Avi & Svea - 9/28/2018

Avilene ate oatmeal and no dried cranberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate tilapia, whole wheat elbow noodles, green beans, and applesauce.

I LOVE these first two pictures!!  Svea and Linnea were playing side-by-side several times this morning.  Linnea pulled out a couple of the xylophones and I thought she was going to play with them.  But she had bigger plans!!  :)  She was just getting them out of the road so she could climb higher!!  Svea just kept messing with the xylophone and at first didn't even notice Linnea was perched on the upper shelf!  Ha!

Avi and Atley had their heads buried in the pillows and couch.  I asked them what they were doing.  Avi said, "Hiding from monsters!"  Who?  Linnea?  Avi said, "No, it's a guy."  Haha!  Who?  "Mike, Mike Colin."  ......  "Ok Atley! Mike Colin is gone Atley!"  Well thank goodness!!

Avilene had fun working on preschool trays and Lauralea was here monitoring it most of the time until about 10:00.  Thank you Lauralea!  First picture: Avi is stringing little beads and in the 2nd picture you can see them around her wrist.  Good job Avi.  Lauralea was helping her trace letters in the 2nd picture as well.  Later Avi told Lauralea that "J was for Jackson."  Who's he?  Avi said, "My cousin.  I have lots of cousins."  Lauralea asked, "What are some of their names?"  Avi said, "Jackson, Aiden, Uncle Brian."  LOL

Avi & Svea - 9/27/2018

Avilene ate two servings of whole wheat bagel and two servings of peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate three servings of hamburger and sausage pizza on whole wheat pizza crust with tomato sauce, peppers, olives, and pineapple.  She also ate pineapple on the side.

This first picture is from yesterday afternoon and the kids were being silly playing on these balls!  When I took this picture Atley and Avilene had their faces buried between the balls and Avi was saying, "Gar Gar! Are you in there!?!?  Gar Gar!!!  Are you in there?!?"  Haha!

This is just an FYI for everyone in the Little Treasures Family!  Nora is gone to Denver and will be back on Tuesday.  She is going to be the "Flower Girl" at her Aunt's wedding!  So we're eagerly awaiting the results of that!  :)

Atley and Avi were playing some of the same games they've been playing all week and last week as well.  "Let's play jump rope!!"  (with the long apron strings)  "Going to Grandma's house!!"  (piling tons of toys on the chair and spinning the chair)  And sleeping in the igloo together.  Linnea's been watching them do this and I noticed today that Linnea was packing around one the aprons.  :)

I think I've mentioned this recently, but I love how Avilene studies the details in the books now.  It's very noticeable how much more she is seeing and talking about.  She's finding humor in some of the pictures, asking questions about what interests her, and frequently making comments about it all.  This morning she noticed a girl on roller skates being pulled with a rope.  She said, "Gary!! She does NOT have a helmet on!!"  Great observation Avi!!

Here are some pictures from today.  Avi practicing using the scissors.  Next picture:  Svea setting up tight against the toy shelves - again!!  :)   Last picture: Atley and Avi were building tall towers; reaching as high as they could stretch!!

Avi & Svea - 9/26/2018

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

This first picture is from yesterday afternoon and I always think it's cute when the "younger" ones are pulling the "older" ones.  Actually it's more a size thing than age thing.  Sometimes Atley and Avi will get in a wagon together and try to get Nora to pull them.  :)  Then two pictures of Svea from yesterday afternoon as well!  She was sitting on my lap and we were doing selfies.  I was kind of tickling her head and being silly and I like how she was looking at my fingers.

I took this first picture from today when Avi was doing some gluing from one of the trays.  We also worked on building with legos together and Avi worked at that long after everyone else had moved on to some thing different.

Last picture: This is actually an apron from the dress-up clothes.  But as we all know kids can turn anything into a different toy!  (They've been doing the following for several days now!)  Avi said, "Hey Atley! You wanna jump rope!?!" haha!  It turns into some kind of a combination of jump rope, tug-a-war, follow the leader, and morphs into running from monsters as they race back-n-forth across the room!  It was very cute this morning because Linnea was laughing and squealing and trying to keep up!

Avi & Svea - 9/25/2018

Avilene ate two servings of toasted whole wheat english muffin and ate dried plums for breakfast.  Atley asked for "more english bread."  Ha!  Avi said, "I don't have english bread, I have english muffin."  For lunch she ate half of chicken, large serving of brown rice, half of stir fry vegetables, and no oranges.

