Mia ate oatmeal and dried cranberries for breakfast. For lunch she also ate everything; ground beef, elbow noodles topped with shredded cheese, peas, and applesauce.
Mia's blanket was laying on the floor and she yelled, "My blankie Cooper!" And gives her blanket a big yank! I guess it was just a practice session because Mia was the only child here! :) Lauralea and I got a big laugh from that. :)
I was busy fixing Nora's hair and I asked Mia if she'd set down the little yellow bench for Cooper (who was hindering the hair fixing!) to sit and read. (I had the bench standing on end.) She totally understood what I wanted. However, she immediately cleared toys out of the way before she sat the bench down. I was impressed because she did that instinctively before doing what I asked her to do. Good job Mia!
Mia did lots of reading and playing with the dolls this morning. I was enjoying watching how engaged she was with everything. She was feeding her baby and leaned over and kissed it's forehead. It was very sweet and "Mommy-like!" :) Mia was so focused on her baby and didn't seem to notice that Cooper and Riley were wrestling and being rowdy. Mia usually doesn't miss a chance to join that kind of play!!
I got on Mia's case for something and Riley was very quick to point out that Nora had also contributed to the situation! LOL. Thanks Riley! You make a great assistant! I'm not sure if she was defending Mia or just wanting me to get it right! Very cute.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
1/30/2014
Mia ate two servings of raisin english muffin and ate blueberries for breakfast. For lunch she ate half of her turkey sandwich, half of her green beans, and ate a large serving of kiwi.
Cooper was wrestling and playing with the bears and then Mia joined him and they were getting rowdy and Mia ended up sitting on his head! (After I took this picture!) Ok, it was time for some redirection! Cooper loves the physical play, but this time he bit off more than he could chew! :) He was actually still loving it all until Mia perched on the back of his head!
The daily ritual after breakfast for Riley and Mia (and sometimes Nora) is to gather up dolls, blankets, books, and dress-up clothes. They stash everything (Riley has taught them well) except for the books and sit in the chair and read for awhile. Then they put on the dress-up clothes and go "bye bye." Then they'll sometimes go into the igloo (like today) and barricade the doorway with the yellow bench. It's almost a guarantee that all of the above or some form of it will happen every day immediately after breakfast.
We did some golf ball art and I put the paper in a pan and they rolled the ball around on some paint. The pan has tall sides on it, but I only have one of them. So I tried a pan with shorter sides and Mia got a bit wild and the paint-covered ball went skittering across the floor at a high rate of speed. It was so stinking funny and I just roared. :) Ok! That didn't work real well!! I will more pans!
Cooper was wrestling and playing with the bears and then Mia joined him and they were getting rowdy and Mia ended up sitting on his head! (After I took this picture!) Ok, it was time for some redirection! Cooper loves the physical play, but this time he bit off more than he could chew! :) He was actually still loving it all until Mia perched on the back of his head!
The daily ritual after breakfast for Riley and Mia (and sometimes Nora) is to gather up dolls, blankets, books, and dress-up clothes. They stash everything (Riley has taught them well) except for the books and sit in the chair and read for awhile. Then they put on the dress-up clothes and go "bye bye." Then they'll sometimes go into the igloo (like today) and barricade the doorway with the yellow bench. It's almost a guarantee that all of the above or some form of it will happen every day immediately after breakfast.
We did some golf ball art and I put the paper in a pan and they rolled the ball around on some paint. The pan has tall sides on it, but I only have one of them. So I tried a pan with shorter sides and Mia got a bit wild and the paint-covered ball went skittering across the floor at a high rate of speed. It was so stinking funny and I just roared. :) Ok! That didn't work real well!! I will more pans!
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
1/29/2014
Mia had three servings of whole wheat cinnamon toast for breakfast. For lunch she ate beef & bean burrito, sweet potatoes, and tropical fruit.
Mia began her day with Lauralea, Nora, and Riley playing Doodle Buddy on Lauralea's iPad. When the girls were working on Doodle Buddy this morning Cooper was crawling up, under, over, and around; doing everything imaginable to get to the screen to poke and jab at it. Lauralea was kind of looking at him in amazement! :) Yup! That's our Cooper boy!
Riley, Mia, and Nora had the jingle bells and were doing some of our favorite songs. I love it when they initiate their own singing. They were combining two and three songs together. Here are the three songs I could hear them singing and they were mixing and matching the different actions from the songs; 1) I heard "Shoo Fly" They were singing "I feel…morning star!" - Mia was the primary one singing it. 2) Then it was "Hickity Pickity" and doing the motions slapping their knees. 3) I also heard "Good Morning to You" And they were doing the actions pointing at each other. And it was basically happening all at the same time!
Riley and Nora were cheering for Mia when she was on the potty pushing some poop out. Which was kind of cute except Mia is quite distractible, so it wasn't too helpful! I think we'll adjust our routine slightly while Mia is working on figuring out the toilet thing! :) Twice this morning Mia yells, "Gotta go poop Gary!" Which means she's already started! :) But, she's getting very close! Good job Mia!
Mia joined Riley and Nora on the floor doing snow (ok, carpet) angels. They frequently do that. She also played with the dolls and food toys again and going to the store to get gum!
Mia began her day with Lauralea, Nora, and Riley playing Doodle Buddy on Lauralea's iPad. When the girls were working on Doodle Buddy this morning Cooper was crawling up, under, over, and around; doing everything imaginable to get to the screen to poke and jab at it. Lauralea was kind of looking at him in amazement! :) Yup! That's our Cooper boy!
