2/28/13

Aaron didn't want to eat breakfast this morning. At lunch he ate a nibble of his saltine cracks with canned chicken on it and all of his cherries and potatoes.

A couple days ago I had an idea to take close up pictures of everyone's hands, except Riley and the three babies because they didn't want to cooperate. Now the kiddos request to "do the hand game", which means I show them the pictures on my iPad (eventually I will print them off and laminate them) and they guess whose hands are whose. All of the bigger kiddos (Thomas and up) love it.

Another thing I have done is to take pictures of different items out in the big room and then ask them to bring me the actual item that matches. That is one of the things the developmental checklist wants to know, so I decided to make it into a game also. Aaron loves finding the things.

Kenzie, Emily, Aaron,and Thomas were all using a stuffed animal to stand on while holding onto the changing table rim, then pushing off backwards and flopping onto the mattress. They were all laughing so hard and having so much fun.

Aaron brought Gary one of the play scoops of ice cream and Gary decided to put it on his nose like a clown nose. Aaron thought that was just hilarious and was cracking up! He also decided that trying to knock it off his nose was a great game to play!

2/26 & 27/13

Aaron ate about half of his peas and pineapple at breakfast and had nibbles of his baked beans and dinner roll.

Aaron wanted to cuddle Gary for a while after waving "bye" at mom. I was totally available but he wanted Gary instead.

Yesterday afternoon I was having some of the kiddos bring me different colored items. I was surprised and please at how well Aaron did with the activity. He basically knew all of the colors, except some of the odd balls that weren't a clear basic color (like gray).

Gary was shining his little flashlight into the igloo when a couple of the kiddos were in there. That lead to more being in there until there were five of them. We had an igloo full of laughter.

Aaron loved drawing today. I was watching for specific things and giving them some specific instructions to try to follow for the developmental checklists, but that didn't dampen Aaron's enjoyment of the activity.

Aaron and Riley were making funny sounds into the Duplo blocks, which made it amplify and distorted, which they loved!

I have probably mentioned it before, but the kiddos just love to use our swivel rocking chair in the back room as their merry go round. They just love that, both the riders and the pushers.

2/25/13

Aaron ate all of his Cheerios and a bite of his banana at breakfast. Aaron at some of his apple bits and the cheese our of his sheesh sandwich, a bite of the bread and a sip of tomato soup.

Emily was rolling around on the floor and mattress. Aaron was watching her and just laughing. After that they started chasing each other around in tight circles and chanting "ashes, ashes, ashes, ashes..." It was really cute.

Riley was watching Aaron and Emily run around on the rowdy side having a blast and was chuckling at them. She was also leaning over my "gate" legs and yelling "Guys!" after Joslyn had been calling out to them. Aaron was answering them with "What?s".

In the back room we have a chair that not only rocks but also swivels. The kiddos have decided that it is their merry-go-round. In my group, it is usually Riley and Aaron sitting in the chair while Joslyn and Kenzie push it. It is pretty funny and Aaron LOVES it!

2/22/13

Aaron didn't eat anything at breakfast -- oatmeal and craisins. At lunch he ate all of his applesauce, most of the shredded cheese off of the pea pasta dish and about half of his ground beef.

Aaron and Joslyn were having a very good time on the rowdy side of the room this morning. First of all, they were each holding a dinosaur and spinning until they were so dizzy that they fell over. When they accidentally fell into each other Aaron really loved it and would laugh so hard. They then started chasing each other around. Aaron was calling, "Ozzy (for Jozzy), 'fine' (find) me!" and just laughing like crazy. He must have laughed for at least 15 minutes straight.

Aaron was working on one of the cameras out right now. We have several that are actual old 35 mm cameras. He had figured out how to open the back and was so excited. He then was messing with all of the parts inside and was very focused on it.

In the back room Joslyn and Kenzie, first of all, were jumping while holding onto the block building. They were knocking off pieces while they held and jumped to the music. At first it was on accident, then they repeated it over and over, cracking up when they landed in a heap with blocks in their hands. They made it look so fun that Aaron had to join in too, of course, laughing harder than the other two.

