Avi - 01/29/2021

Avilene ate cream of wheat cereal and dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate two servings of Whole 30 Chili with meat, peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and tomato sauce.  She ate whole wheat dinner roll, and tropical fruit.   

These first two pictures are left over from yesterday afternoon.  This is frequently what it looks like when Miles wakes up from his nap!!  Sometimes Miles wakes up before Cal, but not yesterday.  Cal is on the left and Svea's head on the right.  Nora is actually there too in front of Avilene; just well hidden!  So, all 6 six kids are in the picture.  :)  Second picture;  Avi was using Atley for a "foot rest" and I was curious what they were doing.  "Playing Frozen" - Avi is "Kristof" and Atley is "Sven the Reindeer."  Haha.

Next picture: The girls reading the "I Spy" book together.  They were taking turns being the "reader" and saying, "I spy a ...." and the other person searches for it.  This is a favorite activity and I have many "I Spy" books of various difficulty levels.  Last picture: Doing some Art.  When the Big Girls ask for large pieces of colored paper the table gets full so Avi is allowed to use markers on the floor.  The rest of the time Art happens on the table.  But Avi has listened well and so far has not marked up the floor.  (It comes off easy, but I'm not telling her that!!  Haha.)

Avi - 01/28/2021

Avilene ate two servings of whole wheat waffle and three servings of fruit salad for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground turkey, whole wheat tortillas, bite of sweet potato, and ate cherries.  During Lunch today Avilene said, "Gary, I remember when we gave you something good to eat on your Birthday!"  Wow, you've got an awesome memory Avi!!  And that steak was delicious!!  

First picture:  Miles was playing with the blocks and then Avi joined him making a mess with the blocks. And then she blamed all the mess on him!!  Haha.  Originally Callahan was NOT in the picture, but he dropped in with perfect timing!!  Good work Cal!!  

(There is a little bit of repeat here from Svea's Blog.)  "Science with Lauralea."  Last week I wrote we were going to be doing some "Cooking" this week. However, we talked about it and didn't want to risk someone getting burned and it can happen so quickly. I frequently have to help the two boys with something and then Lauralea is left alone.  SO, the Theme today is "Weather."  And we're gonna do a whole series of "weather" coming up in "Science with Lauralea."  So the first picture here is making clouds and then rain drops into the clouds.  The clouds are shaving cream, not whipping cream!  Haha.  Everyone was laughing about the clouds.  They chose the color of their "rain" and put drops into the clouds.  In the middle picture you can see the rain getting "heavy" as it works it's way through the clouds.  Last picture:  Making "Cloud Dough."  Similar to Play Dough.  Haha.  Svea's came out with the perfect texture.  Then we used a little flour with the rest of the kids to get the right texture.  No guarantees how long it will stay soft or how long it will last.  (This is not the same recipe we use for Little Treasures play dough.) 

Avi - 01/27/2021

Avilene ate no French toast and ate three servings of strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken, ate brown rice, bite of broccoli, and ate pineapple.    

As you all know I love the conversations the three big girls have at meal time.  And Svea frequently chimes in with a tidbit now and then.  Again, I was just trying to keep up with the quotes and not who was speaking!!  They were finishing this sentence: "We can't go to the North Pole because:..."

"We can't see the presents!"

"Because Santa is busy."

"Because it's gonna be too chilly."

"Because it's too far away."

"Because the reminder might bite you."

"Because by the time you get to the North Pole Christmas will be over."

First picture:  Avi had an incredulous look on her face when she realized she'd left her pajama top on under her shirt today.  It was super cute.  Then she was very accomodating to let me take a picture for her Blog.  At first she said "no," but she quickly relented and said, "ok."  Thanks Avi.

She had her usual good morning and stayed busy.  Here are some pictures from Avi's morning activities.  She and Atley were playing with the cars and the car ramps.  Second picture:  They were both super interested in this book: "Little Doctor Benny."  Maybe a couple of future Doctors here!  Last picture:  They asked if they could color some pages today so I give them a limit on how many they can do.  Otherwise they'll sometimes just sit and color all day.  That's not a bad activity; I just like to see them using their amazing creativity as well.  

Avi - 01/26/2021

Avilene ate whole wheat toast and ate grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate half of pork roast, ate whole wheat cinnamon raisin English muffin, ate beets, and applesauce.  

