Avi - 11/30/2016

Avilene ate biscuit and peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she had some of everything: baked beans, dinner roll, peas, and pineapple.

Andy and Molly - Hope you're having an awesome time relaxing and enjoying your Hawaii trip!  Everything is going great on the home front and we all love and miss you!!

Sophie loves to be the big helper at meal times and get bibs for the other kids.  Hudson will usually (well sometimes at least, ha!) stand still for her to put on his bib.  Here's a picture at breakfast this morning and Sophie was trying to catch up to Avilene.  Haha!  Good luck with that Sophie!  She was also concerned about Avi losing a shoe, but she gave up trying to get that on Avi's foot!  :)   (She never did catch up to Avi.)

Avilene was having a blast playing on the mattress with everyone and bouncing around.  I took this picture when she was checking out the alphabet poster.  Or as we call it here - learning her ABC's. :) Sophie always points to the "S" and says that is her letter and now she is trying to teach Bubba which letter is his!  You'll be next Avi!!  Actually Sophie already knows which letter is Avi's and was already trying to show her.

After Lunch I had Avi already for nap time and put on the PJ's I use for her.  I said, "Go to your crib Avi.  Go to your bed."  She took off down the hall just like she knew what she was doing and walked right into her room.  So stinking cute!!  And by the way this approach is much easier on my back!  :)

Avi - 11/29/2016

I had a wonderful time in Louisiana visiting my daughter, her husband, and their extended family.  First time I've worn shorts and T-shirt for Thanksgiving!  I have to post this picture of me standing in front of this incredible oak tree in Lake Charles.  I saw a possum, ate alligator sausage, and navigated traffic to find my way through Houston, so I consider it all a huge success!  It's always special to come home to lots of hugs and loves from my Little Treasures!

Avilene ate waffle and hash browns for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken & cheese quesadillas, carrots, and mandarin oranges.

Avi had a great morning and was her busy little self - charging around the room playing with lots of toys.  I took this first picture of her when she was playing in this little cubby-hole.  Have you noticed how often she tips her head back with a cheesy look when her picture is being taken?!?  Silly girl!!  She got to messing around tipping it back-n-forth and bonked it on the wall of the changing table right after this picture.  But she never even whimpered!

Another cubby-hole and another cheesy look!!  I had lots of fun watching her play this morning and I snatched a couple of quick loves and hugs as well.  She doesn't usually mind as long as I'm quick!!

I've been trying to get this picture of her for the last 3 or 4 weeks!  She'll bend over like this for a few short seconds and then she's on to something else.  She did this, I grabbed the camera, and she did it again!!  Haha!  I'll bet I've taken this exact picture of 80% of the kids that have come through Little Treasures!

Avi - 11/22/2016

Avilene ate jelly toast and mangoes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate some of everything: rice, bean, chicken burrito, sweet potatoes, and tropical fruit.

Avi was her usual delightful self today; running all over the place!  Have I mentioned this before!?! Ha!  She continues to surprise me with her ability to maintain her balance when moving so fast while avoiding crashing into things!  Considering how fast she goes and still being a "walking rookie," she really doesn't have too many crashes!!  I probably shouldn't have said that, right!!

These first two pictures go together.  Avi frequently slows down and examines the posters and when I looked at the first picture - why do I have this poster mounted so high!?!  Pictures provide perspective!  So I lowered it and now it's a brand new poster for everyone to examine!!  :)

Avi found Hudson and Sophie's stash of toys while they were off doing something else!!  Good job Avilene!  Sophie came back and protested, but when you move away from the toys it's free range!!  This had been Sophie and Bubba's "airplane" according to Sophie.  They were flying to the "zoo" in their airplane.  By the time Avi found their loot they'd already moved on to something else.  Avi's idea of playing with these toys was simply to pitch all of them out of this spot!

Avi - 11/21/2016

Avilene ate kix cereal and mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ham sandwich, peas, and mandarin oranges.

