12/22/11

Alayna ate all of her cantaloupe and a bite of her french toast at breakfast.  At lunch she ate everything -- turkey, crescent roll, squash and dried mangoes. 

Alayna pooped in the potty today before nap.  Afterward I took her out to the changing table to get a diaper and put some cream on her bottom.  When I got out the cream, she asked, "Is that toothpaste?"  Gary and I both cracked up!  : ) 

We only ended up with five kiddos here today because four were home with the stomach flu and one was just home with mom (day off).  She liked the extra direct attention, but was also a little lost without her other friends.  I think she especially missed Peyton and Thomas.  She asked where they were several times.  She also kept trying to play peek-a-boo with Kenzie and Emily like she does with Peyton and Thomas, but didn't get the same reactions. 

I also thought it was really funny when she was playing peek-a-boo in behind the dress-up clothes (hanging in the dress-up deal) but there wasn't anyone there.  She was still cracking up, just as if someone was there egging her on!  I would say that is having the art of entertaining herself down pat!  : )

Alayna walked around singing "Away in the Manger" so sweetly off and on this morning.  It was absolutely precious! 

12/21/11

Alayna ate all of her mixed berries and seconds on whole wheat toast at breakfast.  At lunch she ate everything -- kiwi, bean soup, ham and saltines. 

About 10 minutes after you guys left this morning Alayna came over, took me by the hand, and said "I want to wave and mama daddy."  It cracked me up.  She had immediately engaged in playing with the dolls, so didn't realize how much time had gone by obviously.  : ) 

Alayna kept going over to the window and watching the snow come down.  When I say "watching", I don't mean just passively standing there.  She is standing there, holding on to the window sill and jumping up and down as high and hard as she can!  : )  One of the times when she went over and looked out, she announced, "It's white out!" 

Today Gary was redirecting Jadey to something more appropriate do to.  Alayna heard the interaction and said, "or you're gonna be in time out!"  I just cracked up! 

12/20/11

Alayna ate all of her apricots and about half of her whole what bagel at breakfast.  At lunch she ate seconds on applesauce and all of her baked fish and applesauce. 

Alayna really liked it when I gave them the new heart shaped bangle-type bracelets to wear.  They each were able to have one for each hand. 

I got out the stuffed bears for them on the rowdy side of the room.  Alayna really liked the two big ones and was sitting on their laps and wrestling them like they were her big brother.  Speaking of that, she is so good with "baby" Thomas.  She plays with him very well, not minding if he is a little rough with him.  He seems to look at her like another big sister and she like is littler brother.  It is pretty sweet.  She likes to do things that makes him laugh and he loves that!

Alayna spent about 20 minutes looking at books today.  We got four actually new ones and those were the first ones she looked at before moving on to some others. 

Alayna was so cute this morning when she wanted to "hold Peyton".  She sat on the step, patted her thighs and tried to get Peyton to come over and sit on her lap.  Of course Peyton had no idea what she wanted, so I went over and helped her.  Peyton actually sat there for a minute or two.  While she was sitting there she tipped her head back and looked up into Alayna's face smiling, which was so cute. 

Alayna didn't go potty in the potty at all so far today and did poop in her pants once.  She had no biting incidents today (either on the giving or receiving end!).  Hurray!!!

12/19/11

Alayna ate most of her bran flakes and craisins at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her pizza and tropical fruit and most of her steamed cauliflower.

Alayna cuddled on the couch with her blanket for a while today.  She wasn't as congenial about "sharing" it today as she was the other day.  Morgan went over and sat by her and just touched it and Alayna started to try to bite her (but I intervened).  Consequently the blanket went on top of the cubby and that didn't make her very happy, but she got over it quickly and then did well the rest of the morning.

She was very busy exploring the new toy exchange today.  She especially enjoyed the play baking dramatic play things (mainly the cookies and cupcakes.  She kept coming over to feed me one or the other of them, or whatever it was that she was "mixing up" in the bowl.

Every time I asked Alayna if she wanted to try to go in and go potty, she told me "no" today.  I took her anyway twice.  She peed once and did nothing the other.  No BMs in either toilet or diaper so far.


The journals may be a little briefer for the next couple weeks (or late) because our new baby Nora has begun and we are just learning her cues, schedule and so forth.  I may be busy with her during nap time, when I usually complete these, but I will do my best. 

12/16/11

Alayna ate most of her raisins and malt-o-meal at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her spaghetti, most of her mixed fruit and bites of her salad with ranch dressing. 

Alayna was pretty testy from the time she came in this morning.  She was trying to just run across the room so I put myself in the middle as a physical divider to eliminate that.  We were watching her pretty close, but she still manages to bite Thomas' finger (really hard) and Joslyn's back today before we could get her stopped.  Thomas was trying to climb up the climber by the jumping mattress and Joslyn was in the play space inside the dress-up clothes deal about 5 minutes after Alayna had left it (but obviously still thought it was "hers").  After she bit Thomas, she had a kind of shocked look on her face like "What have I done?!"  Both times we had her take a break in the back room alone (away from her friends, potential bitees, and our attention) after we had emphatically told her NO BITING and that teeth are only for food. I don't know how much of a "punishment" the back room is, because she actually seems to like playing by herself.  It is more for the safety of others. 

While she was in the back room playing independently during the first time, she pooped in her diaper.  I realize that was mostly my fault for not taking her before.  I thought maybe needing to poop was contributing to her testiness, but she still struggled after that and had the second biting incident, so maybe not. 

Alayna has really enjoyed playing with the sets of keys we have out right now.  She especially likes to hook and unhook them on the hooks in the dress-up deal. 

We are looking forward to a new start after nap and hopefully it will go better than the morning.  : )   

12/15/11

Alayna ate all of her blueberries and about half of her cinnamon raisin English muffins at breakfast.  At lunch she ate everything -- canned chicken on saltines, cherries and potato salad. 

Alayna sat and cuddled with her blanket on the couch for about 10 minutes this morning.  After that Morgan came over and asked, "I sit with you?"  Alayna grinned and said she could then shared her blanket with her.  Pretty soon all of the "big" kiddos were sitting on the couch with Alayna's blanket over their laps.  She was very proud to share with her friends, saying, "I share them!"  It was really sweet!

I just cracked up when Alayna started studying my face and asked, "Let me see your eyeball!"  I've had kiddos ask me about everything, but I have never had that request before!  : ) 

Kenzie and Alayna were looking at the family posters together today and Kenzie pointed to Laurie and asked, "That Gramma Laurie?"  Alayna answered her patiently, but proudly, "That MY Gramma Laurie!"  It was really cute!

Today Alayna was playing with our set of pretend pliers.  First of all she started by pinching her nose with them, then her lips and then her hair.  What looked super funny was when she started trying to get her eyebrows with them (that is a pretty big pair of tweezers!).  : ) 

Alayna accidentally stepped on Emily's hand on the balance beam -- climber deal and gave her a nice love afterward.  Emily asked her to "Kiss it" and Alayna did is so sweetly.  (No biting or other aggression today either, by the way!)  : ) 

12/14/11

Alayna ate all of her peaches and biscuit at breakfast.  At lunch she ate about half of her dinner roll and all of her baked beans, steamed broccoli and pineapple. 

Alayna was playing in the igloo today and Gary was pretending to "get" her by putting his hand down by the opening.  Although he wasn't even touching her (let alone tickle her) she was just cracking up!  : )  Every time she could see his hand she would start to laugh. 

Alayna came in rip-roaring and ready to go today.  She was determined to run from one side of the room to the other.  We reminded her several time that the side by the big window was the side they could be rowdy on and "We walk on this side.  We run outside or on the other side."  She was just in "GO!" mode.  We finally just sat on the floor in front of the couch and became a human gate to intervene.  That worked great and she found something to play with and engaged well after that. 

She bit twice today.  One of them we were able to see and stop right at the beginning so no marks.  The other time she got Morgan, but only lightly. 

Alayna was playing with the dolls quite a bit today again.  She loves to feed, cover and sing to them.  The singing is always very sweet to watch.  She gets kind of a dreamy look in her eyes as she sings. 

12/13/11

Alayna ate all of her hashbrowns and seconds on waffles at breakfast.  At lunch she ate a taste of red pepper and all of her sauteed shrimp, brown rice and oranges. 

Alayna and Morgan bonked heads today while playing.  Morgan's head must be harder than Alayna's because she cried much harder and it left a bigger red mark!  : )  I gave them both loves for a couple minutes, then she left and went over and cuddled with Gary.  I guess mine weren't quite good enough!  : )

I think I forgot to tell Grandma Laurie, but she didn't poop in her pants all day yesterday (went in the potty twice).  She had been clean (not dry) all morning also and had one bowel movement in the toilet.  She still hasn't told me, but it seems like she is holding it until I ask her, which is a step iin the right direction! 

We have been trying to remember to do our "Alayna (and other kiddos), where are you?" game at least once a day to help them learn to respond when we call their names.  All of the children are beginning to stop what they are doing, look at us, raise their hand and say "Here I am!"  It is really cute.  I will try to video it in the near future.

