Avi - 7/31/2017

Avilene ate whole grain chex cereal and lots of peaches for breakfast.  She said, "More pears Gary."  Then she heard someone say "peaches" and she changed it to "more peaches."  I LOVE her cute soft little voice.  It's not really congruent with her relentless approach to life, but it's still cute!!  Ha!!  For lunch she ate hamburger on bun, maybe a bite of the lettuce and tomato, bites of avocado, and ate her oranges.

Sophie came today and announced that as a 3 year old (birthday yesterday) she could now jump off the igloo.  And she did!  Didn't really surprised me, but Avilene was SO determined that she needed to get on top of that igloo and jump too!!  Haha!  Uhhh...sorry Avilene, when you can climb up there by yourself then you can jump off!!  Here....I'll post a picture of Sophie so you can see!  Avilene was trying to loop her leg over the top of the igloo entrance.  :)  I told Avilene she needed to start by jumping off the blue balance beam first!  (Exact same reaction from Hudson too!  And he hasn't jumped off the blue balance beam yet either.)

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange and the kids had lots of fun with everything.  We have these "viewfinders" (I don't know what they're called) with different animal pictures that you hold up to your eye.  She saw Reid using one and he saw a "giraffe."  So I was holding it up to her eye and showing her different animals.  I'm not sure that she ever saw any animal, BUT when I asked her what she saw, every animal was "giraffe!!"  Haha!  Here are some pictures from this morning: She and Hudson were wearing some dress-up hats.  And a couple of pictures from outside play.  We also chased bubbles outside.

Avi - 7/28/2017

Avilene ate oatmeal and dried cranberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate tilapia, most of whole wheat elbow noodles, 1 or 2 green beans, and ate applesauce.

When Avi saw that Lauralea was leaving she bellowed (in her cute little voice), "BYE LAURALEA!!"  It was soooo cute!  I love her enthusiasm!  She went over to hug Lauralea's legs 2 different times.  :)

This picture shows one of the bowls of "Chicken Soup" that Sophie was passing out to the kids.  "Chicken Soup, Chicken Soup!!"  Avi's chicken soup had octopus in it and Hudson's chicken soup had walrus in it!  :)  Everyone acted like that was totally normal - and now that I think about it - that is pretty much the norm for Little Treasures!!

Reid was so ready to go outside (and the others will frequently take up the chant on his behalf - haha!!) and as soon as we were ready it started to rain.  So we watched it rain from the window inside!  And it poured hard for several minutes - enough that we listened to it hitting the metal roof.  We read books, sang some songs and looked at the Bear Cam in Katmai Park Alaska.  Avi was pretty mesmerized by the web cam - we listened to the water in the river, going over the falls, saw LOTS of fish jumping, and the bears catching and eating the fish.

Avi - 7/27/2017

Avilene ate toasted whole wheat bagel and two servings of peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate hamburger/sausage pizza on whole wheat crust, with olives, peppers, tomato sauce, mushrooms, and pineapple.

These 4 children in the picture below (Atley, Hudson, Avi, and Nora) were all playing at the legos table at the same time.  I always think it's sweet when this age group can play side-by-side and not be grabbing toys from the other children's hands!!  They are in the early stages of learning some social skills - which I think is one of the major benefits of a Childcare setting.

Here's another "group" picture.  These 3 were having fun watching food items pop out of the toaster. In the picture there is a pancake and an egg in midair.  (The white egg with yellow yolk is directly in front of Bubba's forehead.)  We also read stories and sang songs before going outside.

Avilene and Bubba had been riding their bikes on the sidewalk and they were saying, "Bye Gary, Bye Gary."  I thought this was a cute picture with them sitting side-by-side and both looking down.

Avi - 7/26/2017

Avilene had bites of whole wheat toast and ate grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate half of pork roast, ate whole grain tortillas, ate some of her vegetables (carrots, potatoes, brussel sprouts), and ate her fruit salad.

Lauralea had a little extra time before leaving and she fixed some ponytails in the girl's hair.  Avi went to the mirror to check out her ponytail and I like how she's apparently looking at it with doubt and skepticism!  Haha!!  Thank you Lauralea!  It's very cute regardless of what Avi thinks!  Avi has been briefly playing with the dolls the last 2 weeks.  I thought it looked so cute and sweet, but on closer examination she looks to be doing an eye exam!!  Haha!  Optometry!?!