Riley, Mia, and Nora had the jingle bells and were doing some of our favorite songs. I love it when they initiate their own singing. They were combining two and three songs together. Here are the three songs I could hear them singing and they were mixing and matching the different actions from the songs; 1) I heard "Shoo Fly" They were singing "I feel…morning star!" - Mia was the primary one singing it. 2) Then it was "Hickity Pickity" and doing the motions slapping their knees. 3) I also heard "Good Morning to You" And they were doing the actions pointing at each other. And it was basically happening all at the same time!
Riley and Nora were cheering for Mia when she was on the potty pushing some poop out. Which was kind of cute except Mia is quite distractible, so it wasn't too helpful! I think we'll adjust our routine slightly while Mia is working on figuring out the toilet thing! :) Twice this morning Mia yells, "Gotta go poop Gary!" Which means she's already started! :) But, she's getting very close! Good job Mia!
Mia joined Riley and Nora on the floor doing snow (ok, carpet) angels. They frequently do that. She also played with the dolls and food toys again and going to the store to get gum!
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
1/28/2014
Mia ate cinnamon roll and most of her dried plums for breakfast. For lunch she ate half of this combo: scrambled eggs, hash browns, ham bites, and cheese. She also ate waffle and cantaloupe.
This picture was taken yesterday afternoon. Mia was sitting on the yellow bench and Nora was sitting on the floor in front of her. Mia was reading to her and look how close the book is to Nora's face. It's so cute when they are being good buddies and you have to savor those moments! :) They were being buddies again this morning - well - for a couple minutes. They were sitting on the floor in the bathroom waiting while Riley went potty and Mia had her arm wrapped around Nora and they were snuggled together.
Here's a picture of Riley and Mia in the chair surrounded by several things they were playing with at the same time. You can see that Riley has her bumble-bee jacket stashed behind her on top of the chair and Mia has food toys beside her on the arm of the chair. They played in the chair between trips to the store. :) And for Riley it's always for gum. "Bye Gary! To store buy gum!" :) And of course then Mia will mimic Riley; "Buy gum!!" :)
At art time Nora had a spot of paint on her finger and she desperately needed it washed immediately! When Riley was done painting she had the tiniest of spots on the end of one finger too. In the meantime, Mia was sitting across the table with a soaked paintbrush squeezing and massaging it with both hands! :)
This picture was taken yesterday afternoon. Mia was sitting on the yellow bench and Nora was sitting on the floor in front of her. Mia was reading to her and look how close the book is to Nora's face. It's so cute when they are being good buddies and you have to savor those moments! :) They were being buddies again this morning - well - for a couple minutes. They were sitting on the floor in the bathroom waiting while Riley went potty and Mia had her arm wrapped around Nora and they were snuggled together.
Here's a picture of Riley and Mia in the chair surrounded by several things they were playing with at the same time. You can see that Riley has her bumble-bee jacket stashed behind her on top of the chair and Mia has food toys beside her on the arm of the chair. They played in the chair between trips to the store. :) And for Riley it's always for gum. "Bye Gary! To store buy gum!" :) And of course then Mia will mimic Riley; "Buy gum!!" :)
At art time Nora had a spot of paint on her finger and she desperately needed it washed immediately! When Riley was done painting she had the tiniest of spots on the end of one finger too. In the meantime, Mia was sitting across the table with a soaked paintbrush squeezing and massaging it with both hands! :)
Monday, January 27, 2014
1/27/2014
Mia ate kix cereal and mixed fruit for breakfast. For lunch she ate two servings of ham sandwich, peas, and two servings of mandarin oranges. The spell checker just automatically corrected my misspelling of oranges to say organs! Eeewwww! :)
We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend and everyone was busy and engaged. Here's a picture of Mia wearing cowboy boots, playing with a doll, and with some food toys. She and Riley had lots of dress-up clothes on and they were going "Bye" to the "store."
I told Nora first thing this morning that Mia went skiing this weekend. I don't know if Nora knew what that meant, but her response was so stinking cute. She looked at Mia and said, "Oooooh! Are you ok?" Isn't that funny!? I decided to show the video of Mia skiing to the kids. Nora was grinning all over watching it and Riley started laughing hard!
Mia frequently asks Riley for help and I've never seen Riley tell her no. This morning Mia was trying to pick up a huge stack of books and she had way more than she could handle. She was saying, "Help me Riley, help me Riley!" Riley looked at her, evaluated the situation and said, "No help!" :)
We were using markers and free-drawing during art time. Mia was working hard and saying, "Riley face, Cooper face, Nora town…" I guess she was giving us a play-by-play of what she was drawing!
We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend and everyone was busy and engaged. Here's a picture of Mia wearing cowboy boots, playing with a doll, and with some food toys. She and Riley had lots of dress-up clothes on and they were going "Bye" to the "store."
I told Nora first thing this morning that Mia went skiing this weekend. I don't know if Nora knew what that meant, but her response was so stinking cute. She looked at Mia and said, "Oooooh! Are you ok?" Isn't that funny!? I decided to show the video of Mia skiing to the kids. Nora was grinning all over watching it and Riley started laughing hard!
Mia frequently asks Riley for help and I've never seen Riley tell her no. This morning Mia was trying to pick up a huge stack of books and she had way more than she could handle. She was saying, "Help me Riley, help me Riley!" Riley looked at her, evaluated the situation and said, "No help!" :)
We were using markers and free-drawing during art time. Mia was working hard and saying, "Riley face, Cooper face, Nora town…" I guess she was giving us a play-by-play of what she was drawing!
