Lena's First Allowence

Ready to go shopping!

After the first week of Lena's goals we had to make a few adjustments.  We took "make bed" off of her list of chores as it was just too advanced of a task for her to complete especially considering she sleeps in a queen sized bed.  Secondly, getting a "pirate coin" at the end of the day for completing all of her tasks was too abstract.  She needed some more immediate and tangible reward for completing her tasks.  We opened up a piggy bank we had been saving to give her and began giving her a nickel for each task she completed on her goal chart.  If she finished all seven of her tasks she would get a quarter too.  Her other reward chart is now strictly for her pirate coins issued for making good choices.  This has worked out really well!  After a few weeks Lena got to open up her piggy bank and get ready for her first allowance shopping trip to Dollar Tree!

Getting the coins ready to take to the store.

Showing off her "gold tabloons" - three gold dollars

When we emptied her piggy bank Lena practiced her counting by grouping the nickels into rows of twenty.  She then traded them in for gold dollar coins.  She ended up with three precious gold coins to take to the store.  She carefully tucked them into a coin purse I gave her and we got ready to go.  Once in the store Lena was excitedly browsing the shelves.  She pulled items from the racks and chattered on and on about each item.  She ended up pulling several items into our basket and then she had to choose only three items to purchase.  It was fun to see what she was interested in.  She ultimately selected a heart-shaped Mylar balloon, a bag of ring pops, and a valentine snow globe.  The runner up items were a valentine goblet, a Sofia the First puzzle, a butterfly net, a set of ninja action figures, Strawberry Shortcake body wash, a bag of Cheetos, and a Scooby Doo expanding hand towel.  We then headed for the check out and she placed her items on the counter and handed over her three precious coins.  I think it was a good experience for her.

Excited about her purchases

Enjoying the "fruits" of her labor - a blue tongue from her ring pop!

 I am so proud of Lena for working towards her daily goals.  Some days she does better than others but she is becoming a great helper and I had so much fun with her today watching her spend her first allowance. 

Toddler Victories: The Picky Eater

Eating her zucchini noodles the way Daddy taught her.

Being the mother of a picky eater I have learned to celebrate the little victories.  You know... like "Wahoo! She licked a banana!!!"  But today was a biggy!  A mom victory for the ages!  At dinner tonight I got my daughter to eat not one, not two, but six different vegetables in one fell swoop!  And she liked it!

It has been a long challenge to get Lena to eat any fresh fruits or vegetables.  Over the last year we have finally gotten her to like freshly juiced fruits and veggies, eat carrots, apples without the peel and that is pretty much it.  Lately I have been trying out new recipes that have more veggies in them and tonight I made roasted veggie ragu with Italian turkey sausage over raw zucchini spaghetti noodles.    We sat down to eat and as I watched her put "noodle" after "noodle" into her little mouth I tried to conceal the utter shock and excitement that was bubbling from inside.  Then when she took big mouthfuls of the ragu sauce I fully expected her to spit it out but she didn't! Success.  I am making this ALL THE TIME!  Now I need to invent even more recipes that can accomplish what this one did.

First I pulled out all the veggies from the fridge that needed to be used up.  Tonight that was carrots, red onion, red bell pepper, and broccoli. Then I roasted them at a high temperature while I made the base of the ragu.  I simmered plum tomatoes, olive oil, Italian herbs, and garlic.  Then I put the roasted veggies into the Vitamix with the sauce and pulsed it to make it smooth.  Lastly I added the cooked Italian turkey sausage.

 I served the ragu over raw zucchini noodles that I made with my spiral slicer.  Lena at hers with lots of "special cheese" also known as Parmesan. 

New Year...New Goals...Elizabeth Gets In Shape

Goal 1: Cook better / Eat better

Goal 2: Move More

McKinley Jane: Five Months Old

Little McMunchkin (as her Daddy calls her) is five months old!  She weighs in at 14lbs 7oz, wears 3-6 month clothes, size 2 diapers, and has learned many new things this past month! 

Still the most smiley baby I've ever known.

Kinley Jane loves to play her own version of peek a boo with her bib or any blanket near by.  She can get really worked up and LOUD while she plays her game which is pretty entertaining to watch.

She began eating solids this month.  We started with rice cereal which she looks forward to everyday.  She got the hang of eating very quickly.  I can't wait to see what her favorites are as we try new foods.  We tried bananas next and she wasn't quite sure about them.  Mum mum crackers on the other hand are a huge favorite and if she loses her grip on it she cries and impatient angry cry until you hand it back to her.

Rice cereal with apples and bananas, YUM!

Not so sure about mashed ripe bananas for the first time...

 Kinley is almost done breastfeeding.  We probably feed once, maybe twice a day.  She is mostly on formula now.  Dan is teaching her to hold her own bottle.

