Avi - 6/23/2017

Avi ate oatmeal and banana for breakfast.  For lunch she ate tilapia (she loves it), bites of whole wheat elbow noodles, maybe a green bean, and bites of applesauce.

Just a reminder for everyone!  The next Blog will be on July 5th!  We are looking forward to our road trip and a time of relaxation!!  Lots of walks and lots of reading!  See you all when we get home!!

Lately I've been catching Avilene standing up in the swivel-rocker chair.  That's not safe Avi - you better sit down!!  Well, hang on a second, I'll get a picture first!!  :)  She usually is facing the back of the chair, leaning against it, and peeking over the top at me.  She's such a little hot-shot!!  :)

There are only 3 children here today so it seemed like the Daycare was kind of quiet!  Well it's quiet if you don't consider Hudson's constant chattering and Atley's singing!  Haha!  Here are a couple pictures from this morning's activities.  Avi and Atley were playing on the floor and in the last picture Hudson was trying to initiate a game of hide-n-seek!  (There's nothing more comical than Toddler Hide-n-Seek!!)  He said, "I'm gonna hide, I'm gonna hide, I'm gonna hide!!"  So in the last picture he's "hiding" under the pillow.  Then he told Avi, "You hide, I'm gonna count!"  Avi was like, "oh." Ha!  The kids colored on some coffee filters and we also played outside.

Avi - 6/22/2017

Avilene ate whole wheat bagel and peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate hamburger & sausage pizza with whole wheat crust, tomato sauce, mushrooms, peppers, pineapple, and ate some banana.

The neighbors are busy this morning getting ready for some camping and fishing - which provided the opportunity to watch them from the window!  Ha!  Then Austin (or as Hudson calls him; "Boston") mowed the lawn over onto our side of the lawn as well.  Thank you Austin!  I love it when you're home from college!!  :)  (Hudson is standing with one foot on a block in case you are wondering why he and Avi are the same height in the 1st picture!)

I read LOTS of books at Story Time this morning!  (I don't know how long it would take before Hudson was tired of Story Time!!  "More books, more books!")  And Avi sat through all but the last 3 or 4 minutes of a long Dr. Seuss book!  

I think maybe Avi was trying to "comb" Nora's hair with this piece of legos fence!  Ha!  In the last picture - Lauralea does a goodbye routine every morning and gives the kids loves.  Avi always points to the next kid to make sure Lauralea does what she is supposed to do!!  She is usually way more concerned about that part than anything else!!  That's her daily job.

Avi - 6/21/2017

Avilene ate whole wheat toast and lots of peaches (in place of grapes) for breakfast.  For lunch she ate pork roast, toasted rye bread, carrots (no potatoes or brussel sprouts), and ate fruit salad.

Here are some pictures from the kid's activities this morning.  There are 4 children here today with Sophie and Reid being gone.  Avi was peeking in at Hudson's hiding spot and she was chuckling and laughing at him.

Avilene was playing with the bikes again and was sitting here watching Hudson get the balls out of the play house.  (supervising him!!)  This picture reminds me of when the "older" kids would ride these bikes up to the opening in the play house and "order their food."  It was usually McDonalds!! These kids usually serve "ice cream."  We also played with the bubbles outside and here's a picture of Avi popping a bubble.  It was breezy at times and then the bubbles would fly across the yard!!

I was reminded of how Avi would do the closed eyes and squinty face in the highchair when she was very little.  She was kind of doing a similar thing after she'd finish eating at lunch time.  So I took several pictures and I thought this was the cutest one!!

Avi - 6/20/2017

Avi ate toasted whole wheat english muffin and pears for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of chicken with stir fry vegetables, bites of brown rice, and ate oranges.

In case I forget to write it on a note later, Avi is going to need some wipes to finish out the week. Also, just an FYI, she's doing lots of coughing in her sleep.  She didn't cough this morning until she lay down.  She seemed a bit quieter and not as rambunctious as usual, but she was in a good mood and not complaining at all.

This first picture is Avi on the bike from yesterday afternoon.  She hasn't shown much interest in playing with the bikes until just recently.  Then Momma Molly told me about the no-pedal bike Avi recently got at home and that may add to the interest.  She hasn't been using the pedals here either and that's how most of the kids start learning.  It's actually works pretty well as they still learn how to steer and not run into each other.  We rarely have collisions on the sidewalks.  (That's Hudson with his cap and dump truck in the background.)

