Svea's Journal

Svea ate toasted whole wheat English muffin and no dried plums for breakfast. For Lunch she ate bite of chicken, bite of brown rice, ate beets, and ate her mandarin oranges. First picture; Svea was snuggling with me and I was gonna do a selfie of her. However, she was sucking her thumb and I held her hand. Of course she started sucking the other thumb. So when I took the picture I was holding both of her hands and she wasn't about to cooperate with a picture. Ha. Second picture: Svea and Miles were doing some Art. (Cal is back tomorrow.) Next picture: We'd just gotten outside and Svea excitedly said, "Gary Gary Gary!! It's a Queen Ant." I had to Google that to see if they're called "Queens." They can be "Queen, Princess, or Worker." Similar to bees. Following picture: They were just as excited to find a Roly Poly bug. Miles was gonna poke it with a blade of grass, but Svea would not allow that to happen!! :) Next picture: We picked some lil...

Svea ate bites of brown rice and no raisins for breakfast. For lunch she ate salmon, whole wheat dinner roll, bite of cauliflower, and ate mangoes. First two pictures: Miles and Svea each had an idea how to play with the car ramp; those ideas were wildly different! Haha. However, Svea quickly relented and they used it like a "car ramp." Ha. And they were having lots of fun. They were mimicking a book we read; "20 Trucks stuck in the middle of the Street." (A favorite here.) I was watching them and I didn't even realize what I said until Miles parroted back what he'd heard! He said, "That little sucker goes fast!!" Haha.  Next picture: There were emergency vehicles at the end of the cul-de-sac this morning. Eventually there were a total of 5 police cars. (It had to do with a bicycle wreck and "maybe" a car involved.) Miles was SO excited to see the Fire Truck. "It's red! It's red! It's red!" Ha. Following picture: On ...

Svea ate whole wheat English muffin and three servings of mandarin oranges for breakfast. For lunch she ate bites of ground beef, bites of whole wheat elbow noodles, most of her peas, and bites of applesauce. Breakfast conversation: Svea randomly asked, "Hey Gary, How much money does it cost to buy a house?" "In Missoula, minimum half a million. Why, are you in the market for a house?" Haha. She got a silly grin and said, "no." So today it's just Svea and Miles until Nora and Avi arrive. I'm posting this first picture leftover from yesterday afternoon. I asked Svea what she was drawing and I loved her immediate answer; "Octopus with a party hat." Haha. Second picture: Svea decided to teach Miles how to play "Tic-Tac-Toe." They'd fill it up with X's & O's and she'd bring it to me and ask; "Did anyone win!?!" LOL. 4 Pictures: Miles asked if we could go on a walk. I said, "yes." He was very v...

Svea ate French toast casserole and ate strawberries for Breakfast. For lunch she ate her Hearty Paleo Stew with meat, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, carrots, and peppers. She ate two servings of saltines and ate a bite of pears. Svea and Cal have been washing their hands in the bathroom and Miles washes in the kitchen. I have the kids sing the ABC song while washing and frequently Cal and Svea sing at "warp speed" to hurry through the process! Ha. First picture: Svea has been doing lots of Art lately and this morning she was surprised and happy when I called her an "Artist." She said, "Are you calling me an Artist?" Yes I am. She really liked it and said, "I think I am." :) Next picture; Outside Svea was whipping out some dance moves on the grass. :) Following picture: We went on a walk and nothing like a bouquet of Dandelions gone to seed!!  Last picture: It was fun watching the water flow through the irrigation d...

Svea ate a bite of blueberry waffle and ate bites of grapes for breakfast. For lunch she ate bites of chicken, ate whole wheat tortillas, half of her corn, and no apple bites. First picture: This is how Svea has been drawing the girl's face lately. Hair, eye brows, eyes, dot in the middle is the nose, cheeks on both sides, and I like the mouth with teeth and lipstick. :) Good work Svea. Second picture: Cal and Svea were carefully staying on the blocks to avoid the "Hot Lava!" They both slipped and apparently it wasn't that hot because they laid on the floor and talked about it!! Ha. Next two pictures: Svea asked if they could do some painting - "NOT dot painting" - she made that very clear. Ha. I was impressed they did not mix brushes in the wrong paint! Cal said, "I'm making a snowman." Svea said, "Mine is a Cat Princess!" And Miles identified his by the different colors. Last two pictures: We also went outside this morning. They wen...