Friday, January 24, 2014
1/24/2014
Mia ate half of her brown rice and ate raisins for breakfast. For lunch she ate two servings of meat loaf, ate french bread, carrots, and dried apricots.
Riley was sitting on the chair reading to Mia and Nora and was saying, "Mickey Mouse…" and Nora and Mia started laughing. It actually was pretty entertaining! Then Cooper started reading aloud too.
I got some new books this week and the kids have been enjoying them. They are books and songs by Raffi. We actually sing several of his songs already, but I didn't have the books that go with the songs. "Shake My Sillies Out," "Spider On the Floor," "Everything Grows," and "Five Little Ducks" are some of the ones we got this week. I wasn't sure of the tune for a couple of them so YouTube was very helpful this morning! You can take a look if you're interested. :)
This website is being very slow and temperamental today so I hope I can finish these journals. I had some pictures to download, but it wouldn't allow me to do so. And it took forever just to open and it's very slow navigating around.
Well I kept trying and I got one picture posted! I liked this picture of Nora and Mia reading books because they were sitting on the book rack to read! A pretty handy spot and the books are close by!
Riley was sitting on the chair reading to Mia and Nora and was saying, "Mickey Mouse…" and Nora and Mia started laughing. It actually was pretty entertaining! Then Cooper started reading aloud too.
I got some new books this week and the kids have been enjoying them. They are books and songs by Raffi. We actually sing several of his songs already, but I didn't have the books that go with the songs. "Shake My Sillies Out," "Spider On the Floor," "Everything Grows," and "Five Little Ducks" are some of the ones we got this week. I wasn't sure of the tune for a couple of them so YouTube was very helpful this morning! You can take a look if you're interested. :)
Thursday, January 23, 2014
1/23/2014
Mia had three servings of cinnamon toast and ate grapes for breakfast. For lunch she ate chicken, dinner roll, hash browns, and two servings of canned cherries.
At the breakfast table Mia finished her cinnamon toast and said, "Want more waffle!!" Riley grinned and kind of snickered, looked at me and said, "Noooooo!" :)
This picture was taken yesterday afternoon (it wasn't staged!) and it was pretty funny because Mia was calling to him like a puppy and patting her lap. "Here Bubba, here Bubba, here Bubba.." then, "Here Cooper, here Cooper, here Cooper!" And he finally went over and crawled up to sit on her lap and she was thrilled. I grabbed the camera quick because I knew it was very temporary with those two!! :)
And I took this picture of Mia being silly with her tongue. Have you seen her doing this? She is sticking her tongue out a little bit and covering her upper lip and it pushes out her bottom lip too. She was doing it yesterday and several times this morning. I think she has very pretty lips, but this kind of exaggerates them! :)
The kids were watching the squirrels chase each other around and around Big Willy's tree across the street. His family places food out for the squirrels all winter so we frequently watch them. We also watched some crows land in the yard (about a dozen of them) during story time. So we took a break from reading and went to the window.
At the breakfast table Mia finished her cinnamon toast and said, "Want more waffle!!" Riley grinned and kind of snickered, looked at me and said, "Noooooo!" :)
This picture was taken yesterday afternoon (it wasn't staged!) and it was pretty funny because Mia was calling to him like a puppy and patting her lap. "Here Bubba, here Bubba, here Bubba.." then, "Here Cooper, here Cooper, here Cooper!" And he finally went over and crawled up to sit on her lap and she was thrilled. I grabbed the camera quick because I knew it was very temporary with those two!! :)
And I took this picture of Mia being silly with her tongue. Have you seen her doing this? She is sticking her tongue out a little bit and covering her upper lip and it pushes out her bottom lip too. She was doing it yesterday and several times this morning. I think she has very pretty lips, but this kind of exaggerates them! :)
The kids were watching the squirrels chase each other around and around Big Willy's tree across the street. His family places food out for the squirrels all winter so we frequently watch them. We also watched some crows land in the yard (about a dozen of them) during story time. So we took a break from reading and went to the window.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
1/22/2014
Mia ate two servings of breakfast: whole wheat bagel and peaches. For lunch she ate ham, mac-n-cheese, a couple bites of lettuces salad, and ate corn.
This picture was taken yesterday afternoon and the kids were totally enthralled with looking at the baby. This is Coral and Micala's baby sister. Look at the faces of those three studying the baby and checking her out! And they were all very serious!
We were singing our "Good Morning to You…" song while Lauralea was still here and we sang it to her too. All four kids were really into it and Cooper was waving and doing the "Good Morning!" part too. Lauralea commented on how much they all like doing the song. We sing it to the tune of "Happy Birthday" and in the past we've had children that think they're supposed to wave at the end of singing "Happy Birthday" too. :)
Mia and Nora were playing with their dolls and feeding them side by side in the chair. Then they moved to the window step and continued the same play. It was getting close to lunch time and everyone was getting hungry, tired, and a bit testy! I whirled around when they yelled at each other; I'm not sure what Mia did, but Nora had a handful of Mia's hair. She let it go when I intervened and they were soon back to playing. :)
Shortly after Cooper arrived Mia laid her blanket on the floor and of course Cooper immediately flopped down on it. So Mia was kind of whimpering and drug him across the floor. It was all a big game to him, but she wasn't sure if she liked it or not.
This picture was taken yesterday afternoon and the kids were totally enthralled with looking at the baby. This is Coral and Micala's baby sister. Look at the faces of those three studying the baby and checking her out! And they were all very serious!
