Morgan ate all of her bagel and bite of fresh oranges at breakfast. At lunch Morgan ate all of her bread, cheese slices, cherries, and green beans. I also gave her thirds on pickles, because I know she loves them. We've only had them a few times, but she always wants more. That was her graduation food treat! : )
Morgan has been very excited about all of her graduation decorations throughout the morning. Gary's nephew, Steve, stopped in for a couple minutes this morning and she had to tell him about graduating and going to big girl school. Also while Steve was here she and the other kiddos were using him as a May pole-going around and around him.
Morgan, Aaron and Emily were all sitting at the table looking at and reading books both independently and to each other. You should have seen the huge stack of books they had on the table. There were only a couple left in the book rack.
Morgan and Joslyn were playing with the dolls in the blog this morning. Morgan was putting her baby to bed and singing, our "night-night baby" song, feeding her and taking to her.
Morgan was sitting on the balance beam deal with her legs hanging down into the little hole in the back. Emily was walking around by the igloo and Morgan told her, "come on Emily, it's time to go to Rosauers!" She joined her and away they 'went' to "get some groceries".
Morgan put one of the scarves over her head and around her shoulders and told Emily and Joslyn she was a "super hero!"
Alayna and her parents came by to visit for about half-an-hour today and that was fun for us and her. She acted like she hadn't been gone at all-didn't miss a beat. It was great. One of the things she did was put on an apron and go over to Morgan and ask her to "tie it" for her. Morgan must have messed with it trying to tie it for about five minutes. She had it twisted around and around, which actually did help it stay on for a little bit!
We will miss our dear Morgan, but also know from experience that it is much better to have them transition when they are just starting to become bored rather than wait until they are frustrated and have extremely outgrown us. She has all of the essential skills she needs (and then some) to be successful at her new school. She will absolutely love not having the babies and toddlers interfering with her experiences and play. I am sure she will also love the bigger kid activities that her new program will be able to provide, especially having more regular and longer outside times throughout the winter!
Thank you for your trust and teamwork throughout these past three years. You have taught us many things about your precious daughter and listened when we also had information to share about either her or child development or guidance in general.
Please keep in touch. We are SUPER glad that you are Lady Griz fans so we can see you all fairly regularly throughout the winter. We always have a time period of withdrawal after a graduation and that will help minimize it a little.
Love you guys!
Lauralea
Friday, December 28, 2012
Thursday, December 27, 2012
12/27/12
Morgan ate one bite of peaches and all of her Cheerios at breakfast. We are just winging it with meals for these two days, since there are only two days, fewer children and quite a few leftovers. At lunch she ate all of her baked beans and French bread, about half of her potato salad and a taste of broccoli salad.
We were taking with the kiddos about what they got for Christmas. Morgan told us, "I got hockey stuff and a car set and a doodle. That's everything I needed!"
She enjoyed reading books first thing for longer than usual because of having less kiddos and several of those not coming until later than usual.
Morgan didn't asked about Kenzie being gone at all this morning. She also played by herself much of the morning (in the box, in the igloo, behind the igloo or just in a different part of the room). When she was behind the igloo she had a couple animals with her there and was playing with them and talking to them.
Morgan enjoyed playing with the Fisher Price little people house most of the time we were in the first back room. She let Joslyn join her briefly a couple times, but was relieved when Joslyn moved on to something else.
Morgan played the xylophone and sang for a few minutes the decided to "take it for a walk" like her pet.
After the kiddos switched to the other back room, Morgan and Joslyn got busy "making presents" for each other.
We were taking with the kiddos about what they got for Christmas. Morgan told us, "I got hockey stuff and a car set and a doodle. That's everything I needed!"
She enjoyed reading books first thing for longer than usual because of having less kiddos and several of those not coming until later than usual.
Morgan didn't asked about Kenzie being gone at all this morning. She also played by herself much of the morning (in the box, in the igloo, behind the igloo or just in a different part of the room). When she was behind the igloo she had a couple animals with her there and was playing with them and talking to them.
Morgan enjoyed playing with the Fisher Price little people house most of the time we were in the first back room. She let Joslyn join her briefly a couple times, but was relieved when Joslyn moved on to something else.
Morgan played the xylophone and sang for a few minutes the decided to "take it for a walk" like her pet.
After the kiddos switched to the other back room, Morgan and Joslyn got busy "making presents" for each other.
Friday, December 21, 2012
12/21/12
12/21/12
Morgan ate most of her oatmeal and craisins at breakfast. At lunch she ate thirds on macaroni with peas and cheese on it and all of her applesauce and set ground beef.
After breakfast both Kenzie and Morgan said they were done and asked to wash at the same time. I chose to have Kenzie wash first and Morgan started making little irritated sounds to let me know she wasn't happy with my choice. Kenzie looked at me and said, "Morgan's not being fun right now! She needs to be fun, so I will play with her!" We have been talking about behaviors that are fun and those that aren't so fun some lately. She is obviously getting it (for others, at least).
There was some beautiful bell Christmas music playing on the iPod this morning and I commented on it. Morgan said, "yeah, but where's the music?"
Kenzie, Emily and Morgan decided it was a great day for Halloween play. They were talking about dressing up in their costumes and going trick-or-treating. Kenzie was chanting "Trick or treat, smell my feet". Morgan spun around in front of Kenzie and told her, "I have on my Halloween dress!" Hmm... And all this time I thought it was Christmas time!
Morgan and Emily decided that they wanted to play the bury each other under the bears in the chair game this morning. Morgan told her, "We can take turns. I'll go first." Well, some one DOES have to be first, you know! : )
In the back room Morgan and KenIe wanted to play with the same exact toy at the same time, so I told Morgan that they could take turns and I would watch the clock. We have a digital clock/CD player combo on a shelf back there. Morgan looked all around the room then asked me, "where's the clock?" She was obviously looking for the round kind like in the bathroom and big room. I pointed to it and told her it was a different kind, but also showed her my watch and told her I could use that. A few minutes later they were again trying to play with the same toy and Morgan came up to me and asked if I could "watch the clock on my arm". : )
The first ting that Morgan and Kenzie did when they got to the back room was find all of the Duplo flowers. Morgan asked Kenzie, "Shall we play the flower game?" I expected that to mean spinning them like they did yesterday, but instead, they proceeded to pick out the different colors then race over to me to verbally label and show them to me.
Morgan ate most of her oatmeal and craisins at breakfast. At lunch she ate thirds on macaroni with peas and cheese on it and all of her applesauce and set ground beef.
After breakfast both Kenzie and Morgan said they were done and asked to wash at the same time. I chose to have Kenzie wash first and Morgan started making little irritated sounds to let me know she wasn't happy with my choice. Kenzie looked at me and said, "Morgan's not being fun right now! She needs to be fun, so I will play with her!" We have been talking about behaviors that are fun and those that aren't so fun some lately. She is obviously getting it (for others, at least).
There was some beautiful bell Christmas music playing on the iPod this morning and I commented on it. Morgan said, "yeah, but where's the music?"
Kenzie, Emily and Morgan decided it was a great day for Halloween play. They were talking about dressing up in their costumes and going trick-or-treating. Kenzie was chanting "Trick or treat, smell my feet". Morgan spun around in front of Kenzie and told her, "I have on my Halloween dress!" Hmm... And all this time I thought it was Christmas time!
Morgan and Emily decided that they wanted to play the bury each other under the bears in the chair game this morning. Morgan told her, "We can take turns. I'll go first." Well, some one DOES have to be first, you know! : )
In the back room Morgan and KenIe wanted to play with the same exact toy at the same time, so I told Morgan that they could take turns and I would watch the clock. We have a digital clock/CD player combo on a shelf back there. Morgan looked all around the room then asked me, "where's the clock?" She was obviously looking for the round kind like in the bathroom and big room. I pointed to it and told her it was a different kind, but also showed her my watch and told her I could use that. A few minutes later they were again trying to play with the same toy and Morgan came up to me and asked if I could "watch the clock on my arm". : )
The first ting that Morgan and Kenzie did when they got to the back room was find all of the Duplo flowers. Morgan asked Kenzie, "Shall we play the flower game?" I expected that to mean spinning them like they did yesterday, but instead, they proceeded to pick out the different colors then race over to me to verbally label and show them to me.
12/20/12
Thank you for the new books. We had to look at them multiple times this morning. The children all enjoyed them. Of course, we also had to read several others in addition to the new ones.
All four of my "big kiddos" (that's stretching it for Riley) got in on the burying and being buried under the stuffed animal bears this morning. They all really enjoy both being buried and piling them on whoever is at the bottom.
