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.  : )