Avi & Svea - 8/31/2018

Avi ate oatmeal and bites of dried cranberries for breakfast.  Grandpa and Grandma left with Avi about 11:00.

This first picture probably looks familiar!?  I posted it yesterday, but failed to make any comments about it.  So I want to mention a couple things about what Avilene is doing because it's pretty amazing.  Lauralea showed her how to hold the little scissors and told her to make some short cuts in the paper.  After that Lauralea drew some short lines (about 8 of them) along the bottom of the paper for her to follow and cut on.  Boy did Avi ever nail this activity and she's pretty young for doing so well.  You can't see it very plain, but she frequently had her mouth open and was concentrating so hard.  Nice work Avi and I love your effort!!  She was pretty proud of herself.  I was proud of her too!

Next picture - Svea went into the sitting position almost immediately when I sat her on the floor.  She was watching Avi when I took the picture.  She watches Avi a LOT!!  Your sister is definitely entertaining Svea.  I kind of like to watch her myself!!  :)  In the following picture Avi was working on a tray from the preschool room.  It's a tracing activity and gets them used to the shapes of letters and numbers.

 

Last picture; Atley and Avi were playing with the carrots from the food toys, except the carrots were now their baseball bats!  A toy can become anything they imagine it to be!

Avi & Svea - 8/30/2018

Avilene ate a small amount of whole wheat bagel and two servings of peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate sausage and hamburger pizza with whole wheat pizza crust, tomato sauce, pineapple, olives, and peppers.  She also ate pineapple on the side.  (Just an FYI for Momma Molly - The crust we use on this homemade pizza is very thin so she didn't get very much bread!  It's actually so thin and soft it won't hold together so we cut it all up for them.  Also: She got out 2 pieces of poop this morning; not too big, but at least it's a start and she didn't whine or complain at all so it must not have been too terribly painful.  Must I talk about poop along with the menu!?!  Haha!)

This first picture is from yesterday afternoon outside and I wanted to show you all why I'm not gonna put out the blanket for Linnea anymore!  Haha!  She's obviously not staying on the blanket anyhow and I guess she'd rather use the concrete for her pillow.  :)  What a cutie!!  I tell Momma Molly every day I wanna clone this Svea baby!!

Linnea took an early morning nap and I heard her in the monitor.  I said, "Was that Linnea I heard; or not?"  That's obviously not a well worded question to ask a toddler, but I was mostly talking to myself anyhow.  However, Avilene heard the question and said, "Not."  LOL!  That sure made me laugh.  (Except it actually was Linnea waking up.)

The item in the next picture is about balance - like a balance scale.  We (as in Lauralea - ha) found this at a Garage Sale looking for kid's stuff!!  Atley and Avi had fun filling the bowls on each side and trying to keep it level.

Here are a couple more pictures of Svea!!  She was thumping her feet on the blocks and watching them.  Then I came around the corner and here she was sitting up and sitting more straight-up than I've seen her do before.  Nice work Svea!!  Have I mentioned what an awesome baby I think she is!?!

Avi & Svea - 8/29/2018

Avilene ate whole wheat toast, plums and grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of chicken with stir fry vegetables, some brown rice, and ate cherries. 

This first picture is left over from yesterday afternoon before we went outside.  Avi got all the little people lined up and organized just the way she wanted them.  Then she said, "Look Gar Gar!!"  (Gar rhymes with "chair" not "jar."  Haha)  I love it when she calls me that.  It all started when we called Riley, "Ri Ri."  Then it was "Nor Nor" for Nora.  Then "Lor Lor" for Lauralea.  Now "Gar Gar."  :)

It was so good to have our Linnea back at Little Treasures this morning!!  (Gone since last Thursday.) When Svea arrived Linnea was immediately reaching for her!  She was so happy to see her friend and it was total cuteness!  On a cuteness scale this was off the charts!!  Love!!  Here are 3 pictures - in sequence -  so you can kinda see what that looked like!  Side note - Atley saw Linnea taking lots of steps and said, "She's going big Gary!"  Love that phrasing!!

Here's a picture of Avi working on a preschool tray with some assistance from Lauralea.  Lauralea is quickly finding out what we already know!!!  Avilene is a fast learner!!  This is actually a petty challenging activity.  Explanation: The popsicle sticks have dots on them.  The small clothes pins have numbers on them.  You count the dots, find the pin with the correct number, and attach them. Avilene actually correctly counted the dots on the stick with 9 dots.  One-to-one correspondence; meaning she was pointing at each dot as she counted them.  She's a bit young for that skill.

