Atley's Journal

Atley ate malt-o-meal cereal and a bite of dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a bite or two of "beef kabobs" (beef, peppers, zucchini, mushrooms), ate whole wheat toast, and pineapple. This first picture is from yesterday afternoon.  Atley was squatted down in the middle of the sidewalk watching school kids walk home.  Avilene saw her squatting there and ran to join her.  Not too much to say about this picture except for the fact I think it's adorable!! In this next picture Hudson was holding a mirror in front of Atley's face and he said, "This is Atley."  Ha!  These are some new mirrors I got; one side magnifies and the other side distorts!  (Hey!  Just trying to start them off with a good self-image! Ha!) There were several robins in the yard when I took these last two pictures.  The robin in the first picture hopped down to the ground and Hudson said, "He fell off!"  Haha!  Robins are one of the more "calm...

Atley ate waffle and half of fruit salad for breakfast.  She had a couple bites of lunch: Shepard's Pie with hamburger, green beans, carrots, and potatoes, bites of whole grain tortillas, and bites of cherries. This is just an FYI for everyone.  I'm having issues with my printer so I've not printed hard copies of the invoices for October.  Childcare payments are due Monday, October 1st and I'll print receipts as soon as I figure it out.  Thanks. After waving bye to Daddy at the window the first order of business: Atley went directly over to get my back pillows and put them on the couch in "my" spot!  Thank you Atley!! Occasionally, Hudson likes to mimic me and be the "teacher." Nora and Atley were at one of the color posters and Hudson joined them expounding his knowledge, "This is brown, this is green..."  He's quite zealous in his presentation, but not too concerned with accuracy - especially with colors!!  (Haha!  I know just ...

Notice to all Blog readers:  There will be  no  Blogs tomorrow, Wednesday, September 27th.  Little Treasures is closing at Noon on Wednesday so I can get an MRI of my neck.  The Blogs will resume on Thursday. Atley ate bites of toasted whole wheat english muffin and a few grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she may have ate a bite or two of most things!  Pork chop meat, bread, roasted vegetables ( sweet potatoes, potatoes, beets), and applesauce. Atley watched this crow fly into the yard and hop around looking for something to eat.  Two or three different times she waved at it so I was coaxing her to wave again so I could get a picture.  :) We read some books, sang songs, and looked at the color posters again.  Hudson and Avi have been interested in the color posters and Atley is becoming more interested in them too.  Hudson has just recently started to get interested - what he really likes doing is being the "teacher" and sayi...

Atley ate chex cereal and no peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of ground beef, ate hamburger bun, no lettuce, tomato, or mushrooms, and no oranges. Atley was sitting in the swivel/rocker and I started spinning her with my foot.  She was getting such a kick out of it all.  I love her smiles, laughs, and giggles.   I've mentioned in the Blog what Atley does when she sees me messing with my hearing aids.  She starts poking herself in the ear.  She does a similar thing when she sees me get some hand sanitizer; she starts rubbing her hands together before I even apply some on my hands.  Silly Atley. I'm sure Momma Megan has already noticed the different clothes in this 2nd picture!  Yup!  It was a dandy!!  :)  She read books several different times today.  We also read lots of books at Story Time and Atley sat through all the stories again!  Love it.  In the last picture she was watching Hudson build...

Atley ate oatmeal and 3 or 4 dried cranberries for breakfast.  For lunch she had a bite of tilapia, ate whole wheat elbow noodles, 3 or 4 green beans, and a bite of applesauce.  So at Lunch I asked this question: "Who is not here today?"  This age of kids NEVER think like adults (that's your free tip for the day), but I always like to ask "adult" type questions because the answers are always funny, but enlightening!  Ha!!  Again; "Who is not here today?"  So they've had ALL morning to realize  Baby   Nora  is not here today (not feeling well) and surely someone will get the right answer!  Right?  Wrong!  Surprisingly, Avilene was the  only  one who gave an answer and it was a dandy!!  "JACKSON!!"  I roared!!  Well, I'll give you partial credit because you're right; your cousin Jackson is not here today.  :) I took these first 2 pictures when only Atley and Hudson were here this morning.  Th...