One of the kid's favorite outside activities in the morning; searching for dropped apples.  Like I've mentioned before I keep the neighbor's tree trimmed to limit the amount of apples that fall into our yard.  It just attracts so many bees!  The kids find the apples and give them to Reid who likes to pitch them back across the fence.  Avi, of course, would much rather just pitch her own apples back.  Haha! She'd just thrown (left-handed) an apple when I took this picture and you can see it in the air.  We also did some sidewalk chalk and I took the last picture when Avi was using it appropriately.  She had fun with that - if chalk all over her leg is any indication!!  :)

Avi - 7/25/2017

Avilene ate whole wheat english muffin and dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she had bites of chicken, brown rice, stir fry vegetables, and ate oranges.

I took this first picture of "little constant motion Avi girl" when she was practicing going off the arm of the couch and landing on her feet and keep moving - in one motion.  (This picture doesn't do justice to how smoothly she was doing all of this!)  The girl always lands on her feet!!  I've said this many times, but her balance is exceptional.  So....here's a tiny word of advice: don't compare girl number 2 to this one in regards to walking, running, jumping, twirling, and rarely falling!  In my opinion she's well beyond the "normal" range!  Ha!  Seriously, you should see how often "normal" children fall when learning to do all of this!  It's sometimes painful to watch!  Haha!  All of this makes it easy to write her Blog because she's always doing something!  However, she's not the easiest kid to photograph - for the same reason!!!!!  I'll see something I think is cute, grab the camera, and she's long gone.

Lauralea's sister (Julie) is here for a couple of days and Avi was a bit shy yesterday.  Today she was in full show-off mode!  (No more shyness - that was soooo yesterday!)  Avi would sprint across the room and look to see if Julie was watching before charging back the other direction.  Also, it was so cute how she'd say "Julie."  (The cute part was watching her push her lips out into an "O" shape!)  Before Lauralea and Julie left to do whatever sisters do together Lauralea took time to sing to the kids and bounce them on her knee.  Then in the last picture Avi joined Sophie for a moment or two on the toy shelves or as we call them, the "bunk beds."  :)

Avi - 7/24/2017

Avilene ate cheerios and some banana for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of hamburger meat from taco salad; ate olives from taco salad (no lettuce or tomatoes), and ate a large serving of cantaloupe.

Avi had a good Monday morning at Little Treasures!  :)  Just her usual sweet self!  Playing hard and showing me how high and hard she can jump on the mattress!  What a little go-getter!!  She doesn't let any grass grow under her feet!  I love it!  She was playing in the igloo and Nora was peeking in at her, but by the time I grabbed the camera Avi was done and headed to bigger and better things!  :)

Whenever Sophie is here there is going to be a time of playing with dress-up clothes!  Avi joined her this morning - well, sort of - playing with 1 slipper!  Hey, that counts!  She was walking back-n-forth across the room with this one slipper.  :)

We also played outside and the kids wanted to chase bubbles again.  They love that!  Well, except for Atley.  She makes me laugh!  She mostly just watches, will occasionally try to touch one, and then wander off to something more promising!!  Haha!  Maybe she's just way smarter than the rest of us! After all I can't think of too many activities more futile than chasing bubbles.  You work really really hard, finally catch one, and poof it's gone!  (I think that's a verse in some ole country song!  Haha!) So in the picture below Atley is just watching Avi pursue another bubble!!

Avi - 7/21/2017

Avilene ate two servings of whole wheat english muffin and ate oranges for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef, whole wheat elbow noodles, peas, and applesauce.

These first two pictures are from yesterday afternoon.  I always think it's so cute when they peek through the fence at the neighbors!  What are they doing over there Avi!?!  In the 2nd picture Avi was playing on the teeter-totter by herself and Reid plopped down on it and about sent her flying.  Good thing she has quick reflexes!!

Sophie has been gone all week and the dress-up clothes rarely get used when she's gone.  Avi decided to join her today, but was using a more unconventional approach!!  But she was very intentional in being silly and covering her head!!  Sophie seemed to be greatly amused by Avi's silliness!

We don't have Art Time that often in the summer months - it's just too nice outside in the mornings to stay inside!!  For today's activity we did "golf ball" art.  :)  I think this was Avi's first time - there is a piece of paper in this pan, I put lots of different colors of paint on the paper, put 4 golf balls in there, put the lid on and the kids move the balls around and it makes lots of fun "tracks" on the paper.  (And now you know why there is a lid on the pan!)  Then we played outside and I took this last picture when Avi was trying very hard to pull the wagon with Nora in it.

Avi - 7/20/2017

Avilene ate most of french toast and ate strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she had bites of Paleo Stew with burger, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, and brussel sprouts, she ate crackers, and tropical fruit.

I'm always posting in Nora's Blog how easily entertained she is; well this morning Avi found one of the books that smacks pretty loud when she closes it and that kept those two entertained for many minutes.  She'd smack the book shut with a loud snap and Nora would laugh and squeal!!  Over and over!