We were singing our "Good Morning to You…" song while Lauralea was still here and we sang it to her too. All four kids were really into it and Cooper was waving and doing the "Good Morning!" part too. Lauralea commented on how much they all like doing the song. We sing it to the tune of "Happy Birthday" and in the past we've had children that think they're supposed to wave at the end of singing "Happy Birthday" too. :)
Mia and Nora were playing with their dolls and feeding them side by side in the chair. Then they moved to the window step and continued the same play. It was getting close to lunch time and everyone was getting hungry, tired, and a bit testy! I whirled around when they yelled at each other; I'm not sure what Mia did, but Nora had a handful of Mia's hair. She let it go when I intervened and they were soon back to playing. :)
Shortly after Cooper arrived Mia laid her blanket on the floor and of course Cooper immediately flopped down on it. So Mia was kind of whimpering and drug him across the floor. It was all a big game to him, but she wasn't sure if she liked it or not.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
1/21/2014
Mia ate two servings of waffles and ate pears for breakfast. For lunch she ate tuna and half of her crackers, ate sweet potatoes, and oranges.
Mia worked on building with the legos for several minutes and was totally engaged with it. After making a tower (about twice as tall as the one in the picture) she was proud of it and wanted me to see and acknowledge it; "Look Gary!"
Riley was already sleeping and Cooper was still in his highchair eating and it was fun to listen to Mia and Nora playing. Mia was the mommy and Nora was the baby. Nora was laying in the box pretending to cry and Mia went and got her something to eat, "ok baby, ok baby." I took this picture quick because I was sure Nora wouldn't continue the play when Mia put the cup over her face, but she was fine with it. Later Nora was sitting on Mia's lap while Mia read her books.
It was time for breakfast and Mia had lost her binky somewhere. I told her to look for it and she knew exactly what to do; "You find binky Riley?!?" Riley started lifting up blankets and found it within one or two minutes. A very good idea and efficient strategy Mia! :)
I noticed Mia starting to poop (I smelled it about the same time), but it was too late to scurry her into the bathroom. I'm trying to catch it right when she starts and then give her a chance to go in the toilet. She's so verbal about it so it will be happening soon! :) She was kind of "humped up" and saying, "I poop, I poop!" and then; "I pooping Riley!" (as Riley went walking by) The ole' play-by-play commentary!
Mia worked on building with the legos for several minutes and was totally engaged with it. After making a tower (about twice as tall as the one in the picture) she was proud of it and wanted me to see and acknowledge it; "Look Gary!"
Riley was already sleeping and Cooper was still in his highchair eating and it was fun to listen to Mia and Nora playing. Mia was the mommy and Nora was the baby. Nora was laying in the box pretending to cry and Mia went and got her something to eat, "ok baby, ok baby." I took this picture quick because I was sure Nora wouldn't continue the play when Mia put the cup over her face, but she was fine with it. Later Nora was sitting on Mia's lap while Mia read her books.
It was time for breakfast and Mia had lost her binky somewhere. I told her to look for it and she knew exactly what to do; "You find binky Riley?!?" Riley started lifting up blankets and found it within one or two minutes. A very good idea and efficient strategy Mia! :)
I noticed Mia starting to poop (I smelled it about the same time), but it was too late to scurry her into the bathroom. I'm trying to catch it right when she starts and then give her a chance to go in the toilet. She's so verbal about it so it will be happening soon! :) She was kind of "humped up" and saying, "I poop, I poop!" and then; "I pooping Riley!" (as Riley went walking by) The ole' play-by-play commentary!
Monday, January 20, 2014
1/20/2014
Mia had a dentist appointment and arrived about 10:00. For lunch she ate roast beef sandwich, drank half of her tomato soup, and ate apple pieces.
I noticed some of the colored legos pieces were coming loose so I took the table top off and glued them back on. So in this picture you see the kids have a whole new way of playing at the legos table.
This is a pretty familiar sight! But it's also one of Mia's favorite things to do here so you'll probably see more pictures of her reading books in the future! I like how Nora is involved in the process too and pointing at something in the book.
Darcy, I just wanted to mention that after you left Mia never whimpered one time and just started playing with the toys and especially playing with Riley. Riley and her were being buddies for the first 20 - 30 minutes after you left. They jumped on the mattress, hid in the igloo from Cooper, sat in the chair together, and played with the dress-up clothes. I like how they always get both legs in one leg hole with this particular set of dress-up clothes.
I noticed some of the colored legos pieces were coming loose so I took the table top off and glued them back on. So in this picture you see the kids have a whole new way of playing at the legos table.
This is a pretty familiar sight! But it's also one of Mia's favorite things to do here so you'll probably see more pictures of her reading books in the future! I like how Nora is involved in the process too and pointing at something in the book.
Darcy, I just wanted to mention that after you left Mia never whimpered one time and just started playing with the toys and especially playing with Riley. Riley and her were being buddies for the first 20 - 30 minutes after you left. They jumped on the mattress, hid in the igloo from Cooper, sat in the chair together, and played with the dress-up clothes. I like how they always get both legs in one leg hole with this particular set of dress-up clothes.
Friday, January 17, 2014
1/17/2014
Mia ate oatmeal and half of her dried plums for breakfast. For lunch she ate most of her hash brown casserole, half of her biscuit, and ate mandarin oranges.
This morning was pretty busy with a scheduled meeting with a Child Care Health Consultant. She was here checking to make sure all my health records (primarily immunization records for each child) are in order and also leaving some information for myself and the families which you will find on top of your child's cubby. I took a picture of Shelly Meyer with the children because she and her husband are good friends of the Boyle family and the Cline family. (I just learned that her retired husband was a Partner in the Boyle Accounting Firm.) And of course Mia was very comfortable with her too so here's Shelly visiting with Mia, Cooper, and Riley.