2/21/13

Aaron had his tastes at breakfast, but that was it. At lunch he ate a couple of bites of kiwi after asking me "what dis?" He only had his tasting nibbles of the rest -- turkey burger, sandwich thin and green beans.

Aaron and Thomas were having so much fun today racing around with dinosaurs. First of all they were going round and round in circles after each other and then they started

In the back room several of the kiddos were lining up a bunch of the Duplo blocks, with Aaron's help. Aaron then decided they were just the right size for hurdles and was jumping over them successfully every time.

Aaron is using the children's names so much more these last couple weeks, even just in play and conversation, not just when we ask him. He is also bringing me many different items and labeling them (saying what they are) throughout the day. I love it when their language starts to really pick up like that.

Another thing that I have really noticed is the increase in the amount of times he uses his words now when he either wants something or doesn't want someone to do something. In direct relation to that is the decrease in the amount of times he has been hitting or pushing the kiddos. Increasing language skills almost always make a difference. They figure out they can get their needs met better by talking rather than being aggressive!

2/19 & 2/20/13

Aaron ate about half of his beef and bean burrito, a couple bites of his tropical fruit and a nibble of his sweet potato.

Aaron stood watching all of his friends enjoy looking at his book together with such a pleased look on his face ( with Emily facilitating the "reading" time).

Joslyn was pretending to go on "Bacation" and trying to get all of the other kiddos to go with her. Thomas said he wanted to go too and then Aaron came over with a forlorn look on his face and said, "Oh no! I come 'wit' you!" I think he was afraid he was going to be left behind.

We were singing about each of the kiddos' shirts this morning. When I asked Aaron what was on his shirt, it sounded he said, "Uncky". When I went ahead and sang "Aaron has an Uncky shirt..." he just stood there and chuckled the whole time.

Aaron and Riley crawled around the big room chuckling and watched each other to make sure they were still there and doing it. In the back room they were also doing it and crawling under the Duplo table, a chair and in the big block box. It was very cute.

Kenzie and Joslyn were pretending to be workers at McDonald's today when we were in our small group. They were try to get Riley and Aaron to order something. Aaron thought it was funny, but didn't really get the whole picture and Riley didn't even stop to notice what they were doing. : )

2/15/13

Aaron didn't eat more than his tasting licks at breakfast (rice and raisins). At lunch he ate all of his meatloaf, most of his dried apricots and an actual bit of both cooked carrots and French bread.

Aaron was flopping backwards onto the mattress from the floor and laughing at himself. He was saying "whoa, worwee" each time he flopped, wanting to make sure I saw him. It was really cute!

He was lying under the balance beam/climber, using one of the stuffed animals as his pillow. Riley was wanting to squeeze in with him, but there really wasn't room so it didn't work too well.

Gary was catching "rats in a rat trap", which means catching them between his knees. Aaron watched for a while, chuckling then just raced over to get "caught" in the rat trap too.

2/14/13

Aaron didn't want to eat breakfast -- most kiddos don't when they come right in the middle of it. He just wanted to play with the trains with Riley, which she loved. At lunch he ate a bite of his crescent roll and taste of cheery, but ate no chicken or hash browns.

Aaron does such a great job of giving his toys to either Gary or I when we ask (either when they start causing conflict or when we are transitioning to an activity where it would be a distraction).

We switched to the back rooms a little earlier than usual today because everyone was a little too crazy to be in large group as for as long as usual. Aaron loved the extra time to play with the tractors. He was lining all three of them up on the top of the toy shelf, driving them off the end of the shelf, then doing it again.

When we switched to the other back room, he immediately found the tracors and trailers in there also. He just loved driving things around,as you well know.
He also loves building with the Duplos and made a pretty interesting creation that I was able to get a picture of.

2/13/13

Aaron wasn't here for breakfast and at lunch he didn't want to eat anything, but did have his taste or lick. We had corn, salad with ranch dressing, ham and macaroni and cheese.

Aaron has kind of given up on Emily and switched over to Riley for his buddy this last week or so. Emily has been playing with Kenzie, Thomas and Joslyn more lately so I think he was feeling slighted.

