Svea's Journal

Svea ate half of her oatmeal and no baked cinnamon apples for breakfast. For lunch she ate bites of hamburger stew with meat, carrots, tomatoes, green beans, and potatoes. She ate whole wheat dinner roll, and most of fruit cocktail.    First picture: Linnea came back for a visit yesterday afternoon and the kids were happy to see her. It's been over a year so there were initial shy moments, but she was soon playing. Svea was very interesting when Linnea came; she really didn't say much directly to Linnea and then went off and played doing her own thing. However, this morning Svea said, "It was fun to visit Linnea." Haha. Svea actually spoke more to Momma Becca and basically "introduced" herself. "My name is Svea James Nelson and this is my sister Avi Arlo Nelson." And the Sisters started wrestling. :)  Next picture; As soon as Svea arrived she had to check out Nora's leotard. I still love how Nora initially told me about it: "Leema-tards...

Svea ate half of her French toast and bite of dried plums for breakfast. For lunch she ate pulled pork, bite of whole wheat toast, two servings of peas, and three servings of strawberries. This first picture is left over from yesterday afternoon when the "bubble brigade" had their noodles and were waiting for me to start slinging bubbles around!! (And that's basically how it works; no blowing bubbles here! Ha!) I think this is an adorable picture of everyone. Second picture: Svea working on an activity moving the buttons around with a magnet through the glass and she's working hard at it. No one has played with this for a long time, but as soon as Svea showed interest, Atley and Nora each got one and started working on their's too. This next picture was taken during Science Class and the kids were watching for the popcorn in the glass bowl to pop. But I want to focus on Avi's hand. She was rubbing Svea's arm up and down nice and gentle and Svea said, (in a...

Svea ate most of whole wheat toast and two servings of mangoes for breakfast. For lunch she ate a large serving of ground beef with marinara sauce on a large serving of whole wheat spaghetti noodles, ate cauliflower, and three servings of fruit salad.  First picture: The two Nelson girls waving bye to Daddy Andy; joined by the youngest members of our team!! Haha. If you've already read Avi's Blog today, it was right after this moment that Avi put her new cap on Miles' head. And he loved it.  I was changing Svea's diaper this morning and from across the room Cal just randomly said, "I love you Svea." She said, "I love you too Cal." So cute and sweet. Good friends.  Next picture: Speaking of good friends; Miles is under the blanket with the Nelson Sisters!! :)  Last picture: The girls were all hard at work making something special for Linnea. We are scheduled to have a visit from Linnea tomorrow! Everyone has been excited and asking how many sleeps unt...

Svea ate half of blueberry bagel and ate grapes for breakfast. For lunch she ate bites of shrimp, ate brown rice, no broccoli, and ate raspberries. So 5 out of 6 kids (not Avi) are eating their rice soaked in raspberry juice for this meal. They love it that way!!  First picture is left over from yesterday afternoon before we went outside. I think this is an adorable picture of the sisters!! Lots of love there and it's precious. Second picture; more fun with sister today. This was making me a bit nervous, but Avi assured me just how safe it was and she'd NEVER drop sister on her head!! Ha! (Avi was turning loose of Svea's arms and then quickly grabbing her.) "And there's a pillow down there to catch her!" Oh, I feel SO much better now. Haha! Next picture: Svea playing with the Woody Doll that Nora brought and the other critter that Atley brought with her. Svea asked Atley; "Can I have this?" Atley said, "Well you can play with it." Haha. And...

Svea ate half of bran cereal and ate no raisins for breakfast. For lunch she ate chicken, toasted whole wheat pita bread, ate cucumbers, avocado, and bites of pears.  We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend and when Svea walked in she saw this dress and said, "I love that dress! Will you help me get it on!?!" She remembered it from the last time it was out. There are also purses in this exchange so she was a happy camper!! :) Next picture: Avi was being a good sport and letting Svea put the bunny ears on her head. We obviously missed Easter by a few weeks!! Ha. Following picture: Svea found another pretty dress that she wore as well. She said she was sweating and wanted me to take off the first dress; but she came and asked me to help her with the second dress in a matter of minutes! Ha. She looking at how I tied the bow in the back and it seemed to be satisfactory!! :) Last picture: Look at this little cutie! She said, "Gary will you snuggle me!?" Well...