The scarves have also been a big hit this week, and especially today. They were using them for towels after playing in the "water park", as Morgan labeled the blue carpet. They were also using them for peek a boo tools, hats, aprons, skirts, and coats. We love it when we find an item that the children just naturally use creatively for multiple things.
All of the children were having a blast taking turns jumping on, stepping off onto and flopping on mattress. It is such a great large muscle builder and strengthener, as well as being a wonderful alternative to going outside, as far as burning off energy, and getting the rowdies out.
Of course, with play cake, cookies, and brownies out there has to be pretend cooking and eating going on.
I took a picture of one of the kiddos today and that got all of them wanting to look at the new and old pictures on my iPad. I showed them for a few minutes and also deleted a couple that I didn't want to save. Morgan was watching me, obviously realized what I was doing and said, "Delete, delete". Again, it is a brand new age...
When we switched to the back room KenIe and Morgan asked me to build them a car. I did help them build one and they played in it for most of the time we spent in that room. They even let Aaron and Riley join them, much to their delight.
All four of my "big kiddos" (that's stretching it for Riley) got in on the burying and being buried under the stuffed animal bears this morning. They all really enjoy both being buried and piling them on whoever is at the bottom.
The scarves have also been a big hit this week, and especially today. They were using them for towels after playing in the "water park", as Morgan labeled the blue carpet. They were also using them for peek a boo tools, hats, aprons, skirts, and coats. We love it when we find an item that the children just naturally use creatively for multiple things.
All of the children were having a blast taking turns jumping on, stepping off onto and flopping on mattress. It is such a great large muscle builder and strengthener, as well as being a wonderful alternative to going outside, as far as burning off energy, and getting the rowdies out.
Of course, with play cake, cookies, and brownies out there has to be pretend cooking and eating going on.
I took a picture of one of the kiddos today and that got all of them wanting to look at the new and old pictures on my iPad. I showed them for a few minutes and also deleted a couple that I didn't want to save. Morgan was watching me, obviously realized what I was doing and said, "Delete, delete". Again, it is a brand new age...
When we switched to the back room KenIe and Morgan asked me to build them a car. I did help them build one and they played in it for most of the time we spent in that room. They even let Aaron and Riley join them, much to their delight.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
12/19/12
Morgan ate all of her jelly toast and seconds on dried mangos at breakfast. At lunch she ate all of her beef and bean burrito and her tropical fruit along with a bite of sweet potatoes.
Morgan was out of sorts for about 20 minutes this morning, but only melted down for about 5 right after you left. She had a couple other moments, but none were very intense.
Morgan cracked me up today when she announced, "I can't slow down!" as she raced around the climber, mattress and floor and back up to the climber over and over and faster and faster.
Morgan, Joslyn and Kenzie were taking turns sitting in the chair and being buried with the teddy bears. It's hard to tell if she likes being buried or doing the burying best.
Morgan and Kenzie discovered that the Duplo flower pieces can spin when they are on their tops and twisted just right. They worked and worked to do it repeated.
Morgan was putting together three pieces of white Duplo fence. Kenzie watched her for a while then asked, "Do you need help with the directions?
Morgan was out of sorts for about 20 minutes this morning, but only melted down for about 5 right after you left. She had a couple other moments, but none were very intense.
Morgan cracked me up today when she announced, "I can't slow down!" as she raced around the climber, mattress and floor and back up to the climber over and over and faster and faster.
Morgan, Joslyn and Kenzie were taking turns sitting in the chair and being buried with the teddy bears. It's hard to tell if she likes being buried or doing the burying best.
Morgan and Kenzie discovered that the Duplo flower pieces can spin when they are on their tops and twisted just right. They worked and worked to do it repeated.
Morgan was putting together three pieces of white Duplo fence. Kenzie watched her for a while then asked, "Do you need help with the directions?
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
12/18/12
Morgan ate thirds on cinnamon rolls and all of her prunes at breakfast. At lunch she ate all of her cantaloupe and waffles, a bite of scrambled eggs and about half of her has browns.
Morgan, Kenzie and Joslyn were using the big yellow chair as their car. They each had a purse and were going "shopping". Morgan told me they were going to get "some more apples". Sets of three seldom work, but for some reason, with this specific thing it worked well for 20 minutes before someone did something she didn't like.
Morgan was playing with the stuffed animals and had made a circle with all of the bears. Someone asked her if she was going to tell them all a story. She said "No, I don't know any bear stories." I decided to help her out and began to tell the story of the three bears. Instead of it being Goldilocks, I said the little girl's name was Morgan. Morgan loved t and was just enthralled the entire way through. Literally the moment I was done she was already asking me to "read it again". : )
Morgan was enjoying wearing the dress-ups again today, especially the tie and red tutu.
Morgan, Kenzie and Joslyn were using the big yellow chair as their car. They each had a purse and were going "shopping". Morgan told me they were going to get "some more apples". Sets of three seldom work, but for some reason, with this specific thing it worked well for 20 minutes before someone did something she didn't like.
Morgan was playing with the stuffed animals and had made a circle with all of the bears. Someone asked her if she was going to tell them all a story. She said "No, I don't know any bear stories." I decided to help her out and began to tell the story of the three bears. Instead of it being Goldilocks, I said the little girl's name was Morgan. Morgan loved t and was just enthralled the entire way through. Literally the moment I was done she was already asking me to "read it again". : )
Morgan was enjoying wearing the dress-ups again today, especially the tie and red tutu.
Monday, December 17, 2012
12/17/12
Morgan ate all of her Kix cereal and a bite of her mixed fruit at breakfast. Morgan ate all of her cooked peas and mandarin oranges and seconds on ham sandwich.
Morgan was quite excited to examine the toy exchange to see what was in it. She tried on several of the dress ups, including a couple tutus and an apron. She asked Emily to help her tie it, which Emily declined saying it was "too hard" so I helped her.
Morgan immediately noticed that I hadn't gotten out the new stuffed animals and reminded me. When I went and got them, she was excited and immediately started looking through them to find her favorite. She then got all of the kiddos putting them all on the black chair by the couch in the big room. They kept piling until it just overflowed and no more would stay on top. That was when they thought it was Really fun!
Morgan kept talking about "going to play hockey" after she was "done" with whatever she was currently doing. She said she was going to be "just like mommy".
Morgan and several of the other kiddos were excited with both jingle bells and frosty came on the iPod. They liked and really listened to several of the other songs also, but those two were definitely the favorites. Morgan and Kenzie were dancing to the Christmas music with their teddy bears and flopping on the mattress with them, just cracking up.
When we went to the back room, Kenzie stacked all of the Duplo flowers together and was chanting, "Jacob - Marley, Jacob - Marley". Morgan picked up on it and was chanting it too, just in case she does it at home... It wasn't from us! : )
Morgan was quite excited to examine the toy exchange to see what was in it. She tried on several of the dress ups, including a couple tutus and an apron. She asked Emily to help her tie it, which Emily declined saying it was "too hard" so I helped her.
Morgan immediately noticed that I hadn't gotten out the new stuffed animals and reminded me. When I went and got them, she was excited and immediately started looking through them to find her favorite. She then got all of the kiddos putting them all on the black chair by the couch in the big room. They kept piling until it just overflowed and no more would stay on top. That was when they thought it was Really fun!
Morgan kept talking about "going to play hockey" after she was "done" with whatever she was currently doing. She said she was going to be "just like mommy".
Morgan and several of the other kiddos were excited with both jingle bells and frosty came on the iPod. They liked and really listened to several of the other songs also, but those two were definitely the favorites. Morgan and Kenzie were dancing to the Christmas music with their teddy bears and flopping on the mattress with them, just cracking up.
When we went to the back room, Kenzie stacked all of the Duplo flowers together and was chanting, "Jacob - Marley, Jacob - Marley". Morgan picked up on it and was chanting it too, just in case she does it at home... It wasn't from us! : )
12/14/12
Kenzie was very interested and a little anxious acting about Morgan going to "big girl school". Kenzie must have asked about her at least 15 times before she got there. After she came she was quizzing her -- "did you like it?", "what did you see there?" and "Are you going to visit again?" It was very cute actually. Morgan answered some of the questions and ignored others.
Morgan commented that there weren't any babies at "my new school" a couple times when one of then was doing or about to do something she didn't care for. She also talked about seeing Bode the without me even asking her (or Kenzie either).
Morgan was very lovey several times, which we have found often happens when they begin the transition. She also had one melt-down she. She and Kenzie had conflict over something and I moved Kenzie away from her. It wasn't too intense or long though.
