6/20/12

Morgan was very engaged in playing with the dolls for quite a while this morning.  After a little Kenzie went over and joined her.  They were feeding the babies with a spoon, holding them close, wrapping them up, putting them to "bed" in front of the mirror and talking to them.  It was really sweet to watch. 

 Kenzie was thrilled that Coral was here today.  She spent time cuddled up to her, playing with her or watching what she was doing.  I love it and can still remember times when I was absolutely enthralled by my older cousins when we would all get together.  For them 7 years is a LOT!   They are still young enough to be fun, but old enough to invoke a sense of wonder and awe in the littler ones. 

We got a new book about counting kisses from Paperbackswap.com yesterday afternoon and I read it to them for the first time today.  It counts down numbers of kisses and every time I read the number, I would them make kiss-kiss sounds that number of times.  The kiddos all loved it! 

I could not count the number of times Kenzie told Jadey "I tell you good-bye", "I love you, Jadey", or "Are you goin' to preschool?"  She was also extra loving and tolerant.  At some level she definitely understands... 

6/19/12

Kenzie ate all of her pears and a couple bites of blueberry muffin at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her tuna on saltines, about half of her fresh oranges and a bite of sweet potatoes.  She was complaining then and several other times about her tummy hurting.  I had her try to poop three different times this morning, but she would push once or twice and then start fussing and say, "I can't".  She was also kind of whiny overall so I hope her tummy isn't bugging her too badly.   

When Thomas came today after being gone yesterday and the end of last week, Kenzie came over to me and said, "He went to animal zoo!"  She obviously had been listening when Lexie had told us that or have a little ESP because he DID go to the zoo! 

Kenzie and Morgan were playing with the bears and Morgan was trying to give Kenzie a lesson on different types of bears. The funny things about THAT was that she was talking about Koala Bears and Polar bears and I don't think we have any of those out right now!  : )  Another bear play thing she and Kenzie did was to line (then layer) them up in front of the changing table and discuss which ones matched and why. 

That lead to a conversation on us as people and how we "matched" and were different or the same.  We talked about how we all had two hands, a nose, two ears... and some of us had one color hair and others another, polish on or not, buttons on our shirts or not, jeans or stretch pants, different colored eyes.  The kiddos were really into it.  It was great! 

I have decided that Kenzie's new favorite refrain is "Can I come 'wif' you?"  I have to say it is pretty cute.  I let her come many times, depending on what I am doing.  : )  

6/18/12

Kenzie ate all of her fruit salad and about half of her Chex cereal at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her tomato soup, about half or her roast beef sandwich and a couple bites of apples. 

Kenzie was kind of taking turns playing with Jadey and Morgan on her own this morning.  All three of them played together briefly when Kenzie decided to "bury" them under the teddy bears while they sat on the big yellow chair.  By the time I started prepping for lunch she was tired of both of them and asked to come "Watch and help" me.  She did a good job of helping set of the cups and plates.  Her little detailed mind makes tasks like that a piece of cake!  : )

Kenzie kept telling me "I want some animals" every time she noticed me taking notes for journals.  We had three kiddos gone last Friday, so I did some animal doodling.  Obviously, Kenzie had enjoyed it and wanted a repeat, but today was a little too busy so I couldn't.

She settled for spending time looking at and identifying the animals in the fisher price camera.  She has it down (which hole to look in, how to hold it up to the light to see it better, to make sure the lens cover is open and how to click it to change pictures.

I was helping Kenzie practice closing her mouth tightly and blowing out through her nose.  She actually did is really well twice and kind of a couple other times.  She is really the only one whose nose was still running today.  

6/15/12

Kenzie ate all of her prunes and about half of her oatmeal at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her mandarin oranges and biscuit and about half of her hashbrown casserole. 

Kenzie was trying to hoard all of the goggles this morning.  She had them all strung on her arm (9 of them, I think) and didn't want to share any of them with anyone.  When I reminded her of the "one for each hand" rule and helped her follow it, she didn't get upset, though, so that was good!  : ) 

We are working hard to consistently have Kenzie take a break every time she hits one of her friends because it has been really been increasing in frequency.  Many times we can't even find a reason for her hitting.  She will just walk up to someone and hit them, then scream bloody murder when they retaliate. 