Morgan was telling me the names of her two dogs today, so Alayna came over and was trying to tell me her dogs names also.  At first it sounded like she was saying "Sunny" then it sounded more like "Sandy" but after much repeating I ended up thinking it was something like "Sanya".  I didn't think you would probably name your dog after either you aunt OR your sister, but...  : )  

12/12/11

Alayna ate all of her cheerios and banana at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her grilled cheese sandwich, most of her apple slices and some of her tomato soup. 

Alayna sat and read books for about 15 minutes independently this morning.  Part of the time she was just quietly turning pages and looking at pictures, part she was "telling" the story and the rest of the time (majority) she was singing (either related or not) songs as she looked at the books. 

Alayna was bitten again today.  I know it may not seem like it, but we are working hard on this issue.  Last Friday we had three different kiddos bite (one of them was Alayna) and three different ones get bit!  Ugh!  It is frustrating, because they seem to be learning it from each other and so it escalates.  We are VERY stern and serious about it with the "biter" and then turn all of our attention and energy to the "victim".  It has been a spacial issue almost always so we are being even more vigilant when more than one kiddo is in an area.  Alayna has certain areas that she thinks are "hers" and is someone is there (even if she is across the room) she will run over and start pulling or pushing on them to get out.  That has been the trigger for the biting incidents all three times (two where she was bitten and one when she bit).  Biting is NOT okay regardless of what is going on, but we are working on both ends of the issue, with the focus on "Use your words and tell them what you want!" and "NO BITING PEOPLE!  Teeth are for food, not people!"  If you have any suggestions, please feel free to let me know. 

Alayna was again playing peek-a-boo with both baby Peyton and with Emily today.  Actually Emily was the one who initiated it this time, which was cool.  Alayna laughs just as hard no matter who initiates. 

Alayna has peed twice this morning and pooped once.  She has been we each time, but...  She is moving in the right direction.  She didn't tell me any of the times.  I just know she usually does it after breakfast so caught the poop.  The other times were are our regular diapering times. 

12/9/11

Alayna ate all of her craisins and most of her oatmeal at breakfast.  At lunch she ate everything -- ground burger, applesauce and our pea pasta dish with grated cheese on top. 

Alayna was looking at her family poster and pointing out mom and Daniel today.  She actually looked at it for quite a while.  Maybe it was because she was missing mom. 

One of Alayna's favorite activities is to initiate a game of peek-a-boo with one of the younger kiddos.  Many times it is Emily, but others it is Kenzie, Thomas or Peyton.  It was Thomas' turn today, I guess and he was really laughing.  A couple times I thought he would fall over he was laughing so hard. 

She brought Gary several books to read to her today.  She almost always joins us for story time, but isn't usually the initiator, so that was cool. 

12/8/11

Alayna ate everything at breakfast -- blueberries and blueberry bread pudding.  At lunch she ate all of her kiwi, and most of her green beans and her ground turkey burger with bun. 

Our newest baby came to visit today for a few hours and as you can see from the picture, all of our "big girls" were thrilled to see the new baby.  She was like a little magnet, as you can see. 

Alayna and Kenzie has a tussle today and Alayna ended up with scratch marks on her arm.  They were both after the same toy and neither would give an inch.  The scratches came before we could get there. 

Alayna had fun driving the cars in the back room with Morgan and Kenzie again today and sang lots of songs while she was driving them around. 

12/7/11

Alayna ate seconds on dried mango and all of her jelly whole wheat toast at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her beef and bean burrito, tropical fruit and most of her broccoli. 

This morning Alayna went around the corner after breakfast as she has been doing the last couple days, but this time I caught her in time.  When I asked her, "Alayna, are you pooping?"  She gave me an enthusiastic "Yes!" then raced over to the gate for me to take her to the bathroom.  She hadn't started yet, and did go in the toilet.  She did also have a poopy diaper right before her nap too so...

This morning we looked out the big window and there was a little two point buck strolling up the sidewalk by our front fence.  He started to turn up into our driveway toward the big window, but changed his mind and kept on walking up the sidewalk instead.  We were to slow to get a picture. 

 Alayna, Morgan and Kenzie helped me make this "train" and then played on it for the rest of the play time in the block room.  Alayna had a turn sitting in each one of the seats and was making chugging and Choo-choo sounds while she played.

Last night I got out the little roadway carpet and put it out in the back room with the little cars.  All three of "my kiddos" really had fun driving their cars on it for quite a while.  They were making car motor sounds and then saying "beep-beep" when they wanted one of the other kiddos to move out of their way.  It was pretty cute! 

12/6/11

Alayna ate all of her prunes and seconds on cinnamon roll at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her hashbrowns and waffles, most of her scrambled eggs and about half of her melon.

Alayna had a much better day today.  It was like night and day.  I honestly don't think I saw her be aggressive or try to take someone else's toy even one time.  She listened well and was super cooperative and helpful.  : )

Alayna was really into transporting the stuffed animals from point A to point B to point C...  She didn't really play with them at any of the points -- the transportation was the actual play and it was very interesting and fun to watch.  She wouldn't stop until she had ALL of them moved, then she would dance around like she was celebrating for a minute or so before she started moving them again!

This morning I looked around and saw Alayna in the corner of the room around behind the changing table.  I asked her if she was pooping and she proudly answered "Yes!"  I went over to check it to take her to the bathroom, but she had already gone.  We are still working at it, but she really doesn't tell me (I think she has only done that once or twice).  Lately she hasn't even been going most of the time when I just take her.  She will get it when she is ready -- we know from experience!

Here is a picture of Alayna, Kenzie and Morgan in the dress-up masks!  

12/5/11

Alayna ate all of her Kix cereal and mixed fruit at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her mandarin oranges and sweet potatoes and about half of her ham sandwich. 

Alayna cuddled with her blanket from home on the couch for about the first 20 minutes.  It was funny because when she was about to transition to playing instead of cuddling, she started kind of wrestling with the blanket on the couch and just chuckling.  It was pretty cute!

When Alayna was done cuddling her blanket, she got down and explores all of the new toys.  She especially liked the set of dolls that are out right now and chose the one with a long pony tail to carry around and play with most. 

Alayna was pretty testy today in a variety of ways.  She was trying to take her friends' toys, doing some grabbing and pinching, needed "help" in doing most of the things we asked her to do, and had a couple pretty major outbursts where she didn't like something and started trying to throw the toys, kicking at the kiddos or toys or otherwise letting us know she was NOT happy about it.  She actually had to take a couple breaks (time-outs) this morning.  I thought she was probably tired (from her behavior) and would take a long nap, but she only slept a little over an hour. 

When we turned on the rowdier Christmas music Alayna really enjoyed racing around like crazy, jumping and dancing.  She really likes to be crazy on the mattress and does some pretty good moves (and great falls) on it! 

12/2/11

Alayna ate all of her rice and raisins at breakfast.  At lunch she ate a taste of cooked carrots and all of her meatloaf, french bread and dried apricots. 

I had the music on when Alayna came today and about 5 minutes later she came over to me and asked, "Can you turn it down a little?"  I did, of course, and thought it was pretty funny.  I don't think we have ever had a kiddo ask that before. 

About 20 minutes after Alayna came, she looked around and asked, "Where Riley Roo?"  Sure enough, they were late.  I thought it was neat that she noticed and cared enough to ask. 

Alayna was lining the stuffed animals all up in the big window sill today.  The littler ones worked better she found out and soon had them lined up all the way across. 

Alayna and Jadey were dancing to the Christmas CD and having a blast today.  They both were laughing as hard as they were dancing.  It was very entertaining!

12/1/11

Alayna ate all of her grapes and cinnamon toast at breakfast.  At lunch she ate about half of her dinner roll and all of her canned cherries, mashed potatoes and turkey (subbed for chicken strips). 

At breakfast today Gary and I both cracked up when she asked for more "blueberries" instead of grapes.  It is funny how many times the kiddos mix up one type of food for another. 

Alayna was very engaged in the cooking and serving dramatic play.  She was doing it for her dolly (in the fire hat "car seat") as well as for her friends.  Yesterday Jadey was serving and feeding her and today the roles were reversed. 

She really likes having the climber/balance beam and the jumping mattress in the big room.  She uses it more than any of the rest of the kiddos. 

We have using the jingle bells when we have been singing lately and that has been fun.  

11/30/11

Alayna ate only a couple bites of her peaches and a bite of whole wheat bagel at breakfast.  At lunch she didn't eat much of her homemade macaroni and cheese, but she did eat all of her corn, salad with ranch and ham. 

Alayna was carrying around one of the puppies and kept saying "he has a tongue" as she showed me it over and over.  I always get a kick out of it when the kiddos pick out a certain toy for a very specific reason like that. 

Jadey was over by the little picnic table and announced loudly, "Dinner time!"  Alayna just raced over to the table.  She must have been really pretend hungry.  Jadey started giving her food and she was pretending to eat it as fast as she good serve her.  It was really cute! 

