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.