Nora Hansen's Journal

Nora ate french toast and two servings of strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she carefully picked out and ate all the vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, carrots) from the paleo stew.  She carefully avoided the ground beef!  She also ate saltines and tropical fruit. In this first picture Nora is enjoying the "sidewalk" they (primarily Avi and Atley) were building.  She walked across this many time and carefully up the steps and slowly across the balance beam.  I know I've been mentioning this every day for several days now, but hey, this is what she's been enjoying!!  It's fun to watch and think about how far she has come with her large motor skills.  Not that long ago she wasn't interested in walking!  She will also jump in the midst of the other kids jumping and again that is huge progress for her.  Not that long ago she freaked out when someone touched her on the balance beam or mattress. Nora was playing with one of ...

Nora ate most of her waffle and two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate two servings of baked chicken, bites of whole grain tortillas, ate corn, and two servings of cinnamon baked apples. I'm always interested in the first thing they play with when they arrive.  Sometimes they're very predictable, other times not so much.  And they go through so many different little stages.  So right now Nora is really into the shoes!  The girl loves her shoes.  :)  Personally, I like all the dress-up stuff because it gives them lots of practice taking clothes and shoes off and on.  (That's obviously the practical side!!  Ha!)  And of course as they get a bit older it helps with creative play as well. Nora had a pretty good morning - only a couple of melt downs!  And that's pretty good for a very strong-willed almost two year old!  :)  In the next picture Atley and Nora were playing in the igloo and Avi joined them ...

Nora ate kix cereal and two servings of mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bite of turkey burger, bite of whole wheat hamburger bun, ate salad with lettuce, tomato, and ranch dressing; she also ate avocado, and cherries. We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange and the kids were very busy all morning.  I took this first picture shortly after Nora arrived.  Being surrounded by new toys can be somewhat overwhelming! She had toys in each hand, but she was still yelling because she was sure Atley was playing with one that she needed!  Or maybe she was mad because she only has 2 hands!?  :)  She did better as the morning progressed. I love how comfortable Nora is getting on the balance beam; yes, she's still very careful, but she's stepping and jumping off onto the mattress with lots more confidence!  Nice job Nora.  It's fun to watch you develop those large motor skills!  I just added this next picture after she was playing on the...

Nora had several bites of oatmeal and two servings of baked cinnamon apples for breakfast.  For lunch she ate hamburger stew with meat, green beans, carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes.  She had two servings of apricots and no whole wheat dinner roll. I took this picture yesterday when I was changing Nora's diaper.  Avi was standing on a couple of blocks and was making the "I love you" sign with her left hand.  It was pretty stinking cute.  You know what!?  I have to put up with a LOT of cuteness every day!!  :) I was teasing Hudson this morning and he seemed slightly offended when I told him the noise level had increased exponentially this morning compared to the rest of the week when he was gone.  Haha! It wasn't JUST his incessant talking, but the others were also excited to have him back.  Avilene was the last one here and Daddy Andy heard the uproar, just wished me luck and took off!  :)  Lauralea seemed relieved to be headin...

Nora ate french toast (with syrup) and half of dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate shrimp, bites of brown rice, ate a large serving of stir fry vegetables and a large serving of raspberries. We had a fun morning playing, working hard, reading books, and doing some coloring on coffee filters at art.  It was fun watching the three girls (Hudson will be back tomorrow) do "copy-cat play" running back-n-forth across the room, weaving in and out of pillows, from the gate to the mirror. If one falls down (intentional or unintentional) then the next one has to fall down too. Here are some pictures from Nora's morning.  1st picture she is putting legos flowers on her fingers. In the 2nd picture Avi was pushing the chair around and around.  And she was jabbering the entire time as well!  Primarily about "mom take me to the carousel."  You'll also notice in the 2nd picture that Atley is closely watching Nora!  Nora had been pouting mad because Atley...