Hey I just want to mention something that I'm working on with the 3 oldest girls.  During Story Time, music time, sign language, etc., I'm having them sit until it's over.  Sometimes it's short and sometimes longer.  I know they'll be required to sit for periods of time in Kindergarten, but it totally depends on the teacher and how they have the classroom set up.  

First picture;  Atley was doing some Art, but kept getting interested in what Avi was working on too.  Atley kept going over again and again to help out.  (And Avi was happy for the help.)  The reference picture is at the bottom right and then they were finding the pieces to complete the big picture.  Some of the pieces are small, but what really makes them more difficult to find is the fact they are magnetic and the little pieces will "hide" on the backs of the bigger pieces.  

Here are some pictures from Avi's morning.  She was totally engrossed in this Daycare toy for awhile and Callahan was dutifully pushing her around and around in the chair.  Haha.  Next picture;  Wow, nice drawing a bird Avi.  "It's a toucan," she said.  I'm impressed!!  Last picture;  Avi was leaning over my shoulder so I was gonna do a selfie.  And this is what I ended up with!!  Haha.  Love it!  Avi doing one of her favorite goofy faces.  

Avi - 01/22/2021

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

The three big girls were having a discussion about what a "minute means."  And a little more about what a "second means."  We all use the words "minute or second" in phrases a lot!!  Especially; "Wait a minute!!"

"Wait a second!!"  They were talking fast and furious (sometimes at the same time) and I didn't have time to write down the person speaking, but here are a few of the quotes!!

"Well my Mom doesn't count to one for a minute!"

"Well my Mom says one minute is one second."

"You need to count to one."

"Well my Mom showed me what a minute means, but I don't know what it means."

"A minute means one."

"No! That is not what a minute means."

"A second means you have to count to one."

"No, that is not what it means."   And on and on.  This was so cute and awesome.  I love it.

First picture; Avi was saying to Miles, "Look at me, look at me, look at me."  And he was giggling so cute.  Second picture:  So this is kind of true love here in my opinion.  Miles has his arm stuck in Avi's cheek while he's trying to take a phone call.  Haha.  And she's tolerating it!!  Look at her face.  She's not super joyful, but she's still there!!  :)

Last picture;  As usual Atley was the one fetching blankets, pillows, stuffed animals and whatever else they wanted her to get. Apparently she's also responsible to get them "cozy."  Avi said, "Atley, I'm not cozy yet."  Haha.  What you don't see in the picture: Nora and Svea were in the "cozy corner" and Atley was attending to their needs as well.  Thank you Atley.

Avi - 01/21/2021

Avilene ate two servings of blueberry bagel and ate peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a large serving of hamburger & sausage pizza with meats, peppers, pineapple, olives, mushrooms, and tomato sauce.  She had bites of whole wheat pizza crust we serve on the side, and ate pineapple on the side too.   

This first picture is leftover from yesterday afternoon when Atley put on the "Grandmother" mask and Avi put on the "Woodsman" mask.  Atley said, "Avi is the Dad and I'm the Grandma. Nice to meet you DaDa." Haha.  Avi didn't care much because she was busy pointing out some of Atley's hair that was poking out the eye hole of the mask.  Haha.  

So today was "Science with Lauralea" and the theme was "Fire."  Today was observation only; nothing to touch and nothing to eat!!  And (most disappointing of all) nothing to take home!!  Next week is "Cooking with Lauralea" so I bet there will be something to take home!!  We strongly and loudly emphasized over and over that fire is dangerous and nothing to play with and they all had big eyes and were in total agreement!!  :)  The first experiment was a dud!  Vampire Fire with hydrogen peroxide and raw hamburger.  (Except the meat did basically (eventually) turn to liquid, but that wasn't the experiment.)  First picture: This was step 2 of this experiment and we robbed the fire of oxygen with the glass and the flame went out in 10 seconds.  Following picture:  Third step of the same experiment and the fuel (in this case the candle) ran out in 11 minutes.  Third picture:  This had the best visuals which made it the favorite.  Lauralea doused a piece of cloth with 4 tablespoons of water and 4 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol.  We watched the fire burn the alcohol, but really did not damage the cloth at all because it was doused in water.