Morgan commented that there weren't any babies at "my new school" a couple times when one of then was doing or about to do something she didn't care for. She also talked about seeing Bode the without me even asking her (or Kenzie either).
Morgan was very lovey several times, which we have found often happens when they begin the transition. She also had one melt-down she. She and Kenzie had conflict over something and I moved Kenzie away from her. It wasn't too intense or long though.
12/13/12
Morgan ate all of her grapes and seconds on cinnamon toast at breakfast. At lunch she ate a bite of her chili (substituted toedaybecause we had some left over from last night) and all of her canned cherries, dinner roll and potatoes.
Morgan and Emily were laying on the floor and said they were making snow angels. They were laughing and having a great time like they were ate ally doing it!
Morgan kept pushing on Emily not long after she came this morning. Emily kept using her words asking her to "move back" and "be gentle" and "don't push me", but Morgan just repeatedly ignored her words and actually pushed or squished against her more. I gave her the choice of moving back on her own or me helping her. I thought she was going to do it on her own and was just about to applaud her when she screamed "NO!" at me and hitting at Emily. I intervened and moved her back a couple steps, but she just stepped right back forward and started hitting at her again. Bottom line, a very intense, half-hour melt-down followed.
Morgan has put on the wolf mask that goes along with 'Little Red Riding Hood' mask set many time since Missy got them out with this toy exchange. Today she put it on and announced in a very sweet voice, "hello everybody! I am a big bad wolf!" She then looked at Nora, who really wasn't even paying attention to her and said, "it's okay. You don't have to be afraid. It's just a mask."
I had mentioned that the heel of my foot was hurting and Morgan said, "I know why your foot is hurting. Because you play with us lots, and lots, and lots, and lots! What a cutie!
Morgan and Emily were laying on the floor and said they were making snow angels. They were laughing and having a great time like they were ate ally doing it!
Morgan kept pushing on Emily not long after she came this morning. Emily kept using her words asking her to "move back" and "be gentle" and "don't push me", but Morgan just repeatedly ignored her words and actually pushed or squished against her more. I gave her the choice of moving back on her own or me helping her. I thought she was going to do it on her own and was just about to applaud her when she screamed "NO!" at me and hitting at Emily. I intervened and moved her back a couple steps, but she just stepped right back forward and started hitting at her again. Bottom line, a very intense, half-hour melt-down followed.
Morgan has put on the wolf mask that goes along with 'Little Red Riding Hood' mask set many time since Missy got them out with this toy exchange. Today she put it on and announced in a very sweet voice, "hello everybody! I am a big bad wolf!" She then looked at Nora, who really wasn't even paying attention to her and said, "it's okay. You don't have to be afraid. It's just a mask."
I had mentioned that the heel of my foot was hurting and Morgan said, "I know why your foot is hurting. Because you play with us lots, and lots, and lots, and lots! What a cutie!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
12/12/12
Morgan ate thirds on bagel and all of her peaches at breakfast. Morgan ate seconds on macaroni and cheese and all of her salad with ranch, ham and corn.
Morgan was having her friends bury her with the Stuffed bears yesterday afternoon. Gary topped it off by adding the big bear on top.
Morgan asked Gary what his shirt said and we told her, "Never fear. Grandpa is here." After we told her that she kept chanting, "Never fear, grandpa Gary is here". : )
Morgan sat down at the big room picnic table and banged a couple times on the table, announcing, "OK! I want to eat. Who wants to fix me dinner?" Joslyn immediately jumped up, said, "okay" and started bringing her food.
I was taking notes on my iPad and Morgan was watching and asking me if I was "writing about me"? She then informed me that she got to play games on mom's computer at home.
Morgan was talking on one of the play phones and Morgan asked, "is Gacky there?" She then proceeded to tell Gacky what was for dinner-- string beans and "basketti".
Morgan was having her friends bury her with the Stuffed bears yesterday afternoon. Gary topped it off by adding the big bear on top.
Morgan asked Gary what his shirt said and we told her, "Never fear. Grandpa is here." After we told her that she kept chanting, "Never fear, grandpa Gary is here". : )
Morgan sat down at the big room picnic table and banged a couple times on the table, announcing, "OK! I want to eat. Who wants to fix me dinner?" Joslyn immediately jumped up, said, "okay" and started bringing her food.
I was taking notes on my iPad and Morgan was watching and asking me if I was "writing about me"? She then informed me that she got to play games on mom's computer at home.
Morgan was talking on one of the play phones and Morgan asked, "is Gacky there?" She then proceeded to tell Gacky what was for dinner-- string beans and "basketti".
12/11/12
Morgan ate thirds on blueberry waffles and all of enter pears at breakfast. At lunch she ate a nibble of each and that was it. We had tuna on saltines, sweet potatoes and orange slices.
It took Morgan almost a full hour to go to sleep after she lay down today. Those colds can make us SO miserable".
Kenzie said, "Morgan" about ten times and Morgan wasn't responding. She finally got frustrated, put her hands on her hips and said, "Morgan, say "what" when I talk to you!" They have all heard that reminder a few times from us. : ). Morgan finally did and Kenzie was appeased.
There were several times when Morgan didn't attach the babies that she could have done so. I was proud of her and told her so! One of the times when I commented that I was proud of her for being gentle for the babies, she said, "there won't be babies at big girl school!" Maybe that is how she is refraining, by holding on to that thought. I have never heard any of our kiddos vocalize that before leaving, but then, Morgan's cognitive skills are pretty advanced.
Kenzie and Morgan were very engaged with both the "train" that they asked me to help them build with the big interlocking blocks and with building with the Duplos themselves. They always went some help getting started, but just take of from there. Kenzie just can't stand having the middle Emily (like a house) and always fills it n with blocks.
It took Morgan almost a full hour to go to sleep after she lay down today. Those colds can make us SO miserable".
Kenzie said, "Morgan" about ten times and Morgan wasn't responding. She finally got frustrated, put her hands on her hips and said, "Morgan, say "what" when I talk to you!" They have all heard that reminder a few times from us. : ). Morgan finally did and Kenzie was appeased.
There were several times when Morgan didn't attach the babies that she could have done so. I was proud of her and told her so! One of the times when I commented that I was proud of her for being gentle for the babies, she said, "there won't be babies at big girl school!" Maybe that is how she is refraining, by holding on to that thought. I have never heard any of our kiddos vocalize that before leaving, but then, Morgan's cognitive skills are pretty advanced.
Kenzie and Morgan were very engaged with both the "train" that they asked me to help them build with the big interlocking blocks and with building with the Duplos themselves. They always went some help getting started, but just take of from there. Kenzie just can't stand having the middle Emily (like a house) and always fills it n with blocks.
Monday, December 10, 2012
12/10/12
Morgan ate all of her Chex cereal and a coupe bites of her fruit salad at breakfast. At lunch she ate seconds on apple slices and tomato soup and all of her roast beef sandwich.
Morgan, Joslyn, Kenzie and I were all visiting about their elves on shelves this morning. Joslyn said hers was on the diaper bag, Kenzie's was in the "ball pit" and in the window and Morgan's as eating marshmallows, "but their was no fire"! It was fun to listen to them talk and laugh at where each other's elves were.
Riley, Thomas, Peyton and Emily were dragging tool round the seat of the picnic table in the big room as they walked around it. Because it is kind of rough, it was making a pretty loud sound. Morgan told them, "calm down please".
Morgan was sitting on the bottom step of the inside climber/balance beam and Kenzie was "fixing" her hair. That pretty much consisted of pulling the back into a ponytail in their hands over and over. Then they switched places and Morgan did Kenzie's.
Morgan was aggressive toward Kenzie four different times today, and Riley and Peyton a couple times each. I'm sure it was complicated by not feeling very well. The last time, when she scratched at Kenzie's face, I told her she needed to be gentle. She immediately started screaming "no, no, no, no!" And hitting and scratching at me and toward Kenzie. I moved her away from Kenzie by me and tried too hold and talk to her gently, but she was in full melt-down mode and it was not possible.
She was asleep within 10 minutes of laying down, which is very unusual for her lately.
Morgan, Joslyn, Kenzie and I were all visiting about their elves on shelves this morning. Joslyn said hers was on the diaper bag, Kenzie's was in the "ball pit" and in the window and Morgan's as eating marshmallows, "but their was no fire"! It was fun to listen to them talk and laugh at where each other's elves were.
Riley, Thomas, Peyton and Emily were dragging tool round the seat of the picnic table in the big room as they walked around it. Because it is kind of rough, it was making a pretty loud sound. Morgan told them, "calm down please".