Nora ate two servings of breakfast: whole wheat toast and mangoes.  For lunch she ate most of ground beef with marinara sauce on whole wheat spaghetti noodles, ate half of squash, and a large serving of fruit salad. I got a picture of Nora jumping off the balance beam this morning!!  :)  So cute.  She's getting more brave - still cautious and smart - just more brave.  As you can imagine we've seen kids that were fearless (that's scary) to other kids that have left the program and never do what Nora is doing in the picture.  I think Nora is doing great - having fun, but still being cautious. Nora and Atley were putting the legos flowers in the cups then dumping them in the bowls.  They played this game for a long time.  Eventually they had the legos in the cups and then shaking them vigorously with the legos flying all over. Lauralea covered for me again this morning for an hour and I took these two pictures of them reading after I retu...

Nora ate whole wheat bagel bites and two big servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate pulled pork, whole wheat toast, peas, and two servings of watermelon.  Just a reminder for her wipes and she's also getting low on diapers.  If you are ever inclined to bring more (of one or both) at a time I have lots of room to store them, but it's totally a parent decision! The Blog is short on notes today because I had my yearly physical this morning.  (Forgot to mention it earlier - sorry!  I'm also seeing a foot doctor tomorrow morning so Lauralea will be helping out tomorrow as well.  Nothing serious with the foot!)  Lauralea covered for me and took a couple of pictures and I took a couple as well, but I never ask her to take notes while I'm gone.  She does a LOT for the Daycare already and I don't want to push my luck too far!!  Haha!!  By the way, my physical and blood tests were all fine so I'm good for the foreseeable future tak...

Nora ate half of whole grain cream of wheat cereal and half of dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate half of baked beef kabobs with meat, zucchini, peppers, and mushrooms.  She ate a large serving of brown rice and half of pineapple.  While the kids were eating their cream of wheat I was encouraging them to "keep your face over your bowl" and "hold your bowl with this (left) hand."  They've heard those phrases many many times!!  Hudson chimed in with this zinger: "That's part of the deal!!"  Reminded me of a car salesman!!  Ha! First, I just want to remind everyone that Little Treasures is closed on Monday February 19th for Presidents Day.  Lauralea and I are headed to Billings tomorrow to see our Grandkids and probably their parents!  (Jokes!  That's a Grandparent joke!)  Blogs will resume on Tuesday! When I was getting Linnea ready for her morning nap Nora and Atley were singing "night night baby" at the top rung of th...

Nora ate waffle and fruit salad for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bite of shepherd's pie (with hamburger, potatoes, green beans, carrots), ate whole grain tortilla, and cherries. This first picture is one that Kenzie took yesterday afternoon.  All the kids were watching it snow and squealing - thanks to encouragement from Kenzie and Riley.  :)  So when they were done watching it snow we read the "Jingle Bells" book!  (From left: Hudson, Atley, Avilene, Nora.) I like finding little "jobs" that the kids can do and learn to be helpers.  Almost All kids this age LOVE  to be a helper!  One of Nora's daily tasks is to hold the bottle of milk for me while I gather up the baby and the burp cloth.  I get situated on the couch and she gives me the bottle.  Asnsoon as I say I'm gonna get Linnea a bottle Nora eagerly waits in her spot for me to give her the bottle.  Then when I'm done feeding it's Hudson's job to set the bottle upright on...

Nora ate french toast (with syrup) and three servings of strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she tried bites of the Whole 30 sweet potato chili (haha - actually it's awesome) with hamburger, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, peppers, sweet potatoes, and spices.  (The Whole 30 food program does not include beans.)  She also ate half of dinner roll and ate tropical fruit. This first picture is obviously from yesterday afternoon when Nora was working-out with her personal trainer, Kenzie.  :)  Kenzie was successful teaching Hudson how to jump off the climber several months ago and now she's moved on to Nora.  (We should get a Little Treasures betting pool going when or if you think Nora will jump off here by herself!)  You can see by the 2nd picture taken this morning that Nora is getting more brave.  Now if I can get her to stop screaming when someone else approaches within 16 feet which makes her highly nervous and ripple with anxiety!!  :) ...