Here's a picture from Avi's art work this morning.  Title: "This is my family going to a treehouse."  Dad the tallest, then Mom, and 4 children.  My favorite part: Avi is the biggest of the children.  Haha!  Avi is right in front of Dad, then left to right it's "Svea, Sylvie, and Peter."

Avi - 01/20/2021

Avilene ate half of whole wheat toast and ate grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate pork roast, most of whole wheat tortilla, ate carrots, and three servings of fruit salad. 

First picture;  So this is one of the reasons Avi still makes messes at meal times. Frequently dinking around!! Haha.  "Hey Gary!!  Look at my shirt!!"  Second picture;  The three big girls were playing at the Doll Houses.  They shut off the light so "the baby can sleep." Then they were sitting like you see in the picture;  "Now what are you guys playing?"  One word answer; "Delivery."  Atley was the delivery person and handing supplies over the top.  Haha.  Very interesting.  Growing up in the age of "everything is delivered!!"  And of course the Pandemic has increased this substantially.  

Here are a couple pictures of Avi's hard work this morning.  First picture:  "A guy shooting a monster." Second picture:  "This is a magic man. And this spot here is what he touches to make a rabbit come out of the hat."  :)  Good work Avi.  You have lots of creativity.  

 Last picture:  Avi asked if we could watch a video so they could learn (actually relearn) the motions to "The Chicken Dance."  Sure.  This was a very cute tutorial and the kids loved it.  You can see Atley, Avi, and Nora were in the process of flapping their "wings."  Miles is actually in the picture too; see him in the mirror on the left; just the top of his head.

Avi - 01/19/2021

Avilene ate two servings of whole wheat English muffin and no dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken, half of brown rice, ate stir fry vegetables, and two servings of mandarin oranges.  

Rule:  No sitting on Preschool/Lunch table.  I walked out to the Preschool Room and Avi was doing just that, EXCEPT she had her hands under her butt.  Before I could say anything she said, "Hey Gary! I am not sitting on the table.  I am sitting on my hands."  Haha.  Right.  Nice try Avi.  

First picture;  Avilene said she wanted to "snuggle," but it was just an excuse to harass her Gary!!  Haha. Of course I actually love it!!  I had my camera ready and then I was pinching her finger between my thumb and pointer finger.  Haha.  Love her facial reaction!  Second picture:  Wanting to "snuggle" again!! She was making silly faces and watching herself in the mirror while Callahan was busy trying to reach my head with his plastic fork!!  Haha.  

Next picture:  Avi was busy at the Art Table this morning.  And as usual she was creating and putting her ideas on paper.  I love how she does that!  Last picture:  You've seen several pictures of Avi at the gate so the little ones can watch her do Preschool activities.  This may have been the first time Miles has watched, but he was mostly perturbed because he couldn't reach any puzzle pieces.  Haha.  

Avi - 01/15/2021

Avilene ate brown rice and no raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate three servings of salmon, ate whole wheat dinner roll, two or three bites of riced cauliflower, and ate mangoes.  Meal conversation: Atley said, "My Mom told me Lexi's favorite day is Valentine's Day.  Because Lexi loves loves."  :)

Avilene played with Miles - similar to a mauling - several times this morning.  She was sprinting across the room acting goofy and his eyes were following her everywhere and he was chuckling.  Again.  Haha. He's like "Mr. Congeniality!!"  Second picture:  Avi was thumping her feet on the wall while Miles and Cal tried to mimic her.  I think Cal may have positioned himself a bit too far from the wall.  Haha.

Next picture:  So what do you think this picture represents!?  If you said "A knight on a horse (lower right-hand corner by Avi's finger) trying to kill a dragon" you are correct.  :)  I'm thinking that is a VERY large dragon judging by the size of the man and horse.  Haha.  Last picture;  Atley was working hard to "make it dark" in the igloo for Avi.  You can see Avi's hand at the bottom of the igloo opening showing Atley where the light was coming in.  Atley was working hard to block out all the light.  Callahan must be an apprentice and learning as he watches and helps.  These skills are passed down from the older to the younger children.  Haha.

Avi - 01/14/2021

Avilene ate two servings of whole wheat English muffin and ate mandarin oranges for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef, no whole wheat elbow noodles, ate peas, and two servings of applesauce. 

