Avi - 2/28/2017

Avilene ate scrambled eggs and sausage, and ate hash browns for breakfast about 10:00.  At lunch time she ate pizza crust with tomato sauce, ate hamburger meat pizza with olives, and ate pineapple.

It was a different kind of morning and if you look closely at this picture you'll see what I mean!!  You can see Reid sleeping in the chair - slept right there from 8:45 - 10:45.  Then when Avi arrived I brought her highchair to the play room where Hudson and Sophie were playing.  Reid slept through everything!! Hudson wasn't thrilled with the change in routine.  He's sitting on the couch chanting "read read read read..." with his inner clock telling him it's Story Time!  Now!!  Ha!

I always think it's so cute when they take the time to study some of my posters.  In the 3rd picture Avilene is playing "peek" around the book she's holding in front of her face.  The rest of us are on the couch having Story Time.  She sat on my lap for 2 or 3 books and then wanted to play.

Sophie was using the cook pans for "skates."  "Look Gary!   I'm skating!!"  Hudson and Avi were closely watching and found their own skates.  (It's much easier if you only use 1 skate!)  Avilene was pretty funny.  She thought she was a big-shot and was doing these loud fake laughs!!  :)

Avi - 2/27/2017

Avilene ate cheerios and banana for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken bake with cabbage, she ate tortilla, and apple bites.

Avi was so excited and hilarious the first 15 - 20 minutes after she arrived!  I know you've also seen lots of her silly gyrations and probably some we've not seen, but this morning she was doing a new one.  She was moving sideways with one foot and then sliding the other foot over as well.  Pretty funny, but also pretty nifty!!

This first picture is from Friday afternoon, but I thought it would be fun to show everyone what it looks like sometimes when the "after school kids" arrive!  ( They don't usually go to the window first!)  Reid's brother Bode always walks with Kenzie and Riley.  It was hard to get a picture of everyone because there was lots of movement!  This is the only picture that had everyone except Baby Nora in it and Avilene is mostly missing!!  Just the top of her head in the bottom of the picture. She was headed for the window and Reid was headed away from the window!

Sophie was reading books to Hudson on the couch and Avilene wanted to join them.  I like how she positioned herself.  "Ok, now I'm comfortable so continue with your reading!!"  Earlier she'd been bringing me books, one at a time, and sitting on my lap while I read to her.  She had an awesome morning and I love having her at Little Treasures.  Busy busy little girl!  :)

Avi - 2/24/2017

Avilene ate malt-o-meal cereal and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef, whole wheat elbow noodles, applesauce, and most of mixed fruit.

Lauralea was leaving and when Nora heard the door shut she started yelling.  As soon as I "reappeared" she was happy, but in the meantime Avi raced over to "fix" the problem!!  She was getting toys and placing them in front of Baby Nora.  I thought that was so cute.  Already a fixer!!

I've mentioned previously, once or twice, about Avi liking to throw toys.  That obviously isn't safe at Daycare as she can literally throw most of the toys across the room!!  She is totally understanding the whole "gentle" concept and I use the same word when I want her to put down the toys gently rather than throwing them.  This morning she was sitting in front of the legos drawer, taking legos out one at a time and tossing them.  I said, "Put the toy down gentle."  She kept taking them out of the drawer like before, one at a time, but was simply dropping them very intentionally.  She totally knew what I was asking.  Well done Avilene and thank you for listening!!

Reid was jumping on the mattress and Avi was wanting to be right there of course.  He started pulling her away from the mattress, but she didn't care one bit!  Just as soon as he let her go she'd race right back to the mattress where he was playing!!  (See 2nd picture!!)

Avi was playing inside the block structure that Riley and Kenzie had built yesterday afternoon.  She was looking at herself in the mirror and it was so cute.  Moments later Reid decided to create mayhem and chaos by destroying it all!  Avi got SO excited!!  Haha!  She kept looking at me to see if this was actually legal!!   :)  I took the last picture of Reid, Sophie, and Avi sitting amid the ruins!!

