Avi & Svea - 11/30/2018

Avilene ate oatmeal and bites of dried cranberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate tilapia, two large servings of whole wheat elbow noodles, ate green beans, and two large servings of applesauce.

Yesterday in Avi's Blog I made mention of how many books we read and how these kids can simply amaze me with what they remember!  Well, Avi did it again today and again we'd not read this book for weeks.  We were reading a book about bugs and animals and where they sleep and nest.  She said, "That's a Water Dipper."  Whoa!  You are so correct!! How the heck did you remember the name of that bird!?!   (The Water Dipper nests behind water falls.)  Then there was a "garden spider" in it's web.  Avi said, "It has lights on it's web."  It was actually water droplets glistening in the sunlight.  I loved her description of it.

First two pictures:  Linnea and Svea's morning greeting!  Ha!  Avilene was on the mattress with them and it was a super cute time.  Then Linnea was laying her head on Avi's chest and it was adorable.  Thanks for the sweet hug Avi!  Linnea is a love bug.

Here is a picture of Avi helping Atley find letters to her name.  (This is a magnetic board with magnetic letters.  (They follow the letters of their names on the white paper.)  I had Atley working alone and she found 3 of her letters.  That was driving Avi nuts!  She couldn't stand still and wanted to help Atley SO BAD!!  Avi was behind Atley and could see the next letter in the white tray and she kept mumbling to herself, "It's right there Atley, It's right there Atley, It's right there Atley."  Ha ha! Atley got stuck so I let Avi go help her and then they did Avilene's name together too.  (Well at least for a few minutes anyhow and then Avi finished it up alone.)   Last picture: Nora adores Svea and Svea loves her too!

Avi & Svea - 11/29/2018

Avilene ate whole wheat bagel and peaches for breakfast.  No lunch here as she left with Grandma at 10:15.  Two or three times (including yesterday's Blog) I've talked about the digital picture frame on the wall by the table and what a HUGE hit it is with the kids, especially at meal times.  Well it quit working yesterday afternoon!  Haha!  (It's several years old and we've had trouble with it in the past.)  So a new one will be here on Tuesday, but the kids were like "what the heck happened to our pictures!?!"  :)  Some things just have to be replaced immediately!!

Right after breakfast Nora asked me something that I could not figure out so I asked Avi, "What'd she say!?!"  (All I could understand was; "please")  Avi said, "Please help me make some ice cream."  Haha!  Actually that was very close and I figured it out.  Atley had stashed all 8 flavors of the "ice cream" on top of the box where Nora couldn't reach it!!  :)

I've experienced this many times, but when Kids start watching movies and/or tv they talk about their favorite shows just like I should know what they're talking about!  Probably the most common ones in the past have been "Star Wars" and I know nothing about Star Wars.  So it's like learning a whole new language!!  I can usually figure out what the kids are talking about, but when I have no frame of reference that makes it so much harder!  :)  Avi will start talking about a movie or show she likes and I'll say something like; "Have you ever seen Gunsmoke!?"  (Ask the Grandparents for clarification!)  I watch Zero television so I haven't a clue what's on TV, but I know there was a show called Gunsmoke many many years ago!!  Makes life here more challenging and hilarious!!

Before Avilene left with Grandma we were reading books and Avi frequently blows me away with her brilliant (seriously) answers to my questions!  So here's a picture for reference:  (We sing this to the tune of "Hey Diddle Diddle, the cat and the fiddle.")  I got through the word "cradle" and Avi asked, "Why is the giraffe crying?"  I said, "The next sentence will answer your question, so listen to this!"  Before I said anything Avi said, "He cried for some soup and cheese!"  Impressed me!!  First, it's been a few weeks since we've read this book and if you only knew how many books we read!!!  Secondly, there is not many young 3 year olds who could answer that question!!

Avi & Svea - 11/28/2018

Avilene ate two servings of whole wheat toast and three servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of pork roast, ate whole wheat tortillas, no carrots, half of potatoes, and ate fruit salad.