First two pictures - Avi doing some preschool trays.  In case I haven't said this recently, Avi catches on to things very quickly!!  :)  You may hear that again when we have our Parent-Provider meeting! Third picture: This was pretty fun to watch!  It was Lauralea's final test for Avi.  Lauralea first set the plates, then cups, then spoons, and then napkins on the counter and asked Avi to set them at the table at everyone's spot.  :)  Well done Avilene!!  As a side note - children this age LOVE to be helpers and Avi can obviously start doing simple chores at home.  (I encourage you to take advantage of this!) Big smiley face, but I'm serious!

This next picture was really cute;  While jumping they were signing a song that we frequently do.  The song was playing on the iPod - "B I N G O ....  and Bingo was his name."  We use the same tune for spelling each of the children's names.  Anyhow, Avi was combining the two songs and had everyone singing: "A V I N G O....." I thought it was actually very clever.  You can see Svea watching the "big girls" jump and sing.  Then in the following picture Nora just can't get enough of the Svea baby!!  I can totally relate Nora!!  :)

Things were a little different this morning.  I went and got a DTAP immunization (Child Care Licensing requirement) while Lauralea covered for me.  (I put Svea down for her nap and then left - she was still asleep when I returned.)  Here is a picture Lauralea took for me while I was gone:  Kids are all at the window watching the garbage workers across the street.  There is also a neighbor walking their dog just beyond the farthest fence.  The kids all like to watch a puppy going by!!

Avi & Svea - 9/24/2018

Avilene ate two servings of cheerios and ate banana for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef, whole wheat pita bread, no tomato, ate olives, avocado, and watermelon.

Ok I've got lots of pictures again, but I don't want to leave any out.  These first two pictures are from Friday afternoon when Svea crawled all the way across the lawn to see what the kids were doing over there!!  (Playing at the sand tables.)  She chugged all the way over there, then again later she made it to the cement in front of the garage door.  Picture number 3: Linnea was happy to see Svea.  I took this moments after Svea arrived.  Svea was reaching for her as well.

 

Next 2 pictures: Avi was working on some preschool trays with Lauralea.  These are a couple she hasn't seen before.  I think there are 7 padlocks and she was working to get them unlocked and she was having success.  Next tray is a puzzle that we (meaning Lauralea) made and laminated using their name for the puzzle.

Next picture: Atley and Avi were getting ready to travel again.  (Even though they appear to be relaxing!!  Haha!!)  They were mixing their food and packing.  Avi said, "I'll mix it for you Atley!!  We're mixing our food!!  Atley! Atley!! Airplane is starting to go!! We gotta hurry!!"  :)  Yes, if the airplane is already moving you definitely need to hurry!!

This last picture made me laugh.  Linnea was on the mattress and Avi said, "Hey Atley! You wanna make her laugh!?!"  Haha!  Avi loves jumping around Linnea on the mattress and of course Linnea laughs and gets excited.  So that's what they were doing!  We were also doing some sign language and singing songs this morning.  We were doing the sign for "girls" and then "boys."  I said, "Bubba's Momma has a baby boy in her tummy."  Avi said, "My Mommy has a baby out!"  Haha!  Yup and she's happy about that!!  Then I was quizzing the kids to see how many names of the parents the kids could remember.  Avi knew them all.  I asked Nora, "What is Avi's sister's name?"  Nora said, "Andy."  :)  Then Avi was studying the Alphabet poster (in the picture behind her) and after looking at the penguin for awhile she asked, "Do penguins fly?"  Wow!  Great question Avi!!

Avi & Svea - 9/21/2018

Avilene ate brown rice and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate salmon patty, most of whole wheat dinner roll, ate green beans, and mangoes.

Avi said the cutest thing to Nora's Momma Emily this morning.  "I want you to invite me to my birthday!"  Emily said, "Ok, you're invited to your birthday."  Just an FYI, Avi has been inviting everyone to her birthday!  I know Lauralea and I are very excited!!  :)

First picture: Avilene was doing more practicing cutting with the scissors and she loves it.  She was also keeping an eye on Atley's tray and gave encouragement when Atley had some success!  "Atley did one!  Atley did one!"  That's being a was very sweet friend Avi.

Here's a picture of physical education class!!  Haha!  According to Avi they were "exercising!!"  Avi also asked Nora if she wanted to join them!  "Do you wanna exercise with us?"  Thank you for including her Avi!  (Although I did hear Avi say to Nora; "You're too little for dancing!!"  No she's not you silly goose!)  All three of them were also holding hands and jumping on the mattress.  If you look close at the following picture you can see Avi's arm in the air like she's doing a cheer and Nora's hair is still in the air as she's just hit the floor.  :)

 

Next picture - Svea gets herself set up tight against the toy shelves!  Then every time she wiggles she bumps her head!!  Last picture - She crawled under the blue balance beam and popped up on the other side!  Little cutie!  It feels like she's growing very fast to me!!!