Yesterday at Snack time Atley randomly said; "Some people are spirit."  Avilene said, "Yes like God, Jesus, and Mary."  Nora said, "I already know that."  LOL!!   Yes of course you do Nora.  Then they were talking about penguins and Nora said they were at the "North Pole."  Atley said, "No, they're at the bottom of the earth."  (Which is basically true, but not directly at the South Pole.)  Avi said, "Is it a different Santa at the South Pole!"  Great question Avi!!  

First picture left over from yesterday when it was just Avi and Svea still here.  Avi was my "baby" and I carried her into Miles' room and put her in the crib.  Svea said, "I wanna go to Cal's crib!"  Haha.  Following picture:  I love this picture!  Avi said, "Two kids in a box went home to have chicken dinner." I love the long chicken leg on the table.  Haha.  

Science with Lauralea today!  Subject was "Air."  We did about 5 different experiments and as usual the kids enjoyed it a lot.  Atley said, "Is there something we can take home!?"  They love it when that is part of Science!!  I said, "Sure, we'll send each of you home with a bag of clean air!!"  They were thrilled.  Haha.  And it's not even messy!  In the first picture Avi has a little plastic cup with paper towel in the bottom, but the air is pushing up keeping the towel in place and dry.  Last picture: We had some paper burning in the bottle and heat makes the air expand.  As soon as the flames went out we put the peeled boiled egg on the top and cool air created a vacuum and sucked the egg down almost half an inch.  Then we put the bottle into warm water and that caused the air to expand and we easily took the egg off.  :)

Avi - 01/13/2021

Avilene had no French toast and ate two servings of strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate two large servings of hearty paleo stew with meat, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes.  She ate two servings of saltines and ate tropical fruit.  

This first picture is left over from yesterday afternoon.  We got a New Year's Picture and greeting from Avi and Svea's family and that's what the girls are studying here.  Avi, of course, is filling them in on all the details!!  She was especially eager to point out "Melvin" the cat.  Haha!!  This morning when Atley arrived she said, "I got my own Nelson picture!"  Haha.  

Next picture:  Avilene was having fun throwing her blanket over Miles and Callahan.  You can see their the shapes of their heads under the blanket.  Haha.  They were having fun too, but I guess you'll just have to take my word for that!!  :)  Following picture:  Atley and Avi are using the writing tablets which are battery-powered and erase as soon as you push the button.  The old ones wore out and I just got these and apparently there is a bit of an upgrade because they made "rainbow" pictures.  I was surprised and asked, "How did you guys do that?!"  Avilene said, "Uhhh....well you bought it!"  And I should know!!  Haha.  

Last picture:  I took this picture after Story Time this morning and Cal was intentionally closing his eyes while I took the picture.  I laughed about it and he loved it.  

Avi - 01/12/2021

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

Breakfast conversation;  Atley told Nora and Avi she was gonna make them "special presents."  Avi wanted to know when she could expect these "special presents" to arrive.  Haha.  Atley said, "I'm gonna bring them tomorrow."  Avi said, "Well...make them cool!!"  Haha!!  Lunch conversation:  Avilene said, "I got my tonsils out."  Atley said, "Tonsils are your back teeth."  LOL.  That made me roar.  Then Nora and Avi were arguing about replacing teeth that left your mouth.  :)  Nora said, "You can glue them back in!" Avi said, "No you can't!!"  By this time they were intense, yelling, and pointing their fingers at each other.  Nora said, "Yes you can!!  My Dad said so!!"  (Which always cracks me up!!  They think the "My Dad said so" or "My Mom said so" is like playing the trump card.  Oops, Sorry for saying the "t" word.  Haha.)  Avilene said, "No, you put the tooth under your pillow and the tooth fairy takes care of it."  

First picture:  This is a selfie I took first thing this morning.  Avi was pestering me and it was wonderful! I was on the couch and she squeezed in behind me so I was leaning back on her.  I showed her the picture and told her I missed her when I was gone.  She said, "Well now you can see me even when you miss me." I love how she worded that.  She implies this is my first picture of her.  Haha.  

A couple more pictures from this morning.  This is a cool activity that I got for Christmas to use in the Preschool.  The pieces are magnetic and there are lots of diagrams (simple to complex) to follow with them laid flat on the floor. Then when You lift them up it changes the shape, but the magnets hold it all together.  Last picture: Avi was wearing the wolf mask and Cal was saying, "No wolf Avi, no wolf."  :)