Atley's Journal

Atley ate a big breakfast: brown rice and two servings of raisins.  For lunch she ate half of salmon serving, bites of dinner roll, no green beans, and ate mangoes.  At breakfast Nora was watching and laughing at Atley's antics!  Sometimes Nora was laughing so loud and hard - and boy does Atley LOVE to make her laugh!!  If Nora laughs Atley will keep doing it over and over and work hard to escalate the hilarity!!  :) Yesterday (in the Blogs) I talked about how Linnea is a great baby, mild temperament, super congenial and social.  And I said that makes her a fun baby for the other kids in the daycare and they all love her.  Well this morning I counted and there are  7  pictures of Linnea in the Blogs and she's in everyone's Blog!!  Ha! I love how she basically reacts the same to all of the kids and she loves them all!  It's adorable!!  In the first picture I asked Atley if she'd get a toy for the baby and she said, "baby ice c...

Atley ate two servings of french toast and ate strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate half of Paleo stew with meat, broccoli, sweet potatoes, carrots, and green beans.  She ate saltines and her tropical fruit.  (except the pineapple which she left behind.) I'm gonna put this in everyone's Blog;  The days and weeks go by so fast, but I frequently try to tell everyone how much I love your kids and I love what I do.  I have the most awesome families at Little Treasures and I'm super attached to all of you!  All of your children have their own strengths and challenges and I count myself blessed to work with them and care for them.  Thank you!! Atley and Hudson were doing puzzles and Atley was singing.  I was curious if Hudson could identify the song Atley was singing; I thought she was right on tune so I asked him.  He almost immediately said, "Mulberry Bush."  :)  Yup, that's right. I talked to Momma Emily about this ye...

Atley ate her waffle and two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate baked chicken, bites of whole grain tortillas, a large serving of corn, and bites of baked cinnamon apples. Ok, I have permission from Momma Molly to post a picture of Svea in everyone's Blog.  Thanks Molly!  This is Avi's little sister!!  She is here today and again tomorrow and then will be here full-time starting in the middle of April.  So if your Blog seems late today here is the primary reason.  She is a doll and I'm already in love.  So precious.  So I want to remind everyone at this point, the general time frame for the Blogs are around 12:30 - 2:45.  If the Blogs are not posted by 3:00 then it's been a very busy day!! As I've already mentioned several times - I'm impressed with how hard Atley works at the puzzles. She gets on task and sticks with it for a long time!!  Good job Atley!  She did some puzzles before breakfast by herself, lat...

Atley ate most of kix cereal and bites of mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch she ate turkey burger, bites of whole wheat hamburger bun, no salad with lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes with ranch dressing, bites of avocado, and ate her cherries. I thought you might get a kick out of this picture.  It's a big day at Little Treasures!  Nora is transitioning to a nap mat.  (To open up a crib - sleeping room - for Avi's little sister.)   I took this picture from my chair moments ago where I am sitting and doing the Blogs!  That is Atley right in front of me and Nora is in the far corner bunk.  She did it like a pro.  Atley was pretty excited about Nora joining us and she was sneaking peeks at Nora.  :) We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend so the kids were busy as could be.  I like this first picture of Atley reaching the far corners of the bottom shelf to clear out the toys!  Actually she was getting all the ice cre...

Atley ate most of kix cereal and a couple bites of baked cinnamon apples for breakfast.  For lunch she ate most of hamburger stew with meat, carrots, green beans, tomatoes, and potatoes.  She also ate apricots and dinner roll.  Atley doesn't really care for the baked apples much, but the rest of the kids didn't seem to notice or care that the baked apples at breakfast were loaded with cinnamon.  Kenzie and Riley helped Lauralea fix them yesterday and well...that's just what happened!  :) The lady that monitors the Food Program was here today checking my charts, freezer temp, refrigerator temp, checking the menus, and more.  The kids generally enjoy someone coming, but it can be stressful for kids with certain temperaments too.  (Think Nora.)  :)  Atley, on the other hand is friendly to everyone and comfortable with all!!  Atley and Hudson were at the gate jabbering to her like she was their best buddy so that was good.  Ha! ...