Avi & Svea - 8/28/2018

Avilene ate half of toasted whole wheat english muffin and ate dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate half of pork chop meat, half of whole wheat tortillas, ate her vegetables (carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes), and ate a large serving of fruit salad.

This first note is just an update on something we've been working on for 3 -4 months.  State Licensing is requiring all Programs regardless of size - Family (Little Treasures fits into this category), Group, Center - everyone has to develop an Emergency Disaster Plan.  No detail needed here, but it involves on-site evacuation, neighborhood evacuation, out of neighborhood evacuation, and a safe on-site shelter to hide from intruders or disaster.  We have the perfect room for this downstairs because it has no window.  It has taken a lot of work, but we're basically done and today we did a "Lock-Down Drill!"  Of course the kids had no clue, but they kind of liked the adventure of going to the basement "safe room."  We have a large duffel bag in there with all the required supplies and also some toys for the kids to stay busy.  Nora was a bit apprehensive about the basement trip, but settled right in when she saw things to play with.  Baby Svea had a bottle downstairs while the others played.  :)  Have you noticed I keep saying "we" are doing all of this.  What the heck would I do without Lauralea!?! She is here today and it was a perfect time to do the drill.  Thank you SO much for all your help Lauralea!!

First picture - We are also getting the Preschool up and going!  That involves changing the dining area into Preschool area and moving this table there.  In the 2nd picture Lauralea has set out some trays and is laying some ground rules for the Preschool area and activities.  It will take some time for all this to smooth out, but I'm very excited to offer this additional part of Little Treasures!

Here are three more pictures: This first one shows you the tray shelf which is half full.  I think it holds about 36 trays.  Then we'll rotate them just like we do the toy exchange.  Second picture - Avi hard at work.  There are five sections on the plate labeled with colored paper and the color name.  She was putting colored beads in the correct section.  Last picture: These are different colored and different sized shapes with magnets on them.  Lots of different options on the papers and the magnets work in the metal tray.

Avi & Svea - 8/24/2018

Avi ate brown rice and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate salmon (not fish sticks - ha), whole wheat dinner roll, green beans, and two servings of mangoes.

Avilene and Hudson occasionally took a break from their bickering and had several interesting conversations!  This was my favorite:  Hudson asked, "Where are you going?"  Avi said, "To the doctor."  Hudson; "Why?"  Avi; "Because I'm not feeling very good."  Hudson looked at me and said, "I think she fell down and got a cold!"  Haha!  I didn't realize you could catch a cold that way!!

Then Avi told Hudson, "I'll give you a ride."  So she got on her hands and knees and he straddled her which immediately caused her to pretty much be flat on the floor.  Avi, apparently still optimistic or maybe oblivious, said, "Hang on tight!"  Hahaha!  As she struggled to move forward a fraction of an inch!

Here are a couple pictures from this morning: They enjoyed doing some stickers and covered two pages.  Second picture - Hudson was building with the blocks and Avi asked, "Can I help?"  "Sure." Hudson said, "We're making the place beautiful for people to come....everybody will come. There will be a ton of games."  Moments later He threatened Avi; "If you kick that over I'm gonna call the police!"  Geez!  Maybe they could benefit from some couple's counseling or something!  :)

I told Avilene; "Your sister is very sweet Avi. I sure like Svea!"  Avi said, "ok."  Haha!  So in this next picture sister Svea was making some backward progress, but ran up against a barrier!!  Second picture; similar to yesterday during outside time I put some pillows around Svea and gave her a practice session of sitting up!  She was looking at Avi performing antics on the rocking chair.  I think a fair share of Svea's life will be spent watching Avi's antics!  :)

Avi & Svea - 8/23/2018

Avilene ate two servings of toasted whole wheat english muffin and a couple bites of oranges for breakfast.  For lunch she ate most of ground beef, a large serving of whole wheat elbow noodles, a couple bites of peas, and a large serving of applesauce.

Hey, I want to clarify what my intentions are as far as combining Avi and Svea's Blogs!  I normally start Blogs when the kids have birthday number one, so that's when I'll start a "normal" blog for Svea. But I'd like to do them on this same page - do Avi's first, followed by Svea's.  That's how I did it with Riley and Cooper Cline - on the same page, but two distinct blogs.