Alayna was looking at the different family posters.  When she got to Emily's family, she pointed at her mom and said, "There's Cynthia!"  They aren't here at the same time often so we didn't even know that she knew her name! 

We had a very busy and distracting morning.  First there were several street sweepers to watch out the big window. Then from about 8:20 to 11:30 there were police cars surrounding our neighborhood because they were after the fugitive car thief.  There were LOTS of police officers canvassing the neighborhood on foot with guns and sniper rifles, but it didn't seem to bother the kiddos at all. 

11/29/11

Alayna ate all of her pears and a couple bites of her blueberry muffin at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her tuna on saltines, oranges and about half of her sweet potatoes. 

Alayna spent time just checking out the new room arrangement, looking to see what was new and what was the same.  She really liked having the jumping mattress in the big room and more accessible during free choice.  She also liked having the "igloo" out there so she could play in and around it.  She was playing peek-a-boo with some of the younger kiddos and really enjoying that (as were they). 

Alayna has been very loving and almost protective of our lone boy, Thomas.  She is very gentle with him, even when he is a little rough with her (today he bit her on the wrist -- he is teething), but she was even sweet to him after that! 

I have called Thomas a "maniac" several times because he is just all boy (bull in a china closet style).  Well today he did something and I said "Silly Thomas!" and Alayna came over and told me, "Thomas not a maniac!"  I cracked up!  : ) 

11/23/11

Alayna ate all of her mixed berries and bites of her toast at breakfast.  At lunch she ate everything -- hashbrown casserole, biscuit and kiwi. 

Alayna was looking at books for about 20 minutes.  Part of the time she was just looking at them all by herself and the rest of the time she was "reading" them to her doll. 

Alayna loves to be silly and get both herself and the other kiddos laughing.  Today it was Emily that she got going and she didn't want her to stop.  She kept going back over when Emily was settling down and doing something to try to get her laughing again.  It was really cute and both of them were loving it!  : )

Alayna was stacking up the mega Lego people and pets into a tower and it reminded me of pictures I have seen of totem poles. 

11/22/11

Alayna ate all of her dried apricots and may have had a bite of her whole wheat bagel at breakfast.  It was hard to tell because she broke it up into little tiny crumbs and then started playing with it.  At lunch she ate all of her baked fish, applesauce and pea pasta salad. 

Alayna has been trying to jump on our couch and big chair, which is not allowed.  After multiple reminders, we finally let her go jump in the back room.  She still tried a couple times after she came back, but did better with it. 

Today she cracked me up because she was "hiding" from the kiddos and laughing when one walked by.  The funny thing about it was that none of them knew she was hiding from them or that they had "found" her.  She was really having fun with the game regardless.  : ) 

Alayna played with "Baby Riley" in the "car seat" quite a while again today.  She took her over to the big yellow chair and propped her up by her then read stories (seemingly to her) for about 10 minutes!  It was really cute! 

11/21/11

Alayna ate all of her craisins and most of her bran flakes at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her cheese pizza, tropical fruit and green beans with bacon bits (substituted for cauliflower). 

Alayna immediately put one of the dolls in the hat "car seat" when she got her and basically played with it most of the time we spent in the big room. 

We have noticed that Alayna has been really flopping when we ask her to do something that she doesn't want to (like pick up toys, give a friend a hug when he has hurt them, look at us when we call her name...).  We are being very careful to not let her off the hook when she does it.  We give her a choice to either do what we have asked "by herself like big girl" or "with us helping her".  Many kiddos respond well to the choice of doing it like a big kiddo.  It doesn't seem to matter to Alayna and we almost always have to make her follow through with what we have said. 

Alayna love to play peek-a-boo over and around the big yellow chair and the end of the couch by the duplo table.  She really cracks up and it doesn't matter if she is on the hiding side or the finding side. 

The kiddos all really enjoyed watching the city crew scooping up leaves with the front end loaders and dumping them into the dump trucks.  Sadly there weren't many leaves where they would watch out the big window so it didn't take very long, but they were enthralled while it lasted!

11/18/11

Alayna ate about half of her malt-o-meal and all of her craisins at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her spaghetti, mixed fruit and about half of her salad with ranch dressing. 

Alayna really is enjoying being the one to watch during out potty times.  So far she is the one who is being successful most of the time, so the other kiddos really watch and wait for her to produce something while going potty.  She loves putting the stickers on her chart also.  She hasn't told me at all, but has basically gone every time I have taken her. 

Alayna has started a trend.  She has named one of the dollies she likes to play with here "Baby Riley".  She then puts her and a blanket into one of the fire fighter hats and calls it her "car seat".  Now several of the other kiddos also have "baby Rileys" and use the hats as "car seats".  It's pretty cute! 

Alayna has really been biting her fingernails, which seems to make her face break out even more.  It seems to make it worse, rather than better, to remind her to take her fingers out of her mouth or not chew on them.  Poor sweetie!  

11/17/11

Alayna ate all of her cinnamon raisin English muffin at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her canned chicken on saltines, canned cherries and about half of her potato salad. 

Alayna has been so sweet and loving to the kiddos (big and small) lately.  Out of the blue she will just go over to one of them, tell them "hi", give them a love, take them a toy or otherwise be a sweetie. 

Alayna was carrying around a set of the jingle bells today and kept telling me and everyone else that they were her "cool keys".  I thought that was great! 

All of the kiddos really enjoyed looking out the big window at all of the crows in the yards and trees across the street.  They were far enough away that it didn't scare them when the kiddos banged on the window, which is what usually happens.  Consequently the stayed there for about 10 minutes or more.  The kiddos watched them for the entire time. 

11/16/11

Alayna ate all of her biscuit and peaches at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her pineapple, steamed broccoli, pineapple tidbits, and most of her dinner roll.

This morning Alayna was standing in front of me talking with me and Thomas came over and was wanting to get to me.  He literally grabbed her shoulder and kind of threw her down to the floor.  Poor Alayna!  Babies are NOT supposed to be that strong.  I gave her loves, of course, didn't reward Thomas by picking him up and reiterated the rule of being gentle.  I do have to say that it looked pretty funny though!  Here is this 'just-turned-one' baby body slamming (exaggerating) a two-year-old.  : (  Ugh!  

I decided to try seeing if any of the "big" kiddos are interested in using the bathroom this morning.  I was just going to take the older four (who are all two, or almost).  Kenzie was determined that she needed to come too, so I took her also.  They all tried valiantly, and both Jadey and Alayna went poop the first time.  Way to go, Alayna!  I think that is the first (or maybe second) time she has pooped here.  Alayna also went pee the second time (but her diaper was already wet).  I will keep trying all of them for a couple weeks (as long as they want to), then will focus on those who are being successful after that.

I had given an award to the two who pooped in the potty this morning and let them put a sticker on it.  Of course, all of the other kiddos wanted a "ticker" too, so I decided we would do stickers for art time today.  That sufficed them.

Alayna was being so loving to the kiddos again today.  I think everyone got at least one random hug from her and a couple got more than one.  She also gave a couple of them loves when they were sad or upset about something.  That is so awesome. 

11/15/11

Alayna ate all of her waffle and hashbrowns at breakfast.  At lunch she ate a bite of her red pepper and all of her sauteed shrimp, brown rice and orange slices.

Alayna was in an interesting mode today.  She seemed to be actively trying to make the kiddos yell or angry.  For example, she was taking toys that they had and also was moving her foot over little by little until she was stepping on them (or until they yelled at her). When we talked to her about it and asked if she needed some time alone in the back room, she was very happy with that idea.  She played in there until breakfast (about 20 minutes) and then did much better after that in the group.

Alayna was reading and singing books in the big yellow chair independently.  When Morgan came over and wanted to sit with her, she scooted right over and was "reading to Morgan".  Morgan was very interested and they were talking about the books and pointing to different things together.

Alayna loved it when I sang "How much is that Doggy in the Window?" while holding one of the stuffed puppies out in the back room.  She especially liked it when I wagged his tail when it got to that spot.  She was really laughing.

11/14/11

Alayna ate about half of her cheerios and banana at breakfast.  At lunch she ate a sip of her tomato soup and all of her apple slices and her grilled cheese sandwich. 

Alayna was wrapping the puppets int he blankets today.  Somehow the dollies got misplaced out of this toy exchange so I have to track them down.  She was obviously substituting for the next best thing!  Pretty creative!

Alayna didn't want to interact with the other kiddos very much today.  She just did her own things and when the other kiddos came over to play on the side of the room where she was she moved over to the other side most of the time.  She did give Emily a very sweet random hug without any prompting or her even being sad. 

Alayna was pretending that the "box" was a "bus" today.  I don't know if that meant school or city bus, but either way the other kiddos thought it was a good idea and all raced to the box to get in the "bus". 

11/9/11

Alayna ate all of her whole wheat toast with jelly and thirds on dried mangoes at breakfast.  At lunch she ate about half of her sweet potatoes and all of her tropical fruit and her beef and bean burrito. 