We hadn't read this book for several weeks, but while pointing at the picture I said, "These are porcupine _______."  Avi said, "Quills."  Good remembering Avi!!  :)  Avi was also talking on the phone in a LONG (three to four minutes probably) and animated conversation, walking around the room, gesturing with her hands.  Here are some quotes from that;  "What did you say!?!"  She'd pause and listen.  "Oh!!  I'm sorry!!"  (She was really gesturing when she said sorry!)  "I'm talking to my Mom!"  Haha!  Avi held the phone up to Svea's ear and said, "Say hi!"  Moments later she said to Lauralea; "Lauralea, do you want to say hi to my Mom!?"  And of course Lauralea played along with her.  So cute.

These first three pictures are from yesterday afternoon.  Nora, Avi, and Atley were working hard at doing some stickers and they had lots of fun with it.  Also in the first picture I want to again mention the digital picture frame you see on the wall.  This is a HUGE hit with the kids especially at meal times.  They talk constantly (while eating) and identify who is in the picture.  Second picture: Svea was making me laugh and Avi was being super gentle with her sister.  So Cute!!  Third picture - They were playing in the igloo.  :)  Huge grins on Atley and Nora because Avi was trying to touch the camera.  :)  Fourth picture: Avi did lots of activities this morning and this was a "matching activity" she's working on.  Finding things that go together like the spoon and bowl she's doing.

Next picture: Svea was holding out this toy towards Linnea who then reached out and took it.  Not what Svea expected or wanted!  Ha!  Hey, Svea did something this morning that is not very common. She was crawling on her hands and knees, then stopped and put it in reverse!  Haha!  Perfect "hands and knees" crawling backwards.  I've seen lots of kids "scoot" backwards, turn around of course, but not that!  Maybe she's an "experimenter" like her Sis!!  I texted Lauralea and she confirmed my reaction, "Not common."  :)

Avi & Svea - 11/27/2018

Avilene ate two servings of toasted whole wheat english muffin and two servings of dried plums for breakfast.  She ate several bites of lunch: chicken, brown rice, stir fry vegetables, and oranges.

First picture: Ok, this cracked me up!!  Avi had been here maybe five minutes (they'd all just waved to Daddy Andy) when she looked at Atley and Nora and said, "Ok, come and get some water." She didn't ask if they were thirsty, nope, no reason to do that, just told them what they needed to do!!  :) By the way, I have the water bottles (sitting in the basket like you see in the picture) available for them to grab and drink whenever they want.  Or whenever Avi tells them to drink!!  Haha!  They know which one is their's because I drew a shape on each one along with their name.  (That happened after I saw Atley drinking from Linnea's bottle. Oops!)  Following picture: Everyone on the mattress!!  We love the new and bigger mattress!  :)

 

Next picture: Svea and Linnea playing in the box.  Also, do you recognize the socks (feet are still in them) in the picture!?  Ha!  Had you noticed them before I asked?  Silly Avi.  This morning Avi said, "I don't like spiders." So I said, "I don't either and I don't know anyone who actually likes spiders."  Avi said, "My Daddy does."  Really?  "Yes."  :)  Here's another Avi quote from this morning: "My name is Avi Arlo Nelson Av-i-lene!"  :)  With a very strong emphasis on every syllable in Avilene!

Last two pictures - Art Time was a bit more complex this morning!!  Thank you Lauralea!  She was doing a project and also video taped it for a class.  First I "need" to say this is slightly out of Lauralea's comfort zone.  She doesn't like messy!  "I hate messy!"  Haha!  You can see the table covered in paper and the plates have lots of white paint in them.  Every thing else was used for painting: car, airplane, pacifier, pizza cutter, spoon, fork, roller, cups, lids, etc.  As you can see in the last picture the kids had a blast with it!  When it was all over Lauralea asked, "Who do you think was the most messy?"  That's an easy question!  "Avi."  I answered that from meal time experience!  :)

Avi & Svea - 11/26/2018

Avilene ate chex cereal and no banana for breakfast.  For lunch she ate half of ground beef, ate whole wheat pita bread, ate olives, no tomatoes, bites of avocado, and ate strawberries.

