Atley's Journal

Atley ate oatmeal and banana for breakfast.  For lunch she had bites of tilapia, ate whole wheat elbow noodles, no green beans, and bites of applesauce.  (Hey, this is just an FYI, but my computer frequently wants to auto-correct Atley to Alley!!  My apologies if I miss one!!) Just a reminder for everyone!  The next Blog will be on July 5th!  We are looking forward to our road trip and a time of relaxation!!  Lots of walks and lots of reading!  See you all when we get home!! There are only 3 children here today so it seemed like the Daycare was kind of quiet!  Well, if you don't consider Hudson's constant chattering and Atley's singing!  Haha!  (The 3rd one here is Avi.)  Atley's nose ran steady all morning, but Hudson was helping me keep up with it!  "Atley's nose running again!!"  Thanks Hudson!  :) Here are some pictures from the morning activities: Atley was playing with the lids that have the mirrors on the...

Atley ate whole wheat bagel and peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate hamburger & sausage pizza with whole wheat crust, tomato sauce, mushrooms, peppers, pineapple, and ate some banana. This is kind of "Gary's spot" on the couch!  Or at least these are the pillows I use for my back whenever I'm there reading stories or whatever.  Frequently, when I move in that direction Atley will run and flop on that spot!  Cracks me up.  Isn't that funny and cute! The neighbors are busy this morning getting ready for some camping and fishing - which provided the opportunity to watch them from the window!  Ha!  Then Austin (or as Hudson calls him; "Boston") mowed the lawn over onto our side of the lawn as well.  Thank you Austin!  I love it when you're home from college!!  :) Lauralea does a goodbye routine every morning and gives the kids loves.  Avi always points to the next kid to make sure Lauralea does what she is supposed...

Atley ate whole wheat toast and two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she had bites of roast pork, ate toasted rye bread, no vegetables (carrots, brussel sprouts, potatoes), and ate half of fruit salad.  It's easy to tell when Atley is done with eating - especially lunch when she's tired - she starts her singing; loudly!  Ha!  Hudson never heard a sound he wouldn't mimic and he's been joining her with ever increasing volume from both of them!!  :) We've frequently talked about Atley liking routine and here's another example.  We went outside to play and by the time I got everyone outside she was already sitting on the bench waiting for me to put her shoes on.  Also, after lunch and when I'm done changing her diaper I'll say, "Ok, you can go get your binky."  And she marches right down the hallway to her crib just like she's been doing it forever! Here are some pictures from this morning's activities.  She's been build...

Atley ate toasted whole wheat english muffin and dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a couple bites of chicken with stir fry vegetables, ate brown rice (that I fed her), and ate oranges. I thought this was a cute picture of Atley and Hudson playing side-by-side at the legos table.  This is what we call "parallel play."  Not actually playing together, but playing with their own toys beside each other.  Sometimes with similar toys, but not always.  Typically the concept of playing with the same toy (sharing) is something they become capable of grasping and doing around the age of 3. This is a cute picture of Atley looking at herself in the mirror.  The lids on these pans have mirrors and when this toy set is out I always say, "look at the monkey" and then show them their face.  Well 2 or 3 times of that, then all I have to say is, "look at the monkey" and they pick it up and look at them self!  Ha!  So now you know what your chi...

Atley ate cheerios and banana for breakfast.  For lunch we had taco salad and I serve it separately rather than all mixed together: she ate most of ground beef, ate pita bread, ate some olives (no tomatoes or lettuce), ate some cantaloupe. I enjoyed watching Atley play by herself for several minutes before Hudson arrived.  She played in the legos drawer (picture below) and with the barns and legos barn animals.  I know I've told you this many times, but I continue to be so impressed (and thankful) how easily and smoothly Atley has transitioned to life at Little Treasures.  She is totally comfortable here and loves the routines we do.  Toddlers love the routines!  It provides security and predictability. Almost all morning Atley was humming, singing, making sounds - sometimes building to quite the loud crescendo!!  :)  So cute.  I love it.  Sophie said, "She's singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."  And it probably was that son...