Svea ate two servings of kix cereal and a few bites of fruit cocktail for breakfast. For lunch she ate ground turkey topped with avocado, ate toasted whole wheat sandwich thin, olives, and cherries. First picture; This is what the kids were doing shortly after Svea's arrival. She was "taking notes" and drawing pictures while Mile played with the drill and Cal was waiting for his turn with the drill. We played outside for a long time this morning and the kids had lots of fun. Shortly after going outside Svea said, "Cal, do you want to play volleyball!?" He said, "Sure." And immediately gave the ball a big kick across the yard! Svea yelled at him; "Cal, that's NOT how you play volleyball!" Cal said, "That's how I play volleyball!" I had to laugh at that. (Quitely. Ha.) Next picture: Svea brought a small bottle of bubbles and the kids had fun with those. I noticed the slides on the climbers were wet....hmmm...now I understand. ...

Svea ate oatmeal and no apple bites for breakfast. For lunch she ate ground beef, no whole wheat dinner roll, ate bites of carrots, and ate fruit cocktail. We read lots of "Preschool Books" during Story time. I make that (Preschool) distinction by the amount of words on the pages, the length of the stories, and the types of stories. When we were done Svea said, "I like that one the best." She was pointing at "A Sip of Aesop." (Which is a small collection of a few of his fables.) That surprised me, but I think it was the illustrations she liked the best. Although there are probably pieces of them that she does understand. First picture: Svea asked if they could do some Dot Painting and the kids had fun with that. When I took this picture they were discussing (ie, arguing - ha) about Miles' picture. Svea said, "Cal! I KNOW you love red!! But that's pink!" Haha. I try not to intervene in those moments and let them work it out. Especially w...

Svea ate French toast and strawberries for breakfast. She said, "This French toast is so good." It's a "French toast casserole" we've been doing. For lunch she ate pulled pork, ate whole wheat toast, peas, and no dried plums. Svea was telling Cal the difference between the words " But " and " Butt ." She said, "Cal, but is a word, but not this." As she was pointing to her butt . The visual was perfect for making the distinction! Well done Svea.  This first picture is left over from yesterday afternoon when Nora was here. Svea and Nora had SO much fun together. Meanwhile much to Cal and Miles' delight Avilene was wrestling with them on the mattress. Ha. Avi would check on Svea and Nora, look at what they were doing, and leave. :) Next pictured: Svea hard at work on one of the art projects she brought from home. Following picture: Svea was happy to see the Crystals reflecting on the wall again. She said, "Gary!! The Cry...

Svea ate bites of whole wheat toast and ate watermelon for breakfast. So we've had watermelon like 3 days in a row!! (A BIG one from Costco! Haha!) Miles wanted to know if we could have more after nap! LOL! No, it's all gone! For lunch Svea ate a large serving of ground beef with marinara sauce on top of whole wheat spaghetti noodles, no green beans, and no fruit cocktail. First picture; Well this is what Svea was doing immediately after breakfast. Little Cutie. She has been very happy this week and her attitude has been awesome. Good job Svea. Next picture: Svea was sharing her "Brownie Blanket" with Miles. And he knows it's a privilege!! Haha.  Next picture: Svea brought her "cake" to show me, but as you can tell the mirror became the focal point! Haha. Cracks me up. I really like this picture of her a lot! Following picture: She and Cal were playing a "Matching Game" for a few minutes, but Cal wasn't liking it so I took his place.  Last ...

Svea chose not to eat breakfast: blueberry bagel and grapes. For lunch she did slightly better; at least she ate one thing! No salmon patty, ate a large serving of brown rice covered with berry juice, no broccoli, and no mixed berries.  First picture left over from yesterday afternoon. Miles went home early so it was just Cal and Svea enjoying the crackers Svea brought from home. I like this set-up! The bugs can clean up the crumbs instead of me doing it!! :) Next picture: Svea was pretty fascinated by the reflection of the morning sun shining on the crystal that hangs on the patio. The wind was moving it ever so slightly, but I managed to get a picture of it! She asked, "Where is that rainbow coming from!?!?" Following picture: Checking out the Doll House accessories in this Toy Exchange. Next picture: Svea bringing her own style to the "Super Stretchy" game. Cal was playing too even though he's not in the picture. They were kind of doing their own rules. :) La...