Mia has been talking a lot more about going potty even though she hasn't gone potty in the toilet here yet. She used to say, "I poopy Gary!" Now she says, "I pooping Gary!" A big difference! So it won't be too long before she's saying, "I need to go poopy Gary!" :) Moving in the right direction!
I thought this was a cute picture of Mia reading to her baby. Her hands are a bit blurry in the picture! She was turning pages fairly quickly so her baby wouldn't get bored! (Or more likely so she wouldn't get bored!) :) Before she started reading to her baby she was patting the chair trying to coax Riley to sit and look at books with her.
This morning was pretty busy with a scheduled meeting with a Child Care Health Consultant. She was here checking to make sure all my health records (primarily immunization records for each child) are in order and also leaving some information for myself and the families which you will find on top of your child's cubby. I took a picture of Shelly Meyer with the children because she and her husband are good friends of the Boyle family and the Cline family. (I just learned that her retired husband was a Partner in the Boyle Accounting Firm.) And of course Mia was very comfortable with her too so here's Shelly visiting with Mia, Cooper, and Riley.
Mia has been talking a lot more about going potty even though she hasn't gone potty in the toilet here yet. She used to say, "I poopy Gary!" Now she says, "I pooping Gary!" A big difference! So it won't be too long before she's saying, "I need to go poopy Gary!" :) Moving in the right direction!
I thought this was a cute picture of Mia reading to her baby. Her hands are a bit blurry in the picture! She was turning pages fairly quickly so her baby wouldn't get bored! (Or more likely so she wouldn't get bored!) :) Before she started reading to her baby she was patting the chair trying to coax Riley to sit and look at books with her.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
1/16/2014
Mia ate french bread and three servings of cantaloupe for breakfast. For lunch she ate turkey slices, ate crescent roll, green beans, and two servings of dried mangoes.
Before breakfast Nora was sitting on my lap watching Mia drag her blanket along behind her. It got wrapped around my shoe and Mia was tugging on it. Nora said (in an encouraging way), "Puuullll Mia!" Super cute!
All three girls were wearing lots of dress-up clothes and here's a picture of Mia putting some on. It's hard to tell in this picture, but she has both legs in one leg hole of the shorts. Also, those are shorts she's pulling over her head and peeking out a leg hole. :)
Everybody was doing lots of jumping this morning and it's been awhile since I posted a jumping picture so here's the latest one! :)
I found two of the books that had been ripped and I was doing repairs so they could watch. I told them we always need to "be gentle" with our books! (They hear that phrase in regards to many things; basically life in general!) The response was quite comical! The girls were kind of pointing at each other and at Cooper and repeating what I was saying. It was everyone else's fault! :) We learn that skill early don't we?!
Before breakfast Nora was sitting on my lap watching Mia drag her blanket along behind her. It got wrapped around my shoe and Mia was tugging on it. Nora said (in an encouraging way), "Puuullll Mia!" Super cute!
All three girls were wearing lots of dress-up clothes and here's a picture of Mia putting some on. It's hard to tell in this picture, but she has both legs in one leg hole of the shorts. Also, those are shorts she's pulling over her head and peeking out a leg hole. :)
Everybody was doing lots of jumping this morning and it's been awhile since I posted a jumping picture so here's the latest one! :)
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
1/15/2014
Mia ate whole wheat toast and two servings of mixed berries for breakfast. For lunch she ate ham, crackers, bean & bacon soup, and two servings of kiwi.
Mia was reading lots of books several times this morning as usual. Right before I took this picture I'd taken Riley potty and Mia never misses going with us. I made the "announcement" that we were going and she didn't even flinch. I'm not sure if she even knew we were gone! She was totally into her books. You can see the pile of books beside her and I also like how she had her leg resting on her other knee! Very cute picture!
This story is primarily for Darcy, but everyone else can listen too! I was finishing food prep this morning and Lauralea was out with the kids. Mia was wanting to snuggle and needed her "love tank" filled for the day! She was whimpering to Lauralea and Lauralea said, "You look so pitiful!" Mia touched her hair and said, "Mommy do it!" Oh we laughed!! (As you can see in the picture she'd pulled her pony out, but I fixed it shortly after.)
Right before nap time I was changing Cooper's diaper and I told Mia I was going to give him his bottle when I was done. She found all three pillows and got the chair all ready for us. :) I thought that was very sweet. She knows all the routines!
Mia was reading lots of books several times this morning as usual. Right before I took this picture I'd taken Riley potty and Mia never misses going with us. I made the "announcement" that we were going and she didn't even flinch. I'm not sure if she even knew we were gone! She was totally into her books. You can see the pile of books beside her and I also like how she had her leg resting on her other knee! Very cute picture!
This story is primarily for Darcy, but everyone else can listen too! I was finishing food prep this morning and Lauralea was out with the kids. Mia was wanting to snuggle and needed her "love tank" filled for the day! She was whimpering to Lauralea and Lauralea said, "You look so pitiful!" Mia touched her hair and said, "Mommy do it!" Oh we laughed!! (As you can see in the picture she'd pulled her pony out, but I fixed it shortly after.)
Right before nap time I was changing Cooper's diaper and I told Mia I was going to give him his bottle when I was done. She found all three pillows and got the chair all ready for us. :) I thought that was very sweet. She knows all the routines!
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
1/14/2014
Mia ate whole wheat bagel and half of her dried apricots for breakfast. For lunch she ate half of her chicken, most of elbow noodles topped with shredded cheese, ate half of her peas, and ate applesauce.
