will always pose for the camera. He is kind of the "class clown" and is always making everyone laugh. He repeats everything you say and is probably the most talkative of the group. Ovi loves to inform us of everything that is going on and will always be the first to announce the rain by pointing out the window and yelling "Agua! Agua!" He has a nickname for each of the other children including "Titi" for Ingrid, "Mimi" for Noemi, and "Tato" for Santos and he is always telling us what everyone is doing or where they are.

Roxana is 2 years and 1 month old. She is very sweet and enjoys watching everything that is going on around her. She loves to ride around on the little "cars" and often removes her shoes and hides them inside the compartment under the seat. When you ask her where her shoes are she giggles and pulls them out of the car so that you can put them back on her feet.

Santos is 2 years and 4 months old. He is very sweet, but can be quite the troublemaker. He loves to make lots of noise and particularly enjoys lining things up on the hand rail in front of the mirror and knock them off. The other kids all know that he loves to do this and are always helping set things up for him to knock down, especially his buddy, Andy.

Working with the Chicks can be exhausting, but it is always so much fun!! They definitely know how to make a mess, but they are all fantastic at cleaning up and love to gather all the toys and put them in the basket. I particularly love the Chicks because most of them were in the Canaries with me last year and I love seeing how much they've grown and how smart they are all becoming!

As always, please keep all the children and nannies in your prayers. Thanks so much!! Love you guys!

Love Always,
~Rachel~