The funnest thing about returning from a trip is the excitement and joy with the Little Treasures children.  Lots of loves and snuggles and they're so excited to be back with their buddies.  I want to thank all of you again for allowing me to extend Thanksgiving time-off to include the entire week.  So precious to be with our family and new grandson Gideon - six weeks old on Thanksgiving Day.  We had Thanksgiving dinner at Gideon's Great Grandmother's house.  (20 relatives and very special time to meet them all.)  We had something I bet none of you had!?!  A 5" lizard climbing up the side of the tablecloth right beside Lauralea!  So hilarious!  My Son-in-Law grabbed it with his left hand and kept on eating with his right hand!!  I about died laughing!  (Look up the definition of redneck!!  Haha!)  My kind of people!!  :)

Avi had a few struggles getting back in the groove, but all in all it wasn't too bad.  Took about 15 - 20 minutes and she was good to go.  Momma Molly and I've already discussed this so if any of you have questions you can all ask her!!  Haha!  Avi was a bit bossy at breakfast time, especially with Nora.  She said, "Nora, put my cup on my spot."  (I sit the cups out where they have access to them at meal times.  Also, just an FYI.  I have their water bottles available for them to grab any time of the day too.)  Then she told Nora; "Put your bib on."  (Hmmm...maybe you also should put your bib on Avi!) I asked Avi this morning; "What's the funnest thing you did while away from Little Treasures?"  She said, "Go to sleep!"  LOL!

Here are some pictures from Avi's morning.  She was doing some "close up" work with one of the cameras and I caught it just as it flashed!  (Taking pictures of the little beads.)  Next two pictures: Close-up examination at the mirror.  Avi did a few Preschool activities, read books, and had fun playing on the mattress as well.

This last picture cracked me up!  Poor Svea Sweetie!  She's kind of in a tight spot here, but she wasn't distressed, just grinned at me when she heard me laughing and went back to playing the piano!!  An aspiring pianist!!  Then she turned around and started playing with the one behind her.  So funny.

Avi & Svea - 11/16/2018

Avilene ate brown rice and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate salmon, bites of whole wheat dinner roll, tasted the riced cauliflower, and ate lots of mangoes.  She was a good sport and tried the cauliflower - and she got most of it back out of her mouth very quickly!!  Haha!

First I want to remind everyone that Little Treasures will be closed for ALL of Thanksgiving week. I want to say a very heartfelt "Thank You" to all my families for allowing me this opportunity to be with my Daughter, her Husband, and their new Baby Boy.  I can hardly wait to get my hands on that little guy!!  Thank you all so much.  The Blogs will resume on Monday, November 26th.

Avilene played with that same puzzle again this morning.  In this first picture I like how she has her head resting against her hand.  Second picture: The kids are loving the new bigger mattress.  They were all running in circles, giggling and laughing, taking turns falling down, then saying, "I'm ok." Check out Linnea in the bottom right of the picture.  She's tipped over backwards - you're looking at the bottom of her chin!  :)

These next two pictures go together.  Linnea has Svea's hat which she'd pulled off of Svea's head a few moments earlier.  Linnea took it across the room and was tucking it under the throw rug.  Ha!  She had it hidden under there for a few seconds, then she pulled it out and tried putting it on her own head.  :)  It was a pretty cute sequence!  Svea just sits there watching her!  Last picture: Svea getting out all the toys from a toy shelf!  This always makes me cringe: She invariably thumps her head on the shelves trying to get in and out!!

 

Avi & Svea - 11/15/2018

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

First picture: I guess the mattress was their "swimming pool" this morning and Svea was the "ducky." They were all (Avi, Atley, and Nora) jumping and saying, "We got out ducky out of the water, we got our ducky out of the water!"  Look how much air Avi is getting at the back of the picture.  Nice jumping Avi!!

Things were a bit different for about 45 minutes this morning.  Lauralea watched the kids for me while I went and got a new (used) king size mattress for the kids to jump on!  It's considerably bigger and they were all thrilled!  Avi said, "I like this new mattress Gary!!"  The old mattress had lots of use and abuse and was pretty worn!!  :)  Now I have to go get some fitted sheets tonight!  I took this picture right before I left.  :)

Next picture: Linnea is asking Svea; "Where is your shirt Svea!?!"  Svea answered, "Well, Gary said I don't have a spare shirt so he's looking for something for me to wear.  I hope he hurries because this somewhat embarrassing!!  Everyone knows I've pooped through my clothes!"  :)  Last picture was left over from yesterday afternoon and I just thought it was cute how Avi was hanging out close to Svea with her legs poked through the gate.  First thing this morning I asked Avi, "What'd you do last night?"  She said, "I ate cheese!"

