Nora Hansen's Journal

Nora had bites of breakfast: brown rice and raisins.  For lunch she ate bites of salmon, no dinner roll, ate 2 servings of green beans, and two servings of mangoes.  I took this first picture at breakfast time and Nora was watching and laughing at Atley's antics!  Sometimes Nora was laughing so loud and hard - and boy does Atley LOVE to make her laugh!!  If Nora laughs Atley will keep doing it over and over and work hard to escalate the hilarity!!  :) Yesterday I talked about how Linnea is a great baby, mild temperament, super congenial and social.  And I said that makes her a fun baby for the other kids in the daycare and they all love her.  Well this morning I realized I was taking pictures of her with every child.  I counted and there are 7 pictures of Linnea in the Blogs today and she's in everyone's Blog!!  Ha! I love how she basically reacts the same to all of the kids and she loves them all!  It's adorable!!  In the next...

Nora ate a bite or two of toasted whole wheat english muffin and ate oranges for breakfast.  For lunch she ate half of ground beef, ate whole wheat elbow noodles, half of peas, and two servings of applesauce. You guys would be so proud to see Nora and the nap time routine.  It's the cutest thing!!  Today is the 4th day and I guess that makes her a pro, no longer a rookie, but a veteran!  Which in her mind automatically makes her the boss!!  On the way to her nap mat she was pointing where the others need to go.  Avi, your mat is there. (pointing)  Hudson, your mat is there!  (pointing)  :)  Thank you Nora.  I go get my coffee machine going and do a couple of chores and she hasn't moved a muscle!  Lying perfectly still!  :)  And the1st one asleep - less than 5 min. I took this first picture yesterday afternoon when Nora was playing with Baby Linnea.  Linnea is a great baby, mild temperament, and is super conge...

Nora ate bites of french toast and ate strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate everything: Paleo stew with meat, broccoli, sweet potatoes, carrots, and green beans.  She also ate 4 crackers and her tropical fruit.  At breakfast Hudson looked at Nora and said, "We been missing you all week!!"  Haha!  I asked, "why?"  "Because she's been gone!"  You crack me up Bubba!! I'm gonna put this in everyone's Blog;  The days and weeks go by so fast, but I frequently try to tell everyone how much I love your kids and I love what I do.  I have the most awesome families at Little Treasures and I'm super attached to all of you!  All of your children have their own strengths and challenges and I count myself blessed to work with them and care for them.  Thank you!! Well now it's nap time and Nora is doing the nap routine like a pro!   Third day and it's like she's done it forever.  :)  Well done Nora!!  The other 3 k...

Nora ate half of her waffle and two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate most of baked chicken, bites of whole grain tortillas, a large serving of corn, and ate baked cinnamon apples. Ok, I have permission from Momma Molly to post a picture of Svea in everyone's Blog.  Thanks Molly!  This is Avi's little sister!!  She is here today and again tomorrow and then will be here full-time starting in the middle of April.  So if your Blog seems late today here is the primary reason.  She is a doll and I'm already in love.  So precious.  So I want to remind everyone at this point, the general time frame for the Blogs are around 12:30 - 2:45.  If the Blogs are not posted by 3:00 then it's been a very busy day!! When it was time for naps I said, "Ok everyone, get on your nap mats!"  You should have seen Nora sprint for her mat.  Like a boss!!  So cute!  Great job Nora!  Sometimes kids will forget on the 2nd...

Nora had bites of kix cereal and ate a large serving of mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch she had a bite of turkey burger, no whole wheat hamburger bun, ate salad with lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes with ranch dressing, ate avocado, and cherries. Here is a leftover picture from Friday: We had blueberries for snack and Nora loves her blueberries! Hudson said, "Nora has blueberry makeup!!"  (He gets that remark from Kenzie and Riley, although it's been several weeks since I've heard them say it.)  Then he made the same remark at Lunch today, except a different fruit!  Haha!  "Look Gary!  Cherries makeup!" Well, it's a BIG day for Nora!!  First day on the nap mat with the rest of the big kids!!  Hudson, Atley, and Nora are the only ones here today, but I took the three of them out to the nap mat area so Nora could see her nap mat all laid out and ready for her.  She was excited and slightly confused!!  Haha!  No, actually she...