First, I want to just remind everyone that Little Treasures is closed Wednesday - Friday for Thanksgiving this week.  Also, Lauralea will be covering for me on Monday the 28th.  There will be NO Blogs on Monday and I'll resume the Blogs on Tuesday.  I'm so looking forward to seeing my daughter in Louisiana this week!!  :)

Avi had a very typical busy busy morning.  She's so much fun for me to watch!  Frequently when I'm taking her picture this is the "look" I'll get.  (See picture!!)  Ha!!  You can see all 3 "pianos" in the picture.  She was after the piano that Sophie had so I steered her to the one you see on the left.  As you can tell she was more interested in the one Sophie was playing, but by this time it didn't matter because Sophie had moved on.  And of course Hudson had to get in on it too.  That's the reason I have 2, 3, and 4 of everything!!  Except sometimes they just want the one that someone else has!!  :)

Here's the story behind the 2nd picture:  Sophie and Hudson had been playing in the "igloo" and they had blankets and dolls in there.  They said they were taking a "nap."  Hudson had left the igloo, but Sophie was dragging another blanket in.  And Avi viewed that as the perfect opportunity to "step" on the blanket.  So she did.  When I took this picture Sophie kept saying, "Avi!!  Avi!!  Avi!!"  Avi; "chuckle chuckle chuckle."  Sophie; "Aaavvveeeeee!!"  Avi; "chuckle chuckle chuckle."

Avi - 11/18/2016

Avilene ate oatmeal and banana for breakfast.  For lunch she ate some of everything: salmon patty, flat bread, carrots, and apricots.  Not feeling well today didn't affect her appetite one bit!  :)

She took a 2 hour nap this morning, which she really needed, so that was great.  However, it cut into the Blogging Notes!!  Ha!  Priorities!  I do have a picture from yesterday afternoon when Kenzie and Riley asked if we could set up the tunnels.  Avi loved watching those two plus Bubba and Sophie crawl through the tunnel over and over.  She never did get inside of it even though Riley and Kenzie frequently tried coaxing her to.  Just being a bit cautious and occasionally showing some caution is not a bad thing!!  Ha!

I asked Lauralea to take a picture because Avilene was snuggling and I wanted a picture to prove that it really happens!!  Ha!!  Oops, never mind!!  Of course just as soon as Lauralea came out Avi was up looking around to see what she was doing!  Little cutie!!  You can in her eyes she doesn't feel well, but she's been a trooper.

I know I keep mentioning how active she is, always moving, go go go!  But it's true!!  :)  Lauralea and I are both impressed with how she can already whirl around and GO!!  Almost running.  Pretty impressive considering her age.  She was at the gate watching me clean up the lunch room and as soon as I approached the gate with the food tray she whirled around and took off!  You'd be surprised how many kids will just sit or stand there and look at me while I'm opening the gate and trying to coax them into moving.  So she's apparently brilliant too!!  :)

Avi - 11/17/2016

Avilene ate cinnamon toast and grapes for breakfast.  When I sat her breakfast plate in front of her she looked at it, then looked at me as if to say; "Really!?!  You're gonna trust me with that!?"  Ha!  (And I was ready with the camera!!)  It was the first time I put it all on a plate in front of her and she actually did great.  (I immediately moved the plate when she was done.)  For lunch she ate some of everything: baked chicken, dinner roll, hash browns, and canned cherries.  So I had to take a picture of the breakfast plate.  Her Blog is kind of loaded with pictures today, but I couldn't help myself!!

This picture should be titled "You stack em up Bubba and I'll knock em over!!"  Then he'd pick the blocks up and after 2 or 3 times of that he'd move to another spot.  And Avi was right behind, hot on his tail!  Repeat, repeat, repeat!  :)

This note isn't really about Avilene, but I thought you'd enjoy it anyhow!   I'm including this picture of Bubba and Avilene standing at the window to give you a reference for the story.  If you ever look closely at the wooden frame around the window and sill you'll see evidence of years of little people chewing on it!!  Yesterday afternoon Hudson was apparently chewing on it too because Sophie yelled at him, "Don't eat it Bubba!!  Just lick it!!  Don't eat it!!"  Hahaha!!  (And yes, I've seen Avi chewing there many times!)

Avilene had a good morning and was her usual awesome self!  :)  All over the room, playing with lots of different toys, numerous moments of silliness, silly faces, cheesy grins, real laughs, and fake laughs!!  The picture below is a real laugh!