We had squirrels on the street, neighborhood trees and lines all morning today.  They must been excited and taking advantage of the sunshine also!  : ) The kiddos really enjoyed watching them chasing each other and just running around like crazy. 

Speaking of running around like crazy, Kenzie was getting Aaron to chase her around the big room.  She remembered to mostly do it on the rowdy side, but got so into it that it spilled over a couple times.  They were both cracking up.  Another thing they were doing parallel and laughing about was when they were sitting on my legs as I sat on the floor being the "gate" between sides of the room.  I was rowdily bouncing them and both of them were just cracking up.  They both have very contagious laughs and were just feeding off of each other.  It was really funny!

6/14/12

Kenzie ate all of her cantaloupe and about half of her french bread at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her turkey and crescent roll, about half of her dried mangoes and a bite of her squash. 

Kenzie was so excited that I had put up the Tucker the Turtle poster and the Relaxation Thermometer again.  We also got the stuffed turtle down, read the Tucker book and talked about what he does and why for quite a while.  I gave each of them a mini scenario and asked them if they should (do it the wrong way) and Kenzie was adamant that she shouldn't, then I asked what she should do instead and she thought for a couple seconds and said "Think, think, think "  : )  Now if we can just consistently put it in practice!  : )   Not long before we read the story, Kenzie had pushed two different kiddos (Emily and Peyton) and hit at both Morgan and Jadey... 

Kenzie (and the rest of the kiddos) were thrilled with the new sunglasses that "fit me" and the goggles.  Several of both had been broken the last couple times we had them out and a couple of the remaining sunglasses has gotten so stretched out from them pulling on them that they wouldn't stay on any of their heads anymore.  It was time for new ones!  : ) 

Kenzie announced "I find a jet trail" three different times today. One of them was inside and the other two were out.  She is such an observant little girl and not much gets by her.  She got all of the other kiddos talking about "jet tails" too!  They had a minor misinterpretation, but that's OK!  : )  

6/13/12

Kenzie ate all of her whole wheat toast and a couple bites of her blueberries at breakfast.  At lunch she ate seconds on saltines and all of her ham, bean soup and kiwi. 


Morgan and Kenzie were playing together on one side of the room and Morgan kept saying, "all right, guys?"  That just cracked me up because Kenzie was the only one around!  While they were playing together on the mattress and climber area, Kenzie kept trying to get Morgan to jump off of the climber and onto her back (on the mattress).  I vetoed the plan, much to Kenzie's dismay!  Little did she know, she would have been in much more dismay if Morgan had actually landed on her!

Kenzie was really wound up for about 10 minutes.  She was just racing from the wall to the couch and back repeatedly on the rowdy side.  She was kind of playing with Peyton and Emily, but mostly just entertaining herself -- cracking up as she raced around.

Kenzie and Morgan were playing with the ice cream cones again today.  They were 'eating' them and visiting about how they 'tasted'.  They also did "cheers" again, but Kenzie actually did it this time.  Either she figured it out last time or you guys gave her a crash course!  ; )  

6/12/12

Kenzie ate all of her whole wheat bagel and about half of her dried apricots at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her applesauce and her peas and pasta topped with grated cheese.  She also had a couple bites of tilapia. 

Kenzie and Morgan were sitting at the table, each with a play ice cream cone in hand.  Morgan held hers out toward Kenzie and said, "Let's do cheers".  Kenzie looked at her a little puzzled then said, "Go, Griz, Go!"  : )  It was adorable!  They obviously didn't have the same perception of what "cheers" meant! 

Kenzie and Jadey were in conflict with each other a lot today.  Even though they couldn't seem to play together for more than a couple minutes without attacking, being attacked or screaming, Kenzie kept going back for more until about 10:00.  She then started hanging out with Morgan instead and they did pretty well together.  They did puzzles outside the big gate together and were just a visiting away with each other (both about the puzzle process and just in general). 