Nora ate half of toasted whole wheat english muffin and three servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate half of pork chop, ate whole wheat bread, bites of roasted vegetables (carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes), and two servings of applesauce. Nora was playing on the mattress and stubbed her toe on something and was screaming at an impressive pitch and volume.  Hudson felt the need to inform me that "Nora's crying."  Oh, that's what that is; thanks for the heads-up Bubba!!  :) Nora was doing her usual showing-off for Lauralea bouncing on the mattress, but then she started running in circles.  Not spinning, but running in a circle.  Super cute. Here are some pictures from the morning activities: Atley really likes doing the splits and she tries to keep going lower and lower.  It was so cute when Nora joined her and they were working on it together.  (Which highly amused both of them!)  In the 2nd picture Nora was upset about so...

Nora ate chex cereal and two servings of peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a couple bites of ground beef, no whole wheat hamburger bun, ate a large salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and ranch dressing, ate half of avocado serving, and she ate a large serving of oranges. Everyone is here today!!  Wow!  First time since February 1st!  Hopefully we can keep this going now.  There are still lots of runny noses, sneezing and coughing, but I think they're all getting better.  I spend so much time washing my hands!!  Haha!  Wipe noses, wash hands!  Change diapers, wash hands!  Get sneezed on...oh well, skip the hand washing!  10:00 and my hands look like prunes!  (Not that I really care!  I'm just filling Blog space!  Ha!) Everyone was so happy to see Baby Linnea!  She is such a doll and grins at everyone!  It's no wonder why we all enjoy her so much!!  In the first picture Nora and Avilene wer...

Nora ate several bites of oatmeal and dried cranberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bite or two of tilapia, and large servings of whole wheat elbow noodles, green beans, and applesauce.  At breakfast she was saying, "oh oh, oh oh!!!"  What?  She'd spotted some oatmeal on Avi's bib.  Haha!  Thank you Nora.  Then at the lunch table she was singing, "Na na na na, na na na na."  What's she singing Hudson?  He recognized the tune and said, "Night night Baby."  You're right!  Good job Nora.  (The fact that no baby is here today is totally irrelevant!  Haha!) These first pictures are from yesterday afternoon!  The kids had so much fun outside and it was great! The temperature was about 50 degrees, but we still bundled up good because that breeze was very cool.  A little different from today!!  Snow and 15 degrees when I got up this morning!!  Nora pushed the ice cream carts up and down the sidewalk, pl...

Nora ate most of whole wheat bagel serving and three servings of peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ham and sausage pizza with whole wheat pizza crust, tomato sauce, olives, peppers, mushrooms, and pineapple.  She ate two servings of pineapple on the side as well. So Nora was trying to tell me something this morning and it sounded like this; "yeeeeeeee!!!"  Ha!  Well, I have no idea what you're trying to tell me Nora.  So she just says it louder; "YEEEEEEEE!!"  (Apparently she's noticed the hearing aids too!)  Haha!  Can you show me what you want?  No.  Well I guess we'll just have to move on to something else.  :) Linnea and Atley are still out today so it's just Nora, Avi, and Hudson here until the after-school kids arrive.  Hudson was making an announcement this morning, but Nora didn't care or even realize that she was included.  :)  "It's past your bedtime guys!"  Avi yells; "NO!!"  Hudson sa...

Nora ate two servings of breakfast: whole wheat toast and grapes.  For lunch she ate pork roast, no whole grain tortilla bites, no vegetables, and ate a large serving of fruit salad. This first picture is kind of silly, but Nora was SO excited when she spotted all the birds!  She was pointing and squealing and I had to hustle over to see what she was all worked up about!!  :)  The kids can see the top of this tree by standing in the middle of the room, looking out the smaller window and over the top of the neighbor's house. Hudson and Avi came to see what we were looking at too of course!  I counted about 20 crows! Hudson was doing some baking and asked Nora, "Do you want me to make you some cookies?!?"  She immediately said, "NO!!"  I'm sure she realized that sweet question involved confiscation of the two cookies she had in her hand!  Haha!  Hudson, you're gonna have to get up early to out-fox Nora!  Ha!  But she soon joined...