Nora ate most of kix cereal and two servings of baked cinnamon apples for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a large serving of hamburger stew with meat, carrots, green beans, tomatoes, and potatoes.  She also ate apricots and no dinner roll.  The kids didn't seem to notice or care that the baked apples at breakfast were loaded with cinnamon.  Kenzie and Riley helped Lauralea fix them yesterday and well...that's just what happened!  :) The lady that monitors the Food Program was here today checking my charts, freezer temp, refrigerator temp, and checking the menus, and more.  The kids generally enjoy someone coming, but it can be stressful for kids with certain temperaments too.  :)  Nora had been hiding and pooping behind the chair when the visitor arrived so that was convenient!!  Haha!  Nora just continued to stay behind that chair for an unusually long time!! Here's another group picture of the kids looking in the crib at Baby Linnea ...

Nora ate french toast and a couple dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate pulled pork, half of whole wheat toast, a large serving of peas, and three servings of watermelon. All my pictures today are "group" pictures and I love that!  It means I can "copy and paste" for the Blogs!  :)  This first picture was taken yesterday afternoon after I fed Baby Linnea.  (She's on the floor in the 2nd picture.)  I just want everyone to see how well the kids can clean up the room entirely on their own!!  I never helped with anything...here's how the routine goes.  I was preparing to feed the baby and I said we can go outside after the room is cleaned up and after I feed the baby.  I started singing our "clean-up" song and they immediately kicked it into gear!  A lot of the motivation is to go outside, but there is also the routine aspect associated with singing the same song.  (And I'd be happy to share the tune with anyone interested!!...

Nora ate half of whole wheat toast and ate mangoes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef with marinara sauce, whole wheat spaghetti noodles, bites of squash, and two servings of fruit salad. Everyone is here today and they were all glad to see Bubba.  Nora kept watching him and just grinning or giggling at his antics.  He wanted to help Nora do some puzzles and we have a system that works great and she is learning, but is also willing to have one of the other kids help her if she can't get it, or gets tired of trying.  We finished one puzzle and I got another one and Hudson said, "That one's super tricky!"  :) Hudson wanted to snuggle and take pictures so Nora got on the couch beside us and I held the camera up so she could see herself.  Nothing like a "selfie" to make a (almost) two year old grin!!  (Or a 20 year old as well!  Ha!) Next picture: All I have to say; "Does anyone want to do sign language!"  or  "Does anyone...

Nora had bites of whole wheat bagel and two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate shrimp, bites of brown rice, ate stir fry vegetables, and raspberries. I've been trying different techniques (and running ideas by Lauralea) to help Nora not scream at the other kids.  For example, today she was playing beside the igloo, looked across the room and noticed Atley playing and rocking in the chair.  Nora starts screaming and running across the room letting Atley know that is not acceptable in Nora's world.  Ha!  So today I informed Nora that was my chair, not her chair.  And Atley could play in it.  Sometimes enlightenment is a painful process!  Just a couple of thoughts along with this: When a child is upset I never try to make that a teachable moment!  It's a waste of effort.  (Even as an adult who wants someone trying to correct us when we're angry?)  Secondly, when trying to "reason" with or "teach" a 2 year old I u...

Nora ate most of bran cereal and bites of raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken, no whole wheat pita bread, ate salad with lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, olives, and ranch dressing.  She ate avocado and two servings of pears.  She ate a lot of food for lunch!  :)  Atley was done first at lunch ("I'm done, I'm done!!") and immediately Avi and Nora started saying, "I'm done!" between bites!!  Ha!  And Nora was mad because I was hesitating to wash her; "you are still eating."  So I told her that as soon as her mouth was empty I'd wash her.  So she showed me an empty mouth when she finished.  Thank you Nora. We did puzzles as a group to help Nora with her puzzle skills.  Avi and Atley (and Hudson when he's here) point where the puzzle piece goes and Nora gets first shot at placing it correctly.  Then Atley or Avi put it in place if Nora can't get it.  It's really cute because if Nora is strugglin...

