Nora Hansen's Journal

Nora ate bites of toasted whole wheat english muffin and bites of dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate nibbles of chicken, half of brown rice, nibbles of stir fry vegetables, and a large serving of oranges.  Nora was watching me clean up after lunch.  I lifted the table to clean under it and she spotted stuff on the floor and stood there saying, "Yuk, yuk, yuk, yuk..." while I cleaned it!  haha! It's so precious how the babies can calm Nora right down if she's anxious and concerned about something.  It totally helps her redirect her focus on something else!!  She sure loves the babies.  In the 2nd picture Nora was laying out a doll blanket for one of the dolls and I'll bet she whipped that blanket on the floor 8 times before she got it to lay just the way she wanted it too!  The doll patiently waits on the right side of the picture!  :) The kids frequently play in the little house on the patio and they are always selling some...

Nora ate most of cheerios and banana for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of ground beef, bite of whole wheat pita bread, ate olives, some of tomatoes, and a large serving of watermelon. Lauralea's sister is here for three more days and we all know how Nora feels about strangers!  Ha!  We gave Julie a head's up so she kept her distance....like not getting closer than the kitchen!  Haha! Nora wouldn't even look at Lauralea and Julie on the way to the other side of the play room...just watching out of the corner of her eye.  Dang that was cute!  That all made me think of a class I'm attending tonight! Lauralea is teaching the class for Childcare Providers called; "Supporting Anxious Children." When Nora was done with breakfast she asked if she could talk to Svea - way more in Nora's comfort zone - so I took this picture of Nora "talking" to Svea!!  Haha!  Svea has a handful of hair, Nora doesn't care, she's just in her happy place! ...

Nora arrived after 10:00 and we were outside playing when she came so I got a couple of pictures out there.  For lunch she ate a bite or two of salmon patty and whole wheat dinner roll.  She ate a large serving of green beans and a large serving of mangoes. I have a note left over from yesterday afternoon for Nora.  We almost always pick up toys before we come outside in the afternoon and one of the last things I do is check for toys under the couch.  We were pretty much done yesterday and there was Nora grunting and straining while trying to lift up the couch.  Haha!  That was pretty cute and very funny.  :) Linnea and Hudson are gone today, but Baby Svea is here and that's all Nora needed for someone to play with!  haha!  "Svea the pillow!"  I especially like the 2nd picture with the hat down over Nora's eyes, sucking her thumb, stretched out and living the dream.  :) Besides hanging out with Svea, Nora did some sidewalk...

Nora ate most of whole wheat english muffin and two servings of oranges for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef, whole wheat elbow noodles, peas, and two servings of applesauce. This first picture is from yesterday afternoon.  This always cracks me up!!  The smallest kid pulling the wagon loaded with the bigger kid or in this case, two bigger kids.  :)  Love it.  Pull Nora pull!!  Avi and Atley just waiting for a wagon ride.  This was happening right before Momma Emily drove up and when Nora saw Momma she abandoned her post and ran to see Mom.  :) This next picture is what Nora does after breakfast every day!  Goes to this spot just inside the gate and examines the situation at hand!  "Hmmm...what should I do?"  I'd love to know what she's thinking! She stood there for two or three minutes and then asked, "Can I do puzzle?"  :)  Sure.  In the following picture Nora is stretched out on the pillows wa...

Nora ate most of french toast and ate strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate "paleo stew" with ground turkey, green beans, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower.  She also ate crackers and tropical fruit.  Hey, I just want to give everyone a heads-up that Linnea is now 1 year old and today she gets her first Blog.  So that means I'm doing 5 Blogs and that may affect the time your Blogs are posted!  I will continue doing lots of "copy & paste" every chance I can which really cuts down on the time it takes to do the Blogs.  Like I've mentioned before the Blogs will post between 12:45 - 3:00. I have the sweetest picture of Nora laying her head on Linnea's legs, but the stinking picture will not upload to the Blog for some reason!  So I guess you'll just have to take my word for it!  It's cute.  :) Nora has a HUGE grin on her face and Linnea is looking up at me like, "what's this anchor on my legs!? I'm trying to move!...

Nora ate waffle and two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken, bites of whole wheat tortillas, ate corn, and two servings of applesauce. These first two pictures are from yesterday afternoon during outside play time.  Hudson had been giving Nora rides in the wagon and she was LOVING it!  Grinning and laughing!  Then Hudson decided he needed to try to fit all 4 big balls in the wagon too.  See how close his face is to Nora's face?  He's doing some serious negotiation with bribes and threats mixed in!  As soon as he turned his back Nora pitched the balls out!  Ha!  In the 2nd picture Nora needed some time to just chill after that much fun!  :)   We read books, did some art, and played outside this morning.  I was trying to do a selfie with Nora, but she wouldn't keep her thumb out of her mouth and it basically morphed into a mini wrestling match when I took the next picture.  Ha!  I was tr...

Nora ate kix cereal and mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch she ate half of ground turkey, bites of whole wheat hamburger bun, ate tomatoes, half of avocados, and ate cherries. Linnea is gonna be back on Wednesday and everyone is asking about her!!  So I'm gonna start with a photo they sent me of Linnea last night.  Lots (10 days) of celebrating birthday #1!!  I like how her plate is upside-down!!  :)  We can't wait to see you Linnea!!  Nora is gonna be SO SO SO happy when you're back!! We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend so again everyone was very engaged and busy all morning.  First picture; I showed Nora an animal picture inside this "camera" and she was searching for it again!!  Uhhh...Nora, you have it upside-down plus backwards.  :)  We also played outside this morning and the kids had fun playing with chalk on the sidewalk.    This last picture is silly, but it was also funny to me!! ...