Morgan was sitting on the bottom step of the inside climber/balance beam and Kenzie was "fixing" her hair. That pretty much consisted of pulling the back into a ponytail in their hands over and over. Then they switched places and Morgan did Kenzie's.
Morgan was aggressive toward Kenzie four different times today, and Riley and Peyton a couple times each. I'm sure it was complicated by not feeling very well. The last time, when she scratched at Kenzie's face, I told her she needed to be gentle. She immediately started screaming "no, no, no, no!" And hitting and scratching at me and toward Kenzie. I moved her away from Kenzie by me and tried too hold and talk to her gently, but she was in full melt-down mode and it was not possible.
She was asleep within 10 minutes of laying down, which is very unusual for her lately.
12/7/12
Morgan was talking about the crazy places the elf on the shelf has been and what it has been doing. Kenzie and Joslyn had to come and join in the conversation. It was almost as if they were trying to outdo each other. : )
Kenzie was done eating breakfast before Morgan was this morning. Kenzie was standing in the big room doorway saying something to Morgan. Morgan obviously couldn't hear her so said, "Can you talk louder?" Hmm... I think she has probably heard that a few times from Gary!
Morgan and Kenzie were playing with the flip phones today. I overheard them saying the following phrases: "Let's check our email." "I'm gonna play a game". "I got my iPod." We have literally never heard the children talking about emails or iPods before. I believe it is the beginning of a new era in child care!
Morgan and Kenzie were each holding hands with one of the bears and twirling around in circles, doing ,"Rosies" with the teddy bears. They would fall down and have the bears fall on top of them at the right time and everything. They have probably played together as well today as they have for a long time.
Morgan was telling us she had a runny nose almost constantly, so I finally put some tissue on the corner of the changing table so she could reach it herself. I timed her for a while and she was getting the tissue and wiping her nose every 30 to 90 seconds, with most of them being right around a minute. I hope her nose survives.
Kenzie was done eating breakfast before Morgan was this morning. Kenzie was standing in the big room doorway saying something to Morgan. Morgan obviously couldn't hear her so said, "Can you talk louder?" Hmm... I think she has probably heard that a few times from Gary!
Morgan and Kenzie were playing with the flip phones today. I overheard them saying the following phrases: "Let's check our email." "I'm gonna play a game". "I got my iPod." We have literally never heard the children talking about emails or iPods before. I believe it is the beginning of a new era in child care!
Morgan and Kenzie were each holding hands with one of the bears and twirling around in circles, doing ,"Rosies" with the teddy bears. They would fall down and have the bears fall on top of them at the right time and everything. They have probably played together as well today as they have for a long time.
Morgan was telling us she had a runny nose almost constantly, so I finally put some tissue on the corner of the changing table so she could reach it herself. I timed her for a while and she was getting the tissue and wiping her nose every 30 to 90 seconds, with most of them being right around a minute. I hope her nose survives.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
12/6/12
Morgan all of her cantaloupe and thirds on French bread at breakfast. At lunch she ate thirds on dried mangoes and all of her squash, biscuit and turkey.
Morgan and Emily sat in the yellow chair together and read books for bout 15 minutes straight this morning. It is really cute to watch them because the visit with each other, point to things in their own book or the others. Or just read or sing to each other or self.
Morgan and Kenzie started playing with the stuffed animals briefly, but were soon in conflict so I moved Kenzie to the other side. Then Morgan and Emily played in the igloo conflict free the rest of the big room play time.
Morgan notices the snow coming down outside and asked if we could "do that"' pointing to the weather wheel. We did and then reviewed many of our sign language signs. It is amazing how many of them she remembers, even when it has been quite some time since we have done them.
Morgan and Emily sat in the yellow chair together and read books for bout 15 minutes straight this morning. It is really cute to watch them because the visit with each other, point to things in their own book or the others. Or just read or sing to each other or self.
Morgan and Kenzie started playing with the stuffed animals briefly, but were soon in conflict so I moved Kenzie to the other side. Then Morgan and Emily played in the igloo conflict free the rest of the big room play time.
Morgan notices the snow coming down outside and asked if we could "do that"' pointing to the weather wheel. We did and then reviewed many of our sign language signs. It is amazing how many of them she remembers, even when it has been quite some time since we have done them.
12/5/12
Morgan didn't want to eat breakfast here. She said she had already had cereal at home.
Morgan and Emily sat on the big yellow chair and read and discussed books together again. They do it almost every morning now,
Kenzie and Riley didn't come until close to lunch and Morgan kept asking me when Kenzie was coming over and over. The can't live with each other and can't live without either. : )
Morgan started a chase game with Emily where they would announce "Oh no! An alligator coming!" and race around the rowdy side of the big room.
Morgan had one incident where she knocked Mia over with a book because she didn't want her close to her. I really don't think she does it to be mean to her--just a reaction.
She and Emily were very engaged playing with the keys and phones in the work shops while using the work benches.
Morgan and Emily sat on the big yellow chair and read and discussed books together again. They do it almost every morning now,
Kenzie and Riley didn't come until close to lunch and Morgan kept asking me when Kenzie was coming over and over. The can't live with each other and can't live without either. : )
Morgan started a chase game with Emily where they would announce "Oh no! An alligator coming!" and race around the rowdy side of the big room.
Morgan had one incident where she knocked Mia over with a book because she didn't want her close to her. I really don't think she does it to be mean to her--just a reaction.
She and Emily were very engaged playing with the keys and phones in the work shops while using the work benches.
12/4/12
Morgan wanted me to read to her first thing this morning, but I was busy putting Noah to bed and helping a couple other kiddos with something. She then asked Trisha to read. Trisha read until time to leave to take Coral to school. Emily joined them and they both loved it! Trisha has to have Micala to school by 7:50 and Coral can't be there that early, so they hang out here for about 20 minutes ever morning.
Morgan and Kenzie played together and alongside of each other in the box basically from the time Kenzie arrived until breakfast. I put a work bench in each side of the box so they had their own work shops, but they chose to share one and actually did so very congenially. Kenzie calls it her "shop".
Morgan was "doing cutting" with the pliers on the doll blankets today. I think she was pretending to fix something from listening to she and Kenzie's conversation. Kenzie kept asking her if it was ready. : )
Reid was here all day and I had less time to focus on and take notes. Sorry so short.
Morgan and Kenzie played together and alongside of each other in the box basically from the time Kenzie arrived until breakfast. I put a work bench in each side of the box so they had their own work shops, but they chose to share one and actually did so very congenially. Kenzie calls it her "shop".
Morgan was "doing cutting" with the pliers on the doll blankets today. I think she was pretending to fix something from listening to she and Kenzie's conversation. Kenzie kept asking her if it was ready. : )
Reid was here all day and I had less time to focus on and take notes. Sorry so short.
12/3/12
Morgan ate about half of her cereal and craisins at breakfast.
Gary Grumpy Bear "heart bear" this morning. Morgan corrected him, "I see 'em on TV. It's Grumpy Bear! She didn't want to share him with any of the kiddos this morning, so grumpy bear had to take a break above the garage.
Kenzie asked if we could go to the back rooms and I told her "after a while" because the babies were sleeping in both back rooms. Morgan instantly came back with " crocodile". It took me a minutes to realize she was finishing the saying"after a while, crocodile. : )
I got out the work benches today and put one in each section of the box and ne outside of the box also so the babies could explore them too. I had three of the bigger kiddos on one side and four on the other. They all did such a great job of switching when it was time to let the kiddos on the other side play with them.
Morgan and Kenzie were singing and obviously mad up some new words to and old song. they sang "And on this farm they had a mouse, with a "mouse-sca, do and a mouse-sca, do." I am not sure, but I think Morgan made it up and Kenzie ran with it!
Gary Grumpy Bear "heart bear" this morning. Morgan corrected him, "I see 'em on TV. It's Grumpy Bear! She didn't want to share him with any of the kiddos this morning, so grumpy bear had to take a break above the garage.
Kenzie asked if we could go to the back rooms and I told her "after a while" because the babies were sleeping in both back rooms. Morgan instantly came back with " crocodile". It took me a minutes to realize she was finishing the saying"after a while, crocodile. : )
I got out the work benches today and put one in each section of the box and ne outside of the box also so the babies could explore them too. I had three of the bigger kiddos on one side and four on the other. They all did such a great job of switching when it was time to let the kiddos on the other side play with them.
Morgan and Kenzie were singing and obviously mad up some new words to and old song. they sang "And on this farm they had a mouse, with a "mouse-sca, do and a mouse-sca, do." I am not sure, but I think Morgan made it up and Kenzie ran with it!