Alayna was on my lap and Jadey wanted up to.  I told her I would hold her just as soon as Alayna was done and wanted to get down.  Alayna asked, "I hold her!"  So I helped Jadey up onto Alayna's lap, expecting that to last about 20 seconds max.  Well, they literally sat like that on my lap for at least 5 minutes and wanted to do it longer.  I needed to get up and help little Riley baby so I had to mess up the plan.  While Jadey was sitting on Alayna's lap (on my lap) Alayna kept patting Jadey and had her little arms just wrapped tight around her.  Jadey was squirming around to give her a kiss on the cheek a couple times.  It was really sweet!

Alayna was very loving and sweet to both Kenzie and Emily when they were fussy a couple times today.  She went over and gave Emily a hug all on her own, patted Kenzie's head when she was upset and asked me "what wrong Kenzie?"  I love those demonstrations of affection and concern and we try to cultivate them. 

Thomas was sitting by one of the shelves today and accidentally bonked his head slightly (not enough to make him cry).  I commented that he needed to be careful or he was going to hurt himself.  As soon as Thomas moved from the spot, Alayna immediately sat down there and started intentionally bonking her head and laughing.  Silly girl!  : ) 

11/8/11

Alayna ate all of her prunes and seconds on cinnamon roll at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her melon and eggs and about half of her waffles and hashbrowns. 

Alayna was really into building Duplo towers and then putting different guys or animals on top of the tower.  The one she had up there mostly was Winnie the Pooh.

Alayna was laughing so hard today when she was on the couch and peeking over the edge at Morgan and Joslyn.  They were all loving it and probably played the game for about 15 minutes or more.

Today it didn't seem to phase Alayna when I put the yucky stuff on her finger nails.  She just kept chewing them like crazy.  Her face was really broke out around her mouth after that and I wondered if it was the nail stuff that irritated it.  It could have just been having her fingers up there so much also.  I don't know.  I just thought I would mention it.

11/7/11

Alayna ate most of her Kix cereal and mixed fruit at breakfast.  At lunch she ate seconds on ham sandwich and all of her steamed broccoli and mandarin oranges. 

Alayna was really into stirring the Velcro vegetables and fruits in the sink with the play knives.  The more intensely she stirred the louder it was in the stainless steel bowl sink.  She was really grinning and laughing.  Sometimes she even stirred hard enough that they went flying out of the sink.  : )

Alayna loves to put on the animal masks and vests.  Most of the time it isn't the ones that match each other, so we have had some zebgers (zebra-tiger), elephions (elephant-lion) and so forth.  That's OK.  We encourage creativity and that is just another form. 

Alayna asked for "cream" for her mouth several times today.  I have just been putting some Vaseline lip balm stuff we have.  Do you have anything specific you use or don't use.  I don't want to put something on it that makes it worse. 

Alayna was the drummer today while all of the other bigger girls danced.  We did have a CD on, but Alayna's drumming seemed to be the dancing inspiration.  : )

11/4/11

Alayna ate about half of her rice and raisins at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her meatloaf, french bread and dried apricots and a bite of cooked carrots. 

Alayna has been looking up at me and asking, "want me get soap" every time she climbs up the step stool to wash her hands.  I think it is because she usually just stands there and waits for me to remind her to get the soap.  This week it must have clicked because she is verbalizing it herself.  : )

Alayna was "hiding" in the "box" multiple times today.  She was squatting down then popping up and calling out "Peek-a-boo" at me or whoever happened to be nearby.  We had a little guy here that we were subbing for named Aaron and he thought that was so funny and was just cracking up.  She loved the audience and did it over and over for him. 

Alayna had found about 4 or 5 of the little duplo flowers and stacked them together.  She then walked around   and held them out in front of several of her friends' noses and asked "Want to 'mell 'em?"  It was really cute and after I modeled how to smell them, all of the kiddos really got into it. 

11/3/11

Alayna ate all of her grapes and seconds on whole wheat cinnamon toast at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her home made chicken strips, mashed potatoes and cherries and about half of her dinner roll. 

Alayna was building with the duplos today and brought over what she had been working on for several minutes.  It was an all yellow perfect cross.  So what I want to know is if it was a random accident or if you have a child prodigy on your hands!  : )  It totally took me back! 

Thanks for the call about Laurie not getting Alayna today.  She had actually told us that earlier in the week, but I had spaced it out, so would have been wondering where she was.  : ) 

Alayna kept bringing over one of the duplo penguins today and having him peck at my knee, saying, "He kissing you!"  It was really cute.  She held on to him for about 15 minutes.  Sometimes she was playing with him and others just making sure no one else played with him.  : ) 

I was asking the kiddos "Who had a Mommy (or Daddy) named ...?" for each of them today.  Alayna didn't answer any of the other kiddos, but when it was one of her names, she immediately patted her chest and proudly said "That me!"  She wanted to do it "'gen" after we went through everyone. 

11/2/11

Alayna ate all of her whole wheat bagel and peaches at breakfast.  At lunch she ate everything -- home made macaroni and cheese, ham bits, corn and salad with ranch dressing. 

Alayna was "hiding" behind the big yellow chair (beside the dress-up rack) and a couple of the kiddos were peeking up over the back of the chair at her.  She was laughing so hard and doing it over and over.  I love it when she gets really tickled like that!  : )

She was using the flip cell phone to "talk" on quite a bit this morning.  They aren't really play phones, I just ordered a bunch of real ones on line that didn't work for the kiddos to play with.  They love them and use them way more than the play phones we have out with some of the sets.

We read a GOB of books today and Alayna was interested from beginning to end.  She especially liked the one about using the potty.  It has a button that you push and it sounds like a toilet flushing.  I let everyone have a turn "flushing the potty" and she loved that.  When we were done reading she immediately went over and found it in the book rack to read some more.  : ) 

11/1/11

Alayna ate all of her pears and second son blueberry muffin at breakfast.  At lunch she ate most of her tuna on crackers and all of her sweet potatoes and orange slices. 

Alayna spent a lot of time looking at the "new" books today.  She hadn't gotten around to exploring them yesterday, so she made up for it today. 

She was really the only one that wasn't out of sorts today.  We always are pretty prepared for the kiddos to not quite be themselves the day after Halloween, but she was wonderful.  She wasn't cranky, didn't try to take toys, didn't act extra tired...  It was nice to have one, believe me!  : ) 

Alayna didn't want any one close to her while she was playing the drums today, so she took it over to the box and drummed in there.  That is exactly what it is designed for, so we love seeing the kiddos do it on their own initiative. 

10/31/11

Alayna ate all of her Chex cereal and fruit salad at breakfast.  At lunch she ate about half of her tomato soup and all or her apple slices and roast beef sandwich. 

Missy came to sub for about an hour today while Gary ran over to a store that is never open when we aren't open to look at some railing for our front porch.  Anyway, Alayna was thrilled to see her and had to spend some time cuddling with her and having her sing some of the songs she loves.  It was really cute. 

Alayna really liked exploring all of the "new" toys from this toy exchange.  She especially like the drums and spent quite a bit of the morning playing with them.  As you can see form the picture, they were a hit with all of the kiddos for a while this morning, but Alayna stuck with it longer than the others. 

Another things she really liked that is out now is the Velcro fruits and vegetables.  There are play knives out and she spent about 15 minutes straight just cutting them apart -- one after another and some of them several times in row.  She really can stay on task when she gets engaged like that.  :  )

10/28/11

Alayna ate all of her prunes and most of her oatmeal at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her hashbrown casserole (with burger), about half of her mandarin oranges and bites of her dinner roll. 

Yesterday I had made these "steps" with the big interlocking blocks that were three blocks tall.  They all had fun climbing up them, walking across the short platform and them jumping off and onto the big room floor.  It took a while for Alayna to get the hang of not grabbing the other kiddos or pushing them to "help" them jump, but she was doing much better today than yesterday afternoon when they were doing it. 

They were also having a lot of fun marching, crawling, hopping, running, walking... around the blocks while I sang a version of "Around the walls of Jericho" (Marching (or other action) 'round the blocks).  Alayna was really chuckling as she did it. 

Alayna seems to be liking story time better and better.  She almost always stays for the entire story time (about 8-10 minutes) and is actively engaging most of the time.  If I ask questions, she will point or answer them often.  She also watches and listens more closely. 

10/27/11

Alayna ate all of her french bread and cantaloupe at breakfast.  At lunch she ate a bite of her turkey and a bite of her dried mango.  She also bit her tongue when she was eating her bite of mango and that ended her wanting to eat anything else. 

Alayna spent at least 20 minutes looking at books and singing unrelated songs.  For example we have a book about taking a nap and she was singing both "Old McDonald" and "The Wheels on the Bus" as she was looking at it.  It was pretty cute. 

Gary and I have both noticed that Alayna has been pretty sensitive this week.  She is usually pretty tough and when she bonks into something or someone accidentally stumbles over or into her she usually just takes in in stride.  This week those types of things have made her just melt-down and have a difficult time regrouping.  We have both been spending extra time filling her little love tank, and that seems to help for a little while, but...  It just makes me wonder if it is still her ears bugging her (or maybe the sore bottom or other side affects from the antibiotics). 