Avi - 2/23/2017

Avilene ate whole wheat english muffin and blueberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken, bites of cracker, ate sweet potato, and canned cherries.  Avi (and Hudson) were in their highchairs blowing kisses to Lauralea when she was leaving.  Right before breakfast when Lauralea said she was leaving Avi walked over to Lauralea's bag and jacket, pointed at it as if to say, "don't forget this!"

This first picture is from yesterday afternoon.  Sophie is in the igloo and asked me cover the entrance. Then she was calling out to Avi; "Come here Avi, come here Avi...."  Avi was getting so excited, but not sure what to do!  It was so cute.  (You can see her anticipation in the picture!)  They both played in the igloo and then Sophie was asking Avi to jump on the mattress with her.  "Do you want to jump with me Avi?  Do you want to jump with me Avi?!?  Huh, huh....yes or no!?!?"  Ha!

One more note from yesterday afternoon; Reid's Dad picked him up and Avi was at the gate watching just like she has many times before.  However, he bent down to her level just a few inches through the gate to say bye to her.  She backpedaled in a hurry!!  Haha!  But she quickly stopped and turned around and waved and continued to wave.  So stinking cute.  She wasn't necessarily afraid of him - he was just TOO close!!  :)

It was very nice to have Hudson back from Denver and have the entire crew here today!!  Lauralea read and sang with the kids for a few minutes before going to work.  Hudson doesn't like to sit on her lap and do the "action" songs!  But he likes to sit and watch!  I love how Avilene is slapping hands with Lauralea!  We read more books later as well.  Sophie asked me if I'd read books and as soon as Avi heard Sophie say that she immediately grabbed a book off the floor and came running.  (Receptive language development is full speed ahead!!)

 

Avi - 2/22/2017

Avilene ate biscuit and peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate 3 or 4 bites of baked beans, bites of dinner roll, ate peas, and crushed pineapple.  Thank you Molly for giving me a head's up about Avi's water lessons being moved to next week.

This first picture is from yesterday afternoon and Kenzie was putting some "cowgirl" clothes on Sophie.  Kenzie said, "This is for the Cowgirl Dance!!"  Then she was twirling with Sophie around and around.  It was very cute.  I love how Avilene has her hands clasped behind her back and is watching so intently - soaking it all in!!  Kenzie and Sophie tried several different cowgirl outfits before finding the right one for their dance!!

Avilene was her busy little self all morning.  She sat on my lap for all of Story Time.  (I consider that our snuggling time!!  Ha!)  She really does like the books more and more all the time; enough to sit down and listen to the story and look at the pictures.  That's a big milestone for a busy little one like Avilene!  Also, in this toy exchange there are two tomatoes in the food toys that are perfect sized "balls" for Avi and she has a strong arm!!  Ha!  She slung one half way across the Play Room this morning!  Whoa!!  Ok Avilene that was impressive, BUT we only throw balls outside!  :)

Here are a couple of pictures from this morning's activities.  Sophie was explaining some colors to Avi.  :)  "This is the blue one Avi."  In the last picture I'd just added some new batteries to this tractor and that made it very attractive!!

Avi - 2/21/2017

Avilene ate waffle and bites of hash browns for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken & cheese quesadilla, ate carrots, and two servings of mandarin oranges.

Sophie's Daddy Pat was trying to get Avilene to peek around the corner at him before he left.  But she was too busy to do that!  However, in typical Toddler fashion Avi came around the corner waving as soon as he went out the door.  (She probably heard the door closing!)  So I asked if she wanted to go the window to wave with Sophie and she took off for the window.  Again, as soon as Pat drove off she started waving!  Haha!