Avi - 11/16/2016

Avilene ate bagel and peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a little bit of everything: ham, whole wheat elbow noodles, corn, and apple bites.

Avi had a good morning and was her typical busy sweet self!  In this toy exchange we have some snow and rain boots in the dress-up clothes.  Avi had one of the boots (that you see in the picture) in her mouth and took off across the room.  It was hilarious.  For a few seconds she was like the resident Puppy!

Avi was watching Sophie put on some of the dress-up clothes and Sophie loves to cover her face. Hudson has watched her do it and he likes putting clothes or doll blankets over his face and wandering around the room now as well.  I took this picture when Avi was just studying Sophie.  We also read some books while Avilene played with the toys and continued to stay busy.  I did put her in her highchair so she could watch Hudson and Sophie do some dot painting at Art Time.  I usually start letting them try to dot paint or use markers (washable) around 14 - 15 months.  Some children immediately stick the paint or markers in their mouth, so then we try again in a week or two.

Hudson saw Lauralea talking on the phone so he grabbed a phone and was walking around with it saying, 'Hello, hello, hello...."  And then Avi picked up a phone and was putting it up to her ear.  I always feel successful when I manage to get a picture before she's on to something different!

Avi - 11/15/2016

Avilene ate two servings of whole grain waffles and ate pears for breakfast.  For lunch she ate tuna & crackers, sweet potatoes, and mandarin oranges.

I left the gate open when I went to get Baby Nora in her crib and when we came out of the bedroom Avilene was strolling down the hallway like she owned the place.  Haha!  So cute.  She was moving right along and seemed to know where she was going!!

There's a button on the book in the picture below that Avilene likes to push.  The battery wore out a long time ago so it doesn't make any sound, but I saw her looking at this same book at least 4 or 5 times this morning.  Avi is always moving so much that it's hard to get a picture.  By the time I grab the camera she's on to something different.  For example here are some missed camera opportunities this morning:  she had the ice cream cone up to her mouth, peeking out of the igloo with a cheesy grin, phone up to her ear.....so I need to anticipate a picture with her rather than react!!

I took this picture of Avi kneeling on the 2nd step this morning.  That may not seem like a big deal, but to put this in perspective Hudson (18 months) stood up on the blue balance beam for the first time today.  So this is actually pretty brave for Avi to be at the 2nd step.  Sophie (27 months) proudly jumped off the balance beam for the first time about a month ago.  This mattress/balance beam set-up has provided endless entertainment (and many other benefits such as different large motor skills) for the children for many years.

Sophie was pointing out some things in this poster and talking to me about them.  Avi came over and gave her opinion as well.  :)

Avi - 11/14/2016

Avi's first Blog!  Some of us are excited - right Molly?!?  Here's the basic way this works.  I take a few notes on each child in the morning and then at nap time I do their Blog.  These Journals are usually posted somewhere between 12:30 (at the earliest) and 2:30 (at the latest).  So obviously they only pertain to the child's morning.  I'll occasionally post something from the previous afternoon as well.  The outline is simple; first what they have eaten in the morning and then two or three things about their day.  I almost always do a picture as well.  Pictures bring the activities to life and they make my job of journaling much easier.  As we all know Avilene is a busy little girl and that makes it much easier to find something to write about!  This is a joy for me and I LOVE having her in my Childcare Program.

Avilene ate chex cereal and mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch she ate pulled pork, bread, beets, and drank 6 ounces this morning.

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this morning so all the kids were very engaged exploring all the "new" things.  It's been 4 months since they've seen this toy set so to the youngest ones these toys are brand new.  :)  I took this picture when Avi was taking her first piano lesson!

Avi was bobbing her head frontwards and backwards being pretty cheesy!!  Even though she's the only one in these next two pictures on the mattress the other kids were all around playing there as well.  She was being silly and pretty proud of herself.

I think I mentioned this to Momma Molly last week, but I use the lawn and the mattress as a gauge to say a child is a "walker."  Avi has mastered walking!!  As you can see in the picture she's walking across the mattress and that's not easy when others are bouncing on it.  And last Friday she was  walking all over the yard and dealing with the bumps and unevenness of it all!  Nice job Avilene!