Atley ate french toast and half of dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate half of pulled pork, ate whole wheat toast, a large serving of peas, and no watermelon. All my pictures today are "group" pictures and I love that!  It means I can "copy and paste" for the Blogs!  :)  This first picture was taken yesterday afternoon after I fed Baby Linnea.  (She's on the floor in the 2nd picture.)  I just want everyone to see how well the kids can clean up the room  entirely  on their own!!  I never helped with anything...here's how the routine goes.  I was preparing to feed the baby and I said we can go outside after the room is cleaned up and after I feed the baby.  I started singing our "clean-up" song and they immediately kicked it into gear!  A lot of the motivation is to go outside, but there is also the routine aspect associated with singing the same song.  (And I'd be happy to share the tune with anyone interested!!...

Atley ate most of whole wheat toast and ate mangoes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate most of ground beef with marinara sauce, whole wheat spaghetti noodles, ate squash, and fruit salad. Atley was doing some singing and reading books of course and here's how the "Baby Beluga" sounded to me;  "Baby Ba-boom-ba!  Oh Baby Ba-boom-ba!"  I like that version Atley!!  :) Everyone is here today and they were all glad to see Bubba back with us.  Everyone (except Atley) was doing puzzles with Nora;  Atley was working hard on her own puzzles.  Then eventually she joined us too.  We have a system that works great and Nora is learning with the help of her friends.  We finished one puzzle and I got another one and Hudson said, "That one's super tricky!"  :) Next picture: All I have to say; "Does anyone want to do sign language!"  or  "Does anyone want to sing some songs?"  or  "Does anyone want to do Hickity Pickity?" ...

Atley had bites of whole wheat bagel and ate grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate shrimp, large serving of brown rice, bites of stir fry vegetables, and ate raspberries.  I remember talking to Atley's Nana about the kids eating shrimp.  They've been introduced to it for a long time now and ALL three of the kids at the table today ate a large serving of shrimp.  (Cut into bite size pieces.) Here are a couple of pictures from this morning's activities.  Atley is showing Baby Linnea how an expert yanks toys from the toy shelves!!  Atley knows how to clear the shelves in record time!!  Ha! In the following picture Avi and Atley were doing a drum duet and Atley (of course) was singing along with a solo part!  :)  LOVE how much that girl sings!  Awesome!  It's obviously been (and continues to be) a huge part of language development for her! In the last picture Atley was being silly and "walking" on her knees across the floor. ...

Atley ate bran cereal and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken, bites of whole wheat pita bread, bites of salad with lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, olives, and ranch dressing.  She ate bites of avocado and ate pears. Atley was reading a book about penguins and started singing, "Baby Beluga."  That made me laugh.  So cute.  Atley was also working on puzzles and she's doing very well with the harder ones that don't have pictures so they have to see the shapes.  Then we did puzzles as a group to help Nora with her puzzle skills.  Avi and Atley (and Hudson when he's here) point where the puzzle piece goes and Nora gets first shot at placing it correctly.  Then Atley or Avi put it in place if Nora can't get it.  It's really cute because if Nora is struggling with the piece she just hands it to one of the other kids.  "Here, you do it!!"  :) Here are some pictures from this morning.  I liked how Atle...

Atley ate cream of wheat cereal and no dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a nibble of baked beef kabobs with meat, zucchini, peppers, and mushrooms.  She ate a large serving of brown rice and ate bites of her pineapple serving. During the first 10 minutes Atley was here (by herself) she was singing and reading some books.  She was changing tunes/songs so I started writing down the ones I recognized!  I clearly detected 6 different songs in 10 minutes, and 3 more over the next hour.  I've decided that "Baa Baa Black Sheep" is her default song! That's the song she frequently goes back to more than any other! The kids learn what the other child is saying regardless if they can talk or not!  They figure it out!  Atley and Avi were at the window and Atley was pointing and saying, "eh-ca-cot, eh-ca-cot, eh-ca-cot."  Avi said, "I don't see any helicopter."  LOL!  That was so cute, sweet, and funny all at the same time!  You ...

Atley ate whole grain waffle and bites of fruit salad for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of shepherd's pie with hamburger, potatoes, green beans, carrots, and sweet potatoes.  She also ate whole grain tortillas and cherries. Well Avilene is back from Great Falls and Hudson is off to Arizona.  (Which we've been hearing about all week!)  The dress-up clothes had not been touched this week, but as soon as one person gives them a try then everyone wants to do it.  :)  Avi wanted to put on some pajamas and then Atley and Nora.  (See picture below.)  Thanks for getting everyone motivated Avi!  Nora didn't leave her's on very long, but she did manage to get it off by herself with some help from her friend Atley.  That's something I frequently like to do - encourage them to help each other.  Atley left her PJ's on all morning until Lunch time.  :) Avi asked me if Kenzie and Riley were coming after school.  Atley heard t...

