Hudson - 6/23/2017

Hudson ate oatmeal and banana for breakfast.  For lunch he ate tilapia, whole wheat elbow noodles, two servings of green beans, and ate applesauce.  I wasn't even listening to what I was saying at breakfast until I heard Hudson finish the Nursery Rhyme.  I said, "Diddle diddle dumpling my son John."  Bubba said, "Went to bed with britches on."  haha!  Well done Hudson!!

Just a reminder for everyone!  The next Blog will be on July 5th!  We are looking forward to our road trip and a time of relaxation!!  Lots of walks and lots of reading!  See you all when we get home!!

Atley's nose ran steady all morning, but Hudson was helping me keep up with it!  "Atley's nose running again!!"  Thanks Hudson!  :)

Hudson loves playing with the legos fence pieces you see in the first picture.  He said, "Hey Gary! This for my Mommy!!"  Nice! What is is Hudson?  "It for my Mommy!"  Oh.  (And that's a very typical Toddler response!!  It's about the process, not the end product!!)

There are only 3 children here today so it seemed like the Daycare was kind of quiet!  Well it's quiet if you don't consider Hudson's constant chattering and Atley's singing!  Haha!  Here are some pictures from this morning's activities.  Hudson was trying to initiate a game of hide-n-seek!  (There's nothing more comical than Toddler Hide-n-Seek!!)  He said, "I'm gonna hide, I'm gonna hide, I'm gonna hide!!"  So in the next picture he's "hiding" under the pillow and then peeking out totally proud of himself!  Then he told Avi, "You hide, I'm gonna count!"  Avi was like, "oh." Ha!  The kids colored on some coffee filters and we also played outside.

 

Hudson was in the igloo and Atley was giggling while peeking in at him and then running behind the igloo, run back and peek in, giggle and run behind it again.  I didn't take the picture until Hudson was moving on to another game.

Hudson - 6/22/2017

Hudson ate whole wheat bagel and two servings of peaches for breakfast.  For lunch he ate hamburger & sausage pizza with whole wheat crust, tomato sauce, mushrooms, peppers, pineapple, and ate some banana.  Hudson was so excited at breakfast:  "Nora's saying my name, Nora's saying my name, Nora's saying my name....!!!"  Nora started saying, "Bubba" yesterday.

Hudson was also excited when "Nora's Song" came on the iPod this morning.  (That's not the name of it, but that's what I always called it!)  He was chanting; "Hey Gary!  This is Nora's Song, this is Nora's Song...!!"  And Nora arrived while her song was still playing!!  :)

Hudson was pointing at a broken bracket (that holds the step stable) and said, "You better fix it, you better fix it...."  Ok, I will.  It was just Hudson and Atley here at the time.  I went to the shop grabbed my drill and another bracket.  (About a 2 minute repair.)  Hudson was sure the drill was going to be super loud.  About the same time he was poopy and I was changing him and he said, "Are you gonna tell my Dad I done screaming and moaning!?!"  (I confess - he gets that phrase from me.)  Actually he hadn't been screaming and moaning!!  Anyhow, Lauralea and I were laughing hard.  It was very cute and very funny.

The neighbors are busy this morning getting ready for some camping and fishing - which provided the opportunity to watch them from the window!  Ha!  Then Austin (or as Hudson was calling him; "Boston") mowed the lawn over onto our side of the lawn as well.  Thank you Austin!  I love it when you're home from college!!  :)

Hudson had this food toy when I took the picture and was saying, "These are my glasses, these are my glasses, these are my glasses!"  Well they certainly look like they'll help your vision!!  Ha!!

Hudson - 6/21/2017

Hudson ate most of whole wheat toast and ate lots of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch he ate most of pork roast, half of toasted rye bread, ate potatoes, no brussel sprouts, and ate lots of carrots, and half of fruit salad.