Alayna was playing with the camera that has pictures of nature stuff (mostly animals) when you click the picture.  Alayna kept handing it to me and saying "See deer?" or "See elephant?"  She wasn't even looking into the viewfinder when she handed it to me, so it never was what she said it was, which made it really funny!  : )

10/26/11

Alayna ate all of her whole wheat toast and mixed berries at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her ham, bean soup and kiwi and about half of her saltines. 

Alayna really likes and is sweet to baby Peyton.  The feeling is mutual because Peyton is always crawling over to Alayna and gives her some of the best smiles.  If most of the other kiddos get in her space like Peyton does she really doesn NOT like it, but she puts up with Peyton and seems to even like it. 

Alayna was into collecting today -- play spoons, ice cream cones, ice cream scoops, dinosaurs...  She didn't really play with any of those things, just collected them.  She did put all of the play spoons into one of the plastic jars and use it as a shaker toy.  : ) 

Alayna played with the doll and blanket quite a bit and was reading stories to her, taking her for rides on the ice cream cart and putting her to bed. 

10/25/11

Alayna ate all of her bagel and seconds on dried apricots at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her fish and her applesauce and bites of her pea and pasta salad. 

Alayna was putting stuff in one of the play hats then carrying it around and calling it "my purse".  She also gathered up the top of the hat and was carrying it a ways away from her body and calling it "poopy garbage".  That cracked me up!  : )

Alayna spent time cuddling with both Gary and I again today.  She seems to like getting her little love tank re-filled very morning at one time or another.  She especially likes the cuddle times with Gary because he starts out by cuddling with her then starts to tease and tickle her after a few minutes.  He always play the "Hey!  Where you going?" game when she starts to move to get down where he hugs her tight or squishes her between his knees and won't let her go.  She just LOVES that!

We have been working on a friendship pledge almost every day for probably a couple months.  The three oldest (Jadey, Alayna and Morgan) can basically say the whole thing (when they want to).  It goes like this, "I pledge to myself (pause) on this day (pause) to try to be gentle (pause) in every way."  It is really cute to listen to them say it (even if they really don't totally understand what they are saying!).  : )

When we put on some up-beat music today Alayna was holding out her hands to first Kenzie then Jadey to hold hands and dance.  She and Jadey did it for quite a while.  : ) 

10/24/11

Alayna ate most of her cereal and all of her craisins at breakfast.  At lunch she ate everything -- cheese pizza, tropical fruit and steamed cauliflower. 

Alayna took time out of her play to come over to first Gary then me for loves and suggle time on our laps.  It was cute.  I have noticed that even on regular Mondays she often does that more than during the rest of the week, but if she has been gone for ay extra time, she almost always does it.  : )   It is so sweet!  She is really a great little girl and we are so glad that we get to take care of her. 

She was sharing her "ice cream" with Jadey and Emily this morning and loved it when they came back for more. This group of kiddos is really becoming more and more interested in dramatic/pretend play.  They love feeding each other, cooking, dressing up, taking care of the dollies...  It is so fun to watch and listen to them interact with each other. 

She was also using the ice cream cart as a stroller for her dolly.  She carefully wrapped the doll in a heap of blankets then tried to stuff her inside the ice cream cart for preservation.  : ) 

10/19/11

Alayna ate most of her biscuit and all of her peaches at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her steamed broccoli, pineapple and dinner roll and most of her baked beans. 

Alayna and Jadey were so cute today sitting in the big yellow chair looking at books together.  Jadey started it by inviting her to come "read" with her.  She had one of the touch and feel books and kept asking Alayna to "touch it" as she turned every page.  Those two don't play together very often so it was fun to see. 

Alayna was experimenting with bonking kiddos on the head for some reason today.  There was five different incidents to four different kiddos.  None of them were in anger, just looked like experimentation.  She tried it with one of the play cameras, a books, a block and her hand (twice).  Each time, I had her give the kiddos a gentle touch (pet their arm) then ask if they were OK.  I also firmly reminded her that "Hitting is no OK!" and "We only use gentle touches at Gary and Lauralea's!"

Alayna came up to both me and little Emily and told us, "I have a treat for you!"  She then scooped up some air from the play ice cream cone and give us each a "bite".  She was so thrilled when we played along with her and asked for more treats!  : ) 

10/18/11

Alayna ate all of her hashbrowns and seconds on waffles with syrup at breakfast.  At lunch she ate a bite of both yellow pepper and sauteed shrimp and all of her brown rice and orange slices. 

Alayna was listening intently while I read and talked about the feelings book we have out right now.  She especially liked it when I "cried" on the "sad" page and exclaimed "This is fun!" on the "excited" page.  She wanted me to "cry" over and over.  : ) 

Alayna wanted to play with the big interlocking blocks by herself so took them into the "box" with her to build.  Even then she yelled at anyone who came too close to the box, tried to watch what she was doing or tried to talk to her.  We had to remind her several times to use words rather than scream at them and/or use gentle touches. 

There was a bunch of crows outside the big window today that the kiddos were all lined up watching.  I love how often simple things are so intriguing.  If we would only keep the interest and wonder of a child...  : ) 

10/17/11

Alayna came late today so she didn't eat breakfast with us.  She drank most of her tomato soup and ate most of her sandwick and apple slices. 

Since Alayna didn't come until later, I don't have many notes for her.  She acted glad to be here and didn't complalin about her eye or face hurting at all. 

She explored all of the new toys for the first few minutes she was here then started pushing and filling the ice cream carts with stuff.  She was also enjoying "feeding" her dolly the cake and ice cream.  She even "gave Thomas" a bite when he crawled over and whined about it after seeing her feeding her doll.

I have been getting such a kick out of watching the kiddos explore the "new" toys today. One of the things that are are are cameras. Even though we have a digital camera, it still looks so funny to see the kiddos holding the cameras out in front of them rather than up to their eyes. They were all doing it and saying "cheese" this morning. It is really cute! 

10/10/11

Alayna ate all of her mixed fruit and most of her Kix cereal at breakfast.  At lunch sht ate most of her steamed broccoli and all of her mandarin oranges and ham sandwich. 

Alayna told me, "Wanna nuddle (snuggle)" several times today.  She didn't snuggle for very long, but she did want that direct attention off and on throughout the morning.  She had an excellent day other than her nose running green several times.  I think every one of the kiddos have runny noses, so... 

Alayna was singing "Baby Bawooga (Beluga)" off and on all through the morning.  Some of the time she was actually looking at the Baby Beluga book we have and others she was just doing other things as she sang.  It was very cute.

Alayna was also looking at a book we have called "Baby Faces".  It has a difference face on each page that shows a different expression, excited, sad, disgusted, yummy...  I was helping her do a different motion along with making the same kind of face with her and she loved it.  She asked me to do it "adin" and "adin" and again.  : ) 

10/7/11

Alayna ate most of her brown rice and raisins at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her french bread, most of her meatloaf and a bite of both cooked carrots and dried apricots. 

After waving good-bye at mom, dad, and Gabe, Alayna and I cuddled for a few minutes.  At the end of our cuddle time, she said, "Here I am, Gary" to get his attention so he would ask where his Alayna hug was.  It was really cute! 

Alayna has been figuring how to put the duplo farm pieces together more and more.  Today she figured out how to stack the fence pieces and make a tower.  She was very proud of that! 

Gary was sitting in the yellow chair today and Alayna was down behind it.  She kept popping up to "peek" at him over the back of the chair and giggling when he would comment that he saw her.  She is a lot of fun! 

10/6/11

Alayna ate seconds on cinnamon whole wheat toast and all of her grapes at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her chicken strips, cinner roll and canned cherries and a bite or two of mashed potatoes. 

Alayna was playing peek-a-boo with baby Peyton so cute.  She was putting one of the scarves over Peyton's head then pulling it off and saying peek-a-boo with her.  She was also putting the scarf over her own head and doing the same thing.  Peyton really was grinning the whole time. 

Gary's daughter, Christina has been here visiting since Tuesday night.  Yesterday she hung out with the kiddos in the big room for a little and they loved it.  They were all showing off like crazy -- spinning and dancing around, jumping and rolling on the floor.  Alayna was showing off with them, but actually enjoying watching them all show up more than anything. 

10/5/11

Alayna ate most of her whole wheat bagel and all of her peaches at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her macaroni and cheese, ham and salad and most of her corn. 

Alayna was really into playing with her dolly today.  She almost always spends time in the morning playing with it and some mornings she carries it around to do whatever else she is doing with her -- reading, pretending to eat, building with legos...  It is cute! 

This morning Alayna was "reading" to both her dolly and Joslyn.  Joslyn was really engaged in the play also.  Alayna would ask "See that?" and point to a picture or something in the picture and Joslyn would answer "Yeah!" in enthusiastically.  It was great! 

Alayna was a little sensitive and yawny today, so she probably is tired.  These gray rainy days kind of do that to the kiddos (and some of us adults also!)  : )  She was asleep within 5 minutes of laying down even with the activity of getting everyone else ready for bed and laying down. 