Avi & Svea - 11/14/2018

Avilene ate french toast and strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of paleo stew with meat, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and green beans.  She ate crackers and most of her tropical fruit.

The lady that monitors the Food Program was here this morning making sure I'm following procedure and feeding the kids what I am suppose to be feeding them, checking temperatures in the freezer and refrigerator, see if my menu is posted, check attendance records, etc and etc..... Everyone did great with a stranger here except I had to get Linnea's pacifier for her.  Avi said, "Bye Claudette" when the person was leaving which was pretty sweet.

Avi really likes to stack the towers and I'm pretty impressed with how well she can do that.  That's quite a few tinker toys she has piled up in the first picture!  Next picture: This is Avilene's favorite activity so far in this toy exchange.  She has been playing with it several times every day.  I posted a picture of her with this puzzle on Monday.  Like I mentioned then it's pretty challenging because she needs to have number recognition and sequencing.  Nice work Avi.

Last two pictures: Fun on the mattress.  Nora was playing with Svea on the mattress and Linnea joined them.  I like how Linnea has her head all tipped backwards.  Then it must have looked like fun because Avi joined them too.  I like how Avi and Nora are jumping at the same time in the last picture.  Avilene wore those boots for probably 1.5 hours this morning!!

Avi & Svea - 11/13/2018

Avilene ate waffle and two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken, most of whole wheat tortilla, ate corn, and baked cinnamon apples.

First picture: Well, today was lots more play in the boxes!!  I always tell my families; "Why buy toys when all kids really want is one or two boxes!!??"  :)  You can see Atley's hand closing the "door" to their house.  And that's why I cut "windows" in the sides; when they shut the door I can still see in!

Next picture: Nora loving on Svea shortly after Svea arrived.  Check out the body language!  :)  Svea is saying, "Ok ok Nora, I know you love me!! Now let me go!!"  I love how Nora has her arm around Svea.  Following picture; Svea at the toy shelves again of course.  This is exactly where she fell yesterday and made her mouth bleed like crazy.  (And Linnea did it too this morning!!  Dang it!!)  I really don't like it when the littlest people hurt themselves.

Last picture:  The kids love looking at the pictures in the window sill and they've been talking about them since we started eating out here.  So we loaded the digital frame with Daycare pictures of themselves and also pictures that they've taken with the cameras in the preschool room and they LOVE it!  It was fun to listen to them talk about the pictures at mealtimes.

Avi & Svea - 11/12/2018

Avilene ate kix cereal and mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch she ate turkey burger, whole wheat hamburger bun, bite of tomato, bite of avocado, and ate cherries.

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend (in Daycare and Preschool rooms) and the kids stayed busy all morning.  They are so busy on "Toy Exchange Monday" that we rarely do anything like art or special activities.  Even during Story Time they chose to keep playing.  Avi sat for several books, but no-one else wanted too!  Which is fine - just trying to give an example how busy everyone is with all new stuff!!  :)

Thanks to Brad and Megan (Atley's family and their friends) for the big boxes to play in!!  The kids love big boxes and these are large sturdy boxes!!  I cut "windows" on both sides of this box and the kids played in their little house several times this morning.

Last picture - This is a pretty challenging puzzle Avi did.  The pieces are numbered (1 - 10) in order, but there are numbers on both sides and it can be put together so the whale is facing either direction.  When Avi was done she wanted to take a picture of the finished product!  :)  Soooo....here's a picture of Avi taking a picture!  :)

Avi & Svea - 11/9/2018

Avilene ate a large serving of oatmeal and ate baked cinnamon apples for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of hamburger stew with meat, carrots, green beans, and potatoes.  She also ate whole wheat tortilla and ate apricots.

This first picture is left over from yesterday afternoon - although they were doing the same thing again this morning.  Atley was under the legos table first and I saw her feet sticking through and then Avi joined her.  (Atley on the left - bigger feet!  Ha!)  Next picture: I took this picture shortly after Avi and Svea arrived and even though Svea was really tired she had big smiles for her buddy Linnea. Hey, I saw Svea standing and turning loose two different times!

