3/22/2011

Morgan ate all of her dried plums and thirds on cinnamon roll at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her scrambled eggs and a couple bites of everything else -- cantaloupe, hashbrowns and waffles.  She was probably still full from breakfast -- that was a big meal for her.

Morgan and Jadey sat on one of the yellow book area benches side-by-side and looked at books for about 5 minutes this morning.  They really weren't paying much attention to each other, just doing their own thing on the same bench.  That is a perfect example of parallel play.

Morgan saw Gary going over to the cupboard where he keeps his dental floss and tooth brush, got all excited and make a little squeal and headed for the gate at a high rate of speed so she didn't miss out on anything.  It is so cute how much she likes watching him floss and brush.

The kiddos spotted a squirrel outside today and watched him for quite a while.  They thought his quick little movements were funny and were really laughing at him most of the time.  Morgan especially thought it was funny.

Keenan figured out that the pieces of cheese that are out right now will stick to the window (kind of like a unique type of window cling).  Morgan watched and then got her own piece to stick up too.  She loves imitating what the "big" kiddos do.  

Today I took the littler ones to the back while Gary and the bigger ones cleaned up the big room.  Jadey was using her bottom to push on the pop toy's button and make it pop.  Morgan observed what she was doing then went over to one of the other ones and imitated it perfect.  When she realized that it was working, she really started chuckling! It was great!  

3/21/2011

Morgan ate about half of her mixed fruit and all of her Kix cereal at breakfast.  At lunch she ate the ham out of her ham sandwich (and a couple bites of the bread), and all of her steamed broccoli and her mandarin oranges.

Morgan started off the day by banging one of the play staple guns on Jadey's head 5 times before I could get to her.  I was greeting another family and heard the first one, but...  I think Jadey's reaction (extremely loud scream and cry) kind of shocked Morgan because her eyes were HUGE!

She was really back into the mode of trying to take toys from the kiddos right and left.  When she gets ahold of it, I almost always have to literally pry her hands off, as she screams the whole while.  Just telling her to let go to find another one doesn't work.  Now if we catch her starting to grab for someone's toy and remind her to "find another one" before she latches on, she will almost always stop grabbing, turn around and look for one.

With that said, none of the above incidents turned into a lasting full-blown tantrum.  She caught herself right at the beginning of several tantrum possibilities, ending them right away before they had really even started.

She and Jadey must have made up something during the day because they were sitting side-by-side on one of the little yellow benches in the reading/book area looking at books.

Morgan was really into pushing the button on top of the popping cause and effect toy we have out right now in the back room.  It is one of those that has balls in it and you push the button on top and it makes the balls pop around like huge popcorn.  She sat and did it over and over.

3/18/2011

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

Morgan played with the doll and the new blankets a lot today, having me cover and recover her baby multiple times.  She also brought over a blanket to me then lay down in front of me so I would cover her up.  It think it is so amazing how often what a child wants is so clear.  They are pretty creative about letting us know even before they have the verbal skills to do so in a straightforward manner.

Morgan was kind of testy this morning and had 8 mini to medium tantrums that I tallied.  There may have been a couple more that I missed.  Some were very short and a couple were several minutes.  I finally put her in the box with some toys to regroup because she kept trying to take the kiddo's toys then would get instantly furious when she didn't get them.  That seemed to help and the rest of the time when she started to get angry, it was pretty brief.

Morgan really loves to help.  She likes to take things that are on the "wrong side of the room" and take them to the "other side".  She likes to take things to and from Gary and I.  She also likes to help pick things up at clean up time.  She is actually a pretty good helper, especially if we just ask her to bring stuff to us rather than putting them on the shelf.  She usually ends up getting distracted if she is the one putting them on the shelf or in the book rack.

Joslyn handed Morgan a hat today and Morgan did the sign and told her "Thank You!" quite plainly without any prompting.

3/17/2011

Morgan ate seconds on both cinnamon toast and grapes at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her mashed potatoes, a bite of her cherries and about half of both her dinner roll and her home made baked chicken strips.