The girls were doing some cleaning this morning. Nora started it as soon as she arrived. She spotted some toy out-of-place on the wrong side of the room, fixed that, then found the cleaning cloths and went to work! Riley is kind of a kindred spirit with everything being in order and she went right to work too. For Mia…well, let's just say it's more of a learned behavior, but she pitched right in! :)
The kids had fun doing some finger-painting; well more like hand-painting at art time. I covered the table with red paper (Valentine's color, right?) and gave them various colors to work with. I have no idea what I'm talking about at this point, but we all had fun! :)
At the breakfast table Mia leaned over and kissed my arm with a loud smack! Everyone was roaring and she was doing it over and over. Nora said, "One more time!" Pretty funny.
I was singing a silly song (several times) and Mia said, "One more time!" I said, "You do it one more time!" So she basically started mimicking what I was doing and she did a good job. Very cute.
The girls were doing some cleaning this morning. Nora started it as soon as she arrived. She spotted some toy out-of-place on the wrong side of the room, fixed that, then found the cleaning cloths and went to work! Riley is kind of a kindred spirit with everything being in order and she went right to work too. For Mia…well, let's just say it's more of a learned behavior, but she pitched right in! :)
The kids had fun doing some finger-painting; well more like hand-painting at art time. I covered the table with red paper (Valentine's color, right?) and gave them various colors to work with. I have no idea what I'm talking about at this point, but we all had fun! :)
At the breakfast table Mia leaned over and kissed my arm with a loud smack! Everyone was roaring and she was doing it over and over. Nora said, "One more time!" Pretty funny.
I was singing a silly song (several times) and Mia said, "One more time!" I said, "You do it one more time!" So she basically started mimicking what I was doing and she did a good job. Very cute.
Monday, January 13, 2014
1/13/2014
Mia ate bran cereal and bites of dried cranberries for breakfast. For lunch she ate half of her cheese pizza, ate corn, and tropical fruit.
Nora was the one at the window looking at all the birds and said, "Whoooooa!" There were several flocks and the sky was full of birds. I even had time to get the camera and give you an example of what we were looking at. All four kids were watching them at the window. At one point they even swooped right through the yard in front of the house.
Nora was at the mirror looking at herself and giving herself a kiss. I grabbed the camera and it was too late of course and I asked her to do it again, but she wouldn't. Well Mia heard me ask her and immediately headed for the mirror and was giving herself kisses. :)
We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend and everyone was real busy all morning. Mia found a couple toys that were overlooked from last week and immediately knew they didn't belong with this set. She held them up and said, "Oh oh!" Sometimes the little toys get stashed in the most obscure places! :)
Darcy, her nose ran steady all morning; similar to how Nora's nose was on Friday. Nora was much better today so hopefully this will be a short thing with Mia. Mia kept saying, "ah tissue Gary, ah tissue!" Or, "wipe nose Gary, wipe nose!" If she would blow her nose like she used to that would definitely help! I said, "You used to blow your nose when you were a kid!" :) (I meant to say "baby.")
Darcy, her nose ran steady all morning; similar to how Nora's nose was on Friday. Nora was much better today so hopefully this will be a short thing with Mia. Mia kept saying, "ah tissue Gary, ah tissue!" Or, "wipe nose Gary, wipe nose!" If she would blow her nose like she used to that would definitely help! I said, "You used to blow your nose when you were a kid!" :) (I meant to say "baby.")
Friday, January 10, 2014
1/10/2014
Mia ate a big serving of Malt-O-Meal cereal and ate raisins for breakfast. For lunch she had bites of ground beef with spaghetti sauce, bites of elbow noodles topped with shredded cheese, bites of lettuce salad, and ate mixed fruit.
This picture was taken when they were doing the "hide from Cooper" game. Riley and Mia are both in the igloo and they'd pulled the yellow bench across the entrance. Cooper figured out a new game for this scenario; he started pitching toys in there at the girls! Hide at your own risk!! :)
Riley, Mia, and Cooper were having lots of fun doing their running, hiding, being crazy game! They say, "Hide hide hide!" in hushed tones and this picture is one of their hiding spots. At least Riley has her eyes covered! Mia is keeping an eye on Cooper!
And here's another picture of the girls hiding from Cooper. Now both of them have their faces buried in the Panda Bear.
Hey Darcy, after you left this morning I asked Mia if she was mad and she said, "Mommy's purse!" I thought that was pretty good articulation about what she was mad about! Her language skills are quite impressive.
She was playing with the big blocks and built a pretty good sidewalk. (That's what we call it.) She said, "Walk!" Then she was playing with a doll and looked at it's bottom and said, "Ewww, Yuk Poop!" :)
This picture was taken when they were doing the "hide from Cooper" game. Riley and Mia are both in the igloo and they'd pulled the yellow bench across the entrance. Cooper figured out a new game for this scenario; he started pitching toys in there at the girls! Hide at your own risk!! :)
Riley, Mia, and Cooper were having lots of fun doing their running, hiding, being crazy game! They say, "Hide hide hide!" in hushed tones and this picture is one of their hiding spots. At least Riley has her eyes covered! Mia is keeping an eye on Cooper!
And here's another picture of the girls hiding from Cooper. Now both of them have their faces buried in the Panda Bear.
Hey Darcy, after you left this morning I asked Mia if she was mad and she said, "Mommy's purse!" I thought that was pretty good articulation about what she was mad about! Her language skills are quite impressive.