Kenzie and Morgan were extremely engaged in building with the duplos in the back room today.  They made all kind of buildings and "towers" on the platform pieces out with this set. 

6/11/12

Kenzie ate most of her bran flakes and cranberries at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her cheese pizza, about half of her tropical fruit and her "tasty" bite of cauliflower. 

Kenzie collected all of the play water bottles she could find and then announced, "Do you want some water, everyone?"  Of course, she got swarmed and had to fight to keep one for herself.  : ) 

Kenzie was working hard to hold the camera (and her head) just right to be able to see the pictures in the camera with the outdoorsy pictures in them.  She was announcing what she say when she would get it into view and most of the time she was right! 

She explored many of the other toys -- dolls and blankets, dress-ups (boots and shirts, swim goggles and sun glasses...), the ice cream cones and dishes, and everything else. 

Kenzie cracked me up when everyone was sitting with her and she announced "I better move away" then got up and left.  As soon as she got situated somewhere else, she announced "Hey guys, you wanna come here?"  A couple minutes later she did the entire "I better move away" routine again.  She did it four whole rounds.  It just cracked me up! 

6/6/12

Kenzie ate all of her peaches and about half of her biscuit at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her baked beans and pineapple, about half of her dinner roll and a bite of her steamed broccoli. 

Kenzie played with Jadey for the first part of the morning, then with Morgan for the second part.  When she and Jadey were playing, one of the things they did for about 20 minutes was pretend each other had "owies".  They had a play changing pad for the dolls all folded up into a square and whoever was "hurt" would sit on the floor while the other one held the "cold cloth" onto the "owie".  They had them on legs, arms, faces and even tummies.  They obviously weren't very careful to get "hurt" so much. 

I am really trying to help Kenzie understand that many times when one of the kiddos "gets" her (pushes, hits at, yells at...) it is because she is in their space or they don't like what she is doing.  She has such a sensitive little temperament (easily upset, frustrated or 'hurt') that it makes it even more challenging because when she is upset, understanding "why" things happen is almost impossible.  I have been trying to catch it before it happens instead and bringing it to her attention.  For example, several times today, she called one of the kiddos over to do something with her (look at books, play with the food, hold the "cold cloth"...) then would start to get upset when they touched her (even accidentally).  Either that or else they will be in close proximity playing peacefully when Kenzie will suddenly have had enough and and swipe at one of them basically for being too close.  If you have any feedback that you think might help us be more successful, make it less stressful for her or help her understand what is going on better, please let us know.  : ) 

We have been doing some playing around with our music time lately.  One of the things we have been doing is some humming the songs after we have song them with words and even whispering the words or just mouthing the words.  This gives them the opportunity to understand "quiet" and "no sound" better as well as melody without words.  All of the 'big' kiddos are actually pretty good at it! Kenzie really got a kick out of the "no words" part and her eyes would just sparkle as she mouthed or whispered the words. 

6/5/12

Hurray!  It is so nice to have Gary back!  It was a LONG week!

Kenzie ate most of her waffle and bites of her hashbrowns at breakfast.  At lunch she ate all of her shrimp, most of her rice, a couple bites of oranges and her "tasty bite" of her fresh red pepper. 

Kenzie looked at Morgan's pants for a long time with an amused look on her face then said, "Oh, Oh!  She's got 'jammies' on!"  Morgan indignantly told her, "No it's a shirt!"  : )

I think things being a little off was harder on Kenzie than she (or we) even realized because today she was very cuddly with both Gary and I.  She wasn't fussy or anything, just cuddly! 

Morgan and Kenzie played together quite a bit today.  During one episode Morgan told Kenzie, "Lay down.  I give you a tattoo!"  Kenzie did and then showed her where she wanted her tattoo to go (right leg). 

During another play episode with Morgan they were laying on the floor side by side, pretending to sleep.  Kenzie then made a coughing sound, said "I puked!" and picked up the pile of play spaghetti next to her.  It actually kind of turned my stomach because it did look kind of like that!  Ugh!.  

Kenzie was kind of lightly wrestling and playing with Riley today and both of them were laughing so hard.  It was adorable!  : )