Tuesday I posted a picture of Avi having the cars all arranged and lined up in a certain order.  Well just in case you thought that was a one time occurrence here it is again.  She does this sort of thing frequently and I'm sure you see similar types of play at home.  Later, Avi had a huge pile of toys in the chair and I asked, "Why are all the toys piled here?"  She said, "Cause I'm going to Grandma's house. This is my car."  :)  The 2nd picture; You can see Avi's legs in the top of the picture.  She was watching Nora play with a car and I asked Nora what she was doing.  Avi answered for Nora; "She's putting gas in her car."  :)

Next two pictures - Avi was asking me to snuggle her so I grabbed the camera to do a couple of selfies.  She's concentrating hard to do the "I Love You" sign.  Nice job Avi!  2nd selfie; She was watching me do silly faces and I like the expression on her face.  I think it's a super cute picture of Avi.  (Yes, my silly face has been cropped out!  Haha!)

 

And a couple pictures of Miss Cutie Svea!!  She was shaking the jingle bells like crazy in the first picture.  2nd Picture; I took this one when I was trying to do blogs, but I was slightly distracted watching Svea!!  She was ready for her 2nd nap so wth her pajamas on she could scoot around quickly on the hardwood floor.  It was pretty funny.  I love this picture because if you zoom in on it you can easily see those 2 teeth!!  :)

Svea - 8/22/2018

So I forgot to ask the boss this morning if I was expected to do a Blog for Svea even with Avilene hanging out with Mimi!?!  Of course I have to!  Geez!  What was I thinking!?!  :)  Hey, did you notice I've changed the title of the Blog to include both girls!

First picture: Here's what Svea's life looks like immediately after I put her on the floor after her morning nap.  (They are like vultures hovering and then come swooping in!)  Nora, Hudson, Atley, and Avi all ask; "Can I talk to Svea Gary!?!  Can I talk to Svea!?!"  Of course!  But they seem to think that when I say "yes" that ONLY applies to them!!  Haha!  The life of a celebrity must be difficult Svea!?!  Svea's bib frequently goes up over her face and Nora kept going over to her and fixing the bib for her.  Thank you Nora for taking good care of your friend.

And here's a picture of why they ALL (including Gary) love Svea and want her attention!  Look at that face!!  What a doll.  She is the sweetest!!  Love you Svea!

I think it's so cute when the babies are playing close to each other.  So far Linnea has been very gentle around Svea.

Avi - 8/21/2018

Avilene ate bites of waffle and two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate two servings of baked chicken, half of whole wheat dinner roll, ate corn on the cob (which I cut off the cob for her - they all wanted it cut off the cob), and ate baked cinnamon apples.  During breakfast I told Hudson that Avi's Grandma "MeMe" is at her house.  Hudson said, "I have a MeMe."  Avi said, "No you don't!"  Hudson answered, "Yes I do.  My MeMe is in Denver.  My MeMe has guinea pigs."  Avi said, "My Grandma doesn't have any guinea pigs."  :)

This first picture is the same one I posted yesterday, but I wanted to make an observation about it that you may (or may not - ha) find interesting.  (This sort of thing fascinates me!!)  Over the years Lauralea and I have watched and learned how kids basically hold their crayons, pencils, markers, or whatever they are using.  There seems to be a progression of 3 stages.  The first stage - they grip it similar to the way Avi is gripping it, except with their hand turned around and the thumb pointed up.  The second stage - exactly how Avi is doing it with the thumb pointed down.  The third and final stage is the way Hudson is holding it and we call it the "adult" or final stage.  Interestingly, he was actually switching back-n-forth between that way and the way Avi is doing it.  So he is obviously just starting to hold it like that.  At Art Time today we just turned this cardboard over and painted on the back side of it.

Here are some pictures from this morning's activities.  Svea posing during the photo shoot!!  :)  Second picture - Svea's foot is pushing into Nora's tummy and Nora was squealing and giggling.  She was saying, "Svea!  Svea!"  Third picture - The Avi girl likes to organize and get things lined-up and in order.  :)  With a pleased look of accomplishment on her face.  (Lauralea would be so proud!!)