Friday, November 30, 2012
11/30/12
Morgan ate all of her raisins and malt-o-meal and wanted more. She then asked, "well then, can I eat the rest of Kenzie's?" Needless to say, we found some that hadn't been eaten out of already. : )
Morgan wiped her melt-down up when I told her she could only go wave at the window if she wasn't screaming. She did start back up again after you drove off but the intensity was less. She was totally done after about 10 minutes. She stayed on my lap cuddling with me long after the tantrum was over and acted just exhausted.
Morgan and Joslyn got a whole stack of books and took them to the table. Morgan said they were "playing pay". From observing I believe that means they are pretending to check the books out at a store. Morgan would wave the book back in forth in front of her (as if scanning it) then hand it to Joslyn like she was the customer. They switched roles after a while.
Morgan and Kenzie were doing some cooking and baking dramatic play for quite some time congenially. When I limit the access to each other by having them play a part for a while each morning, they seem to play better when they do get to be together.
Morgan wiped her melt-down up when I told her she could only go wave at the window if she wasn't screaming. She did start back up again after you drove off but the intensity was less. She was totally done after about 10 minutes. She stayed on my lap cuddling with me long after the tantrum was over and acted just exhausted.
Morgan and Joslyn got a whole stack of books and took them to the table. Morgan said they were "playing pay". From observing I believe that means they are pretending to check the books out at a store. Morgan would wave the book back in forth in front of her (as if scanning it) then hand it to Joslyn like she was the customer. They switched roles after a while.
Morgan and Kenzie were doing some cooking and baking dramatic play for quite some time congenially. When I limit the access to each other by having them play a part for a while each morning, they seem to play better when they do get to be together.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
11/29/12
Morgan ate seconds on cinnamon raisin muffins and all of her blueberries at breakfast. At lunch Morgan ate thirds on saltines and everything else -- canned chicken on saltines, broccoli and canned cherries.
Morgan loves it when Trisha lets the kiddos sit on the couch and look at her keys. She has several cool things on her key ring other than just keys. She had a couple different key lights (mini flashlights), a dice key ring, a round one and several others. The kiddos love looking at them and whoever is here in the morning will sit on the couch and take turns.
She asked for Christmas music when Emily asked me to put some music on. She especially liked it when Jingle Bells and Rudolf came on.
They have started having a very rowdy session first thing every morning, which is a little challenging with other families coming and our attention needs to be in two places. We let them burn off a little steam until either it gets too loud or too rowdy and we are afraid someone will get hurt.
It amazes me how much the kiddos still love playing with the giant bear. We have named him Goliath. They play in, on , under and around him for many minutes every day and just don't see to get tired of it. She and Joslyn were playing on him today a little too closely and crazily. They ended up bonking heads and Morgan just knew Joslyn had hurt her on purpose! I had to really work to convince her that it wasn't.
Morgan, Joslyn and Kenzie were all involved in some pretty elaborate dramatic play today. One of the things they were doing cracked me up. They were going to banker Joslyn to get "money for the basketball game and the ticket". Morgan said she was giving Joslyn the "card" to get money with! It's a whole new era in dramatic play! : )
Morgan wanted to go play in the back room by herself about ten minutes before we were ready to head back. When we got back there she had made a great creation with the Duplos. She greeted us with it in hand, saying, "I don't know what it is, but I did it!" Kenzie immediately started asking her to help her make one. At first Morgan said she couldn't because she was "busy", but the next time Kenzie asked, she told her, "sure, I can" and helped her start putting them together.
Morgan loves it when Trisha lets the kiddos sit on the couch and look at her keys. She has several cool things on her key ring other than just keys. She had a couple different key lights (mini flashlights), a dice key ring, a round one and several others. The kiddos love looking at them and whoever is here in the morning will sit on the couch and take turns.
She asked for Christmas music when Emily asked me to put some music on. She especially liked it when Jingle Bells and Rudolf came on.
They have started having a very rowdy session first thing every morning, which is a little challenging with other families coming and our attention needs to be in two places. We let them burn off a little steam until either it gets too loud or too rowdy and we are afraid someone will get hurt.
It amazes me how much the kiddos still love playing with the giant bear. We have named him Goliath. They play in, on , under and around him for many minutes every day and just don't see to get tired of it. She and Joslyn were playing on him today a little too closely and crazily. They ended up bonking heads and Morgan just knew Joslyn had hurt her on purpose! I had to really work to convince her that it wasn't.
Morgan, Joslyn and Kenzie were all involved in some pretty elaborate dramatic play today. One of the things they were doing cracked me up. They were going to banker Joslyn to get "money for the basketball game and the ticket". Morgan said she was giving Joslyn the "card" to get money with! It's a whole new era in dramatic play! : )
Morgan wanted to go play in the back room by herself about ten minutes before we were ready to head back. When we got back there she had made a great creation with the Duplos. She greeted us with it in hand, saying, "I don't know what it is, but I did it!" Kenzie immediately started asking her to help her make one. At first Morgan said she couldn't because she was "busy", but the next time Kenzie asked, she told her, "sure, I can" and helped her start putting them together.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
11/28/12
Morgan ate a bite of peaches and all of her biscuit at breakfast. At lunch she ate thirds on baked beans and all of her dinner roll, pineapple, and corn.
Morgan was being very sweet this morning multiple times. One example is when she had a doll in her hands and she asked Kenzie if she wanted to touch her and then said, "that would be alright".
Morgan has been doing a lot of pretend crying for the dolls lately. Sometimes I have to look to see what is happening in order to tell if she is really crying or just play crying. It is so realistic.
Morgan has really become interested in the time and clock. Gary has been working with her, at her initiative. It initially started with her asking when mom and dad were coming to pick her up, but today it was over when we were goIng to switch to the back room. She actually seems to get the concept, which is VERY unusual for her age. That usually doesn't start happening until somewhere between 4 & 6. It will probably become increasing later as digital replaces clocks with hands.
Morgan and Joslyn were playing a form of hide and seek with one of the dolls. The thing that cracks us up is that as soon as the seeker starts looking for it, the hider always tells them where they hid it. Silly kiddos!
Kenzie and Morgan enjoyed playing with the little people airplanes, cars and parking garage in the one back room and in and around the building I helped them make with the big interlocking blocks in the other. They were cracking me up! They would stand on the edge of it and announce loudly, "Boys and gentlemen!" then jump into the middle of it. Gary will occasionally announce "ladies and gentlemen and kids of all ages, welcome to the Sanks circus!" for whatever reason. I guess that was their interpretation of it! : )
Morgan was being very sweet this morning multiple times. One example is when she had a doll in her hands and she asked Kenzie if she wanted to touch her and then said, "that would be alright".
Morgan has been doing a lot of pretend crying for the dolls lately. Sometimes I have to look to see what is happening in order to tell if she is really crying or just play crying. It is so realistic.
Morgan has really become interested in the time and clock. Gary has been working with her, at her initiative. It initially started with her asking when mom and dad were coming to pick her up, but today it was over when we were goIng to switch to the back room. She actually seems to get the concept, which is VERY unusual for her age. That usually doesn't start happening until somewhere between 4 & 6. It will probably become increasing later as digital replaces clocks with hands.
Morgan and Joslyn were playing a form of hide and seek with one of the dolls. The thing that cracks us up is that as soon as the seeker starts looking for it, the hider always tells them where they hid it. Silly kiddos!
Kenzie and Morgan enjoyed playing with the little people airplanes, cars and parking garage in the one back room and in and around the building I helped them make with the big interlocking blocks in the other. They were cracking me up! They would stand on the edge of it and announce loudly, "Boys and gentlemen!" then jump into the middle of it. Gary will occasionally announce "ladies and gentlemen and kids of all ages, welcome to the Sanks circus!" for whatever reason. I guess that was their interpretation of it! : )
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
11/27/12
Morgan ate thirds on waffles and seconds on hash browns at breakfast. At lunch she ate all of her shrimp, rice and colored peppers, as well as a couple bites of oranges.
Morgan was a big helper for me this morning. First of all, she helped me put two sets of diapers away in the cupboard space where they go. Later, she helped Peyton remember to keep the toys out of the book rack then moved the toys she had brought over there away from the book rack. After that she took Thomas' shoes out and put them in his cubby (and later Aaron's).
Morgan was using the play thermometer out with this toy exchange as her pencil. She took it over to the table and was "writing". She was also writing on the mirror, poster, box, pictures and everything else. She was really enjoying it!
