TAYLOR Made in Texas: First day with a new nanny

Grammy and Grumpy, along with almost all of my family were leaving today to go to Montana, to see our cousin Lindsey get married. Michael and I decided it was not a good time for us to be travelling, considering Brooke's age, finances and our work schedules. It was a tough decision, but am looking forward to seeing all the pictures and hearing about the festivities. So with that, we needed someone to watch Brooke while Michael and I work for the next week. Jen's friend suggested her nanny to me, and after meeting with her earlier this week, we decided to give it a try. So today was the first day for Brooke to go to a new nanny!

I was so worried this morning, I could barely talk. I kept tearing up but trying to mentally distract myself so Brooke would not see Mommy's concern. The drive was a little longer than the two mile commute to Grammy's but not much further. I had her bag packed with everything (hoping I didn't forget anything): diapers, wipes, baby food, snacks, bottles, sippy cup, spoon, bib, extra onesie, blanket, play yard sheet, 2 loveys and wubbanub. The nanny thought I was the cutest thing, since this was our first time leaving her with someone other than family, but we both did surprisingly well. I was worried I was going to be in tears and get kicked out the door...BUT Brooke held it together for Mommy.

I told Brooke this morning that she was going to make some new friends and spend the day with Mrs. Debbie. We walked in and were immediately greeted by Liam, an 18-month old little boy. As I explained all of the contents of Brooke's bag and reviewed her typical schedule, Brooke and Liam had a staring contest, followed by Liam giving Brooke kisses on the cheek. She came over and held on to my leg for a second, but then was back to exploring the room. Debbie picked her up and we had a few more words. I told Brooke "See ya later Alligator" (like I do every morning) and gave her a kiss. She was so content - no wave goodbye, no tears, no fussing, no smile - just taking it all in. I hope she remained that good with the situation after I was in my car and down the street. On my drive into work, my eyes stayed dry as I updated Daddy and Grammy on the morning. We were all so happy with how Brooke took the transition.

Yesterday, we just so happened to have an impromptu photo shoot before I went to work in the morning. I ended up using some of those pictures to enter Brooke into a Gap photo contest (view the video here) and another photo contest on facebook (NOLA Smocked) for the outfit she is wearing.