Nora ate half of oatmeal and ate baked cinnamon apples for breakfast.  For lunch she had bites of hamburger stew with the meat, carrots, green beans, tomatoes, and potatoes.  She ate half of whole wheat dinner roll and ate apricots. First picture; immediately after breakfast Nora is covering baby Svea with some doll blankets.  What you can't see (and can't hear) is Atley off to the side of the picture singing (volume on very loud), "Good night Svea, good night Svea, .... time to nappy now."  :) Pictures from today's activities!  Hudson, Avi, and Atley built this wall of blocks and they were working very hard at it.  What are you guys building?  They all agreed they were "building a gate."  What's the gate for?  "To keep out the bed bugs!"  Haha!  And apparently it was working because I never did see any bed bugs!!  Nora watched from her usual distance although she ventured close at one point and knocked down a wall. ...

Nora ate whole wheat toast and most of dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate pulled pork, bites of whole wheat bun, ate peas, and two servings of cantaloupe.  This next note is about Avi and Atley, but it's a typical interaction for this age group!  At breakfast Avi was telling Atley; "Get your head over your plate."  Haha!  Yes, she's heard me say that a few hundred times!!  So where was Avi's plate during these instructions to Atley?  Almost in the middle of the table.  Haha! I took this first picture yesterday afternoon.  This is what it always looks like immediately after I lay down the blanket, lay the baby on the blanket, set the toy basket on the blanket, and then tell the kids the blanket and toy basket are for the baby!  :)  Zoom in on Nora's eyes and that tells the story; she's  totally  focused on the toy basket!!  And that's what the others are focused on as well.  It's the only forbidden t...

Nora ate whole wheat toast and maybe half of mangoes (this mango wasn't very ripe and no one was real impressed) for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a large serving of ground beef with marinara sauce on whole wheat spaghetti noodles, no squash, and ate fruit salad.  Hudson likes to pretend his milk is coffee or tea, but at breakfast Nora felt the need to enlighten him!!  "My coffee."  " Milk !!!"  "My tea."  " MILK !!"  Time to change the subject.  What'd you all do last night?  Haha! I know this isn't news to you, but Nora likes to transition slow (or at least at her chosen pace) if possible!  After breakfast she barely got inside the gate, just stood there and started yelling if someone approached her.  So I had her follow me around while I cleaned up breakfast and I took this picture while she sat on a chair and visited with me at the kitchen entrance.  And that worked very well. Atley came out and asked to do puzzles an...

Nora ate bites of whole wheat bagel and ate two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate shrimp, bites of brown rice, half of stir fry vegetables, and ate raspberries.  She was doing these random "two word" sentences at lunch.  "NorNor airplane!"  "Mommy work!"  "NorNor Art!"  "Daddy work!".....  :) Atley went potty two times on the toilet this morning and was so excited to tell Nora; "I go potty Nora!!  I go potty!!"  I coached Nora on a positive reply; rather than just sucking her thumb and looking at Atley.  Ha!  Then Atley got Nora a puzzle and left, so Avi helped her finish it (picture below) and got her another puzzle.  They managed to pick the two most difficult puzzles in this toy exchange.  :) Nora was so cute playing with her baby this morning.  I took this picture when she was giving her baby a ride in the chair around and around.  I asked Nora; "Are you the Mommy?"  She giggled ...

Nora ate several bites of breakfast: bran cereal and raisins.  For lunch she ate chicken, bite of whole wheat pita bread, ate olives, tomatoes, half of peppers, and ate pears. First picture; As all the parents know I had this little fish (fake) tank and the kids loved it, but the light burned out and parts of it were broke (it was a Goodwill Special) so it was trash.  Hudson first, and then the rest of the kids were all asking, "Where'd the fishy go?"  My standard answer; "They all swam away!"  That seemed to satisfy everyone!  So I got a lava lamp and that's what the kids are looking at.  I like how Nora is positioned in this picture!  This is classic Nora!  In the background watching!! Linnea is out all week so we can't wish her Happy Birthday today!!  But we did send her a birthday greeting by text with a picture of all the kids at the breakfast table.  And they sent us a picture of Linnea and a some birthday cupcakes from yeste...

Nora ate most of her waffle and ate fruit salad for breakfast.  For lunch she had a taste of Shepard's Pie with hamburger, carrots, green beans, and potatoes.  She ate half of whole wheat tortilla and ate her cherries. Nora and Hudson were waving bye to Daddy Ryan at the window and Nora was mimicking everything Hudson was saying; "That Emily's car."  "That Emily's car."  "Bye bye Ryan."  "Bye bye Ryan."  Haha!  Sorry, but I always think it's cute when the kids use their parent's actually name!  It sounds adorable! When we were playing outside this morning one of the dump truck drivers saw the kids watching from the fence and honked his horn at them.  Thank you driver!  The kids loved it.  Hudson said, "He honked at us!" In the first picture the kids were watching the neighbors prepare their motor home for some camping. That took almost 3 hours so it was lots of entertainment.  The kids especially liked watching...

Nora ate french toast and strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she had a couple bites of "whole 30" chili with meat, tomato sauce, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, peppers, and spices.  She ate most of whole wheat dinner roll and ate tropical fruit. We rarely have any kind of "screen time" at Little Treasures, but the one exception is for "explore.org" and in July and August (the best months) we sometimes watch the big Alaskan Brown (Grizzly) bears feeding on salmon at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park.  We watched yesterday for the first time this year and the kids liked it almost as much as I did!  :)  (They were asking again today, but we didn't take the time for it.)  Yesterday we were counting up to 15 salmon jumping in the air at the same time trying to make it up the Falls and the bears were having lots of easy meals. Nora did several puzzles and I took a picture of this particular one.  Most of the puzzles for this age group have pictures on ...