Here are a couple pictures from today.  Avi and Atley were playing on each side of a wall that we built with the blocks.  Then they were crawling across the toy box behind the "wall."  We also played outside and Avi played with the "steering wheel" on the big climber.  Baby Nora crawled across the grass to see what Avi was doing up there.  (I don't think Nora's knees touched the grass on the way across the lawn and back.  Ha!)

Avi - 6/19/2017

Avi ate most of cheerios and banana for breakfast.  For lunch we had taco salad and I serve it separately rather than all mixed together: she ate most of ground beef, ate pita bread, ate olives, (no lettuce, and didn't offer her tomatoes), and ate cantaloupe.

Molly, just an FYI, I sent you a link about pink eye.  It's no longer exclusionary.  That website is a great resource and a good address to keep.  Avilene had a good morning and played pretty normal.  I could tell she wasn't 100% but she did fine regardless and didn't complain.

Here are some pictures of the morning activities.  Hudson and Avi were playing with the legos; primarily the barns and barn animals.  In the 2nd picture all 5 kids were playing on the mattress and having lots of fun bouncing and jumping.  In the 3rd picture Sophie was using her "lovey" as she called it - the stuffed animal (sheep) - to "tickle" Avi.  It was pretty cute.  Avi wanted to get Sophie with it so they traded roles.  (After I encouraged Sophie to let Avi have a turn.)

I took this picture when I told the kids I was getting some books for Story Time!  Isn't that the coolest thing?  When I turned around this is the picture I saw - so I got the camera!  They are all sitting (got up there and got ready on their own initiative) and ready for it to start.

Avi - 6/15/2017

Avi ate toasted whole wheat english muffin and peaches (in place of oranges) for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef, half of whole wheat elbow noodles, some peas, and ate applesauce.

There will not be any Blogs tomorrow, June 16th.  Little Treasures is closing for the afternoon so Lauralea and I can attend a Memorial service for the precious daughter of some dear friends of ours.  Thank you so much to all my Daycare Families for making it possible for us to attend the funeral and support this family.

For the first time this week all 6 six kids are here today!  It was a busy place this morning, but we had lots of fun!!  Here's a picture of the kids playing on the mattress and blue balance beam.  Hudson is a bit blurry in the background, as he was just coming in for a landing!!  :)  Not too much later Reid tossed his blanket and it happened to come down over Avi's head.  She pulled it off and gave Reid "the look!"  (Head down a bit and frowning at him.)  Oh it was cute and I roared!!  (I was a bit late with the picture.)

In the next picture Avi was looking in the mirror on the back of the lids and I always say, "Look at the monkey!"  She was giggling when I took the picture.  I think the kids were looking at some birds when I took the last picture.  I was intent on taking a picture and I never did see what they were looking at.  This picture gives you a good perspective of a big 4 year old!!  (Reid will be 5 in late September.)  NBC news recently ran a piece on how a study showed that kids who drink only Almond Milk (along with rice milk, soy milk, and more) are 1- 2 inches shorter than others the same age.  I think Reid may be an exception to that study!!  Haha!  He's drank almond milk almost his entire life!!

 

Avi - 6/14/2017

Avi ate several bites of french toast and ate strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a few bites of Paleo Stew with ground burger, potatoes, green beans, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli - she ate crackers, and pears instead of tropical fruit.

Hey, I was able to get all 4 kids that are here today in one picture!  :)  Avilene is usually moving so fast and Atley is wandering around doing her own thing!  Nora was squealing and excited to have everyone close by.  Nora was thumping Atley and Sophie and so I was saying, "gentle touches" and showing her what a gentle touch looks and feels like.  Atley just seemed amused by it all.  Ha!  Sometimes the kids aren't very helpful when I'm doing a teaching moment like that!!  For example, Nora had also tugged on Sophie's hair on the way by.  So I was doing the "gentle touches" thing again!  Sophie said, "I like her pulling on my hair!"  Haha!  Well I don't and it's not helpful for you to say that!  :)  I haven't had an issue with Avi not being gentle for a LONG time!!  I shouldn't say that right!?!  When I ask her to move a toy to the other side she will frequently sling it in that general direction, but so far she hasn't winged anyone!  Shouldn't say that either!!  (By the way, she has a strong arm too!!  Ha!)

We got the 2 tunnels out today and the kids had fun crawling through them!  Except Atley was just content to play on the outside and didn't crawl through.  (Totally fine and normal.)  Sometimes it takes one or two times to be comfortable to even want to try.  If you look close at this picture you can see Avi and Atley are touching hands through the thin netting.