Svea ate bites of cream of wheat cereal and one nibble of dried plums for breakfast. For lunch she ate chicken, half of brown rice, half of broccoli, and half of pineapple.  Yesterday when we were getting ready to go outside for Science I watched Svea telling Cal what was about to happen outside. Svea assumed her "authoritative stance" with her hands on her hips and said, "Maybe we're gonna do bubbles." Haha.  First picture: This was pretty fun and special. The girls were playing the "feelings matching game" (they call it the "people matching game") and look how many matches Svea ended up with!! She had the most and (with my encouragement) they were all clapping for her.  Next picture: This is another activity in the Preschool Room that Svea has been enjoying lately. You can see the pattern she's following and she's maintained it to the top. Good work Svea. Last picture: She's got her paint shirt on and is ready for dot painting. ...

Svea ate most of whole wheat waffle and ate three large servings of fruit salad for breakfast. For lunch she ate ground turkey, whole wheat tortillas, bites of sweet potatoes, and ate cherries. Notice what she ate for breakfast: That was after saying, "I don't want to eat breakfast." My general rule is: You gotta wash for a meal, sit down with some milk, look at the food on your plate, then  make a decision. They usually eat. I thought you might be interested in this picture of an experiment left over from last week Science when the theme was "things that dissolve." This was originally a sea shell and we put it in some vinegar. During the week we added fresh vinegar just once. As you can see it has almost completely dissolved!! I put all the Science with Lauralea notes in Avi's Blog so I'll not repeat them here. Here's a picture of Lauralea stirring the mixture of the first experiment that ended up as a dud. Sometimes your experiments work and someti...

Svea ate French toast and two servings of strawberries for breakfast. For lunch she ate a half serving of Whole 30 Chili with meat, peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, tomato sauce, and with delicious seasonings. She ate whole wheat dinner roll and most of tropical fruit.   One of the many interesting things I like about children is how they interpret everything so literally!! And I could give you many examples as it happens everyday. Today Svea came without a diaper so I asked her this question; "Do you run around at home without a diaper?" Svea answered; "No, when I'm running I wear a diaper." LOL. (Lauralea shares my fascination with children and she sure laughed too when I sent this note to her.) First two pictures: Svea playing with the food toys - ice cream today!! I like how she has all 8 cone flavors stacked up. Following picture: I like how Svea is using this scarf; works good for a tie around her waist. As you well know she's developing her own styl...

Svea ate half of her English muffin and ate grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bite of pork roast, ate whole wheat toast, ate beets, and applesauce.  First picture: Svea has been asking for the play doh and the rest of the kids - except Miles - joined in the fun. Miles will soon be there as well. Second picture; Svea reading books in the Preschool Room. She is getting more time in the Preschool Room as she continues to listen to my instructions.  Next picture: Cal asked to do some coloring and then the stickers. (He hadn't started the stickers when I took the picture.) Svea wanted to show Cal what she likes to do. Every time Svea asks; "Gary, can I put eggs on my head?" I have to pause a moment and remember what the heck that even means!?! Haha. (Although it always sounds like a great idea!! Ha!!) Last picture: Svea asked to do this Preschool activity puzzle. This is not  an easy puzzle, but I helped her with a couple of the pictures. Each block has 6 sides and...

Svea ate bites of chex cereal and bites of peaches for breakfast. For lunch she ate ground beef, most of toasted whole wheat sandwich thin, ate avocado, tomato, and two servings of mandarin oranges.   This first picture is left over from Friday afternoon when we were doing bubbles. Svea is so funny and she was having a blast. She'd run and run after the bubbles - sort of - and then collapse in a heap like you see in the picture pretending to be totally exhausted. She was having a lot of fun.  Next picture: Svea did some coloring, played at the Doll House, watched Avi do puzzles, and played in the Daycare Room with Cal. At breakfast she told Callahan, "Don't talk to me; I don't feel like talking." Svea was the one who initiated the conversation. Haha. Don't worry Cal, just say "ok dear." :) Last picture: Svea was carrying her baby all wrapped up in a blanket and treating it so gently. It was so precious. She unwrapped it and only Nora could show the k...