Bode was sitting on the couch and Morgan came over and was looking up at him. Bode said he wanted to hold her and Morgan immediately started trying to climb up onto his lap.  I helped them get situation and Morgan sat there for about a minute.  Bode then started squirming and said, "She kind of too heavy".  I think Morgan would have been happy to sit there for much longer by the looks of her happy and contented little face.

Morgan loves the Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat book that is out right now.  She hates it when anyone else has the book (unless it is Bode or Keenan and they are reading it to her.  : )

Morgan is just fascinated by Gary flossing and brushing his teeth every morning.  He does it in the utility room and she stands at the little gate watching intently and chuckling occasionally when something hits her funny bone (like the foam around his mouth).  : )  It is really funny!

We have been consistently telling, showing or helping Morgan "find a different one" when she tries to take a toy or book from one of the kiddos.  Other than with the pussy cat book, she has been doing it at the "Tell" stage most of the time.  : )

3/16/2011

Morgan ate all of her whole wheat bagel and peaches at breakfast.  At lunch she ate thirds on home made macaroni and cheese with ham and all of her salad with ranch dressing and her corn.

Morgan wanted to sit by me on the couch multiple times today.  She didn't want me to hold her or even cuddle her when she was sitting there, just wanted to be by me while she looked at a book or played with whatever toy she happened to have.  It was kind of cute.

Morgan put one of the tambourine's on her head like a crown and was strutting around like she was the queen of the place.  She had to walk over with it to the mirror to see what she looked like and grinned at herself in the mirror.  She then started making quick little nods like she was trying to knock it off.  When it would fall, she'd chuckle then put it back up there.

She had a couple brief tantrums over not getting someone else's toy or not getter her way but they were short lived and she listened well after they were over.  This is definitely progress!  : )

Morgan was having fun putting little people in a fire truck that was not a little people fire truck.  Because of that they didn't actually fit well and weren't staying in very well.  When she would dump them out or they just tipped out she calmly just picked them back up and put them back in and away she went.  : )

3/15/2011

Morgan ate all of her blueberry muffin and pears at breakfast today.  At lunch she ate thirds on sweet potatoes, seconds on crackers and all of her orange slices and her tuna on crackers.

Morgan must have brought me the doll for me to help her wrap at least 10 times today.  I really want to say about 20, but that might be a little exaggerated.  : )  She is really starting to say "help me" without prompting more (although it really sounds more like "up me").  : )

Morgan struggled more with being aggressive (mostly trying to take toys and then hitting at or otherwise attacking if they won't give the toy up) today.  It was with Joslyn most of the time (5-6) but also Bode, Everson and Cypress at least once a piece.  We had to intervene (Help) every time because she would listen at the Tell or Show stage.  She got upset at that every time, but it never did last more than a minute or two.  Not getting your way is so rough!  : )

Morgan went over to the book rack and started just taking them all out without looking at them.  I reminded her to take out only the one she wanted to look at and she immediately stopped unloading it, picked up one of the books from the floor and sat down and started to look at it.  She is a smart little whooper and really understands language well.

Gary was playing with her with one of the stethoscopes today.  He helped her put the ends in her ear then was talking into the other end so she could listen to it.  Her face had such a sweet and curious look on it and she wanted to do it more and more.  It was fun to observe.

3/14/2011

Morgan ate a bite of her fruit salad and all of her chex cereal at breakfast.  At lunch she ate (drank) all of her tomato soup and her roast beef sandwich and most of her apple slices (cut in pieces).

Morgan was really into two of the action songs we were singing today.  The first was "If you're happy and you know it" (of course) and the second was the "Ya all fall down".  They stomp, spin, and fall down in it and she loves it!

Jadey got upset over something and was sitting on the floor and crying.  Morgan stopped what she was doing, went over to her and gave her a hug.  Often Jadey doesn't respond well when someone tries to hug her when she is upset, but she really responded to Morgan and even stopped crying.  Morgan looked so proud of herself.  : )  I love it when they do something sweet like that and get those natural and internal rewards.

Morgan had a couple times when she began to have a tantrum, but one never got away from her.  She wiped it up before it got started every time.

Morgan was walking around today talking into the end of the stethoscope that you usually have on the patient's heart like it was a telephone.  : )