Avi - 6/13/2017

Avi ate toasted rye bread and bites of banana for breakfast.  The fruit was grapes and I felt bad because she wanted some.  I was cutting up banana at her plate and she had her head turned sideways and wouldn't watch what I was doing. The body language was pretty clear!  "Bananas again!?!"  Earlier she'd been BELLOWING Lauralea's name sitting in her highchair waiting for breakfast.  (Lauralea was getting ready to leave)  It was so cute and funny.  We were laughing hard!  She knows she's a cute little clown!!  For lunch she ate some baked chicken, whole grain tortilla bites, bites of roasted cabbage, and ate baked apples with cinnamon.

She wanted me to flop the steps (to the balance beam) over and use the slide on the other side.  I wasn't sure what she said so she just pointed at it.  Thank you Avi.  Then she was playing on the slide and the kitchen timer went off.  Avi yells, "Phone, phone!"  :)

In all 4 pictures today Avi is wearing the rabbit mask.  Haha!  She was pushing a button on this tractor and it makes a sound like the motor is starting.  (And it sounds surprisingly similar to a diesel motor.)  It also lights up the nose of the tractor and that's what she's getting up close and personal with!!  In the 2nd picture she was just being her cute self!!

These two pictures are so stinking cute!!  Avilene was trying to give Nora a drink out of the cup.  At one point Avi finally tried to pull Nora's thumb out of her mouth and then put the cup over Nora's mouth.  "Get that thumb out of the way!!"  It was hard not to laugh out loud!!  Finally Nora just sat up took the cup and proceeded to drink.  Haha!

Avi - 6/12/2017

Avilene ate some kix cereal and pears/peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of ground turkey, bites of hamburger bun, no tomato for her, she ate no lettuce, ate avocado, and banana instead of cherries.

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend and of course Avi was busy busy busy!!  (She's busy regardless of changing up the toys, but it still helps keep everyone engaged!!)  In this first picture she was wearing a goat mask (There is an animal theme in this set - barnyard type animals.) and headed across the room.  Hmm...it's smells suspicious!  I asked her if she was poopy and notice how she's pointing at her butt in the picture.  :)  Haha!

Nothing specific to say about this next picture - just too cute not to post it!!  A few minutes later we were having Story Time and reading "Barnyard Dance."  Two of the lines go like this;  "Bow to the horse, bow to the cow...."  Sophie gets off the couch and does the cutest bow!  Avi gets off and tries to mimic her!  SO CUTE!!  Then she was being silly and started trying to tip her head backwards instead of bowing forward.  :)

Here's the cute story behind these last 2 pictures.  Atley was holding the blue spoon and spotted the yellow spoon in Avi's hand from across the room.  Her eyes locked on that yellow spoon and she headed straight for it.  She reached out to take it and Avi was kind of willing to give it up, but I told Atley she needed to trade with Avi.  Which she did, kind of, but Avi had to reach out and take it.  It was super cute and we did this 3 or 4 times to practice.

Avi - 6/9/2017

Avi ate oatmeal and baked apples with cinnamon for breakfast.  For lunch she ate most of her hamburger stew, ate dinner roll, vegetables from stew (ate mostly potatoes, but maybe a few carrots and green beans, no brussel sprouts), and ate apricots.

Avi is doing SO good sleeping on her nap mat - just like a pro.  Yesterday was the only time she's tried to get up and she really wasn't even awake!  I laid her back down, patted her, and she slept for another 90 minutes!!  Sometimes she'll look across the room at me and I'l put my finger to my lips and say, "Shhh" and she squints her eyes shut!  So stinking cute!!  :)

Here are some pictures from this morning's activities.  Hudson and Avi each had a head band and they were wearing other dress-up clothes as well.  We read books and Avi also watched Reid run and jump on the mattress.  He was chanting "I believe I can fly!!"  as he was running and flopping on the mattress.  In the 2nd picture Nora, Hudson, and Avi were shuffling the legos around and making a huge racket!  Which seemed to amuse them greatly!

We played outside for awhile this morning and the school kids were walking by early because it's their last day before summer break.  Bode stopped and was explaining to his audience wha twas in his bag.  Then in the last picture 4 of the kids were playing on the geo-climber.

Avi - 6/8/2017

Avi ate bites of toasted rye bread and ate dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate several bites of pulled pork sandwich, ate peas, and cantaloupe.  At lunch time Atley was playing with her spoon and Avi had just kind of gagged with her own spoon - too far down her throat!!  Geez!  Reid (directing his comment at both of them) said, "You're supposed to eat it with your spoon, NOT eat your spoon (or "poon" as Reid pronounces it)!!"  Haha!  Thank you Reid!