10/4/11

Alayna ate all of her pears and about half of her blueberry muffin at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her sweet potatoes and oranges slices and most of her tuna and crackers. 

This morning Kenzie was repeatedly intentionally bonking her head on the big room floor.  Alayna thought that was just the funniest thing.  She was sitting on my lap and just shaking, she was laughing so hard.  She kept telling her "Do it adin!" 

I have noticed that Alayna seems to be biting her nails more and more these nails.  I haven't made a big deal out of it but I have just talked about how it can make us sick or hurt out tummies inside.  Do you guys remind her to stop or anything at home.  It doesn't really matter to me, I just kept forgetting to talk to you in person about it so I know how you are handling it at home and can be congruent here.

Alayna just loves playing on the mattress in the back room.  She jumps, bounces, spins, somersauls and does stunts.  A lot of times she climbs up on the climber/balance beam that is back three beside it and will jump off and onto the mattress.  Alayna is very tough and she has gotten many bumps but just shakes them off.  She sometimes just kind of richochets off of one thing to the next!   The mattress gives her the outlet she needs to jump and shake the sillys out.  She is all smiles while she is in there jumping. 

10/3/11

Alayna ate bites of her fruit salad and about half of her chex cereal at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her roast beef sandwich, about half of her apple slices and a drink or two of tomato soup. 

I noticed a couple times last week that Alayna would tell me "I'm poopy" when she wasn't, but then would be poopy within about 15 minutes.  I have decided that if she tells me, but isn't I am going to take her in to try to go in case she is feeling the need.  She did it again this morning, but didn't go when I took her in, just peed. 

Alayna really likes music, as I have said many times before, I know.  She always loves it when we sing and always requests "Jesus loves me" and usually one or two more songs.  Well, both Friday and today she must have decided that we weren't singing enough because she would just randomly come up and request a song, no matter what we were doing (eating, coloring, free playing, building with blocks...  It has been pretty cute!

Another thing that was really cute to watch today was when she and Emily were sitting at the picnic table side by side.  Alayna was singing and clapping and Emily was just watching her.  Alayna turned to Emily and said, "Sing...  Clap..." so Emily started clapping and singing with her.  Adorable~!!!

9/30/11

Alayna ate all of her oatmeal and prunes at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her hashbrown and burger casserole and mandarin oranges and about half of her biscuit. 

Alayna was playing peek-a-boo with one of the doll blankets over her head and pulling it off.  She started out with it being with us then started doing it to a couple of the kiddos too.  They are were really getting a kick out of it. 

Alayna's pony tail loosened up and fell out after breakfast sometime and she noticed and started looking around the room, saying "Where my pony go?"  We didn't find it so I just put one of ours in.  She was fine with that. 

Alayna has really been enjoying playing with the farm animal masks this week.  She tries on multiple ones every day.  She always has to go look at herself inthe mirror after she has one on, which is so cute!  It is kind of nice to have masks out at this time of year, because the kiddos get used to them and it makes Halloween masks and costumes a little easier for them to stomach some times. 

9/29/11

Alayna ate all of her cantaloup and seconds on french toast at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her dried mangos, about half of both her sliced turkey and her crescent roll and a taste of squash. 

Alayna was in a great mood all morning.  She was laughing a lot, especially when she was dancing to the CD music.  At first all of the little girls were dancing together and Alayna was loving it.  One by one, they all left to go do something different until it was just Alayna.  She was still just dancing like crazy and laughing.  It was really cute!  : ) 

I put up four 8x11 collage posters of the children's faces today and Alayna was really studying them.  At first she was just finding all of the pictures of "Kenzie" (who has been gone to Grandma's the last couple days).  Later in the day I was having them find a "happy, sad, angry, silly, tires..." face and she was really enjoying that. 

I was doing more focused observations and "testing" on Alayna and one of the other kiddos today.  She was loving all of the extra things to do and was very cooperative.  There were a couple of things I asked her to do (like open a door) that she looked at me like I had totally lost it.  Why on earth would we open the door then just walk away from it?  : )

9/28/11

Alayna ate all of her mixed berries and abour half of her whole wheat toast at breakfast.  At lunch she ate everything -- ham, bean soup, saltines and kiwi. 

Alayna got on one of the horses this morning and asked, "Is that a motorcycle?"  I had actually expected her to call them that before now.  She then invited Jadey to "come with me" on another horse.  Jadey then asked her "Wanna go my house?"  It was a great interaction. 

Alayna acted liked off tired off and on throughout the morning.  She had a couple times where she was just sitting and staring and would also yawn or rub her eyes, but mostly she had bursts of being extra sensitive or easily frustrated (like when she couldn't immediately get her shoe off). 

Alayna did a lot of dolly play today.  She is very gentle and realistic about how she plays with the dollies.  She seldom just drops them like she does other toys when she is done.  She usually either "puts them to bed" or just lays them down gently.  She also sings almost every time she "feeds" one of them a bottle, which is what Gary and I usually do when feeding Peyton or Thomas their bottles. 

9/27/11

Alayna ate all of her bagel and dried apricots at breakfast.  At lunch she ate everything also -- tilapia fish, pea and pasta salad, and applesauce.  I think it is so cute how she asks "what's this name" about most foods and some other things too.  : )

Alayna was really singing while she played this morning.  She was singing lullaby type songs while she was playing with and caring for her "baby".  She was singing regular songs while she looked at books (sometimes related to the book and other times not.  She was singing on the rocking horses and just as she walked around or was playing with the legos. 

Alayna gathered all of the lego fence pieces and was being quite possessive of them, which is fine because she was playing with them.  Several kiddos (Kenzie, Emily, Thomas...) tried to come over and sneak a piece or two away and she wasn't about to let it happen.  When Peyton crawled over to her and took one, Alayna just smiled and said, "Peyton can play with 'em" then gave the rest to her too.  Yes, she does love Peyton and yes, Peyton gets special treatment from Alayna!  : )  It is very sweet!

Yesterday Alayna was happy when she was able to make the rocking horse move by herself, but today she figured out how to REALLY get it rocking and she was SO excited!  She kept announcing, "I did it!  I did it! I did it!" and was all smiles.   

9/26/11

Alayna ate all of her cereal and craisins at breakfast.  At lunch she ate a bite of her steamed broccoli, about half of her tropical fruit and all of her cheese pizza. 

When Alayna first sat on the rocking horse she just sat there and said, "Make it go!"  I showed her how it worked and helped her a little, but it didn't take very long until she was riding it like a pro.  I thought it was really cute, because she went and got one of the dollies and then went over and rocked her on the horse singing "Rock-a-bye-baby" as she rocked. 

Alayna also really liked the farm lego stuff out with this set of toys.  She had me help her set up the tractor with a trailer and "guy" in it, then pushed it all around the big room, making motor sounds.  It may not have been quite as good as a "motorcycle", but she was pretty enthralled with it anyway.   : )

We have a roommate named Kate and she had gone to the store.  When she came back Morgan started chanting "Kate-a-roo" (which one of the kiddos a while back had christened her and it stuck) over and over.  Alayna and Kenzie joined in and it was so cute.  Kate loved it! 

9/23/11

Alayna ate all of her malt-o-meal and raisins at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of the spaghetti meat and sauce, most of her noodles, about half of her corn (subbed for lettuce) and mixed fruit. 

Alayna loved waving "Bye" at you guys this morning when you drove by.  She mentioned it several times throughout the morning.  I will try to remember to have her do that on a regular basis (unless she is upset enough that it would just make it worse). 

Alayna cuddled with Gary two different times today.  I think it is funny because she likes to cuddle with him better than with me.  The more I got thinking about it and observing them when they are "cuddling", the clearer it because that he isn't just cuddling with her, but teasing and tickling her as she sits there.  That is right up her alley and so she loves it. 

I was doing some focused observations and "testing" of the kiddos today for their developmental checklists that we will go over at our upcoming Parent-Provider Meetings.  Alayna was great about cooperating with I asked her if she would show me how she could do different things. 

All of the other kiddos were just hovering and jostling for positiion to do whatever I was "testing" next except Alayna.  She stayed busy playing the entire time and really didn't pay much attention to what we were doing at all.  As soon as I called her name she would come right over though and be very interested in what we were doing.  It was pretty cute. 

9/22/11

Alayna ate all of her English muffin and blueberries at breakfast.  At lunch she also ate everything -- canned chicken on saltines, cherries and potato salad (or eggs, as she called them). 

Alayna immediately went over, made and drove a big block motorcycle around today after you left.  She always makes it look so fun that all of the other little girls have to have motorcycles too.  : ) 

Gary had made a "sidewalk" out of the big interlocking blocks from the block shelf to the big window step. Gary just thought it was a "sidewalk" because as soon has he was done Morgan and Alayna both sat on it on their bottoms, started sliding from one end to the other and saying "Choo-choo" as they scooted. : ) 

Alayna loves all of our activities here.  I think that her favorites may be singing and jumping.  We usually sing several songs while Gary is setting up breakfast, but we almost always sing at multiple other times throughout the day. 