Following picture: Avi is under the box and they played with it several times this morning.  Avi would sit under there for several minutes - Nora and Atley wanted no part of trying that!  :)  Next picture: Avi likes the challenging puzzles and she works so hard at them.  This is one of her favorites on the activity shelves.  Toy exchange this weekend!!

Last picture: Nora was playing with Svea and had one of the two-sided mirrors and said it was her "camera."  :)  Nora still gets excited every time Svea awakes from a nap.  She squeals for a long time saying, "Svea Svea Svea Svea!"  She sure loves her Svea!

Avi & Svea - 11/8/2018

Avilene ate half of french toast and ate dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate pulled pork, whole wheat toast, half of peas, and half of tropical fruit.  Lately, Avi has been using meal time for sharing scenes of a movie; usually "Rock Dog" I guess, but I'm not familiar with any of them.  Today she said, "Hey Gary! In Rock Dog Bode played concert with Angus Scattergood."  LOL!  I had to repeat that several times and that's what I was hearing!  :)  She continued with more; "Angus was not being a very good friend."

Avi brought me a sticker and asked, "Gary, what's this guy?"  "Well it looks like he has shoulder pads so maybe it's a football player."  She said, "No; football player have two eyes; this guy have one eye."  Haha!  Later she looked out the window and said, "Hey Gary! It's snowing outside really good on the mountains."  Who told you that?  "My Dad."  She also said, "I got a ski helmet."

Here are some pictures from this morning's activities.  First picture: There is nothing more fun than boxes for kids!  They don't last very long - see how the sides are bulging as the girls lay side-by-side - but it's fun while it lasts.  (Big boxes are welcome here!!)  Second picture: I always love the concentration on Avi's face when she's hard at work on an activity.  (That was about the end of the stack.)  Third picture: Svea and Linnea in the legos drawer.  How cute is that?  Svea had a legos hanging out of her mouth the entire time so Linnea tried to stick a couple more in there. Like I mention over and over, I LOVE how gentle Linnea plays with Svea.  Believe me, we've had many children this age where you couldn't turn your back for fear of disaster! And I'm not exaggerating that!  :)  Last picture: Avi is hard at work on another activity.  You can see the pattern behind her stack and she followed it perfectly and then is adding one more ball to the top.  Good work Avilene!!

Avi & Svea - 11/7/2018

Avilene ate two servings of whole wheat toast and ate mangoes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a large serving of ground beef with marinara sauce on whole wheat spaghetti noodles, bite of cauliflower, and bite of fruit salad.  At breakfast Avi said, "Gary, I like the new table...and the chairs." At lunch she said, "Gary, My little pony is gonna go see Mr. Moorcheck."  Uhhh...good?  :)  (At least that's how I heard it!)

During Story Time we were reading the book, "Hey Diddle Diddle the Cat and the Fiddle."  This one has several cute verses, but it's been several weeks since we've read it.  (I have lots of "special" books we go through.)  In the middle of the book I changed ONE word to "friendly dragon" and Avi immediately said, "Kindly dragon."  Haha!  Yup! You got me!!  You impress me every day Avilene!!

I love this first picture of Linnea with Svea.  Look how Linnea's butt is hanging off the precipice!!  (Well maybe not a dangerous cliff, but it's a drop-off!  Ha!)  How the heck is she staying there!?

Next picture: Avi was working with the ink pad and stamps and when I took the picture she was wiping the ink off her hands.  She put her hand print on the paper and said, "Hey! Look at my footprints!!"  Haha!  Following picture: I always like getting all 5 kids in the same picture when I can.  It doesn't happen very often.  The kids were being a bit rowdy on the mattress and Linnea and Svea were trying to be right in the middle of it!!  I've mentioned this several times before, but it's pretty amazing how they watch out for each other and we have minimal conflict or accidents on the mattress.  Nora is trying to "tickle" Linnea.  Avi is giving her sister a loving pat.

 

Last picture:  This is kind of hard to believe, right!?!  Nora was allowing herself to be in the middle of a human sandwich and she wasn't screaming either!!  Avi made it short and sweet and that helped!!  Avi and I were reading books while Nora and Atley were playing on the mattress.  Then I noticed that Nora was laying on Atley and they were laughing their heads off.  So I got the camera and that's when Avi jumped into the picture as well.  Enjoy this picture because you'll probably never see it or a similar one again!!  :)