Atley ate whole wheat english muffin and no oranges for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef, whole wheat elbow noodles, half of her peas, and I fed her a few bites of applesauce.  She initially didn't want a bite of applesauce, but I put a little on her lips, she licked it, and then accepted some.  :) It's surprising how often that works!! There will not be any Blogs tomorrow, June 16th.  Little Treasures is closing for the afternoon so Lauralea and I can attend a Memorial service for the precious daughter of some dear friends of ours.  Thank you so much to all my Daycare Families for making it possible for us to attend the funeral and support this family.   Before Lauralea left for work she heard Atley singing and recognized the tune and the beginning sounds of a couple words.  I don't remember which song it was, but it was one we sing here too.  Lauralea and I both are fascinated by her singing, but no speaking yet.  I know I've ...

Atley ate french toast and maybe a bite or two of strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch I didn't see her have a bite (and she didn't want me to feed her a bite) of Paleo Stew with ground burger, potatoes, green beans, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli - she ate crackers, and maybe a bite or two of tropical fruit. Hey, I was able to get all 4 kids that are here today in one picture!  :)  Sophie is in the 2nd picture too, but she's in the igloo and you can't see her!!  Baby Nora was squealing and excited to have everyone close by.  Nora was thumping Atley and Sophie and so I was saying, "gentle touches" and showing her what a gentle touch looks and feels like.  Atley just seemed amused by it all.  Ha!  Sometimes the kids aren't very helpful when I'm doing a teaching moment like that!!  For example, Nora had also tugged on Sophie's hair on the way by.  So I was doing the "gentle touches" thing again!  Sophie said, "I like her pulling o...

Atley ate toasted rye bread and grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate baked chicken, whole grain tortilla bites, bite or two of roasted cabbage. and bites of baked apples with cinnamon.  Atley did the exact same thing again today when I started cleaning up Nora after lunch - started singing, "night night, night night."  So cute. Alley's love of music is pretty apparent isn't it?  So cute and I love it.  I turned on the music and the first song; "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands..."  Her expression was so cute.  She was clapping and loving it.  Every child expert in the country has written about all the benefits of music for young children and you can read endless opinions, but the benefit music provides for language development is my favorite benefit for this age group.  And that's fascinating to watch with her.  :) In this first picture Nora crawled over to where Atley was playing and stood up to observe; "Hey, wha...

Atley ate kix cereal and mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground turkey, hamburger bun, maybe a bite or two of tomatoes and lettuce, ate avocado, and ate cherries.  She hadn't touched her cherries (organic frozen - thawed! Ha!) and I slipped one in her mouth and she proceeded to eat all of them.  :)  After Lunch I do the same routine with her for Nap Time and sing "Good night Atley" as we walk down the hall to her room.  She started early, while still in her highchair and it sounded like she was trying to sing that song.  Not sure, but definitely some kind of singing!!  So cute.  She was actually quite vocal at times this morning and I would frequently mimic the sounds she was making and she'd do it back at me. We had a fun morning and Atley was her usual busy little self.  We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this past weekend so it was all "new" stuff for the kids.  She was checking out everything and focused several ...

Atley ate oatmeal and baked apples with cinnamon for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of hamburger stew, ate dinner roll, potatoes from hamburger stew (no brussel sprouts, carrots, or green beans), and no apricots. In the first picture Atley is showing you the "magic" carpet!!  She's been playing with the velcro on the food toys and experimenting with it on the throw rug.  She's been doing this all week and I got a perfect picture to show you what she likes about it.  It sticks to the rug!  Ha!! She had another great morning and stayed busy playing, experimenting, and learning!!  We also went outside and she was watching the school kids walking by.  (They got out early because this is the last day of school.)  Reid's brother stopped by and visited at the gate with the kids. Well here's a picture of my two youngest ones!  So cute!!  Hard to believe these two are only 4 months apart - and actually a little less than 4 months!! ...