We have the jumping mattress set up in one of the back rooms and she loves to both bounce on it like a bunny and also climb up the climber/balance beam and jump onto the mattress.  When she first came she was too cautious to jump onto the mattress, but now she does it like a pro.  : ) 

9/21/11

Alayna ate most of her biscuit and all of her peaches at breakfast.  At lunch she ate about half of her steamed broccoli and baked beans and all of her pineapple and dinner roll. 

Alayna was done fussing and ready to get down and play by the time you guys drove by this morning.  That is how it is all the time now.  She usually doesn't even take that long (if she does fuss). 

Most morning after everyone is here and the kiddos are all doing some type of free choice play, Gary will call out "Where's my Alayna love?"  She will get the cutest grin (almost flirty) and then race over and give him a big hug.  It is really precious!

Alayna found a string off of the carpet on the step up to the big window.  She was using it like dental floss for several minutes.  She was making Gary proud.  He has changed his routine not, but for a long time he always flossed right after breakfast.  All of the kiddos were enthralled by the process. 

Alayna was sitting and scooting along the edge of the "alone play box" today chanting, "Going to my rainbow house" and " in my rainbow house".  She is so great about coming up with creative play experiences (often for herself). 

9/20/11

Alayna ate all of her hashbrowns and seconds on waffles at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her sauteed shrimp, rice and oranges and a couple bites of fresh colored peppers.

The other kiddos kept wanting to touch and cuddle with her blanket this morning, which she wasn't impressed with.  I had her take it out to where she naps, laid out her napmat and told her she could put it there so the other kiddos couldn't get it and she would have it at nap.  She wanted to lay down and cuddle with it, so she did for about 15 minutes.  She actually almost went to sleep there (even with all the busy-ness of parents coming). 

Alayna was so cute today.  She put a pair of the dress-up slippers on her feet, wrapped up one of the dollies in a blanket, and was "feeding" it with one of the white curlers (as a bottle).  It was super cute and creative. 

I was fixing several of the girl's hair today and Alayna came over and wanted me to "fix" hers too.  I told her that she already had pretty braids in and told her to go look in the mirror.  She went over and examined her hair for several minutes, saying, "Bootiful!"and "They by my ears!"  : )

She hasn't been telling me potty at all the last few days.  I have taken in several times, but I think she has only gone once or twice.

9/19/11

Alayna ate all of her cheerios and banana at breakfast.  At lunch she ate about half of everything -- apple bits, tomato soup, and grilled cheese sandwich. 

Alayna spent about 20 minutes looking at books this morning.  I was the one that got her inetested in the first book, but she just read one after from there on out.  It was great. 

Alayna was having a blast building with the big interlocking blocks this morning.  She really didn't build any one thing.  It was more just experimenting with doing one thing and then switching to another.

Alayna did a good job of using her words when she wanted something or was upset about something.  She really only screamed onece.  Patience and consistency is key here.  If both of us can not give her what she wants when she screams or whines, then there will be rewards. 

9/16/11

Alayna ate all of her oatmeal and craisins at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her ground burger, pea pasta side sish and applesauce. 

In the last one-and-a-half days Alayna has had 6 poopy diapers.  I am wondering if there isn't a little bit of a stomach bug going around because we have one other little one that has been pooping more and extremely strong.  Anyway, I just wanted to give you a heads-up.

We had one of the kiddos CDs on today that had very common kid's songs and Alayna was standing right under the CD player shelf and listening intently.  If she knew the song she was really singing along and it was adorable.  : )

Alayna is doing so well at meal times.  At first she had a hard time keeping her tummy up to the table and using her spoon or fork, but she is doing much better with both of those.  She also is the best little hands and face washer we have. 

She is really a good kiddo and great listener.  Sure she might have a moment here and there, but overall she is really a fun and cooperative little girl! 

9/15/11

Alayna ate all of her blueberries and blueberry bread pudding at breakfast.  At lunch she ate seconds on kiwi and all of her grean beans and turkey burger. 

We had made a tunnel with the big interlocking blocks yesterday and left it together for today.  When Alayna came she was thrilled and played in and around it for quite a while.  She and Jadey were taking turns going through the tunnel.  When one of them was going through, the other one was sitting on the step under the big window and cheering for the other one.  It was so cool!

She talked about Grandpa's motorcycle quite a bit the beginning of today.  Then later, she found a piece of the block tunnel that had fallen apart and was using it as "Grandpa's motorcycle".  It is so cute!  She is just enthralled with motorcycles. 

Jadey and Morgan were doing somersaults today and Alayna was watching them and cracking up every time they did one.  After watching and laughing for a while she started trying to do some.  She was mainly going sideways rather than over, but she was so excited and having so much fun!

9/13/11

Alayna ate all of her prunes and cinnamon roll at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her cantaloup, most of her eggs and about half of her waffles and hashbrowns. 

Alayna has sure been coming in well in the mornings.  She has been immediately engaging in play the last few days without even needing cuddle transition time.  She has been happy the whole rest of the day also.  She is a very good fit with our group and seems to have a lot of fun and enjoyment here.  We sure love her and are glad she is here also. 

Alayna was looking at the family posters on the wall today and spotted Bode in with his family.  She said, "There's Bode!" then kind of looked around the room like he was looking for him.  He graduated to preschool the beginning of this month.  He was always really sweet to the littler kiddos and they all liked him. 

Alayna really likes the dress-up clothes and slippers, as well as the blankets.  She was putting on the pjs today and a pair of slippers.  I thought it was pretty cute when she put on the top of the pajamas and the legs were flapping behind her. 

Alayna loves to play with the blankets and uses them very creatively. Some times they are actually used as a blanket for either herself or a dolly or friend.  Others she will use it as a tablecloth, a scarf, shawl or apron.  Others she will just put it over her head and walk around or play 'peek-a-boo'. 

9/12/11

Alayna ate bites of her mixed fruit and most of her Kix cereal at breakfast.  At lunch she ate seconds on ham sandwich and all of her steamed broccoli and mandarin oranges. 

Alayna really enjoyed playing with the toasters and other breakfast food stuff that we have out with this toy exchange.  She did a lot of "cooking" and "eating breakfast" and some serving of the other kiddos.  No one really seems to be into the cleaning up of breakfast though.  : ) 

Alayna was determined that this one robe that we have out with the dress-ups was a blanket and was using it to cover up with, cover her baby with and to lay on.  I tried to show her that it had arms and she could wear it if she wanted, but she insisted, "No!  It blankey!"  : )

There are play combs out with this set of toys and she was very intently combing one of the dolly's hair.  The thing that made that funny was that the doll had no hair.  You wouldn't have known it by how focused she was on the task though. 

I think it is so awesome how often Alayna is singing as she plays.  It is usually as if she doesn't even realize she is doing it.  She is so fucused on what she is playing, but still singing (usually quitely, but not always).  Lately the kiddos have decided that the bench of the picnic table is their stage.  One to four of them will stand up on the bench and just start singing -- usually at the top of their lungs.  It cracks me up! 

9/9/11

Alayna ate about half of her rice and raisins with milk at breakfast.  At lunch she ate most of her meatloaf and dried apricots and about half of her whole wheat french bread and her cooked carrots. 

Alayna was singing at the top of her lungs today while she was "riding on the motorcycle" made with the big interlocking blocks.  When Jadey told her it was loud, she said, "I know" and just kept right on singing.  She must have had to sing above the motorcycle motor.  : ) 

We could definitely tell that Alayna hadn't slept well last night.  She did really good about separating this morning, but was so sensitive and contrary all morning (until we went outside).  She screamed easily and forgot to use her words about things that she has been doing much better about.  She also was more whiney. 

She only went potty in the toilet once (a trickle). 

9/8/11

Alayna ate all of her whole wheat cinnamon toast and seconds on grapes at breakfast.  At lunch she ate about half of her dinner roll and all of her chicken strips, mashed potatoes and canned cherries.

Alayna might have fussed a minute this morning, but I don't even think it was that long.  I don't think you were all the way out the door before she stopped and started listening and engaging with the story I was reading her.  After about three short stories, she was ready to get down and play.  She is doing really well with the morning transitions almost always now. 

Alayna and Jadey were having fun doing blanket play again today.  They were "sleeping" over by the mirror in the big room and watching themselves and each other as the "slept".  It was really cute.  Alayna got tired of it first and got up and started to move away.  Jadey called after her, "Hey 'Layna!  Come back and go nigh-night again!"  Alayna answered her with, "I waked up!"  It was a great exchange.

Morgan decided that her doll was "poopy" today and I showed her how she could pretend that the little picnic table was the changing table and the little piece of cloth was the baby wipe.  She was thrilled and soon all of the little girls were "changing" and "cleaning" their baby's poopy diapers.  It cracked me up. 

All of the kiddos were were also thrilled with the shakers that they put stickers on at art time.  They would put on a few stickers then shake them vigorously for a couple minutes then add more stickers.  Alayna did better today with getting the stickers off of the sticker paper and onto the can. 