We did a toy, puzzle, and book exchange this past weekend so Avilene was super busy (normal - ha!) checking out everything.  In this first picture she had crawled into the back of this toy shelf and wanted to sit-up, but she scrambled out of there when that didn't work!!  Ha!  I post pictures of Avilene that I happen to get when I'm already holding the camera!  If I spot her doing something that I think is cute and I don't have the camera - it's too late by the time I grab it!  Ha!

Before Sophie arrived Avilene was taking toys to Baby Nora and showing her the new stuff!  :)  And it didn't bother her a bit when Nora would lean over and touch the toys that Avi had in her hands.  Probably because she was just touching them and not trying to take them!!  After Sophie arrived she asked Avi; "Bring me some toys."  (I guess it was a command, not asking!  Ha!)  Avi didn't listen and Sophie mistakenly said, "Bring me some toys!  Ok, Bubba!?!"  LOL!  He'll be back on Thursday Sophie!  Avi likes to do her own thing!  :)

Avi - 2/17/2017

Avilene ate oatmeal and dried cranberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef, whole wheat elbow noodles, peas, and applesauce.  The same kids are here today as yesterday - Sophie and Hudson are gone.  Just a reminder for everyone: Little Treasures is closed on Monday for President's Day.

Avi was standing on the step looking out the window when someone went walking by on the sidewalk.  Avi started slapping the window!  Haha!  That made me laugh, but the person was too busy looking at their phone to notice!  Our neighbor across the street (Big Willy) LOVES it when the Kids slap the window to get his attention.  We wave at him whenever we notice him outside getting his mail.

Avi was very cute and sweet interacting with Baby Nora.  I like the first picture where Nora just keeps "reading" her book regardless of what Avi is doing.  In the 2nd picture Avilene had put one of the blankets on Nora and then got a blanket for herself and laid right down on it!  I was telling Lauralea and showing her the picture of what Avi had done.  Avilene heard us talking and went and got a blanket and showed Lauralea - laid on it just like in the picture!!  How cute is that?!  Good job Avilene!!

I'm not sure why Reid was so tired, but he slept for 3 hours this morning.  (Probably another growth spurt!!)  He woke up for lunch!!!!  Avi would occasionally rock his chair and look at him, but she'd just move on to something more interesting!  Ha!!

I saw Avi sitting across the room looking at me so I blew her a kiss.  She immediately put both hands up to her mouth.  So cute.  :)  Then she was playing with the legos and the holes in them are a perfect fit for her fingers.  She had 3 "flowers" on her fingers.  Nora does the same thing.

Avi - 2/16/2017

Avilene ate most of her raisin english muffin and ate blueberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate turkey, flat bread, green beans, and strawberries.

Avi, Nora, and Reid are the only ones here today until the Cline girls get out of school - this is early out day.  Avilene went with me into Nora's bedroom to get Nora after she awoke from her morning nap.  That was the first time Avi's been in there and it was so cute as she turned in circles taking it all in.  "Whoa!!  This is awesome!"  Also from this morning I told Avi to "tell Lauralea what the bear says!"  Avi said, "Rrrrr" very quick and short!  Ha!  Is that the sound she usually makes?  It's fun to watch her interact with Lauralea in the mornings; she was peeking around the corner while Lauralea was putting laundry in the washer.  Avi said "pee, pee."  (I'm sure it was "peek" because that's what Lauralea was saying to her.)

Here are some pictures from this morning's activities.  She very cautiously stood up on the 2nd step heading for the balance beam.  Cautious is a good thing!!  Especially for a fast mover like Avilene!!  Speaking of moving fast: I don't think I've watched a child move as fast and often as she does and RARELY crash!  Very impressive!!

This is where we found Avilene after breakfast.  She was done eating and Reid finished up later and then he sat down to watch her.  Here's Reid's observation: "Look what Avilene's doing!.....booorrrriiiinnnggggg!" Why is it boring?  "Tiny book!"  That's his latest observation - if the book is short or small that makes it "boring!"  Haha!