I have a couple notes from yesterday afternoon.  Sophie and Hudson were pretending to "face paint." Sophie told Hudson; "I wanna be a purple unicorn."  Ha!  He didn't hesitate.  Apparently that was in his repertoire of things to paint.  Here's the first picture I took of Hudson this morning.  He was stacking these little blocks and said, "I'm building a tree for Sophie."  Nicely done Hudson!!  (Except Sophie is not here today to see it.)

In this next picture Avi was peeking in at Hudson's hiding spot and she was chuckling and laughing at him.  We'd just finished reading books and I was singing a song we have in a book.  (I've not read it for several days or weeks.)  "She'll be coming around the mountain..."  So I said, "Yes we'll all have chicken and dumplings when she comes...."  Hudson said, "That what the book say!!"  Nice recognition Hudson!!

This last picture was taken outside this morning when we were playing with the bubbles.  Bubba apparently decided it was just easier to step on the bubbles rather than pop them with his hands! They were having fun chasing them around the yard - as it was a bit breezy at times.

Hudson - 6/20/2017

Hudson had bites of breakfast:  toasted whole wheat english muffin and dried plums.  For lunch he ate chicken with stir fry, brown rice, and oranges.

I thought this was a cute picture of Atley and Hudson playing side-by-side at the legos table.  As I've mentioned before this is what we call "parallel play."  Not actually playing together, but playing with their own toys beside each other.  Sometimes with similar toys, but not always.  Typically the concept of playing with the same toy (sharing) is something they become capable of grasping (cognitively) and implementing around the age of 3.  Hudson frequently plays with Sophie on a more advanced level, but he also struggles with the whole "sharing" toys concept.  And that is VERY normal!!

I think this picture is pretty funny - Hudson was putting all the stuffed animals in the igloo and Nora was tossing them behind her!  (You can see one in midair behind Nora.)  Bubba was focused on the task at hand and didn't want to stop until he had every stuffed animal off the mattress and in the igloo.  Nora finally gave up, crawled out and lay on the mattress sucking her thumb watching Bubba continue to fill the igloo!  Ha!!

This last picture is Hudson trying to get included in Sophie and Nora play.  Sophie had been tickling Nora and Nora was totally loving it; giggling and laughing.  This turned into a Sophie and Hudson argument about who could tickle Nora!!  (Intervention was necessary and successful.)

Hudson - 6/19/2017

Hudson ate cheerios and two servings of banana for breakfast.  For lunch we had taco salad and I serve it separately rather than all mixed together: He ate ground beef, two servings of pita bread, ate olives, some tomatoes and lettuce, and two servings of cantaloupe.

I was saying something about Nora and called her "Nora Hansen."  Hudson went right over to her and kept pointing and saying, "You Nora Hansen, you Nora Hansen, you Nora Hansen........"  Haha!  He cracks me up!  She just looked at him with an amused grin and I think she said, "What's your point?" Ha!!

Here are some pictures of the morning activities.  Hudson and Avi were playing with the legos; primarily the barns and barn animals.  In the 2nd picture all 5 kids were playing on the mattress and having lots of fun bouncing and jumping.  In the 3rd picture Hudson was tucking in Sophie - she kept calling him "Mommy" and then she said, "You forgot my lovey!!"  He seemed to know exactly which stuffed animal she wanted - the sheep.  Then he said, "I'm gonna tuck you in."

I took this picture when I told the kids I was getting some books for Story Time!  Isn't that the coolest thing?  When I turned around this is the picture I saw - so I got the camera!  They are all sitting (got up there and got ready on their own initiative) and ready for it to start.

Hudson - 6/15/2017

Hudson ate two servings of toasted whole wheat english muffin and ate oranges for breakfast.  For lunch he ate ground beef, whole wheat elbow noodles, peas, and two servings of applesauce.  It was nice to have Hudson back in the Daycare and he was pretty snuggly when he first arrived.  I asked him if Tutu had been kind to him!  Haha!!  :)  He was verbally relentless (that's my new term for describing Hudson!!) with "Hey Gary, hey Gary, hey Gary, hey Gary."  What do you want Hudson? "Hey Gary, hey Gary, hey Gary, hey Gary."  What do you want Bubba?  "Hey Gary, hey Gary."  Ha!