9/7/11

Alayna ate about half of her whole wheat bagel and all of her peaches at breakfast.  At lunch she ate some of her home made macaroni and cheese, about half of her lettuce with ranch dressing and a bite of corn. 

Alayna was using the little phone deal (called a 'toobaloo') as an iron today.  That is one dramatic play action we don't see much.  She was ironing one of the doll blankets and there was no mistaking what she was doing. 

Alayna is very coordinated and doesn't fall down or "crash" often.  When she does hurt herself, it amazes me how quickly she shakes if off after she gets her love.  She always comes right over to a hug and snuggle, but wants it to be quick and she is back off and running. 

Alayna has been doing better about using her words once in a while rather than just screaming when something happens that she doesn't like.  For example, today Jadey was standing on the blanket that she was playing with.  Usually she would just scream, but today she said loudly, "Off my blanket!"  We applauded her and made sure that Jadey listened to her words. 

Alayna only went potty once this morning and had a couple accidents (no poopies yet).  She was a little feisty about it when I took her twice and I didn't force it one time when she told me "No!" when I asked if she had to go potty.  I try to remember to tell her it is time to go, rather than ask, but forgot that time, so honored her response, which might not have been helpful.  ?? 

9/6/11

Alayna ate bites of her pears and about half of her blueberry muffin at breakfast.  At lunch she ate bites of her sweet potatoes and all of her orange slices and her tuna on saltine crackers. 

Alayna did a great job of coming in after a three day weekend.  She started to fuss slightly when mom walked out the door, but didn't cry at all and wanted down to play right away. 

All of the toddler girls were playing with the blankets again today.  They were covering up their dollies, themself and each other.  they were singing to themselves and each other.  Alayna was mainly covering and singing to Morgan ("Morgie") and Jadey.  It is so cute to watch them interact. 

Alayna also was having a lot of fun dancing with both Morgan and Jadey to the music.  Sometimes they just hold hands and either sway back and forth, just up and down or spin around.  Others they don't hold hands and just jig like crazy.  It is pretty fun to watch. 

Alayna had two poopies and one wet one today, but also went potty several times. 

Alayna is doing really well with pedaling her tricycle up and down the sidewalk now.  She has been working on it for the last couple weeks, but starting the middle of last week, starting having more successes than struggles and now hardly struggles at all.  Hurray!  Another milestone!

9/2/11

Alayna ate most of her oatmeal and all of her prunes at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her mandarin oranges and about half of both her biscuit and her tatertot casserole. 

Alayna was doing her yoga exercises today.  I don't even know what the position or exercise would be called, but she was laying on her belly, arching her back and rocking on her belly without her arms, head or legs (below the knees) touching the floor.  I thought that was pretty funny!

Gary had helped the kiddos make a "sidewalk" with the big blocks from the block shelf to the big window step.  Alayna had a blast walking and dancing on it.  She was doing some pretty good moves and still keeping her balance. 

Alayna and Jadey were playing with the doll blankets together.  They were covering each other up, tucking each other in and singing each other the "nigh-night" song that we sing as we lay them down for naps.  it was pretty cute. 

9/1/11

Alayna ate all of her cantaloup and french toast at breakfast.  For lunch she ate very little.  She ate about half of her turkey, and a bite of two of both dried mangoes and crescent roll.  I don't think she ate any of her squash, just spread it all over everything else lefton her plate. 

Alayna fussed off and on the first 20 minutes.  She would stop and be fine for a little then start fussing for a little.  She finally told me "I'm tired", so I had her go out to the living room to lay on her nap mat with her blanket until she was ready to get up and come play. After about five minutes she came over to the gate and was fine after that. 

She was successful potty training about half the time today -- three accidents (one was just poop, not pee) and three potty pees.  She told me all but one of them. 

It amazes Gary and I how much she talks about motorcycles.  Sometimes it is when she hears what sounds like a motorcycle go by, other times it is is in play and still others is just while talking to herself.  She often also labels it as "Daniel's motorcycle", which I think is so cute.

Alayna lay down and covered herself up with a couple of the blankets today during play.  She kept telling me "Night-night".  She must have played with it for about 20 minutes.  Part of the time Jadey was playing with her, saying "Where's Alyana?" and then peeking at her.  Alayna really liked that. 

8/31/11

Alayna ate all of her mixed berries and whole wheat toast at breakfast.  At lunch she ate everything -- ham, saltines, bean soup and kiwi. 

Alayna had a rough morning with the toilet training today.  She pooped in her pull-ups twice and one of the times it also got on her pants and shirt.  She also had 4 peeing accicents (one was being wet when she came) and wouldn't go three of the 9 times I took her.  She was just a little out of sorts in other ways today too. 

She is almost always a pretty good listener and may test a little, but responds when she realizes she isn't going to get away with whatever it is.  Today, it felt like every time we asked or told her to do something she was buckling down and defying it.  We always give the kiddos an opportunity to "do it yourself or have me help you".  She was just ignoring me when I talked to her and trying to just get away without doing things, so had to have a lot of help, which she really didn't like. 

Alayna was really looking at her family poster today and identifying all of the different people on it.  It is nice because I know the names of all of the ones on your picture, so I could visit with her about them.  She liked that and had to tell me everyone's name and often something else about them or the picture. 

Alayna was so proud of herself today because she was able to "pedal" the little bike all the way down the sidewalk and back.  She still has a little bit of a hard time getting going, but after she gets the rythm, she really can go.  : )

8/30/11

Alayna ate about half of both her dried apricots and her whole wheat bagel at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her tilapia and her applesauce and a couple bites of the noodles out of her pea and pasta salad. 

Alayna did so good with mom leaving today.  She didn't cry or fuss at all.  As Randa was closing the door she kind of whispered "Mommy!" but then immediately was fine.  She really didn't even hardly cuddle with me this morning.  I'm sure that by the time you guys drove by she was already down and playing. 

She also had another good day pottying so far.  Yesterday she was dry all day (including during nap) and didn't even poop in them (didn't poop at all, actually).  Today she did poop in her pull-up at about 10:00, but was dry the entire morning!  I have her go before outside time, before nap, and before afternoon outside time, but the rest of the time she has been telling us! 

I love how much she sings.  Today she was just walking around the room playing and singing "row-row-row your boat",  Yesterday it was "Jesus loves me and "Twinkle little star".  Then she was doing the "5 little monkeys jumping on the bed" as she was 'reading' the Humpty Dumpty book.  It was really cute! 

8/29/11

Alayna ate all of her craisins and about half of her bran flakes at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her cheese pizza, several bites of her steamed cantaloupe and a bite or two of tropical fruit. 

Gary and I have noticed how often Alayna says, "I need it" about anything someone else has that she wants.  Joslyn and Jadey are both starting to use the terminology also.  It is pretty funny! 

Although I put Alayna in a pull-up shortly after she came, she hasn't had an accident yet (naptime).  She went potty three times so far this morning and also hasn't pooped yet. 

Alayna was very interested in exploring all of the "new" toy exchange stuff.  She did quite a bit of cooking with the food stuff, tried on several dress up clothes, and was working hard to do the different things on the "dress-me-dolls".  She would unsnap pretty easy and to the zipping, but had a harder time with the button and resnapping. 

The blankets that are out with this set of toys are bigger and she was having fun covering herself and pretending to go to sleep.  Joslyn watched for a while then went over and put the blanket she was playing with on top of Alayna too.  She then started singing, "Night-night Layna" which was really cute!  : )

8/26/11

Alayna ate about half of her malt-o-meal and raisins at breakfast.  At lunch she ate most of her chopped salad with ranch and all of her spaghetti sauce (with hamburger) and her noodles.  She also ate all of her mixed fruit. 

Alayna only cried less than two minutes after you left today, Randa.  Gary got her the blanket she used at time time and having that to cuddle helped, I think.  By the time you went by she was basically over it and was trying on one of the dress up skirts. 

To keep you up to date on her toilet training plan and progress here.  I have decided to put her in a pull-up the first time I take her potty so that we don't have to worry about sanitary problems on the furniture or floors.  She also has been pooping one to two times while here and I don't have to worry about that being a traumatic issue for her (trying to get her underwear off without getting poop all over her...)  It doesn't seem to be having a negative affect on her staying dry or telling us potty.  For example, today she pooped in her pull-up, but didn't pee in it all day long.  I think she is doing well. 

One of the things we have been starting to work on with Alayna is using her words more instead of screaming.  She screams both when she is angry (at one of the kiddos) and when she is excited.  We are helping her say "This is fun" or "Wow!" when she is excited and then using words to express what she wants or feels when she is angry.  She really doesn't do it often, but when she does it it pretty piercing!  : )  I just wanted to pass that along to you. 

After about an hour this morning, Alayna looked all around and asked "Where's my baby?"  I tried to help her find one of the dolls, but that wasn't satisfying her.  I finally realized she was meaning Peyton!  Peyton stays with Grandma on Fridays.  I thought that was super cute!