Nora Hansen's Journal

Nora ate french toast and strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she had a taste of salmon patty, ate whole wheat dinner roll, no squash, and ate lots of tropical fruit. This is just an FYI for all the Daycare Families:  Tomorrow, June 1st, a new girl is starting at Little Treasures.  Her name is Atley and she is one month younger than Avilene.  So it's going to be a bit busy around here - at least until the end of the school year.  Then the Cline girls have different activities planned for the summer.  And Reid will be "very part time."  A different child always changes the dynamics of the daycare somewhat so I'm just letting you all know the Blogs may run a bit later than they have been. Here are some pictures from Nora's time at Little Treasures this morning.  The Cline Family donated some Griz Pillows so the kids were having fun with those this morning.  In the 2nd picture Avilene was looking at a book and she's almost always so gentl...

Nora ate toasted whole wheat english muffins and  lots of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate pork chop bites, whole wheat toast, roasted beets, bites of roasted sweet potatoes, and red potatoes, and a couple bites of applesauce.  Nora crawls out to the Lunch Room and goes to the bib area before every meal.  She knows which bib is her's and will sit and tug on it.  :) Less than 30 minutes after Nora arrived she was doing some loud and painful sounding grunts and squawking.  Hudson knows that familiar sound and immediately said, "Nora trying poop!"  Yup, you're right Hudson.  I always try to say something to encourage her in the process; something like "good job Nora, you can do it, keep trying."  She wasn't successful then, but a few minutes later she was trying again and Hudson was saying, "You can do it, you can do it......"  So cute.  And she was successful that time!!  :) Nora was the first one here this morning an...

Nora had some oatmeal and dried cranberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate tilapia (only 1 taste until I started sneaking it in with the applesauce and she was fine with that - actually only the first bite was sneaky and then she watched what I was doing, but kept eating it), ate whole wheat elbow noodles, bite of green beans, and ate applesauce. Here is Nora in front of her favorite spot in the room - her mirror again!!  She had one of the heart bracelets on her arm and scooted right over to look at it in the mirror.  In the 2nd picture she was parked in the same place playing with the iPod again!!  When you're reading these Blogs and it feels like you've read the same thing a few times; then it's obviously a favorite!!  :)  I feel like I've written this same thing a few times!! Here's Little Miss Nora getting more brave everyday.  Small increments, but more brave everyday!!  Ha!  Someday she's gonna climb right up these steps!! ...

Nora ate whole wheat  bagel and peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate several bites from the pizza we made ("we" means Lauralea).  Whole wheat pizza crust, hamburger & sausage, tomato sauce, mushrooms, olives, peppers, and pineapple. Nora has been pulling herself up to everything and I'm expecting to see her turn loose and just stand independently very soon!  She was momentarily in a standing position at the step when she realized there was nothing to hang on to!  "What the heck am I doing!?!"  Ha!  There is only ONE movable object in the Daycare Room and that's the swivel/rocker.  This morning she was trying to hang on to it and pull up when Avi was spinning.  Ok, let's move to a different spot to practice standing Nora! Nora was the first one here for several minutes and we sat on the couch and visited.  :)  I kept saying "Gary, Gary, Gary...."  Nora kept saying, "Baby, baby, baby...."  Haha!  Here's a p...

Nora ate some whole wheat toast and lots of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she had bites of pork roast, bite of toasted rye bread, bites of vegetables - carrots, sweet potatoes, red potatoes - and ate fruit salad. I'm sure this happens to you guys as well, but Nora invariably parks herself right at my feet - which is fine when I'm sitting - can be a challenge to always remember when I'm standing, especially at the changing table.  I have to be very intentional to check before I move!  So far I've managed to not completely flatten her or go sprawling myself!!  Haha!!  (She's not the first baby to do that!) Here are some pictures from this morning's activities.  I know Nora likes to look at books.  However, I've watched closely and I think she likes turning the pages of these board books just as much or sometimes that's the primary activity.  It's kind of a challenge and she's the master of small motor activities!!  In these first two pic...