There will not be any Blogs tomorrow, June 16th.  Little Treasures is closing for the afternoon so Lauralea and I can attend a Memorial service for the precious daughter of some dear friends of ours.  Thank you so much to all my Daycare Families for making it possible for us to attend the funeral and support this family.

For the first time this week all 6 six kids are here today!  It was a busy place this morning, but we had lots of fun!!  Here's a picture of the kids playing on the mattress and blue balance beam.  Hudson is a bit blurry in the background, as he was just coming in for a landing!!  :)  Sophie asked, "Hey Bubba! You wanna do how-a-bunga with me?"  (I thought she said "cow," but she said, "how.")  So Hudson immediately started chanting, "How-a-bunga, how-a-bunga, how-a-bunga...."  "NOOO!! Not like that!" Sophie yelled.  She hadn't described the specific instructions on how the game was to be played, but apparently he wasn't doing it right!!  :)

 

I think the kids were looking at some birds when I took the last picture.  I was intent on taking a picture and I never did see what they were looking at.  This picture gives you a good perspective of a big 4 year old!!  (Reid will be 5 in late September.)  NBC news recently ran a piece on how a study showed that kids who drink only Almond Milk (along with rice milk, soy milk, and maybe more) are on the average 1- 2 inches shorter than others the same age.  I think Reid may be an exception to that study!!  Haha!  He's drank almond milk almost his entire life!!

Hudson - 6/9/2017

Hudson ate oatmeal and baked apples with cinnamon for breakfast.  For lunch he ate hamburger stew, dinner roll, vegetables from stew (potatoes, carrots, green beans, and a bite or two of brussel sprouts), and ate two servings of apricots.

This first picture is from yesterday afternoon when we came back into the house to get away from the loud thunder, the lightning, and the rain.  Hudson was watching Kenzie and Riley play and they loved making him laugh and distracting him from the loud thunder.

I was enjoying Bubba's amazing language skills this morning when it was just he and Atley at Daycare.  He was taking off his shoes and most kids might say "help!" or "help me" or just yell!  Ha! Hudson said, "Hey, can you help me down here!?!"  :)  Then he held up a book and asked, "What's this book Gary?"  So I just turned the question back to him.  "What's this book Hudson?"  He said, "Apples On Top.  One apple on top."  Very good.  It's a Dr. Seuss book counting book; 1 - 10.  So I just asked him about a few more books;  "Touch the ground."  "Falling down."  He could say phrases from every book.  This weekend is toy exchange so Monday it will be a new set of different books for 2 weeks.

We played outside this morning and the kids were happy when Bode (one of Reid's brothers) stopped by to say "hi" and answer Hudson's questions about "what's that? what's that? what's that?"  Bode is such a sweet and gentle boy and the little kids love him.  They also played on the geo-climber.  One other note from our outside time;  Nora got furious when Hudson had the audacity to put his sandals on his feet rather than letting her continue to play with them!  "What kind of a friend are you!?!"  :)

Hudson - 6/8/2017

Hudson ate toasted rye bread and a few dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch he ate two servings of pulled pork sandwich, ate peas, and cantaloupe.

The kids were at the window waiting for Andy, Avi's Dad to come around the corner.  Nora was already slapping the window at a frantic pace and Hudson kept telling her; "Not coming, not coming, not coming!!"  Haha!!

Hudson and Avi were having fun hauling the blocks around the room and using them for steps.  At the window, the sinks, the legos table, and at the balance beam as you can see in the picture below.  I love it when they experiment with all the different ways they can use one object.