Morgan really likes to watch herself in the big room mirror as she plays. It especially happens when she is using the dress-ups, but I have also seen her doing it when reading, singing, playing instruments and other things.
Morgan went over to Gary and started bugging him so he would bug her back. He kept telling her to "come back her pig tails!" She was loving it and cracking up. She looked at me all smiles and said, "I havin' fun with my Gary". After a while Gary had to stop to do several things -- feed Mia, change a poopy diaper and so forth. When he sat back down Morgan asked, "can you wrestle me again?"
Morgan and Kenzie decided that the thing to do in the back room was to fill the block building Gary's kiddos had built with as many Duplos as they could get away with. I think I let them do too many because it caused problems when Aaron tried to go over and get some from them for the building he was making.
Morgan was a big helper for me this morning. First of all, she helped me put two sets of diapers away in the cupboard space where they go. Later, she helped Peyton remember to keep the toys out of the book rack then moved the toys she had brought over there away from the book rack. After that she took Thomas' shoes out and put them in his cubby (and later Aaron's).
Morgan was using the play thermometer out with this toy exchange as her pencil. She took it over to the table and was "writing". She was also writing on the mirror, poster, box, pictures and everything else. She was really enjoying it!
Morgan really likes to watch herself in the big room mirror as she plays. It especially happens when she is using the dress-ups, but I have also seen her doing it when reading, singing, playing instruments and other things.
Morgan went over to Gary and started bugging him so he would bug her back. He kept telling her to "come back her pig tails!" She was loving it and cracking up. She looked at me all smiles and said, "I havin' fun with my Gary". After a while Gary had to stop to do several things -- feed Mia, change a poopy diaper and so forth. When he sat back down Morgan asked, "can you wrestle me again?"
Morgan and Kenzie decided that the thing to do in the back room was to fill the block building Gary's kiddos had built with as many Duplos as they could get away with. I think I let them do too many because it caused problems when Aaron tried to go over and get some from them for the building he was making.
Monday, November 26, 2012
11/26/12
Morgan ate all of her banana and seconds on Cheerios at breakfast. At lunch she ate all of her grilled cheese sandwich and cherry tomatoes, about half of her apple slice and a couple bites of her salad. We had made it for dinner last night and decided to use the left overs for lunch today rather than wasting it. I had put some canned chicken in it and they didn't like it as well that way.
She was thrilled that we had the Christmas decoration stuffed animals up on the ledges, compliments of Kenzie's grandma Annabelle... She also liked the Christmas tree, especially when we had the lights on. I have to find the Frosty snowman for outside still.
Kenzie and Morgan were at each other almost immediately so I separated them while we were in the big room. Morgan ended up playing with Emily then and they did fine together. Emily will either go along with what Morgan says, or just walks away and does her own thing. She doesn't engages in battle with her. That battle of the persistent wills is what gets Morgan and Kenzie!
When we switched to the back room, Morgan immediately set about making a "motorcycle" with the big blocks. She actually did a good job with it all by herself (well, with a little help bringing her blocks by Riley). I also helped them make little "houses" with a opening so that they could slide the little Duplo people into the house through the "door". Kenzie and Morgan loved that!
She was thrilled that we had the Christmas decoration stuffed animals up on the ledges, compliments of Kenzie's grandma Annabelle... She also liked the Christmas tree, especially when we had the lights on. I have to find the Frosty snowman for outside still.
Kenzie and Morgan were at each other almost immediately so I separated them while we were in the big room. Morgan ended up playing with Emily then and they did fine together. Emily will either go along with what Morgan says, or just walks away and does her own thing. She doesn't engages in battle with her. That battle of the persistent wills is what gets Morgan and Kenzie!
When we switched to the back room, Morgan immediately set about making a "motorcycle" with the big blocks. She actually did a good job with it all by herself (well, with a little help bringing her blocks by Riley). I also helped them make little "houses" with a opening so that they could slide the little Duplo people into the house through the "door". Kenzie and Morgan loved that!
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
11/21/12
Morgan ate all of her toast and thirds on dried mangos at breakfast. At lunch she ate all of her beef and bean burrito and her tropical fruit and a bite of her sweet potatoes.
Morgan was thrilled that Colt was here today. They started off all jumping onto the mattress from the balance beam, which lead to wresting with the bear, with lead to wrestling with each other, which lead to chaos and moving the to the other side of the room.
They started doing some doctor play, at Colt's leading and where giving all of the doll check-ups. It was great that he got them all engaged in it. Literally wherever Colt was the fur big girls were glued to him, unless I specifically made them not play together, which made whoever it was VERY unhappy.
We got out the magna doodles and they were very engaged with them! Morgan, especially, was working hard to draw actual pictures rather than just scribbling. She was very proud of her picture when she was done!
Morgan attached Kenzie twice today, one leaving actual scratch marks on her face below her eye. Neither of them were provoked, although another one was. Both were over them competing for Colt's attention during play.
Morgan was intrigued with the 'Hand, hand, fingers, thumb' book and wanted to know what each page said, over and over! If you haven't seen it, it is about monkeys drumming.
Just so you know, Morgan hasn't gone to sleep yet and it is 1:15, even with MANY reminders!
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a wonderful long weekend. We are looking forward to ours.
Morgan was thrilled that Colt was here today. They started off all jumping onto the mattress from the balance beam, which lead to wresting with the bear, with lead to wrestling with each other, which lead to chaos and moving the to the other side of the room.
They started doing some doctor play, at Colt's leading and where giving all of the doll check-ups. It was great that he got them all engaged in it. Literally wherever Colt was the fur big girls were glued to him, unless I specifically made them not play together, which made whoever it was VERY unhappy.
Morgan attached Kenzie twice today, one leaving actual scratch marks on her face below her eye. Neither of them were provoked, although another one was. Both were over them competing for Colt's attention during play.
Morgan was intrigued with the 'Hand, hand, fingers, thumb' book and wanted to know what each page said, over and over! If you haven't seen it, it is about monkeys drumming.
Just so you know, Morgan hasn't gone to sleep yet and it is 1:15, even with MANY reminders!
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a wonderful long weekend. We are looking forward to ours.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
11/20/12
Morgan ate seconds on cinnamon roll and all of her prunes at breakfast. At lunch Morgan ate all of her waffles, hash browns and cantaloup. She also the a couple bites of scrambled eggs.
Morgan had three stethoscopes around her neck at once. She did a nice job of sharing one with Kenzie when she wanted one. Of course, it wasn't the one that Kenzie wanted, but at wasn't Morgan's issue. : )
Kenzie and Morgan were struggling first thing this morning, so I decided to just keep them apart until our small group time. Morgan and Emily played together throughout our large group time. They read some books together on that side.
When they switched to the other side of the big room, they were 'hiding' and going from one side of the room to the other side while holding hands. Morgan was actully kind of dragging her around most of the time. She kept telling her, "You don't have to be 'ascared'! I gotcha!"
When a song about bananas came on the iPod Morgan went racing over to Gary and said, "There's your song." Pretty soon the 'Do your Ears Hang Low' song came on and she again raced over to him and announced, "There's your other song, Gary!" She was very excited about it!
Right before we were ready to switch rooms Morgan and Kenzie asked to play with the giant bear together, so I let them. Kenzie was in the front and Morgan behind her, while sitting on him. Kenzie had ahold of his ears and reared back like he was bucking. When she did, the back of her head smacked Morgan right in the nose. It hurt bad and Kenzie felt bad. She told her "I'm sorry!" Instantly, but also gave her a hug when she was holding a cold cloth on it, which I thought was great!
When we went to the back room, Morgan sat down in front of Riley and rolled her a car. Riley was thrilled and rolled it back to her, chuckling. They did it back and forth several times until Riley lost interest. I thought that was so sweet of Morgan (and it was even to one of the mobile babies). : )
Monday, November 19, 2012
11/19/12
Morgan ate all of her Kix and about half of her mixed fruit at breakfast. At lunch Morgan ate seconds on steamed broccoli and all of her mandarin oranges and her ham sandwich.
Morgan started a game where they were pretending that they had on "costumes" complete with glasses (without anything on actually). It then transitioned to looking around for things in the room that "scared" her. The others didn't pick on that part of it, thankfully.
Morgan and Kenzie were being a little testy so I asked them if they wanted to play nicely together or play apart. Morgan got all excited and said, "Do you wanna play apart, Kenzie?" Kenzie nodded. Morgan took off to play, then turned to me and asked, "what is apart?" It cracked me up!
The played together for a little while longer, but I did end up having them play "apart". Morgan ended up playing with Joslyn at the kitchen set, in the box and with the tambourines.