Nora ate cream of wheat cereal and a bite of dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a nibble of baked beef kabobs with meat, zucchini, peppers, and mushrooms.  She ate a large serving of brown rice and ate half of her pineapple serving. Nora had the "Baby Beluga" book and was "singing" the song, except it consisted of one word.  She got stuck on the first word; "Baby baby baby baby...."  But she had some of the tune right and with tremendous volume!  :)  Here's a note that's not about Nora, but I think you'll like it!  The kids learn what the other child is saying regardless if they can talk or not!  They figure it out!  Atley and Avi were at the window and Atley was pointing and saying, "eh-ca-cot, eh-ca-cot, eh-ca-cot."  Avi finally said, "I don't see any helicopter."  LOL!  That was so cute, sweet, and funny all at the same time!  You are a good friend Avilene!! Speaking of friends these two characters in t...

Nora ate whole grain waffle and fruit salad for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of shepherd's pie with hamburger, potatoes, green beans, carrots, and sweet potatoes.  She also ate whole grain tortillas and cherries. Well Avilene is back from Great Falls and Hudson is off to Arizona.  (Which we've been hearing about all week!)  The dress-up clothes had not been touched this week, but as soon as one person gives them a try then everyone wants to do it.  :)  Avi wanted to put on some pajamas and then Atley and Nora.  (See picture below.)  Thanks for getting everyone motivated Avi!  As you might guess Nora didn't leave her's on very long, but she did manage to get it off by herself with some help from her friend Atley.  That's something I frequently like to do - encourage them to help each other. These next two pictures have Avi's influence as well.  Atley and Nora were playing on the blue balance beam when Avi yelled, "Baby L...

Nora ate french toast and two servings of strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate 'whole 30' chili with hamburger, peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and sauces.  She ate about half of whole wheat dinner roll and ate tropical fruit.  She let me give her a taste of the chili and then she ate a big serving of it.  :) Nora was laying on the floor covered up with a blanket like she frequently does - and like you've seen in many pictures.  She wasn't upset at all, just had her head covered and probably making plans for the future!  Ha!  Hudson walked by and asked her; "Are you a baby?"  Nora moved the blanket back with a big grin and said, "Yup."  Very quick and very plain!  "Yup!"  :) I like this first picture because this is Nora's daily morning ritual.  As soon as she sees Lauralea she goes to the gate, pokes her arm through the bars, and wants to slap Lauralea "5."  :)  I like how I cropped it all out except...

Nora ate toasted whole wheat english muffin and three servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate half of pork chop meat, ate whole wheat toast, nibble or two of roasted vegetables (sweet potatoes, potatoes, and mushrooms), and ate applesauce. We were in the middle of Story Time when the mail came and three new kid's books arrived that I've been waiting for!  Yes!  By my favorite kid's author too!  Well, maybe it's a tie between her and Dr. Seuss.  Their styles are totally different so that's good!  The kids were almost as excited as me!  I guess I've mentioned her name a lot because Hudson totally said her name perfectly - or at least he pronounced it like I do!  Haha!  He said, "Iza Trapani wrote that book!"  Wow!  That shocked me!  (I know I shouldn't be shocked by anything he says, but I still am!)  I now have 13 of her books.  (And she's an amazing illustrator as well.)  She basically takes the ol...

Nora ate bites of whole wheat chex cereal and ate peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef, no hamburger bun, ate lettuce salad with tomatoes and ranch dressing, ate avocados, and two servings of oranges.  This isn't about Nora directly, but this was at breakfast this morning.  Hudson, of course, uses meal times to expound on whatever subject comes to his mind.  Today he said, "Is this where we eat and talk?"  Haha!  Yup, we all eat and you talk!  :) First picture:  Nora was on the floor minding her own business - actually she's laying on her tummy, like she always does while  doing her business!!  Haha!!  And, of course, she want's privacy as she lays on the floor!!  Atley is not tuned into that yet and she went over and lay beside Nora.  Haha!  Nora was like "hey, you're not invited!"  I was highly amused!!  (Actually, Nora had just finished so maybe Atley is more tuned-in than I give her ...