These last two pictures:  Reid was just pestering Avi and trying to balance one of the little cups on her head.  In the last picture: I'd built a legos house and then she took it apart very methodically; one piece at a time.  :)

Avi - 2/15/2017

Avilene ate jelly toast and mangoes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a couple bites of burrito (rice, bean, chicken), ate sweet potatoes, and tropical fruit.

First I want to remind everyone that Little Treasures is closed on Monday, February 20th for President's Day.  We are SO looking forward to being in Billings to hang out with our beautiful Granddaughters!  :)  I'm also going to send out an email notice in case anyone misses the notice here.

Daddy Andy may have made it to his truck by the time Avilene had already found the "Bubbles Bubbles" book and was standing in front of me wanting me to read it to her.  So we read it twice and she was satisfied.  :)

This first picture is from yesterday afternoon.  ALL (especially Kenzie, Riley, and Sophie) the kids like to "feed" Baby Nora this teether that is attached to her saucer.  Yesterday was the first time I've seen Avi doing it, but it was so cute.  By the time I got the camera she was almost done and so this picture was as good as I could get.  Ha! Actually I think it's quite cute!  Neither of them are looking at what they're doing!!  Sophie was doing this same thing at breakfast time again today and said, "I'm feeding Nora."  :)

Avi was her usual busy busy self this morning.  She was pushing some blocks over to the opposite side of the room this morning.  You can see part of Sophie in the picture below.  She was just sitting there watching Avilene and wondering what the heck she was doing.  :)  Avi also was sitting and reading a book LOUDLY!  So cute!

After breakfast Avi and Sophie were "hiding" from me in the igloo.  So I just lifted the igloo up and looked in and Sophie squealed with delight!  What a couple of cuties!!

Avi - 2/14/2017

Avilene had bites of breakfast: cinnamon roll and canned plums.  She ate bites of lunch: scrambled eggs, waffle, hash browns, and cantaloupe.

Lauralea was singing and playing with the kids before going to work this morning.  When I took the first picture she was doing "Wheels on the Bus" and trying to get Avi to do the motions as well.  Avi thought that was pretty funny.  Reid was watching and said, "I wanna do it.  Can we do Trot Trot?"  Now that is also pretty funny to see - actually hilarious!  Reid sitting and bouncing on Lauralea's knee!  Ha!  In the 2nd picture Avi was covering her face every time Lauralea would talk to her or ask her something.  Super cute!!

We read books, sang songs, and did some sign language.  While we were reading books Avilene got down and started pulling the yellow bench across the room.  Then she got her book and sat on it to do her own reading.

Also while we were reading Stories Avilene found Sophie's head band and knew just what to do with it as well!!  She's obviously observant.  (Sophie came in wearing her Valentine's headband.)  The surprising part was that Sophie didn't care!  Ha!!

Avi - 2/13/2017

Avilene ate kix cereal and mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ham sandwich, peas, and mandarin oranges.  I took this picture at breakfast and here's a good example why I don't put milk in the baby's cereal.  Or if I do I'll feed it to them.  :)

Avi and Hudson were squabbling over one of the smallest books.  (And I have LOTS of them!!)  Reid said, "They're fighting over a very short book!"  Haha!  Small books = boring books in Reid's world.  After reading a book at Story Time Reid will sometimes say, "That book boring!"  Why?  "Too short!!" Sophie was trying to be the peacemaker during this conflict.  She was primarily yelling at Bubba; "Buuuubbbbbaaaaaa!!!!"  Ha!

Avilene found her favorite book in this toy set first thing this morning!!  That alone was a pretty good accomplishment because there is a lot of books in the book rack.  It is the Sesame Street book "Bubbles Bubbles."  I took this picture when she was reading it - kind of an unorthodox reading style wouldn't you say?! The book is upside-down and sitting on the bench beside her.  But the cutest part is she was saying, "bubba bubba bubba..."  She loves the bubble book.  I think it's so cute how they'll find something they like and that will be the favorite this week and next week it will be something entirely different.