Nora ate toasted whole wheat english muffin and several bites of dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she had a couple bites of stir fry chicken and vegetables, no brown rice, and ate oranges. I got a kick out of Nora when we were headed outside to play this morning.  She got to the welcome mat, but apparently she didn't like the feel on her knees so she switched to using just hands and feet with her knees off the ground and her butt high in the air!  Ha! It was pretty cute.  Everyone just kind of played on the patio with the balls, wagons, and looked at the new scooters I got for the older kids. There are 2 things (probably many more) Nora doesn't want to miss out on at Daycare; waving bye at window in the mornings and Story Time.  She yells to be included - "Don't forget about me!!"  :) Nora totally knows what buttons to push to play the music on these toys.  She had one of these in her hands several times this morning.  Look at that te...

Nora ate a few cheerios and lots of banana for breakfast.  For lunch she ate some of everything; Taco salad with ground beef, tomatoes, olives, lettuce, ate pita bread, and cantaloupe. Everyone had a great morning and settled right back into the routine at Daycare.  Sometimes Mondays can be a challenge with all the activity of the weekend and different routines, but this group doesn't seem too much affected by that.  (I probably shouldn't say that, right!?!)  In this first picture Sophie was showing Nora all the features of the iPod.  Ha!  (It's just a toy that plays a few songs.)  Sophie offered this toy to Nora right after I took this picture. The kids played on the mattress and I love it when they all play together!  Nora likes to be right in the middle of the activity, but she's also fine with playing around the "fringes" too.  Outside she does more observing, but that could be more of a mobility issue. Speaking of mobility - sh...

Nora had bites of brown rice and ate raisins for breakfast.  She drank 6 oz at 10:00.  For lunch she had a taste of salmon, ate dinner roll, ate peas, and mangoes. This first picture was taken a minute after Nora arrived.  Her lucky day!  Riley is here all day!!  (Riley's lucky day too!!)  It's "Kindergarten Roundup" at Riley's school so the Kindergarten class has a day off!  Nora makes the funniest little squeals and giggles when she's excited in general, but it seems accentuated around the other kids.  Nora certainly enjoys her friends! Nora pulled herself up 3 or 4 different times this morning.  She also stopped in front of "her" mirror 3 or 4 times.  One of the times she was crawling with a spoon in her mouth and stopped to see what that looked like!  Another time she was pooping, straining, and yelling!  She had parked herself right in front of the mirror; but I refrained from taking a picture!  You're welcome! ...

Nora ate toasted whole wheat english muffin and oranges for breakfast.  She drank about 3 oz at 10:30.  For lunch she had bites of chicken with cabbage combo, ate some whole grain tortillas, and a bite or two of baked apples with cinnamon. What a blast to have our Nora back today!!  And I'm speaking for all of us at Little Treasures!!  The following pictures are here to prove it too!!  I probably took all these pictures within the first 45 minutes after Nora arrived!  I think she knows we all love her!!  So precious.  Reid hugged her when she arrived and then had to hug her again after I put her in the highchair.  Speaking of Reid, apparently Nora is solely responsible for his "speediness!!"  I'll let him explain in 4 year old logic: "Gary!  Do you know why I'm so fast?"  No, but I'm anxious to hear this!!  "Because I don't want to step on Baby Nora; that why I'm so fast!"  Ok, now I understand. We did a toy, bo...