Next picture - I just like how Avi was studying this book so intently and thoroughly!  Every page.  Good job Avi.  Last picture - Avi loves Linnea and loves to make her laugh and giggle.  Linnea loves the kids and laughs easily with them!  Avi also played with the food toys and was serving food to Hudson and Nora and also trying to teach them some "manners!"  Haha!  "Say thank you for dinner Bubba!" (Repeat 3 or 4 times!)  "Say thank you for dinner Nora!"  (Repeat 3 or 4 times!)

Avi - 8/20/2018

Avilene ate bites of kix cereal and ate mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground turkey, whole wheat hamburger bun, bite of tomato, bites of avocado, and two servings of cherries.  At breakfast Avi asked Hudson, "Hey Bubba, did you go on airplane?!"  Hudson said, "Yes..to Denver." After more thought he said, "And Flathead lake!"  Haha!

Well everyone is back this week except for Atley.  She left on Friday and will be back next Monday so the Daycare is almost back to normal!  We took our granddaughter home yesterday as well!  She sure loved playing with the Daycare kids, especially the babies!

So speaking of Flathead Lake I may as well mention here what Hudson told us about the lake.  He said, "Hey Gary! Did you know there's a Flathead Lake monster?"  Haha!  Yes, I'm aware of this creature that's roamed the depth of Flathead Lake for many many moons.  Hudson said, "He lives in the water and pops up his head!"  :)

I asked Avi what was the funnest thing about the trip to Yellowstone Park.  She said, "We saw Monte; and the Lady Griz!"  Haha!  Then she added, "And buffalo."  So Hudson piped up and said, "Hey Avi, Did you know my Mom stepped in some buffalo poop?"  Haha.  Avi said, "Yes."  (It's an "old" story from when Maddy was a kid!)  :)

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend and the kids were busy all morning.  This Blog is kind of overloaded with pictures today, but I didn't want to delete any so here they are!! First picture; Svea is looking at me like "it's getting a bit crowded here.  Linnea is starting to walk and I have to watch close because Svea is just another "toy" to step over or step on!!  Pictures 2 & 3 - Avi was entertaining Linnea by jumping and jiving around and Linnea was laughing hard!  Which made Avi jump and jive faster!!  Ha!  Pictures 4 & 5 - Svea just being her amazing self!  Love her!!  Picture 6: Avi "falling" off the couch! She kept saying (about 10 times), "Somebody! Can you catch me!?!" It was mostly directed at Hudson who was ignoring her!  Picture 7 - Coloring some cardboard! Picture 8: Svea grinning at Bubba!

Avi - 8/13/2018

Avilene ate several bites of bran cereal and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken, whole wheat pita bread, half of peppers, ate cucumbers, olives, bite of tomatoes, and ate pears.

So my oldest Granddaughter (she's 8 and her name is Story) is here this week and the kids were excited to have a visitor this morning and someone who paid attention to them.  My Granddaughter is short for her age with a 5 foot Asian Momma and my son is also short!  (His biological Dad is Puerto Rican.)  Story stood beside Atley and said, "I'm taller than her!"  Haha!  Well good, she's a 2 year old!  Story is an excellent reader and Story was in charge of Story Time!  :)

Story was also quickly in love with little Svea!  What a surprise!  :)  She said, "Her head is so soft!!" The second picture - Story Time.  Atley sneezed and Story looked at her and then at the wetness on her arm and looked back at Atley like; "What the heck!?!"  LOL!  Yup!  That's one of the dangers of Child Care!  Come back when they all have colds and runny noses!  :)  Third picture; Story had moved the three kids into the igloo (probably for safety purposes such as danger of sneezing) for some additional story time.  However, there was immediately laughing and silliness going on in there so that didn't work real well!

I was holding Linnea's hand and she was taking steps across the floor.  Avi noticed what we were doing and she got genuinely excited.  It was so cute.  She came over and was encouraging Linnea saying, "Good job Linnea.  You're taking steps!"  I love it when the kids encourage each other without prompting from me!!

We had fun playing outside and here's a picture of Atley and Avilene playing at the sand table.  They also did some sidewalk chalk and Avi asked Atley; "Hey Atley! You want me to color your hat purple!?!  Like mine!?!"  (Avi is obviously not wearing the purple hat in the picture below, but she was wearing it later.)  Atley said, "Sure."  Haha!  Avi had chalk in hand and was primed and ready!! So I said, "Well, that's kind of creative, but we'll just use the chalk on the sidewalk!"  :)