Reid brought a couple of his toys with him and that's ok as long as he lets the little ones play with them too!  And he did.  Here's a picture of Avi with the 2 toys he brought - the car transforms into another toy.  In the 2nd picture Avi thought it was funny to put her lips on the fidget spinner while I had it spinning.  :)

In this picture Reid was trying to get Avilene to look in the mirror with him.  Later Avi was playing with the mirror and was holding it up to Atley's face.  Kind of distorts things a little right!?!

We played outside and Reid asked if we could get out some of the patio toys - which we usually get out on a rainy or snowy day.  They hadn't seen these toys for several weeks so they had fun with them.  We also chased bubbles outside and the 3 little people found apples for Reid to pitch back over the fence.

Avi - 7/18/2017

Avi ate some of her waffle and ate some grapes along with some banana bites for breakfast.  For lunch she ate baked chicken, bites of whole grain tortillas, bite of roasted cabbage, and ate baked cinnamon apples.

It's actually pretty quiet around here today.  Hudson is in Denver by now, Sophie is not here until Friday, and Reid will be here on Thursday.  So it's just the 3 youngest ones.  We were reading books and Avi was looking out the window and got pretty animated when she spotted some workers putting a new roof on a house across the street and down a couple houses.

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this past weekend and the kids have been busy yesterday and today playing with the new stuff.  As you can see in the first picture Avi is playing with the shape sorters again.  I remember the last time these were out she was enjoying them too.  She soon figured out that the circles are the easiest ones to put in the holes and she was doing circles only.  :)  (She was being very efficient.)  Nora moved in and started interrupting Avi's play so I set up another shape sorter for Nora to use.  Like a typical Toddler Avi moved over to Nora's toy and started playing with that one!  Silly kids.

Here are some more pictures from this morning's activities.  We have some frogs in this toy set and Avi has a few of them on the window sill.  Later, she had several lined up on the blue balance beam as well.  In the following picture Avi was putting toast and pancakes in the toaster after I showed her how to make it pop up.  She kept saying, "toast pop, toast pop, toast pop."  We also played outside and Avi played on the bicycles, on the climbers, and studied some bugs on the sidewalk.

Avi - 7/17/2017

Hi Everyone!

Just want to let you all know that my laptop is in the shop and they are backed up with repairs for several days.  So there will be no Blogs this week and I will let you all know as soon as I get it back!  

Gary

Avi - 7/14/2017

Avilene ate oatmeal and baked cinnamon apples for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of hamburger stew (ground beef with green beans, carrots, potatoes, and brussel sprouts), ate whole wheat dinner roll, and ate her apricots.

In this first picture Hudson found a way to build his tower taller.  Good problem solving Bubba!  Avi was keeping a close eye on his project and then at the opportune time she gave it a big push and over it went!  "I didn't like that!!" Bubba yelled!  (And that's what I've been working with him to say!  Rather than screaming!)  Good job Hudson.  However, he followed that up with a big shove and knocked Avi over, which now had her screaming!  Not a good job Bubba - so now you're 1 for 2!  As for Avi's part - it's just hard to remember the rules - "the one who builds the tower gets to push over the tower!!"  :)  Sometimes life is just not fair!!  However, 37 seconds later they are buddies again and on to the next adventure.

I like these next 2 pictures - Nora is sitting and reading in front of "her" mirror (where she frequently hangs out) and somehow Avi managed to not fall over the top of Nora.  Avi was blindly heading for the mattress and she managed to jump on the mattress with the doll blanket over her head.  :)  I like how Nora is oblivious to what's happening behind her.  Hudson joined Avi on the mattress and they also managed to not crash into each other.

 

We played outside before it got too hot and I thought it was cute when these 2 were sitting side-by-side on the scooters.  Look at that cute Avi smile.  Love it.  They also played with the wagons, balls, on the climbers, and ran up and down the sidewalk!  I remind them to run in the grass, but the sidewalk is more fun I guess - until the inevitable crash!!

Avi - 7/13/2017

Avilene ate toasted rye bread and plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate pulled pork sandwich, peas, and cantaloupe.

This first picture is from yesterday afternoon and I thought Avi looked so cute on this scooter.  She's looking back at Hudson to see how he's doing on his own scooter.  These scooters are big and bulky and I actually got them for the after school kids, but the little ones like to play with them too of course!

Reid is here today so there was more activity than the past 3 days.  (combined!  Haha!!)  Reid asked, "Is Kenzie and Riley coming today?"  I told him they don't come in the summer when there is no school.  Avi said, "School one day, school one day, school one day."  Haha!  (See Blog from 7/11 about her saying that phrase.)