Avi had a great morning!  I'm so glad she's feeling better and she was super happy to be back.  I even got the sweetest love when she first arrived!  Not to brag or anything, but she nuzzled her face into my neck.  Ha!  It was so precious!  When she slows down long enough to give a love I have to treasure it!!

Avi - 2/10/2017

Avilene ate brown rice and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate meat balls, flat bread, carrots, and a few bites of apricots.

Avi had one of Hudson's toys and took off running.  It was hard not to roar with laughter because she was looking over her shoulder to see if he was coming or gaining on her!  Oh man, that hit my funny bone!!  I wanted to shout, "Run Avi Run!!"  Haha!!

Avilene had a pretty normal morning considering how she looked and felt when she left here yesterday!  She ate normal and played normal.  So we'll see how she feels today after her nap; or will it be like yesterday and sleep all afternoon!?!  I took the first picture you see below when these three were playing at the window.  They were just looking out the window at first, then they were putting toys on the window sill.

The social aspect of a Daycare setting is so fascinating to me and watching them learn from each other and influence each other is a fun part of my day.  In this next picture Avi was packing these blocks and then tossing them.  Hudson, of course, thought that was hilarious and she loved that; grinning all over!! "Oh, you like that!?  Watch me!  I can do it again!!"  More pictures with blocks: Hudson has been using the blocks as a tool to step on for several weeks now; actually months.  And of course Avilene has recently been mimicking that as well.

Avi - 2/9/2017

Avilene ate cinnamon toast and pineapple for breakfast.  For lunch she ate baked chicken, dinner roll, a few bites of hash browns, and ate canned cherries.  She had started coughing quite a bit shortly before Lunch and all through Lunch.  Hopefully it won't disrupt her nap too much.

I had the camera ready when Lauralea asked Avi if she wanted to do "Walk walk, trot trot" and as you can see she was ready!!  :)  There are three or four more songs that Lauralea does with each of them and Avi was really loving it!!  She also sat on Lauralea's lap for two or three books.

After breakfast Avi brought a book to me on the couch, laid it on my lap, and held up her arms.  It's a Sesame Street book; "Bubbles Bubbles."  She was saying bubbles while I was reading it and it sounded like "Bubba bubba bubba."  (And even though Bubba was sitting there as well she was pointing at bubbles!!  Ha!)  She makes the "B" sound quite easily.  We also colored some coffee filters (we spray water on them and watch the colors run) at Art Time and Avi did quite well!  That lasted for several minutes before she got bored.

Avi was laying on the blanket (see picture) and covering with it.  I laughed and she kept doing it over and over.  Hudson joined her and this is what a Toddle Slumber Party looks like!!  Hudson was laying on the floor looking at the clock on the wall and said, "Good night tick tock."  And then waves at the clock.   :)

Avi - 2/8/2017

Avilene ate whole wheat bagel and peaches for breakfast.  She ate all of her lunch as well: Ham, whole wheat elbow noodles, corn, and applesauce.  I asked Avi at breakfast; "You want more?" while offering her some more bagel.  She vigorously shakes her head "no" while shoving more food in her mouth!  Ha!  (Very typical of this age group!)   For example, also at breakfast, Hudson said, "I done!" While shoveling more food in his mouth!  (He was primarily just copying what Sophie was saying, except she really was done.)

I'm posting this first picture mainly so Daddy Andy can see what the Play Room looked like 10 minutes after he left!  Ha!  I moved the mattress and balance beam around and we made a "sidewalk."  When Andy was here Reid had created chaos and destruction with the blocks.  Reid loves that sort of play much more than helping me build a sidewalk!!  :)  (I'm sure you spotted Avi in the picture with one leg on the sidewalk!)