We went outside and I took a picture of these 4 kids single-filing up and down the sidewalk.  Two dump trucks, one ice-cream cart, and Atley just out for the stroll.  :)  Then Sophie and Hudson were on the geo-climber and Sophie pointed at Bubba and said, "This my sister right her," then points to self and said, "I'm the brother!"  Hudson just looked at her as if to say, "Huh?  Ok, whatever."  :)  Earlier in the morning Sophie was reading a book and telling Hudson about it and then he was the Mother.  "So Mom, I'll just keep reading."

Hudson - 6/7/2017

Hudson had a few bites of breakfast: whole wheat toast and mangoes.  For lunch he ate hamburger with spaghetti sauce, whole wheat spaghetti noodles, squash, and half of fruit salad.

Here's a picture of the kids at the window waving bye to Daddy Andy.  I keep forgetting to remind Baby Nora's Daddy Ryan to wave to us at the window.  We're all lined up to wave and he goes flying by.  No one really notices except Hudson of course!!  (Sophie wasn't here yet.)  Bubba said, "He left!!"  As his eyes followed the car going down the street.  Haha!  In the 2nd picture they're back at the window watching the street sweeper.  Also at the window: Atley was pointing at a bird and there was a crow sitting on the power pole.  I showed it to Hudson and he said, "That weird."  Haha!

Here are some pictures from this morning: Playing in the igloo with Avi while Atley peeks in.  Then Sophie and Hudson were giving their babies rides down the slide.  The last picture is Bubba being Bubba - Trying to stick his head in the arm hole of the shirt.  My favorite from this morning was when Sophie announced: "Somebody's poopy Gary!!"  Hudson asked, "Is it me!?!"  Haha!  (No, not this time!)

Hudson - 6/6/2017

Hudson ate bites of whole wheat bagel and ate grapes for breakfast.  For lunch he ate shrimp, brown rice, bites of stir fry vegetables, and ate mixed berries.

This first picture is from yesterday afternoon and I thought it was so cute.  I'm not real sure what he was doing, but he has a couple of toys in there with him.  Maybe he's working on the sink!  When I built these I used stainless steel bowls for the sinks and he's looking up at the bottom of one of them.

I combed Avi's hair and as soon as I finished she immediately pointed at Hudson and wanted me to comb his hair!  "Bubba, Bubba"  Haha!  She cracks me up!  She does the same thing when Lauralea gives her a goodbye love in the mornings; points at Hudson, "Bubba, Bubba."  Yes it's his turn to get a love!!

It was kind of a crazy and busy morning for about an hour - and here are the stinky details.  All 4 of my "diaper" kids were basically poopy at the same time!!  Hudson was leaving a "trail" of evidence behind so it wasn't hard to determine who was going to get cleaned first!! Seriously!  Little pieces across the floor!  Maybe that's too graphic, but that's how it was!  Ha!  Geez, what a mess!!  Yup, that's occasionally what life is like at Little Treasures!!  He got a nice warm soapy bath in the utility sink!

Here's another picture of Hudson getting snugly with Nora again!  She said, "I knew that was you back there!!"  He never gets gets tired of this and Nora likes it too!!  Love this picture!

Hudson - 6/5/2017

Hudson ate some bran cereal and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch we had chicken salad - I serve the ingredients separately rather than mix it all together.  He ate chicken, pita bread, two servings of olives, and maybe some bites of peppers, tomatoes, lettuce with spinach, cucumbers, and he ate two servings of pears.

I was snuggling with Hudson in the swivel/rocker chair in front of the mirror and he was looking at himself in the mirror.  And it doesn't matter how many are there the Toddler primarily sees themselves!!  (egocentrism)  I pointed at the mirror and asked, Who are those guys?  Hudson said, "ME!"  LOL!!  (BTW - You can expect the same world view when they are teenagers!!)  I don't charge extra for these insights!!  :)  Then he kept asking; "Is Sophie coming today, is Sophie coming today?"  As far as I know, yes.  Are you coming today Bubba?  He said, "Nope."  :)

Right after Lunch, before Nap, Hudson was pooping and giving us frequent updates!  "My poop going down!!"  Haha!  Thank you Hudson!