Aaron took his shoes off and left them just laying in the middle of the floor. Riley found them and brought them over to me, saying "oh, oh" repeatedly, then helped put them up on the changing table. Aaron was cheering her on!

Aaron decided that the Duplos needed picked up out of the blue, about halfway through our play time in that room. He started picking them up and putting them in the Duplo drawer. Riley saw what he was doing and immediately joined in on the clean up project.

If I miss a day of journaling or it is extremely brief for the next week or so, it will be because of focusing on completing the yearly child evaluations/assessments we do. That was what was going on yesterday. Thanks, in advance for your understanding.

2/7/13

Aaron ate all of his cantaloupe and a lick of French bread at breakfast. At lunch he ate all of his dried mangos, a couple botes of crescent roll and had a lick of his sliced turkey and green beans. While he was eating he held up a piece of mango and said, "look! Mango!" so clearly! Way to go, Aaron!

Today he, Thomas, Kenzie and Riley were jumping on the mattress and being kind of loud. Aaron suddenly covered his ears and said, "noise, noise!" Isn't that interesting? It hasn't seemed to make a difference in his own decibel level though! : )

Aaron came over and told me "hat up" several times, then "Thank you!" after I put his shirt hood up.

Gary was standing at the changing table taking some notes for his journals and his legs were slightly apart. Aaron crawled through them like a tunnel and just cracked up. He made it look so fun that Emily and Thomas has to try it too. They didn't think it was quite a funny as he did, but he laughed even when they did it! : ) I just love his sense of humor and chuckle!

Aaron stuck all of the stuffed animals behind the igloo, then took them all over to line them up on the mattress along the wall, then hauled them all back behind the igloo again. He loves doing that!

2/6/13

Aaron didn't eat anything at breakfast. At lunch he ate all of his saltine crackers and his ham. He also had a lick of kiwi and bite of bean soup.

Aaron was trying to tease Nora this morning. He was crawling toward her slowly like he was going to get her. At first she didn't think she liked it, but started grinning and chuckling later. They were also peaking in and around the igloo together, which was super cute!

Aaron's jumping skills have just blossomed the last couple weeks. He not only actually jumps off of the climber/balance beam, but also bounces like a bunny all the way across the mattress.

Aaron was so excited this morning when Gary got out the books to read. He just raced over to sit on the chair, ready to listen. He is SO focused the whole story time. It is awesome!

Aaron was trying to hook the Duplo trailer to the tractor and couldn't quite get it on his own. He brought it over and said, "help me!" very clearly. As soon as I handed it back to him, he immediately said "Thanks" also very clearly and without prompting. It was awesome!

2/5/13

Aaron didn't eat any breakfast here. At lunch he ate all of his applesauce, the grated cheese off of the peas and pasta, along with the a few noodles out of it. He had a taste of the tilapia.

Aaron was very cute playing with his cars with Riley. They were chuckling together and racing around the table.

When he was done with the car play he started to explore the toys from the new toy exchange. He looked at a lot of the stuffed farm animals, some of the books and checked out most of the food toys.

Aaron loves to stack things and it is frequently things that aren't typically stacked. For example, last week he stacked the play cups of orange juice and today it has been the pots and pans.

Aaron was imitating how Mia was cautiously walking around the bench ofthe table holding on to the table top. When she left to do something differently, he followed her to the mattress, and then over the gate.

2/1/13

At lunch Aaron ate most of his mixed fruit and several bites of the meat out of his spaghetti.

Aaron started playing with Riley even before we switched to the back room today. They were playing give and take with the stuffed animals and peek-a-boo. They both get so tickled when they play together, just grinning from ear to ear and chuckling or squealing.

Kenzie and Thomas were stacking up the play orange juice cups the knocking them over so they made a big crash repeatedly. Aaron, Riley and Emily playing on the other side. As soon as Aaron heard the first crash, he went running over laughing, even though he couldn't see what was going on from where he was. If it is loud and rowdy sounding, he wants to be in on it! He is all boy! Emily, on the other hand, went over to tell them "Calm down, guys!" army and I cracked up!