Atley ate whole wheat bagel and most of peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate only a bite or two of sausage & hamburger pizza, whole wheat pizza crust, olives, mushrooms, peppers, tomato sauce, and pineapple, and no pineapple on the side. I never get tired of watching Atley's morning routine - or more accurately - her anytime routine.  She'll be playing with a toy, drop it, sprint for the mattress, and flop face-first giggling!  She probably did that 6 times before breakfast.  Then if she's in a silly mood (like today) she may do it 10 times. I took this picture when these 3 kids were looking at the poster and Hudson was in his "teacher mode."  He was saying, "Show me the deer, Avi, show me the deer."  "Show me the fox Avi, show me the fox."  :)  Atley was just watching and occasionally pointing. Sophie came and visited for almost an hour this morning and it was so much fun.  She wanted to read Special Stories and Atley sat th...

Atley ate bites of whole wheat toast and ate two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bite of pork chop, bites of whole grain tortillas, ate carrots and bites of fruit salad. Nora got a couple of the little blocks and she was using them for her chair.  Atley watched her and then got little blocks for a chair too.  (I wanted a picture of them sitting side-by-side, but that didn't work.) It's very cute how often Atley has been mimicking Nora's behavior.  (All the children obviously mimic each other's behavior, but I've noticed Atley doing it a lot lately.)  We read lots of books and did lots of sign language this morning as well.  Atley watched for a few moments, but she soon wandered off.  However, they are hearing and learning way more than we think they are sometimes! Here's another example of Atley copying Nora's antics.  Nora played with her doll blanket for 20 minutes and found many different ways to use it.  In the ...

Atley ate half of her toasted whole wheat english muffin and bites of dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bite of chicken with stir fry vegetables, ate brown rice, and bites of oranges.  During lunch time I had to blow my nose and Atley tried to mimic me!  LOL!  It was hilarious!  She scrunched up her nose and made a silly sound and I just roared.  She liked my reaction; tipped her head back and laughed; pretty proud of herself. Hudson was watching Atley play this morning.  He looked at me and asked, "Is she not talking?"  Ha! Nope, she's not talking yet.  Actually, she talks a LOT and LOUD!  We just can't understand her yet! When I took this first picture of her reading her book (upside-down again) she had been reading quite loudly!  The 2nd picture is the 3 jumpers getting ready to go again! This is just a picture of Atley being Atley!!  So cute.  She's using a little mirror for a phone, talking LOUD an...

Atley ate most of cheerios and bites of banana for breakfast.  For lunch she ate taco salad meat, olives, bites of tomato, lettuce, and salsa.  She ate pita bread, and maybe a nibble of cantaloupe. I saw Nora give Atley a cute love.  They were waving at the window, Nora looked up at Atley, then rested her forehead for a moment on Atley's shoulder.  So cute and sweet.  I think Atley noticed!!  Ha! She was pretty busy pounding on the window waving!!  :) Hudson took off his socks and brought them to me.  Nora noticed so she stopped and took off her socks.  Atley and Avi heard me say "thank you" to Nora so they both stopped and immediately started taking off their socks.  Monkey see, monkey do for this age group!  Always!  :) We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend so the kids were super busy all morning.  It was a very typical Monday after toy exchange!!  Lots of new stuff out to explore and play with....

Atley had eaten breakfast before she came and wasn't interested in more eating!  Ha!  For lunch she ate bites of salmon, ate dinner roll, corn, and bites of mangoes.  As soon as Atley arrived this morning she had to show Amy her jumping skills.  I love how proud she is every time she jumps!! She just beams all over and Amy loved watching her perform too!  It was pretty cute!! This first picture is what happens almost every time I change a poopy diaper!!  Atley is standing on a couple of blocks so she can see over the dress-up rack and onto the changing table.  I blame some of this on Kenzie and Riley!!  Haha!!  When they are here after school they still want to watch when I change a poopy diaper!  Geez!  It seems to have become like a spectator event or something!!!!!  But only with the poopy diapers.  Riley says that wet diapers are boring!  Ha! Atley, Nora, Avilene, and Hudson were all searching for legos "flo...