Svea arrived probably an hour before Lunch so her Blog will be shorter. For lunch she ate bites of Tilapia, no whole wheat elbow noodles, no green beans, and ate a large serving of applesauce.  Here's a note leftover from yesterday afternoon. We were reading a book at Story Time and Svea said to me, "Hey Gary, I'm sad when the kitties spill their milk." So I turned the page and sure enough there it was on the next page. This is one of our Special Books that I read and it's been several weeks since she heard this one. That was very cool Svea. First picture: Svea said, "Hey Gary, can I put eggs on my head?" Huh....what...it took a couple moments to realize what she was asking for. Haha. Oh sure, why not!?! And of course Nora was more than happy to join her. :) Last picture: "Hey Gary!" And then she started singing me a song. "Red orange yellow green blue purple; makes the rainbow bright!" Great job Svea. She had lots of expression while...

Svea ate half of blueberry bagel and ate two servings of peaches for breakfast. For lunch she ate a serving of hamburger & sausage pizza with olives, tomato sauce, pineapple, and peppers. She ate no whole wheat pizza crust that we serve on the side and ate a serving of pineapple on the side.    First picture: Svea was a bit on the testy side when she arrived and started yelling at Atley about something. And then gave Atley a shove. I really wanted to laugh, but I refrained. She reminded me of a little banty rooster. If you've never seen one, they are small, but aggressive. Then she got in Atley's face and yelled, "You're not one of the sisters!!" Ok Svea, you need to go to the Doll House and play by yourself for awhile and calm down. This works very well for that; she will play there alone and it totally mellows her out.   Next picture: I was in the kitchen and I heard Svea say, "I gotta go potty!" I ran out there all excited and this is what I found...

Svea ate whole wheat toast and two servings of grapes for breakfast. For lunch she ate bites of pork roast, ate whole wheat tortillas, bite of carrots, bite of potatoes, and ate fruit salad.  First picture: The Nelson girls brought this "feelings matching game" from home and the kids played serval games of it. Svea played the first game with them. So if you look in the picture you'll see Svea got the first match again. I was excited for her and I hooted and hollered!! Which was a major mistake because from then on all the kids expected me to react the same way each time they got a match!! Hahaha. "I got a match Gary!! I got a match Gary!" "Hoot and holler!! Hoot and holler!"  Next picture: This serving platter with the cake and candles is ALL about Cal. Ha. Svea put this together and then was singing, "Happy Birthday to Cal" as she was walking over to where he was playing. It was super cute and she was so serious about what she was doing. ...

Svea ate half of English muffin and no dried plums for breakfast. For lunch she ate chicken, bites of brown rice, half of broccoli, and ate mandarin oranges.  Right after lunch as I was cleaning up all 4 girls were playing at or near the Doll House. All of a sudden Svea burst into intense howling and I was sure she'd been hurt. What the heck happened? Svea said, "Atley didn't open my present." :) I'm so sorry, but I'm also glad it wasn't too serious. :)  First picture: Hey check out who has 2 matches laying on the table - and she's the only one with a match so far!! Ha. Svea was SO jacked about this and it was adorable. Those were the only matches she made during the game. One big reason for rarely making a match; she does not see the reason for watching and giving attention to what the other players are turning over. Ha. This was the only game Svea played to the end. The girls played at least 4 games of this today and Nora won a game! That doesn't...

Svea ate cheerios and no banana for breakfast. For lunch she ate ground beef, no toasted pita bread, ate three servings of olives, ate avocado, and ate strawberries.  We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange so everyone was super engaged and busy all morning. Svea is in the background of this picture, but she was busy fixing a birthday cake with candles that you can see directly in front of Cal's right knee. Then she was singing happy birthday to no one in particular; at least I didn't recognize anyone. Ha. She had the boys on-call and ready to help her if necessary. Haha. Other than that they had strict orders to just wait!!    Second picture: Atley was just sitting in the corner reading a book and then Svea joined her. Soon Nora came over too. You obviously made it look inviting Atley!! Also, you can see Svea's shirt in this picture. I thought it was extra cute because we have ice cream cones out in this toy exchange and Svea loves those ice cream food toys.  Last p...