These first 3 pictures cracked me up!!  Alley's Mom asked me this morning about the routine of taking off shoes and I said it really didn't matter - we usually take them off for the kids to jump on the mattress and so it doesn't hurt as bad if they accidentally step on each other!  But according to the pictures below it really does matter!!  Avi was following Atley around trying to get Atley's shoes off for her!  Atley would take off across the room and Avi was following her around saying, "Hey hey hey..."  Reid joined in the effort and he said, "Hey she sat down!"  (Right after I took the 3rd picture and Reid took Atley's shoes off much to Avi's delight!!)  Mission accomplished!!  :)  So now we know that routine is important!!

We went outside and I took a picture of these 4 kids single-filing up and down the sidewalk.  Two dump trucks, one ice-cream cart, and Atley just out for the stroll.  :)

Avi - 6/7/2017

Avilene ate whole wheat toast and mangoes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate hamburger with spaghetti sauce, whole wheat elbow noodles, squash, and fruit salad.

Lauralea covered for me this morning while I went to a Doctor appointment.  (Just dealing with a foot issue, nothing serious.)  So these notes and pictures are from activities prior to 10:30.

The kids were at the window waving "Bye to Daddy Andy."  After Andy left Atley was pointing at a bird and there was a crow sitting on the power pole.  I showed it to Hudson and he said, "That weird." And later they also watched a street sweeper at work.

Like I've mentioned many times I love Avi's early morning sprints soon after she arrives.  She stops on a dime whirls around and goes in the opposite direction!!  (Which presents a challenge to whoever is hot on her tail trying to keep up!)  She put this dress-up top over her head and kept running.  It's kind of a "mesh" material so she could see through it just fine.  And just in case you wondered where her mouth is located she was sticking her finger in her mouth as I was taking the picture!!  Ha!

Avi - 6/6/2017

Avi ate whole wheat bagel and banana bites for breakfast.  For lunch she ate shrimp, brown rice, and stir fry vegetables.  I didn't offer her any mixed berries.

I combed Avi's hair and as soon as I finished she immediately pointed at Hudson and wanted me to comb his hair!  "Bubba, Bubba"  Haha!  She cracks me up!  She does the same thing when Lauralea gives her a goodbye love in the mornings; points at Hudson, "Bubba, Bubba."  Yes it's his turn to get a love!!  Speaking of Bubba -  It was kind of a crazy and busy morning for about an hour - here are the stinky details.  All 4 of my "diaper" kids were basically poopy at the same time!!  Hudson was leaving a "trail" of evidence behind so it wasn't hard to determine who was going to get cleaned first!!  Geez, what a mess!!  Yup, that's occasionally what life is like at Little Treasures!!  He got a nice warm soapy bath in the utility sink!

Here's a picture of the Little Miss Fashion Queen herself!!  She disappears around the corner for a few minutes and reappears wearing this impressive coordinated outfit!!  Haha!  What a cutie!!

Lauralea and I were watching Avi jump and boy was she kicking it into high gear!  I was impressed!! She was jumping hard four or five times, getting both feet off the mattress every time, then going straight down on her bottom!  It's hard to capture that without a video, but I like this picture because she has her legs crossed before she hits the mattress! Nicely done Avi!!  :)

Avi - 6/5/2017

Avi had some bran cereal and a few raisins for breakfast.  For lunch we had chicken salad - I serve the ingredients separately rather than mix it all together.  She ate chicken, pita bread, olives, maybe some peppers, tomatoes, lettuce with spinach, and cucumbers, and she ate her pears.

Avi and Atley are similar in the fact that they both love to go go go.  When Avilene arrived this morning she was excited and was jumping, running, spinning, and basically acting like the energizer bunny!!  Atley just stood there with an amused look on her face and it looked like her head was on a swivel as she watched Avi zip around!!

Avi loves to swing and whip the doll blankets around.  As you can see in the picture below the blankets in this toy set are kinda large and not easy to do that with.  She was trying, but finally just let it flop over her head and left it that way!

Isn't this 3rd picture cute?!?  Awww...Avi just loves her dress-up clothes.  Like I've mentioned several times she'll also leave them on for long periods of time.  She has her head through the leg hole of these shorts.  :)  In the last picture Avi and Atley were playing in the swivel/rocker chair.  They like pushing each other around and around!!  One other note about these 2 kids:  Avi knows we try to keep the toys on one side of the Play Room and the mattress side is for jumping and running.  (Keeps it safer that way and keeps the hard toys off the mattress.)  She was following Atley around picking up toys that Atley was packing to the "wrong" side of the room.  Avi looked at me as if to say, "What the heck is wrong with this girl!?!"  Ha!!