One of the books had the back cover tore off and I was taping it this morning.  Reid said, "Avi ate it off!  If I was her I would never eat books!"  Ha!  Well actually Reido, I haven't noticed Avi "eating" books for a long time!  (Plus, I never saw her rip the cover off so I think her Daddy would say she's innocent until proven guilty!!  Ha!)  Later, Reid added this comment; "I really want Avi to grow big!" (No idea what that was about!)

I LOVE how Avi studies everything and experiments with the toys.  She's always busy and hard at work.  In the bottom picture she has 3 of the stacking cups that's she's trying to stack.  What you don't see is this: she has one of the food toys inside the cup on the bottom.  The food toys in this set have velcro on them so the kids can "cut" the vegetables and fruit in half.  Prior to me getting the camera Avi had the velcro stuck to the little rug on the floor and was fascinated by that; tugging and pulling on it.  I also love much more vocal and animated she is becoming!  :)

Avi - 2/7/2017

Avilene ate waffle and pears for breakfast.  For lunch she ate tuna & half of her crackers, ate sweet potatoes, and mandarin oranges.  I mentioned it to Daddy Andy this morning, but I want to Blog it as well - yesterday afternoon it was so cute when Riley and Kenzie arrived from school.  Avi was so excited and went running to the gate waving her arm above her head and yelling a greeting!  It was totally adorable and the girls loved it.

Avi had her usual morning running around having a blast and being silly.  In the picture below Hudson was putting Woody Woodpecker on the igloo and after one or two attempts to reach it Avi realized she could reach it enough to knock it off of there!  Ha!  They made a game out of it and Hudson put it up there at least 2 or 3 more times and she knocked it off.

Here's what happens when Lauralea teaches at night and goes to work later in the day!!  Ponytails and Story Time and I get to take pictures.  Sweet!  Avi's first pony at Little Treasures!!  How cute is that!?!  Love it!  Lauralea asked her if she wanted a pony in her hair (after watching Sophie get a ponytail) and Avi went right over with her arms raised high.  Reid said, "That weird!"  LOL!  Well later when Lauralea was leaving Avi was up to her old tricks; she went smoking over to Lauralea with her arms raised, got within a couple feet, whirled around and went the opposite direction!  Cracked us up!!  Reid was satisfied that things were back to normal!!  :)  The last picture is Story Time!  Notice the ponytail is still in place and it lasted until about 11:00 when she finally pulled it out.  :)  She sat for several stories again today!  Nice job Avilene!

Avi - 2/6/2017

Avi arrived after breakfast and Grandpa said she'd already ate breakfast.  So at Lunch Time she ate everything; Pulled pork sandwich, tomato soup, and pickled beets.  Hope Grandpa Mark is ok with me telling this little story - it was so cute and sweet.  I expressed to him how wonderful I think Avilene is and he was totally in agreement!  He said something like this; "Yes she's pretty much perfect."  (He did kind of backtrack very slightly and said, "well maybe not perfect, but you know what I mean.") Hey I can totally relate; spoken from a Grandpa's heart!!  :)

These first two pictures were taken shortly after Avi arrived.  You obviously can't tell from the pictures, but she was laughing and giggling so much and being so silly on the mattress!  She was flopping forward, standing on her head, and running from one end of the mattress to the other end. Then sprinting from one end of the room to the other end.  What a riot!!  :)

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend and the kids were super busy all morning checking out everything.  We rarely do anything besides explore toys on the Monday after Toy Exchange.  I had the books for Story Time ready to go (Sophie had requested stories), but I was momentarily interrupted and the kids didn't even notice or want to continue.  And that is really unusual for Story Book Sophie!!  It's a rare day that she lets Story Time slip by!

Isn't this last picture adorable!?  Avilene and Hudson were playing one of their favorite games again. He was sitting on the chair and Avi would get behind the chair and then come running out - first on one side and then the other side.  Both of the kids were laughing hard - especially in anticipation of what was going to happen!!  Love the sound of children laughing!!  That's the absolute best!