She was playing with the big blocks and built a pretty good sidewalk. (That's what we call it.) She said, "Walk!" Then she was playing with a doll and looked at it's bottom and said, "Ewww, Yuk Poop!" :)
Thursday, January 9, 2014
1/9/2014
Mia ate two servings of breakfast; whole wheat english muffin and blueberries. For lunch she ate chicken, crackers, two servings of sweet potatoes, and two servings of canned sweet cherries.
Cooper was hanging out with me finishing his breakfast in his highchair and it was pretty quiet in the big room. And quiet always means; Check it out!! :) All three girls were engaged with reading books and I took this picture to show how they had arranged themselves. I rarely see all three girls playing independently that far apart! :) Even when reading their own books they are frequently side-by-side or very close. (Riley is at the table and Nora is in the chair in the far corner to the left.)
At the breakfast table Mia started singing, "Baa black sheep.." Nora immediately (long before I recognized what Mia was saying or singing) picked up on it and chimed right in! And Nora took off with the second line; "Have you any wool?" Super cute.
Mia has been occasionally saying something about "I puke" since she was sick the last time and she did vomit. Well today she took it to another level and Nora was watching her and started copying her. Mia was hanging her head over one of the little play sinks and making a gagging sound. Nora was looking at her and then copying her. Mia looks at me, grins, and said, "I puke!" Lovely! Silly kids! :)
Sometimes when I see Mia straining to poop I'll say something like, "push Mia!" This morning she was pooping after lunch and she said, "Push Gary push?" (In the form of a question.) And she was making noises and acting like it was really hard work!! So I expected something real firm, but it was quite loose. Can you say "Drama Queen?" :)
Cooper was hanging out with me finishing his breakfast in his highchair and it was pretty quiet in the big room. And quiet always means; Check it out!! :) All three girls were engaged with reading books and I took this picture to show how they had arranged themselves. I rarely see all three girls playing independently that far apart! :) Even when reading their own books they are frequently side-by-side or very close. (Riley is at the table and Nora is in the chair in the far corner to the left.)
At the breakfast table Mia started singing, "Baa black sheep.." Nora immediately (long before I recognized what Mia was saying or singing) picked up on it and chimed right in! And Nora took off with the second line; "Have you any wool?" Super cute.
Mia has been occasionally saying something about "I puke" since she was sick the last time and she did vomit. Well today she took it to another level and Nora was watching her and started copying her. Mia was hanging her head over one of the little play sinks and making a gagging sound. Nora was looking at her and then copying her. Mia looks at me, grins, and said, "I puke!" Lovely! Silly kids! :)
Sometimes when I see Mia straining to poop I'll say something like, "push Mia!" This morning she was pooping after lunch and she said, "Push Gary push?" (In the form of a question.) And she was making noises and acting like it was really hard work!! So I expected something real firm, but it was quite loose. Can you say "Drama Queen?" :)
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
1/8/2014
Mia had bites of biscuit and ate her peaches for breakfast. For lunch she ate everything; baked beans, dinner roll, peas, and pineapple.
What the girls are doing in this picture is really cute. (And they were all doing basically the same thing.) They were cuddling their babies, then feeding them with the doll bottles, then setting the bottles on the window sill, and burping their babies. Riley is done burping her baby and reaching for the bottle again. Mia was burping her baby and you can see (barely) the bottle on the sill above her head and to the left.
And I took this picture of another 'group' activity. They were lining up at the gate and then running for the mattress and diving on the big bears. The girls were "hiding" from Cooper behind the bears. Toddlers idea of "hiding" is so cute.
We did another group activity with the big animal poster and took turns identifying lots of animals. (The long poster above the mattress.) There are about 50 animals plus several birds so it's not that easy to find them all; especially the little ones.
I got the kids interested in building with the legos (by working on them myself) and Mia, Riley, and Cooper worked hard for probably 15 - 20 minutes. We also read lots of books, sang songs, and Mia played with the food toys and jumping off the climber.
What the girls are doing in this picture is really cute. (And they were all doing basically the same thing.) They were cuddling their babies, then feeding them with the doll bottles, then setting the bottles on the window sill, and burping their babies. Riley is done burping her baby and reaching for the bottle again. Mia was burping her baby and you can see (barely) the bottle on the sill above her head and to the left.
And I took this picture of another 'group' activity. They were lining up at the gate and then running for the mattress and diving on the big bears. The girls were "hiding" from Cooper behind the bears. Toddlers idea of "hiding" is so cute.
We did another group activity with the big animal poster and took turns identifying lots of animals. (The long poster above the mattress.) There are about 50 animals plus several birds so it's not that easy to find them all; especially the little ones.
I got the kids interested in building with the legos (by working on them myself) and Mia, Riley, and Cooper worked hard for probably 15 - 20 minutes. We also read lots of books, sang songs, and Mia played with the food toys and jumping off the climber.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
1/7/2014
Mia ate three servings of waffle and ate hash browns for breakfast. I think she was still full at lunch time because she only had a bite or two of beef & cheese quesadilla, a taste of carrots, and taste of oranges.
At the breakfast table Mia yells, "I want more Gary!" Riley wanted some clarification (so did I, but Riley asked first!) and asked, "More waffle?" Mia said, "Yea!" :) Thank you Riley!
This picture was taken shortly after Mia arrived and it was a good opportunity for me to go and finish the meal prep for the day! :) I love the peaceful look on Mia's face. Isn't that precious?