Bottle time!

 Poor Kinley had a difficult round of teething just after Christmas.  No teeth just yet but they must be on their way soon.  In general though she is still a very good baby.  I always know she is getting tired when she starts making these grunting sounds. 

Boo for teething!  She would chew on her hands and whine when she was sore.

McKinley can now roll from her back to her tummy and back to her back.  She is going to be an early mover!  She loves her time playing with toys.

Time in her favorite swing.

She graduated to riding upright when we got our new double Bob stroller.  Lena loved having Kinley riding right beside her.  I can tell these two will be fast friends and I have enjoyed watching them interact together.  McKinley loves her big sister already!

First ride in the double Bob stroller.

Sisters - Lena calls her "Little"

New Year...New Goals: Lena Helps Out

As we started the New Year as a family of four I began to think about what our goals should be for 2015.  Now that Dan and I are parents our goals have shifted to include our girls. Lena has officially entered into a more difficult period of behavior.  We want to encourage teamwork, self-responsibility, perseverence through difficult tasks, and other redeeming qualities.  So we have officially begun Lena's goal-reward system this week.

Lena's Goal Chart ( By Melissa and Doug)

Each day she has seven goals/tasks to complete.  As she finishes them she gets to put a smiley face on that space.  At the end of the day if she has completed all of her tasks she gets a "pirate coin" to put on her reward chart.  If she has done an extra good job by doing all her tasks without having to be asked over and over then she gets two pirate coins.

Lena's reward chart - Dan helped her make it and as you can see she REALLY wants an extra visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house!

There are six different prizes on her reward chart that she can work towards: a special extra visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house, a visit to the farm near our house, a trip to Toys R Us to buy a toy, go to Chuck E Cheese, a trip to the beach, and a visit to Scandia mini golf and amusement park.  I let her choose these prizes out of ten prizes I had picked out.  (She didn't choose bowling, the zoo, a train ride, or get ice cream.)

Lena's favorite chores are putting the silverware away and washing the sliding door window.

Lena's first seven daily goals we picked out are: Make Bed, Feed Dog and Cat, Do a House Chore, Complete a Learning Lesson, Pick Up Toys, Put Clothes in the Hamper, Get Ready for Bed.  Hands down the chore she hates the most is making her bed.  I totally don't get it because it is super easy, but she hates it and has missed getting her pirate coin a few days because she refused to do it. 

Lena's Cleaning Bin: I went to Dollar Tree and bought some supplies for Lena's house chores: a feather duster, some rags, a spray bottle for vinegar/water solution, a dust pan and brush, a scrubbing brush, a cloth duster.

After a week of this system I think it is working well for a couple of reasons.  First it has helped me stay focused on remembering to involve Lena in my daily housework.  I like to work alone...I always have..I hated group projects in school.  I like to work fast, methodically, and according to my standards and done my way.  So needless to say it has been a stretch out of my comfort zone to find ways that Lena can be part of my daily work, learn how to be responsible for some of the housecleaning tasks, and be patient in teaching her how to complete these tasks.  So far she has learned to dust, wash a window, sort clean silverware, put away piles of her own clean laundry, use the dustbuster to clean a mess, and sweep the floors.  I plan to teach her to match socks when I fold laundry and maybe wipe down the dining room table. 

Lena learns to use the dustbuster to clean the floor.

The goals have also helped me get in the habit of doing something intentionally educational with her everyday.  We haven't really started any preschool curriculum yet but I do subscribe to ABC Mouse which is a great online program that has preschool learning activities.  We also have done the matching game, ABC puzzles, practice writing letters, and I plan to print off some ABC and 123 worksheet stuff for her to complete.

Completing a lesson on ABC Mouse

Lastly, it helps me stay focused on rewarding Lena for good behavior choices rather than nagging, yelling, and issuing consequences all day long.  It gives her a visible assessment of how she is doing.  I do think I would like to incorporate some additional reward for attitude...we'll see.  I don't want to over complicate it and confuse her. 

Choosing which prize she wants to work towards!

We will see how it goes this month!  I am hoping that she will grow and become more and more independent with some of these activities as she learns how to do things and begins to realize that it feels good to work hard and get rewarded for your efforts. 

Christmas 2014

Gingerbread House #1  from Aunt Sue's Party

Gingerbread House #2 from Aunt Sue's Party

Our Christmas Tree 2014

At the Christmas Celebration at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills

Loving to meet Santa!

Not sure how she feels about Santa Claus

Wearing Dad's Christmas T-Shirt

On the way to Grandma and Grandpa's House on Christmas Eve

Grandma got the girls singing Disney dolls and they LOVED them!

The cutest doll in the bunch.