Nora Hansen's Journal

Nora ate whole wheat toast and mangoes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef with marinara sauce on whole wheat spaghetti noodles, bites of cauliflower, and a large serving of fruit salad. Nora and I have a routine every time I'm preparing to feed Baby Callahan when he wakes up from his naps.  She holds the bottle, then when I sit down she takes his binky to the changing table.  Then she always comes over and snuggles while I feed him.  It's pretty much the exact same routine she did with Svea and then Linnea.  :)  It's pretty awesome that she never seems to get tired of it!! First picture; Nora was dancing to the music and it was super cute.  Check this picture out in live mode and enjoy!  You're welcome!  Ha!   Last picture: This was Linnea's first day to see the airplane toy.  (She was gone Monday and Tuesday).  Avi was so excited that all the kids are on the airplane except baby Callahan.  This picture ...

Nora ate whole wheat bagel and two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate shrimp, bite or two of brown rice, ate stir fry vegetables, and two servings of raspberries. First picture: I'd just turned on some music and the kids were dancing.  By the time I took the picture the dancing had kind of turned into jumping and Avi was just getting warmed up!!  Nora on the other hand was ready to quit and play with her dolls.  Nora said, "I'm done."  Avi yelled at Nora, "NO!! We're NOT tired yet!!"  Haha!!  That made me laugh hard! Next picture: Nora said, "Look at this Gary."  So I looked and grabbed the camera and she immediately covered her face.  Haha!  You can check that out in "live mode."  I just feel so "tech savvy" when I use that term - which I just learned a week ago!  Haha! Next picture; We played outside for awhile this morning.  There's a window of time when we can do that depending on feeding...

Nora ate half of bran cereal and half of raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken, bite of whole wheat pita bread, two servings of cucumbers, ate avocado, and two servings of pears. Nora and Atley were on the mattress and Nora was the "doctor."  She was wanting to do a checkup on Atley, but Atley wasn't really cooperating and she rolled over on her side.  That frustrated Nora and she flopped down on the mattress in a major dramatic maneuver and laid there sucking her thumb.  Avi was monitoring the activity of course and she yelled in a disgusted voice, "NORA!! Doctors do NOT lay down!!"  Haha!  I roared!! I had to be downtown to sign some papers at 9:00 this morning and Lauralea covered for me.  I took this first picture as soon as I got back and set up this game of "Sequence."  Nora got tired of it eventually and said, "I'm done."  Atley followed up a short time later, "I'm done."  I told Avi she may as well qu...

Nora ate bites of whole wheat cream of wheat and bites of dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate half of baked beef kabobs with meat, pineapple, zucchini, and peppers.  She ate half of brown rice and ate pineapple on the side. You recall from yesterday's Blog about Avi making idle threats to Nora NOT being able to go to Avi's house if she wouldn't listen to Avi.  Well this is kind of a followup when Avi was trying to convince Nora she NEEDED to go to Avi's house!  Again, Nora was basically ignoring it all.  Avi said, "Hey Nora! NORA! My house has some ice cream!!"  Nora didn't respond, HOWEVER that made Atley whirl around!!  LOL!  "What colors do you have!?!" Atley asked!  Avi said, "Blackberry!!  NORA, I have blackberry!!"  No response.  :) First picture: Nora using a doll blanket for a shawl and wrapping it around herself.  And checking out the new look in the mirror!  She said, "Hey look at me Gar Gar."...

Nora ate breakfast at home today.  For lunch she ate a bite or two shepherd's pie with meat, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, and carrots.  She ate half of whole wheat tortillas, and ate her cherries. This first picture is leftover from yesterday afternoon.  Linnea might be a year plus three months younger, but Nora was thrilled to just kick back, suck her thumb, and ride up and down the sidewalk!! ha!  Avi was complaining because Linnea is not yet an experienced driver when meeting someone on the sidewalk.  "You gotta move!!"  Ha!  Second picture: We do surfing classes at Little Treasures with Avi being the instructor!  Dry Flat Land Surfing. It was hard not to laugh at Avi trying to boss Nora around.  Nora, of course, has her own ideas about how things work and she was totally ignoring Avilene.  Avi started saying, "Look at me Nora! Look at ME!!!"  Nora just kept ignoring her.  Avi moved into what I'll call "idl...

Nora ate two servings of French toast and two servings of strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate whole 30 chili with meat, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and tomato sauce.  She ate most of whole wheat dinner roll, and ate tropical fruit. First picture: Nora lounging on the couch with her "faithful sidekick" beside her!!  Ha!  She's trying to text with a primitive phone!  Second picture: The kids wanted the legos table covered so we got the blanket from outside.  Svea and Avilene are hidden under there; Nora on the left peeking in and that's about as close as she got.  Atley's on her way in, but that didn't last long either.  Linnea liked playing around it, but no way was she going inside.  :) Next picture: Nora brought this dress-up shirt over to me, then just stood in front of me holding it out and sucking her thumb.  I told her "a.) you can use your words and b.) I think you can do it yourself!"  Moments later ...

Nora ate bites of whole wheat Chex cereal and ate peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ground beef, whole wheat hamburger bun, tomatoes, avocado, and two large servings of oranges. This is more about Avi, but Nora was directly involved!!  Frequently when I say something to the other kids Avilene has to add her thoughts and "pile on" what I'm already saying.  And it usually is quite logical, but sometimes it makes zero sense!!  Here's an example of one that made zero sense!!  I said, "Nora, please quit picking your nose."  (That was at the end of an hour of steady picking!!  Not really, but almost!!)  I didn't even have time to exhale and Avi added: "So you don't get a thing with a hangnail on the back of your thumb!"  Haha!  Huh?  What? We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend so as usual the kids were super busy and very engaged all morning.  First picture: Geez, I wonder what Nora might play with first!?! ...