Atley ate bites of breakfast: toasted whole wheat english muffin and oranges.  For lunch she ate ground beef, whole wheat elbow noodles,  peas, and a couple bites of applesauce. Before Mommy Megan left this morning she got to see Atley's new skill of jumping off the balance beam onto the mattress.  She absolutely loves it and couldn't wait to get started again this morning! Nora is finding out the mattress is not quite as safe a place to lay and suck your thumb like she does everyday!!  Right in the middle of the big mattress!  Haha!!  So I just scoot her over toward the end or edge and everyone is safe and happy. Atley was really cute when Hudson arrived.  For those that don't know - his family and everyone calls him "Bubba."  When he arrived Atley said, "Hi Boo!"  :)  Then she was still playing on the mattress when I started singing, "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands...."  She immediately whirled around and star...

Atley ate most of french toast and bites of strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a couple bites of Paleo Stew (with ground burger, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, peppers, cauliflower, and broccoli), ate crackers, and tropical fruit.  She initially didn't want to try the bite of tropical fruit, but once she did she ate all of it!  :) Major milestone at Little Treasures!!  :)  Jumping off the balance beam onto the mattress!  Nicely done Atley!!  So cute.  She started doing this yesterday afternoon and I have no idea how many times she did just what you see in the picture!  But it was OVER & OVER!!!  And that's the primary thing she did this morning!  She's obviously loving every minute of it! Hudson got the jingle bells and started shaking them.  Atley immediately grabbed a tambourine and started thumping it on her leg (just like she's previously watched me do) and singing loud!  So cute.  She...

Atley ate waffle and grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of baked chicken, bites of whole grain tortillas, no roasted cabbage, or baked cinnamon apples. It's been kind of a slow day around here again this morning.  Hudson has been in Denver and he'll be back tomorrow, but until the after-school kids come it's just the 3 girls; Atley, Avi, and Nora.  It always interests me how group dynamics change even at this very young age (when kids are gone, or we add new kids) and how these temperament types and personalities all fit together.  Sometimes it's easy and sometimes it's a work in progress!!! And in case you're keeping score it's pretty easy with these 3 girls!!  :) Nora and Atley were the first 2 here and it couldn't be much easier with these 2 playing together!!  They were bouncing on the mattress and then stopped to watch Lauralea brush her teeth!  Ha!  (That's solid entertainment right there!!)  It's hard to depict the boun...

Atley ate half of her breakfast: kix cereal and mixed fruit.  For lunch she ate ground turkey, whole wheat bun, no lettuce or tomato, and ate all her cherries.  She initially didn't want to try a cherry, but then she did and whaaaattt; "those are good!"  :) I don't think I've mentioned this before, but whenever Atley watches me get my hearing aids she starts sticking both of her fingers in her ears too.  Haha!  Maybe she thinks it's a ritual thing I do every day!!  :) Speaking of rituals, I took these first 2 pictures shortly after Atley was done waving bye to Mommy at the window.  She was giggling, squealing, rolling around on the mattress, and covering her face with some stuffed animals.  She is so fun and silly.  Baby Nora does a similar ritual every morning too.  After waving she goes to the mattress and flops on it, giggling, grinning and sucking her thumb. Atley was closely watching Nora with some dress-up clothes and Nor...

Atley ate half of oatmeal and most of apple bites for breakfast.  For lunch she ate dinner roll, several bites of hamburger stew (with meat, carrots, potatoes, and green beans), and maybe she sniffed the apricots!  Ha! I'm going to give everyone a little update on why I've visited the Doctor on Friday and again this week. I've got some inflammation above my shoulder blade and in the muscles that go from my neck to my shoulder.  And I was having some muscle spasms as well.  It's been very painful and uncomfortable! So they started me on a strong dose of steroid and I'm hoping to see some improvement over the weekend!  And that is why Lauralea is hanging out with us today!  Thank you SO much Lauralea!  It made the morning totally manageable! I have some pictures that show some of the activities we did this morning and some of the activities that Atley chose to do.  I just thought it was cute how she was driving identical trucks and she had them ...