Hudson was the first to arrive after Atley and she went right over to the window first to wait and wave at Hudson's Dad.  I took this first picture while they were waiting for Daddy Colin to arrive.  They also watched kids walk to school several times and watched some birds.  In the 2nd picture Hudson and Avilene were giving Sophie rides in the swivel/rocker chair.   In the 3rd picture - I think Nora was the first one looking at books this time.  However, when one goes somewhere they all soon migrate over!!  And the Library gets a bit crowded!!  Baby Nora looks a bit dwarfed in this picture!!  But don't worry - she holds her own just fine!!  Ha!!  She's not bashful about yelling if she needs some space!!

Hudson - 6/2/2017

Hudson ate malt-o-meal cereal and several dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch he ate baked beef "kabobs," brown rice, some zucchini and peppers, and ate two servings of pineapple.  He started tipping his plate up to drink the juice from the pineapple.  Uhhh...that's not gonna work too well with other food still on your plate Bubba!!  :)

Hudson kept asking EVERYONE this morning; "Is Sophie coming, is Sophie coming, is Sophie coming?"  Sophie eventually did arrive, but she was last.  He asked me, Lauralea, Molly (Avi's Mom),  Emily (Nora's Mom), and all the other kids.  Haha!  Then he was being silly calling me "Pat." "Hey Gary! You're Pat!"  Ok Bubba then you're Colin.  "Nooooo...Hey Gary!  Can you read!?!?"  Yes I keep telling you I learned to read many years ago and I love to read!!  :)  "Hey Gary!  Is Sophie coming!?!?"  Ha!  The boy is a talking machine!

I took this first picture when Hudson kept laying his head against Atley's head.  I guess it was his way of giving her loves!  :)  You can see by her grin she was ok with it!!  Then she was watching Hudson put on some dress-up clothes in typical Hudson fashion!!  (Head through the leg hole of the shorts!)

Here are a couple of pictures from this morning's activities.  The kids were at the gate watching Reid fetch the "big bears."  Then in the last picture Sophie and Hudson were singing, "Ring around the Rosy."  We also played outside and the kids had lots of fun and really weren't ready to come inside for lunch time.

Hudson - 6/1/2017

Hudson had bites of breakfast: waffle and fruit salad.  For lunch he ate everything: shepard's pie which has hamburger, green beans, potatoes, and carrots.  He also ate toasted rye bread and cherries. By the way, Hudson is sitting at the table all the time now and doing a great job.  Reid was on Hudson's case at breakfast; "Bubba!! You're dropping food!  Keep it on your plate!"  Geez!  Someday he might understand the meaning of "the pot calling the kettle black!"  Or however it goes!!  Haha!!

Here's a picture from yesterday afternoon, but I thought it was cute how Hudson was really studying the bottom of this school bus and the phone was his "tool."  He said, "I'm working on this.....there, I'm done!"  :)

Here's a picture of the kids waving bye to one of the parents.  The new girl Atley is on the left, then it's Avi, Sophie, and Bubba.  Atley did so well this morning and she is going to be a great fit at Little Treasures!  She has a mild temperament and that works well for starting in a new place at her age!! Atley had one of the blocks and put it on the blue balance beam.  Hudson immediately said, "We don't put em on here Atley!"  That is probably the hardest part, but it won't take long for her to familiarize herself with the way we roll!!  :)  Especially with the other kids keeping an eye on her!

Here are some pictures from this morning's activities.  I had an important phone call to make so Lauralea covered for me between 9:30 - 10:00.  She read books to the kids and when I started to take this picture Lauralea said, "My hair's a mess."  Sophie was looking back to see the mess.  Ha!  (Doesn't look like a mess to me!)  In the last 2 pictures Reid was playing with Hudson on the mattress and they were doing boy things - mauling each other!!  Hudson was giggling and loving it!!