Nora ate oatmeal and a bite or two of baked apple with cinnamon.  Drank 3 oz of milk at 10:30.  For lunch she had a couple of bites of hamburger stew (with meat, carrots, green beans, potatoes, and brussel sprouts), ate some dinner roll, and apricots. I can't help myself; I have to post another picture of Nora in front of HER mirror!  It's pretty accurate to call it Nora's mirror because I rarely see anyone else hang out in front of it and she is frequently there everyday!  :)  And you'll notice she has that trusty spoon in her hand as well! Reid was playing with Nora and in the picture below he was trying to balance a spoon on her head. He said, "I can't wait until Nora stands up!!"  Why?  "Then I hug her all day long!!"  Haha!  (Gotta wait till she walks to do that?!?!)  Reid soon yelled, "Gary!!  Nora poopy!!"  Are you sure Reid?  She usually cries when she's pooping!  He said, "Totally sure!! I niffed ...

Nora ate some toasted rye bread and ate a couple bites of dried plums for breakfast.  Her breakfast was kind of small so I wasn't surprised when she drank 5 oz at 10:30.  For lunch she had a couple bites of pulled pork sandwich, no peas, and a few bites of cantaloupe.  Lauralea is frequently leaving for work while the kids are eating breakfast.  And she always gives everyone a love goodbye.  She hugged Avi, who then pointed at Hudson and said, "Bubba."  (Ok, it's Bubba's turn.)  She hugged Hudson, who then pointed at Nora and said, "Nora."  (Ok, it's Nora's turn.)  It was so cute!!  Just more of those routines than I always talk about!  They (routines) are so important to the children as it builds trust and security and makes them feel safe! Nora was sitting in front of her mirror, about 10 inches away, doing her loud "fake" laughs and squeals!!  (They are not totally fake, but you know what I mean! They just sound that way t...

Nora ate whole wheat toast and mangoes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate some plain hamburger (no spaghetti sauce), whole wheat spaghetti noodles, no squash, and lots of fruit salad.  (with bananas, grapes, apple, mangoes, strawberries, oranges) Nora was the first one here again this morning and her first activity was clearing all the doll blankets off one toy shelf, pull out all the animal masks, grab a spoon for each hand, and then crawl to the middle of the floor, lay on her side and suck her thumb.  Ha!  So I started timing how long she was gonna lay there!  Several minutes later she heard Lauralea coming up the stairs and she scampered right over!  :) I took this first picture yesterday afternoon after nap time and Reid was crawling around on the floor beside Nora.  She was loving it!!  Reid has been such a sweetie to Nora and he really does like her.  This morning he was basically doing the same thing and then he hugged her and said...

Nora ate whole wheat bagel (toasted and buttered) and grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a couple bites of shrimp, no brown rice, couple bites of stir fry vegetables, and ate mixed berries. This is Nora's "thinking pose."  :)  She was watching Lauralea again - brush her teeth and brush her hair.  Hey, Nora and I appreciate the entertainment!  Nora was here for almost 45 minutes by herself before anyone else came so she (and I) had lots of snuggle time and one-on-one time!  It was very precious.  Just an additional FYI - Hudson is out with "pink eye" today and tomorrow.  Sophie is on antibiotics for it as well, so Nora has been thoroughly exposed!! Nora has been sitting with us for longer periods of time during Story Time.  When she gets bored she starts "reading" and talking and it gets louder and louder!  Until I have to put her down because no one can listen to the story!!  Haha! These next two pictures basically go ...

Nora ate some bran cereal and raisins for breakfast.  She drank 5 oz at 10:00.  We had chicken salad for lunch - I'm kind of guessing what was missing from her tray at the end!!  Ha!  It was quite the mixture to say the least!!  Maybe a bite or two of chicken, ate pita bread, ate olives, maybe some lettuce, some tomato, some cucumbers, maybe a bite or two of peppers, and ate lots of pears. These first 2 pictures are from the first 15 minutes when Nora was here before anyone else arrived!  She's always grinning right after she arrives and I can't stop taking pictures!!  Haha!  In the 2nd picture she'd crawled onto the mattress - still clutching those two spoons - and she was flopping face-first onto the mattress.  I laughed of course and that was all the encouragement she needed to keep doing it over and over!! I love this picture because everyone that was here was on the mattress.  Sophie said, "Hey Gary!!  I did a butt bomb...