Locked Out

Cole was super excited to be outside

I don't think I have ever been so scared as a parent in the past 19 months as I was today. I went to feed Cole this afternoon like I always do. When I brought him back I warned the girls that it was probably going to be really close to 5:30 when I come to pick up Annabelle and Cole, daycare is open until 5:30 but most kids are gone by 5:15. I did end up getting stuck at work until 5:25 and I quickly packed up my things and went over to daycare. I looked at my phone and 5:27...3 minutes to spare, I went to open the door and it was locked. I tried the other door - locked as well. I went back to my car and called Brian to ask if he picked them up. I knew I had to work late and we had talked about him possibly picking up the kids. When he answered I asked if he had Annabelle and Cole. He said no and I started to panic and told him ok and hung up, looking back on it I probably should not have hung up on him. I went and tried the doors again - still locked. I tried calling the daycare and there was no answer. Now I was starting to get worried. I looked around the corner of the church to see if the secretary of the church was still there, if she was that would mean one of the front doors should be unlocked or at least I could call her to let me in. She was gone. Tried the doors again - still locked - not sure why I thought it would be any different. By this time I was starting to panic and all sorts of thoughts were running through my head. I then called a friend of mine who works at the church and is on the board for the daycare. She did a good job of trying to keep me calm and suggested I try a certain door - it was open! As I walked through the church making my way down to the daycare I kept praying that Cole and Annabelle were there. The lights were on in the daycare area, which made me feel better, as I turned the corner I could see Annabelle at the other end of the hall. Relief! By the time I had found my way to the rooms they had realized what they had done and one of the girls was coming back from unlocking the door. She apologized and told me that all the kids from her room had left and she thought they were the last ones. Annabelle and Cole were in the infant room and she didn't know they were there. My legs were still shaking after I had both kids buckled in the car. I called Brian to tell them I had Annabelle and Cole - which he had no idea what was going on so he was a little confused, I don't think when I called him the first time I told him I was trying to pick them up and things were locked. Looking back I am not sure what I thought happened to them -thoughts flashed through my head that a random person picked them up or someone from the daycare took them - both I know are extremely unlikely but strange things happen. To top off our night once we got home it was so nice out we decided to go outside while Brian grilled supper. We had Cole set in his car seat so we could put him in to the stroller and Annabelle was all ready to go. I opened the door to take one of them out and in a flash out went Charlie. The garage door was open and Charlie was not wearing a collar. He ran around in the garage for a bit while I tried to bribe him back into the house - no luck. I started to shut the garage door and just as it was about to close he snuck underneath and took off down the street. I drove around a little looking for him and didn't even see him. When I got back Brian said he would go out for a little while. I didn't have very high hopes. Brian came back about 5 minutes later with Charlie in the back seat. What a night!

Cole is starting to roll onto his side - exciting! Annabelle is chilling in her chair after a long day at daycare.