Avi & Svea - 9/20/2018

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

We were reading a story about trains so I asked the kids; "Who has rode a train before?"  Avi, Atley, Nora all said, "Me, me, me" pointing at themselves.  Haha!  So I inquired some more; "Who has been on a Submarine?"  "Me, me, me!"  Rocket ship?  Stealth bomber!?  Ocean Liner?!?  Wagon pulled by Mules?!?  Same answer every time!!  "Me, me, me!!!"  Wow!  Impressive!!  Hahaha!!

Avi does such a great job of expressing herself!!  Atley had grabbed Avi's play food and was scattering it around.  Avi said, "Don't do that!"  about three times, but then very firmly said, "Could you please not do that again!?!"  Wow!  Great way to phrase that Avi!!  Atley wasn't listening so that's when I step in and say something like; "Listen to what your friend is saying."  And help them follow through with the listening step.

Here are lots of pictures from this morning's activities:  Nora, Avi, and Svea were the first ones here and they were having fun crawling on the floor together.  Then Avi and Nora went out to do puzzles and I love how Avi is keeping a very close eye on Nora's progress!!  Too cute.  Following picture: I also love how Avi and Atley will frequently sit close together while reading books.

Avi was practicing cutting some paper with the scissors again and she's getting pretty good at it.  the kids like watching "Big Willy" whenever he makes an appearance outside like today when he was mowing his lawn.  He watches for them and only stopped to wave at them about a dozen times!!  :) Last picture; Svea crawling over to see what Avi and Atley are doing in the igloo.

Avi & Svea - 9/19/2018

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

First two pictures: Avi doing some preschool trays.  First one is matching the letters or numbers.  Today she was doing letters.  The second picture is a harder challenge.  She had to find the 4 shapes you see in the upper right-hand corner of her paper.  Then using those four shapes to set on the picture in lower left-hand corner.  (Could be a turtle or a child crawling.)  This activity uses a small metal tray and magnetic shapes which is very helpful.

Next picture: Aww...Svea!  You're adorable.  Following picture: several times a day Linnea and Svea are playing beside each other.

 

Next picture: I asked Atley what they were doing and she said, "hiding."  This picture doesn't really show it, but the three older girls had their heads covered with doll blankets.  Immediately before I took the picture Linnea had crawled over and lifted the blanket off Atley's face.  Haha!  "What are you doing under here!?!"  They were also spinning in circles, going to the airport in an airplane, dancing with their tutu's on, and Avi was jumping around Linnea on the mattress and Linnea was loving it.

Next picture: Avi is a great helper and loves jumping in and helping the other kids when they need it. Nora was screaming in frustration because she had the xylophone turned around and couldn't reach the keys with the stick.  (The string does need to be lengthened.)  It took Avi about 3 seconds to evaluate the problem and fix it.  She quickly turned it around and sat it back down in front of Nora.  Thank you Avi!  Last picture: The three girls getting in some reading time.

Avi & Svea - 9/18/2018

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

This first picture is from yesterday afternoon when Avi, Atley, and Nora were playing with the big balls in the yard and having a blast. (I'm making that assumption from all the squealing, giggling, and laughing.) They were diving on the balls belly-first and rolling around before falling off.

I've mentioned here before that State Childcare Licensing is requiring a formal emergency preparedness plan, plus some drills, which of course includes fire-drills.   We've always done fire-drills, but lately my fire-drills have looked more like this: "Ok everyone, in case of a fire emergency just do what I say!!"  So Lauralea helped me this morning and was prepping Avi, Atley, and Nora as I took the picture while getting the two babies ready to go.

Lauralea also spent time doing some preschool activities with the three girls and they had SO much fun and totally loved it.  First picture: You can see the pictures with the colored shapes in the back and Avi is piling them on the sticks in the same order.  Well done Avi!!  (We made this game - I just built the box, drilled the holes, cut the sticks, and glued the pictures the way Lauralea told me to!!  And that's how this game was made!!  Haha!)  Next picture - working on some letters.  We did several other things including play dough.  Avi was making LOTS of finger holes in the play dough and she said, "I'm making finger prints."  Nora said, "I make linger-prints too."  haha!  Too cute.

 

I think this next picture is so stinking cute!!  I was initially taking this picture of Svea because she was successfully attempting to "stand" with the help of the steps.  And it looked so cute with her knee on the step.  I was cheering for Svea when Linnea came over and gave me this look - like - "what is so impressive about that?!?"  Haha!  And the last picture: Nora sharing her Daycare iPod with Svea.  (Not really an iPod, I just like saying that.)