Christina, Matt and their friend, Mike make it in last night. Christina is Gary's daughter. They are in the process of moving up here from Louisiana. Their apartment won't be available until mid December, so they are staying with us until then. Morgan acted like they hadn't been gone since they had been up to visit in October. It was cute!
Morgan really doesn't like it when the babies or younger kiddos (other than Kenzie, Emily or Joslyn sometimes) "bug" her. Most of the time that means they are just coming close to her or have touched her. When I tell her they are little and she can just move away from them or go in the box to get away from them, she doesn't like it and often a battle follows because she insists on grabbing them, hitting themor pushing them away.
Morgan kept talking about "they is puking up!" When I asked her what was puking, she said it was "all of the toys"! I am not sure what the thought process was, but as soon as one of the toys was "puking up"' it got put up on the chair (maybe so they won't contaminate the kiddos or the their toys?).
Morgan cracked us up today when she put one of the tambourines on her head, one on each arm and held on in her hands in front of her face. I looked so cute!
Friday, November 16, 2012
11/16/12
Morgan ate all of her rice and raisins at breakfast. At lunch she ate all of her meatloaf, French bread, cooked carrots and dried apricots. She also had thirds on baked beans, which was what Thomas was having because of the eggs in the meatloaf! : )
I was supposed to be headed into the kitchen and instead started down the hall. Morgan was watching me fix lunch and started chuckling when I remembered what I was doing and went into the kitchen where I was supposed to be. She said, "You forgot what you were supposed to be doing! That cracks me up!" I'm glad SHE finds it humorous! : )
Our giant bear got a two inch tear in the top of his chest (probably from the kiddos tugging and pulling on him so much). We put him outside the gate for the last couple days so it didn't get worse, or the stuffing get pulled out of him. Today I made a big production of having him come to the "doctor" to be fixed. I first lay him on the picnic table (examination table) and let the kiddos examine him. They used about every doctor's tool we have out, but especially the stethoscopes. After that we gave him some medicine so it wouldn't hurt so bad when I put stitches in him. I then took him over to the couch and they anxiously watched as I stitched him up. They were giving him kisses and petting him the whole time I was working him "to make him feel better!" It was very cute,
I remembered to check with everyone's (the bigger kiddos) mom or dad this morning so I could put on Griz tattoos and all of the kiddos loved it. All of them watched while their friends got theirs on too, not just when I was doing theirs. It was quite the production!
In the back room Kenzie and Morgan were stacking up big blocks and making a "camp sight". Morgan started the idea, but Kenzie really went with it! Morgan put a yellow one on top of several brown ones and said it was the "camp fire". She is amazingly creative in so many different ways!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
11/15/12
Morgan ate seconds on cinnamon toast and all of her mixed fruit at breakfast. At lunch Morgan ate most of her chicken and all of her roll mashed potatoes and canned cherries.
Morgan looked out the window after the fog rolled in and said, "ooo! It's smokey out!" You can tell you live in a forest fire area when that's more common than fog. : )
Morgan was not wanting any of the younger kids close to her. When I reminded her that she could play in the back room if she didn't want them bugging her, she lit up and immediately invited Emily to join her there. They played there until breakfast (about 20 minutes).
Morgan has taken it upon herself to keep Gary informed about the songs on the iPod. The cutest was when the "do your ears hand low" song came on, she raced over to him and told him, "there's your favorite song!" He has told the kiddos that he likes it when he reads the book by the same title.
Morgan has been pretending to be a baby and trying to get one of her "mommy"s to help her frequently the last couple weeks, probably because of all of the new baby talk. She actually does a pretty realistic cry. Several times I have thought she was really crying. Sometimes she also pretends she can't get up and she recruits Kenzie and/or Emily to help pull her up. That leads to them falling and cracking up, which also tends to lead to increased craziness until someone is crying.
Morgan made a great Duplo owner in the back room today. She tried to bring it over to show me and it toppled over. Riley immediately picked up one of the broken pieces and handed it to her. Morgan told her "thank you, Riley" so cute. Riley loved it, grinning all over. When Morgan put it back together again, it was no longer a "tower", but a "walking stick".
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
11/14/12
Morgan ate all of her mini bagel and peaches at breakfast. At lunch Morgan ate seconds on macaroni and cheese and all of her ham, corn and salad with ranch.
Morgan and Emily decided to work together to "be the gate" like I do when I sit on the floor to separate the two sides of the big room. One sat on each side of the opening with their feet touching. When someone wanted through, they moved their feet back. It was pretty cute!
Morgan was jumping onto the mattress and saying it was the pool. She kept talking about "'most dive in the water", and "make a big splash". Kenzie, Emily and Thomas had to join and imitate her.
Morgan and Kenzie were pretending it was bed time on the mattress. They took turns telling each other, "Sorry Honey, but you have to go to sleep!" I think Kenzie started it, but not sure.
When we went to the back room, I sat with them and we played with the race cars. They are pretty good sized and roll really well on the hardwood floors. After doing it with just one to get the hang of it. I added another one and it got a little crazy. They were just cracking up, especially when the cars "accidentally" crashed into each other.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
11/13/12
Morgan ate all of her pears and thirds on blueberry waffles at breakfast. At lunch she ate all of her sweet potatoes and her tuna on saltines, along kth a couple bites of her orange slices.
Morgan, Noah and I (and later Kenzie, Riley and Emily) read and looked at about six books first thing this morning as we cuddled. That is a great transition activity from home to here.
Morgan and Kenzie vacillated from getting along to having enough of each other and one of them moving away. When one of them moved away the other one rejoined them within couple minutes almost every time and they would be back to being buddies again. It is interesting to observe!
Morgan and Kenzie were visiting this morning and Morgan told her, "she's upside-down like a wombat" about how Kenzie was holding her doll. She must have learned that at home, because I don't think we have ever even said the word "wombat" here.
Kenzie, Emily and Morgan had a playful tug of war with the giant bear for several minutes. They pulled him from side to side on the rowdy part of the room, off of and back on the mattress.
Morgan was following Kenzie around and she suddenly said, "hey Kenzie, stop! I just have one thing to tell ya!" She says so many things that just crack me up every day!
Morgan loves to do little things to get Gary to harass and play with her. For example, today Gary was standing at the changing table taking some notes on the kiddos. She gets an impish look on her face as she's laying in the mattress. she then puts her feet up on his legs until he quits taking notes and gets down on the mattress with her, playing! It's sweet!
Monday, November 12, 2012
11/12/12
Morgan ate all of her Chex cereal and a bite of her fruit salad at breakfast. At lunch she ate everything -- roast beef sandwich, tomato soup and apple slices.
Morgan explored the new toy exchange stuff. She especially looked at the new books, dolls and doctor stuff.
Morgan was quite out of sorts off and on this morning. She had an extended melt down during breakfast because something wasn't quite right and she wouldn't tell us what it was. She, then, had another one about 45 minutes later when I moved her way from the friend she had slapped across the face.
Morgan was very excited to play with the stuffed dogs and cats that we got out with this set. Morgan was looking at them and finding the matching "twins". When Kenzie heard Morgan say that, she chuckled, pointed to Riley and said "No, we're the twins!" : ) She also told me they were "following each other and sniffing each other." During this whole time she had them over by me and was playing independently.
Morgan and Kenzie didn't play with one another much this morning. they did spend some time playing on and around the black chair. One was on the chair and the other one under it. I am not sure what the game was, but Kenzie would either bark (woof-woof) or say meow and Morgan would peek over the edge of the chair and Kenzie would crack up. Morgan loved making her laugh.
Morgan was asleep almost immediately at nap time so was obviously tired!
Friday, November 9, 2012
11/9/12
Morgan ate seconds on oatmeal and all of her prunes at breakfast. At lunch Morgan ate several bites of her biscuit and all of her mandarin oranges and hash brown casserole.
The kiddos used the Magna doodles today and really enjoyed that. Morgan made a mark with three bumps on it and told me "I maked a M for me". She and Joslyn drew with them for about 20 minutes or so.
Morgan and Kenzie were struggling quite a bit with getting along, so I had to separate them -- Kenzie went to the back room to play with Emily for a while.
Morgan really didn't play then until after breakfast. She just hung out by me and then went out with me to fix the oatmeal. She loves doing that because I always give my "helpers" a little taste of brown sugar after I put some into the oatmeal. That was the first thing she asked after I said she could come with me.