Here are a couple of pictures from this morning's activities.  Hudson and Avi were having quite the conversation about something (probably issues with their parents - ha!) and it was so cute.  We also played outside and chased bubbles.  In the last picture Avi is wondering where the bubble went as another bubble goes floating behind her!  :)

Avi - 7/12/2017

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

We rarely look at anything on the computer as a group, but there is one web site that I like for the kids and that is explore.org.  It features many web cams set up around the country and other parts of the world as well.  My favorite at this time of year is the big brown bears feeding on salmon at a place called Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, Alaska.  We looked at them for a few minutes and the kids loved it; especially Hudson and Avilene.  (Ok, I admit, I probably loved it the most!  Haha!)  There were several times this morning you could spot 10 - 12 fish trying to jump up the falls at the same time.

I took this first picture yesterday afternoon outside.  All 4 kids were jammed in the small space in this play house, but it was hard to get a good angle for a picture.  But you get the idea!  This age group - if one person is there, they all want to be there!  :)  We played outside this morning as well and they played with the balls and wagons the most.  The next picture is also from yesterday afternoon.  Avi kept sticking her head in the side pocket on the chair and then look at me to see what I thought.  Haha!  I was laughing of course so she kept doing it - long enough for me to get the camera and get a picture.  This morning she went to the chair and did it again and looked at me.  Yup, that's still funny today as well Avi!!  Silly little goof!

Hudson and Avi were sitting on the blue balance beam and Hudson said, "Going on airplane."  Then he got some pillows and said, "This our backpacks."  I love how the dramatic play gets passed on from child to child.  Sophie always has Bubba involved in some kind of creative play and even though she's not here today he continues to do it with Avi.

Avi - 7/11/2017

Avilene ate whole wheat bagel and banana (in place of grapes) for breakfast.  For lunch she ate shrimp, half of brown rice, half of stir fry vegetables, and ate peaches.  (instead of mixed berries)

I have a story from this morning when we were outside, but it's slightly gross for you more sensitive ones!  :)  It's one of those "you had to be there" stories, but I'll try to set it up!  We were on the patio and there was a moth on the concrete floor.  So I grabbed the camera because the kids (including Nora) were starting to gather around it and I wanted a photo of them examining the bug.  I was ready to snap the picture and just then Atley marched through the middle of the circle and squished the moth.  She didn't have clue it was there, but stomped directly on it and flattened it.  Oh man, for some reason that hit my funny bone!  Ok, so much for our bug lesson of the morning!  :)  The kids just wandered off while I scooped up the mess.

I took this picture yesterday afternoon while we were playing outside.  Avi and Bubba were looking through the little holes in the climber.  Also from yesterday - At snack Avi started singing/chanting, "School one day, school one day, school one day."  (From Mary had a Little Lamb.)  It was so cute.  Then also at snack Atley sneezed and Avi said, "Achoo!!"

In this next picture Nora and Atley were pitching the legos out of the drawer and Hudson was putting legos into the drawer.  He said, "I cleaning up!!"  Haha!  Good luck Hudson!  Avi was putting the legos fence pieces together and doing quite well with it.  She's mastering the legos and frequently works hard at it.  She especially likes the fence pieces.

Avi - 7/10/2017

Avi ate bran cereal and banana (substituted for raisins) for breakfast.  For lunch we had chicken salad (lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, olives) with the chicken and olives on the side.  She ate her chicken, pita bread, a bite or two of salad mixture, ate olives, and two servings of pears.

These first 2 pictures I took just minutes after Avilene arrived this morning.  She was being so silly and super cute!!  And she knew we (Lauralea and I) thought she was hilarious.  In the first picture she grabbed the lid with the mirror and was saying, "monkey, monkey, monkey" and looking at herself.  In the next picture she was showing-off big time as soon as Lauralea came upstairs.  She began by doing "butt bombs" on the hard floor!  Dang, that cannot feel very good!!  Then she was rolling around in the pillows and acting pretty proud of herself!  :)

Sophie and Reid are gone today so here are the 4 kids playing on the mattress at the same time.  This was their first activity after all of them arrived.  Close together and getting reacquainted after the weekend!  Ha!  Atley is a very comfortable part of our Daycare now and we love her.  Last Friday Sophie said, "Atley our new friend."  Sweet.

In this last picture Hudson had been arranging the doll blankets and piling pillows on the couch.  Avi joined him and even cooperated with his instructions!  Ha!  "Need a pillow?'.... "Lay down.".... "All done." .... "Nap time."  About this same time Hudson got the hiccups and said, "My tummy burping." Haha!  Never heard that one before!!