I took this picture because I thought they all looked so cute wearing the same paint shirt. Before we did some dot painting we played with bath foam. In this picture they are all looking at Cooper who had fun smearing bath foam everywhere. I should have posted a picture of him too, because he had both hands on his head and it was quite hilarious! :)
The girls also played with the dress-up clothes and they were going to "work." (According to Nora.) Mia played with the food toys and read lots of books. Like I mentioned in Nora's Journal, Cooper has been doing much better this week not continually harassing the girls by trying to take their toys. Mia isn't quite as sensitive about it as Nora is, but she still yells at him when he's in her space. I timed it this morning and there was a 30 minute period where he was totally engaged and not pestering them. I do believe that's a personal record! :)
At the breakfast table Mia yells, "I want more Gary!" Riley wanted some clarification (so did I, but Riley asked first!) and asked, "More waffle?" Mia said, "Yea!" :) Thank you Riley!
This picture was taken shortly after Mia arrived and it was a good opportunity for me to go and finish the meal prep for the day! :) I love the peaceful look on Mia's face. Isn't that precious?
I took this picture because I thought they all looked so cute wearing the same paint shirt. Before we did some dot painting we played with bath foam. In this picture they are all looking at Cooper who had fun smearing bath foam everywhere. I should have posted a picture of him too, because he had both hands on his head and it was quite hilarious! :)
The girls also played with the dress-up clothes and they were going to "work." (According to Nora.) Mia played with the food toys and read lots of books. Like I mentioned in Nora's Journal, Cooper has been doing much better this week not continually harassing the girls by trying to take their toys. Mia isn't quite as sensitive about it as Nora is, but she still yells at him when he's in her space. I timed it this morning and there was a 30 minute period where he was totally engaged and not pestering them. I do believe that's a personal record! :)
Monday, January 6, 2014
1/6/2014
Mia ate cheerios and banana for breakfast. For lunch she ate the cheese from the cheese sandwich, drank most of her tomato soup, and ate most of her apple slices.
She was drinking her tomato soup out of a cup and holding the handle like a big girl and said, "Mia coffee!" :)
She was playing with toys this morning and all of a sudden she says, "Happy New Year Gary!" A minute later, "Happy New Year Lauralea!" :)
I thought this was a super cute picture of Mia feeding her baby. I like how attentive she is and has it cradled perfectly in her arms.
Nora played with the legos and was working very hard at putting several of them together. She proudly said, "Gary look!" Good job Nora. Then she said, "Mia Look!" And Mia said, "Cute!" Which made me laugh. :)
Nora coughed and Mia (who was engaged with some food toys) immediately asked her, "You ok?" I love it when they show that kind of concern for each other.
She was drinking her tomato soup out of a cup and holding the handle like a big girl and said, "Mia coffee!" :)
She was playing with toys this morning and all of a sudden she says, "Happy New Year Gary!" A minute later, "Happy New Year Lauralea!" :)
I thought this was a super cute picture of Mia feeding her baby. I like how attentive she is and has it cradled perfectly in her arms.
Nora played with the legos and was working very hard at putting several of them together. She proudly said, "Gary look!" Good job Nora. Then she said, "Mia Look!" And Mia said, "Cute!" Which made me laugh. :)
Nora coughed and Mia (who was engaged with some food toys) immediately asked her, "You ok?" I love it when they show that kind of concern for each other.
Friday, January 3, 2014
1/3/2014
Mia ate oatmeal and bites of dried cranberries for breakfast. She was in a big hurry to be done and I just assumed she wanted to hurry and go play. I peeked around the corner to check on her and now I see why she wanted to be done; she was bracing herself against the chair and pooping! Welcome Back Mia! And she saved a Big One for Gary! She'd been here for a total of maybe 15 minutes! :) For lunch she ate most of her ground beef, most of elbow noodles topped with cheese, ate half of her peas, and ate applesauce.
Matt and Darcy saw how happy Nora was to see Mia this morning! (It was two weeks, today.) She gave Mia a nice hug and kiss as soon as Mia arrived. At the breakfast table Nora said to me; "There Mia!" (While pointing at her.) Then, "Hi Mia!" Those moments are so precious! Then I should have set the timer to see how long before the bickering began! Let's just say the 'normal' two year old behavior soon followed! :)
Also at the breakfast table Mia was jabbering at Riley and asking her, "You cold? You hot?" Except she wasn't giving Riley time to answer before peppering her with another question! :) After breakfast (and after the poopy diaper) Mia and Riley were running around saying, "Hide hide hide!" and diving in the igloo or behind one of the big bears. I asked who they were hiding from and Mia said, "Cooper!" Except Cooper was sitting on the chair reading a book. So I guess his participation in the game has essentially no bearing on the game at all. :)
Mia was thrilled when it was story time. She cheered loudly! I guess she'd missed that too! :) Mia also played with the dolls and blankets, pop-up toys, and the little music boxes.
Matt and Darcy saw how happy Nora was to see Mia this morning! (It was two weeks, today.) She gave Mia a nice hug and kiss as soon as Mia arrived. At the breakfast table Nora said to me; "There Mia!" (While pointing at her.) Then, "Hi Mia!" Those moments are so precious! Then I should have set the timer to see how long before the bickering began! Let's just say the 'normal' two year old behavior soon followed! :)
Also at the breakfast table Mia was jabbering at Riley and asking her, "You cold? You hot?" Except she wasn't giving Riley time to answer before peppering her with another question! :) After breakfast (and after the poopy diaper) Mia and Riley were running around saying, "Hide hide hide!" and diving in the igloo or behind one of the big bears. I asked who they were hiding from and Mia said, "Cooper!" Except Cooper was sitting on the chair reading a book. So I guess his participation in the game has essentially no bearing on the game at all. :)
Mia was thrilled when it was story time. She cheered loudly! I guess she'd missed that too! :) Mia also played with the dolls and blankets, pop-up toys, and the little music boxes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)