Atley ate french toast and two servings of strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of 'whole 30' chili with hamburger, peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and sauces.  She ate bites of whole wheat dinner roll and ate tropical fruit. Well every day I can Post a picture of Atley with a book and she's singing at the top of her volume level.  Actually not the top, but quite close!  :)  Yesterday during Story Time I turned the page and of course she recognized the next song and yelled, "POP!!" (goes the weasel!)  She was sitting by my side and her mouth was only a few inches from my ear (which unfortunately contained my hearing aid - haha) and it made me jump!  It was SO stinking loud!!  :)  As I've said many times she remembers so many tunes and it's awesome.  The book in the first picture is "The lady with the alligator purse."  Atley was singing to the tune of "Miss Mary Mack Mack Mack" and she was also saying, "Mack ma...

Atley ate no toasted whole wheat english muffin, but she did eat grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate half of pork chop meat, ate whole wheat toast, nibble or two of roasted vegetables (sweet potatoes, potatoes, and mushrooms), ate applesauce. Atley was at the gate with Nora when Nora's Daddy Ryan was getting ready to leave.  He was facing the opposite direction and I told Nora to say, "Bye Daddy."  So Atley immediately said, "Bye Daddy!" Ryan whipped around with his mouth wide open - he couldn't believe what "Nora" had just said.  Oh, it was so funny and I was laughing so hard.  Thanks for the great laugh Atley!! We were in the middle of Story Time when the mail came and three new kid's books arrived that I've been waiting for!  Yes!  By my favorite kid's author too!  Well, maybe it's a tie between her and Dr. Seuss.  Their styles are totally different so that's good!  The kids were almost as excited as me!  I guess I...

Atley ate a big serving of whole wheat chex cereal and no peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef, bites of hamburger bun, no lettuce salad with tomatoes and ranch dressing, bites of avocados, and no oranges.  This isn't about Atley directly, but this was at breakfast this morning.  Hudson, of course, uses meal times to expound on whatever subject comes to his mind.  Today he said, "Is this where we eat and talk?"  Haha!  Yup, we all eat and you talk!  :) We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend and as soon as Hudson asked to go do puzzles, Atley was anxious to do puzzles too.  (First picture.)  The 2nd picture; Atley was singing "Baby Beluga" while looking at the book.   Next picture:  Nora was on the floor minding her own business - actually she's laying on her tummy, like she always does while  doing  her business!!  Haha!!  And, of course, she want's  privacy  as sh...

Atley ate breakfast before coming and arrived at Daycare about 9:45.  For lunch she ate bites of tilapia, ate whole wheat elbow noodles, no green beans, and ate applesauce. The first thing Atley wanted to do when she arrived is work on puzzles!  So I took a picture of her hard at work.  Why did I take the 2nd picture?  Because this is a much harder puzzle and she's basically been avoiding it the same as Avilene has been avoiding it.  Atley got more done on it than the last time she chose it.  Way to go Atley! We were reading books at Story Time and Atley started saying "spit spit spit spit" and pointing at Baby Linnea.  I'd just finished with the Baby's bottle and she spit-up while playing on the floor.  Thank you Atley!!  I love how much the kids help with things like that!  And it really is helpful!!  And they are quick to see everything!! The last 2 pictures:  Avilene likes to build and create things with the legos...

Atley ate most of whole wheat bagel and ate her peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate hamburger/sausage pizza on whole wheat crust with tomato sauce, olives, peppers, and pineapple.  She also ate mixed fruit. I'm not exactly sure what Atley and Hudon were doing, but as you can see in the picture she had grabbed his toes and was swinging his legs around.  Ha!  Actually, here's what I think they're doing: toddlers and young children spend the majority of their time experimenting and seeing how things work in the world around them!  It's really that simple, but at the same time it's pretty complex because an amazing amount of learning is continually taking place!!  I love that! Lauralea has been teaching evening classes so she is at home today.  The kids were greeting her at the gate this morning and it was SO cute.  And re-creating the moment looks pretty good too, right!?  (See picture!!  Ha!)  Speaking of Lauralea - durin...