Nora ate some oatmeal and some dried cranberries for breakfast.  She ate a HUGE lunch!!  Tilapia, two large servings of whole wheat elbow noodles topped with two large servings of applesauce, and ate two large servings of green beans.  And my servings are not small!!  Where does she put all of that food!?! First picture: When the three of them want to do an activity together the color sorting ones are frequently what they chose.  They have their own games they've added to it and they frequently do so with good cooperation without bickering.  (As long as they follow Avi's rules!!  Ha!) Next picture: Nora decided she needed to comb Callahan's hair.  :)  Following picture: They've been doing lots of art activities recently as well.  I took the picture when they were gluing.  Moments later Atley reached across the table and basically laid on her paper that had lots of glue on it.  Haha!  Ooops. Next picture: ...

Nora ate bites of whole wheat bagel and three servings of peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate most of hamburger and sausage pizza with peppers, pineapple, and olives; ate whole wheat pizza crust.  She also ate pineapple on the side. This first picture is left over from outside yesterday afternoon.  This is what it looks like when the neighbor kids have a pool in their yard.  It's just a blow up one, but it's pretty large.  They also have a trampoline over there so that provides lots of entertainment for Little Treasures kids!! Next picture: Linnea was waving bye to Nora's Daddy Ryan along with Atley and Nora.  So just in case you've been wondering about this: that truck is still NEW here!!  As soon as you drive around the corner Atley always says the same thing; "He's got a NEW truck!!" Next picture:  Nora and Atley talking on some phones and hanging out in the swivel/rocker chair.  (Watching themselves in one of our mirrors.)...

Nora ate three servings of whole wheat toast and three servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate pork roast, bite of whole wheat tortillas, no potato/sweet potato, and ate fruit salad. First picture:  Linnea was wiped out this morning so at 8:30 I asked if she'd like to lay on her nap mat.  And she did.  I took this picture at breakfast time, about 9:00 and Nora had just arrived.  Avi couldn't wait to drag Nora in to show her that Linnea was napping!  Ha!  (Notice Avilene's hand on Nora's left shoulder. So cute.)  Linnea got up at 9:10 (on her own) and was back to her normal self.  Atley looked at Linnea when she got up and exclaimed, "She's  not  crying!!"  :) Next picture: I'd just finished feeding Callahan and Nora was on the prowl for some mess or spit-up left behind by Callahan.  And he didn't disappoint her.  She's directing me to where I need to clean up!  :)  Notice that Nora has ano...

Nora ate half of whole wheat English muffin and "a couple" (her words) dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken, bites of brown rice, most of stir fry vegetables, and two large servings of oranges. This first note is left over from yesterday afternoon.  Avi was giving Nora some kind of bossy lecture and Nora covered her ears.  She's been doing that lately when she'd rather not hear what you're saying.  I said, "She's plugging her ears."  Avi said, "Gary, this is plugging your ears."  And she stuck her fingers in her ears to make her point.  Ok Little Miss Stickler For Details! "She's covering her ears."  Haha!! First two pictures: Well this is more of the same right!?!  Haha!  She loves her babies and I like the beautiful grin on her face.  She cuddled her baby and then was feeding it.  When she was done she laid down on the couch beside it and started sucking her thumb. Next picture: Here are the t...

Nora ate cheerios and banana for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef, half of whole wheat pita bread, ate olives, avocado, and three servings of watermelon.  When it was time to wash for breakfast I heard Avi (still out in the Play room) asking Nora; "Can I wash first?"  Avi knows there may be yelling if she doesn't ask first!! However, while these negotiations were taking place Atley had slipped in first and was washing her hands! Ha!! We had a wonderful vacation; I took a good hike every day for 8 days straight and my favorite hikes were on the continental divide trail in different locations. We did tons of reading and played several board games and card games. There was no cell service at the Forest Service cabin or electricity so it was like the "good old days." (Haha! Actually, these are the good days! I love modern living and technology!!) Everyone was giddy and silly this morning - as it usually is coming back from several days away!  So of cour...

Nora had a bite of whole wheat English muffin and ate oranges for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef, a large serving of whole wheat elbow noodles, two servings of peas, and two servings of applesauce.  During one of the meals today Avilene asked, "Gary, why does Svea always bug Nora?!?"  :)  That's a great question Avi.  I do know that Svea is greatly amused (and sometimes bewildered) by Nora's intense and immediate reactions!! Just in case there are some people reading the blogs that might not be aware of Little Treasures vacation days!  This will be the last blog until July 15th.  Thank you to everyone for making it possible for me to renew my energy and spirit with a few days off.  I have the best families at Little Treasures and I'm thankful for all of you.  Looking forward to hiking, reading, and relaxing for a few days!!  I love taking care of your children and enjoy it so much!!  (Oh yes, Lauralea informed me there ...

Nora ate half of waffle and ate grapes for breakfast.  As soon as Nora arrived she was eating breakfast and Atley said, "I called you."  Nora said, "Well I was driving."  Atley said, "Nooooo, your Mom was driving!!"  Haha!!  For lunch she ate two servings of chicken, no whole wheat tortillas, ate corn, and three servings of baked cinnamon apples. Nora had to tell me something important this morning.  "Hey Gary!"  What?  "Brother is going to get me presents when he comes out!!"  LOL!!  That hit my funny bone.  I said, "Well no wonder you're so eager to see him!!"  Haha!! First picture; I took this as soon as Callahan woke up from his morning nap.  I frequently call him "Big Cal" and I didn't even realize it or think about it until this morning when I heard Nora say, "Hi Big Cal."  It sounded funny to me when she said it!  Ha!  Second picture:  Linnea is just standing still while Nora attaches a h...