Atley ate toasted rye bread and dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of pulled pork sandwich, ate peas, and cantaloupe.  At lunch time Atley was playing with her spoon and Avi had just kind of gagged with her spoon - too far down her throat!!  Geez!  Reid said, "You're supposed to eat it with your spoon, NOT eat your spoon (or "poon" as Reid pronounces it)!!"  Haha!  Thank you Reid! Hey Megan, you asked me this morning about taking off Atley's shoes - what's the routine?  Well I guess these first 3 pictures will answer that question!!  Ha!  So cute.  The kids are in the habit of taking their shoes off when they arrive and I guess they expect the same from Atley!  Avi was following Atley around trying to get Atley's shoes off for her!  Atley would take off across the room and Avi was following her around saying, "Hey hey hey..."  Reid joined in the effort and he said, "Hey she sat down!"  Mission acc...

Atley ate whole wheat toast and mangoes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate hamburger with spaghetti sauce, whole wheat spaghetti noodles, squash, and fruit salad. Lauralea covered for me this morning while I went to a Doctor appointment.  (Just dealing with a foot issue, nothing serious.)  So these notes and pictures are from activities prior to 10:30. Atley's separation from Mommy this morning was much easier and she snuggled with me for about 10 minutes and then Bubba arrived.  As soon as Hudson was here Atley was ready to get down and play.  (She'd been very smiley all the time she was on my lap.)  After Daddy Colin left I asked, "Are you guys gonna wave at Colin at the window?"  She runs for the window; already a routine, plus understanding language.  In the first picture Atley is peeking in the "igloo" at Hudson and Avilene. Here are some more "at the window waving" pictures!!  Whenever you get lots of pictures that look like a fa...

Atley ate whole wheat bagel and grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate shrimp, brown rice, maybe a bite or two of stir fry vegetables, and ate mixed berries. This note is primarily for Momma and Daddy: Atley had a bit harder time coming in this morning and settling into her day.  I just want you to know this is totally normal and Lauralea and I have seen this many times over the years.  The "newness or uniqueness" has probably wore off and now we'll just settle into a routine.  Atley will adjust just fine and she is already adjusting.  She's an awesome kid and I'm glad she's part of Little Treasures.  She cried for a few minutes after Mom left and then she actually snuggled on my lap for 10 minutes.  Wow!  Kind of a hard time for her, but it was awesome!!  Haha!  I also made a point of giving her lots of extra hugs this morning. Here's a couple pictures of Atley enjoying her morning.  In the first picture she was initially try...

Atley ate some bran cereal and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch we had chicken salad - I serve the ingredients separately rather than mix it all together.  She ate chicken, pita bread, olives (I think), I didn't see her eat any peppers, tomatoes, lettuce with spinach, or cucumbers, and she had a bite or two of pears. Hudson was the first to arrive after Atley and she went right over to the window first to wait and wave at Hudson's Dad.  I took this first picture while they were waiting for him to arrive.  She watched kids walk to school several times and also watched some birds. Here are some of the kids reading books - the library gets a little crowded at times.  Ha!  Wherever one child goes to play, they all migrate that way as well.  In the following picture Atley was sliding blocks down the slide during Story Time.  So far she hasn't chosen to sit and read books - which is totally normal - she'd much rather just keep moving!!  :) ...

Atley ate malt-o-meal cereal and some dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate most of baked beef "kabobs," bites of brown rice, some zucchini and peppers, and ate pineapple. Here's a note from yesterday afternoon: When Atley awoke from her nap my 'after school kids' were already here (Thursday is early-out day) and everyone wanted to go back into Atley's room to get her. I was a bit concerned she might be 'overwhelmed' by the greeting party considering she had just awoke from her nap!!  So Kenzie, Riley, Avilene, Reid, Sophie, Hudson, and I all went back.  Atley was standing in her crib grinning all over and waving.  So cute! I took this first picture when Hudson kept laying his head against Atley's head.  I guess it was his way of giving her a love!  :)  You can see by her grin she was ok with it!!  Then she was watching Hudson put on some dress-up clothes in typical Hudson fashion!!  (Head through the leg hole of the shorts!) ...