The kiddos were watching a crow in the big tree out of the big window and making cawing sounds. They also banged n the window to try to scare him away, but he just waited to fly until he was good and ready -- must be taking lessons from our kiddos! : )
Thursday, November 8, 2012
11/8/12
Morgan ate all of her French toast and cantaloupe at breakfast. At lunch she ate seconds on dried mangoes and all of her squash, turkey slices and crescent roll.
We had a pretty busy morning today. A early childhood education student was here doing an observation and checklist on our program for about 90 minutes. She was very good about being unobtrusive, but it still changes the dynamics somewhat. About 10 minutes after she got here, Bode's mom, Leslie, brought him and the baby (Reid) down for about the same length of time. All of the kiddos were very excited to see baby Reid. The four bigger kiddos followed Bode around like the Pied Piper! It was so funny!
Then Coral only had half a day of school, so she came and ate lunch with us and will be with us the rest of the afternoon. She just hangs out in her room during nap time so that is no issue, it just made an addition for lunch.
Morgan and several of the other kiddos were trying on all of the animal costumes again today. I really like the lion suit on Morgan!
Morgan and Joslyn were looking at their two family picture posters this morning. Morgan was very interested in who everyone was on joslyns, She was asking Joslyn questions about everyone, asking who they were and what her grandma's name was. They were super engaged in it for quite a while.
The kiddos asked to "do more leaves" today so we used the last of the sticker fall items Emily's momma Cynthia donated . They all had fun and I really enjoyed seeing who stacked them, who didn't, who chose mostly leaves and who didn't...
We had a pretty busy morning today. A early childhood education student was here doing an observation and checklist on our program for about 90 minutes. She was very good about being unobtrusive, but it still changes the dynamics somewhat. About 10 minutes after she got here, Bode's mom, Leslie, brought him and the baby (Reid) down for about the same length of time. All of the kiddos were very excited to see baby Reid. The four bigger kiddos followed Bode around like the Pied Piper! It was so funny!
Then Coral only had half a day of school, so she came and ate lunch with us and will be with us the rest of the afternoon. She just hangs out in her room during nap time so that is no issue, it just made an addition for lunch.
Morgan and Joslyn were looking at their two family picture posters this morning. Morgan was very interested in who everyone was on joslyns, She was asking Joslyn questions about everyone, asking who they were and what her grandma's name was. They were super engaged in it for quite a while.
The kiddos asked to "do more leaves" today so we used the last of the sticker fall items Emily's momma Cynthia donated . They all had fun and I really enjoyed seeing who stacked them, who didn't, who chose mostly leaves and who didn't...
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
11/7/12
Morgan ate all her toast and a tasting bite of mixed berries at breakfast. At lunch she ate seconds on saltine crackers and bean soup and all of her kiwi and ham.
Morgan asked "what makes a BOOM?" out of the blue today. I was trying to think about the answer because I didn't have a frame of reference since I hadn't just heard a boom. She then answered her own question with, "a cannon?" Obviously she's been to at least one football game!
Morgan put one of the little stuffed animals in the skirt of her dress while she was sitting down and flipping it up so it went in the air, like we do with the balls outside in the parachute.
Morgan was reading books again this morning and asking me " what's this one?" for the nursery rhymes that she wasn't sure of. Then she would sing whatever that page's one was.
Morgan wanted music on this morning. It is amazing how many times she announces the next song after only one little note or sound.
Morgan, Joslyn and Kenzie were all in the igloo together. They actually managed to play without conflict in the close quarters! It may not be a record, but it's well above average!
Morgan and Kenzie were playing and Morgan came over to me and announced, "look at me! I'm all dressed up like a prince". Kenzie then added that she was Cinderella. They really had no dress ups, or any thing else different on at all. The only thing was they both had the hoods on their dress/shirt pulled up! Great imaginations!
Morgan was doing a great "Here we go cheerleaders, here we go!" chant. It was complete with clapping and other body motions.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
11/5/12
Morgan ate about half of her bran flakes and craisins at breakfast. At lunch she ate all of her cheese pizza and about half of her cauliflower and her tropical fruit.
Morgan was having a blast jumping off of the climber onto the bear on the mattress. The way she jumped onto the bear was just right to really catapult her up into the air. She thought it was very fun and tried to repeat it, but it never did it quite as well.
Morgan and Kenzie were "decorating" with the animals this morning. They were "decorating" the igloo and the inside climber/balance beam.
Kenzie kept talking about how tired she was after breakfast. Morgan picked up on it and they started pretending to go to sleep. They were making beds on the big bear, in the igloo, under the chair, on the couch and in the box.
Morgan was walking around when, seemingly out of the blue, she announced, "I got a call!" She searched around until she found a phone then 'answered' it. It cracked me up because she hadn't been playing with a phone before the 'call came in'.
She and Kenzie were trying to "make a tent for their babies". Of course, to them that means putting everything in the box that they can get away with.
Kenzie and Morgan were really vacillating between being buddies and excited to play with each other to yelling "move back!" and wanting nothing to do with each other. It made for quite the emotional roller coaster ride.
11/6/12
Morgan ate seconds on whole wheat bagel and all of her dried apricots. Morgan ate everything at lunch -- tilapia, applesauce and our pea and pasta with cheese dish.
Morgan cuddled and visited with me until I had to fix Noah a bottle. She then read us stories while I fed him. It was really cute. She had chosen one of the books that has a different song on each page and she was just singing along.
Kenzie and Morgan were "having a party" with the back packs, a bunch of the food toys and several other toys, including books. They started out on the floor, but Mia wouldn't leave them alone so they moved their party to the box and protection from those pesky babies. : ). Morgan has been more and more irritated by the mobile babies. So far she hasn't been physically aggressive very often, just yelling at them and getting frustrated herself.
Morgan joined Kenzie in doing puzzles after Joslyn was done. It is fun to listen to them dialogue about where the pieces go, what they needed to do to make them fit and just chatting in general.
Morgan was on the brink of a melt down three differ times, but never did have a full blown one. She also was asleep way sooner than usual. She is almost always the last one (or second to last) asleep and one of the first ones awake. It is amazing how many times harder morning correlate with a change in napping -- either quicker to sleep or longer nap.
Friday, November 2, 2012
11/2/12
Morgan ate about half of her malt-o-meal and raisins at breakfast. At lunch she ate about half of her mixed fruit and all of her spaghetti and her salad with ranch.
Yesterday afternoon Morgan and Kenzie has so much fun playing hide and seek, with Coral's help. Coral helped them find several really good places to hide, burying them with the stuffed animals or the dress up suits.
Morgan and Kenzie were pretending the box was their bedrooms again today. They asked me to make them pillows and cover them up. They thought it was funny when I used the dress up clothes to make pillows with.
She and Kenzie were playing with the stuffed animals today and chose one small panda to be their baby. They did this whole elaborate dramatic play with it. First of all they each held one of pandas hand and helped him "walk" to the car to go to the doctor. It just continued from there until they were in a storm with him getting all wet in the rain.
Morgan has been pushing the envelope this morning with a melt down at 10:00. It's probably the culmination of a week of minimal sleep and extra activities. After the following break and extra close supervision, including breaking into our small groups she did much better the rest of the morning.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
11/1/12
Morgan ate seconds on English muffins and all of her blueberries. I forgot to take the blueberries out of the freezer until this morning (I usually do it the night before) and Morgan told us "they are frozen!" Morgan ate seconds on saltines, and all of her canned chicken on saltines, canned cherries and corn.
Morgan and Emily asked to go to the back room to play before breakfast. They stayed back playing with the cars and then looking at books for at least 15 minutes.
Kenzie started playing with Morgan almost as soon as she got here. They played for about five minutes before the was conflict and Morgan moved to the other side. Within a couple minutes, Morgan asked to go play with "my friend, Kenzie" again. She went over to her with hands on hips and said, "are you gonna be nice to me now?" Kenzie put her hands on her hips also and told her "ya, will you be nice to me too?" They just crack me up! Talk about very similar temperaments in so many ways!
One of Morgan and Kenzie's favorite place to hang out and play is in the corner behind the igloo. They often take a bunch of the stuffed animals back there with them to cuddle and play with.
Kenzie coughed pretty loudly and Morgan looked at her and said, "Wow! Are you sick?" Kenzie laughed and told her no.
Morgan was pretending to talk on the phone and told the person on the other end, "oh no! I forgot my wallet!" When I asked her who she was talking to, she told me it was someone "at the games".
Gary and I have decided that we have a group of five mini teenagers. They were all sitting around with phones, speaking cell phone language (watching movies on the phone, turn it on speaker, gotta take this call, I gettin' a text...). It just cracks me up!
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