Arwyn has really had an explosion in her language recently. She's talking so much more, and saying so much more, but her enunciation has deteriorated for some reason, so I'm actually understanding less than ever. It's so frustrating for me (and presumably her) because I used to understand pretty much everything she was trying to tell me. Now it's like she's speaking a different language sometimes! She cracked me up one morning this week when she started calling me to get her out of bed: "Mommy, come get me up, wherever you are." It came out with the same ring like when you give up at Hide-n-seek, and made me chuckle because she's stuck in there and really has no idea where I am, but knows that I hear her! Arwyn was so excited to finally be allowed to wear Leia's sacred Elsa nightgown this week! It actually fits her just about perfectly, which means it must be too small for Leia, but she wasn't quite ready to give it up completely. Arwyn didn't want to take it off all day, and I only got her to take it off for skiing be letting her bring it with her in her purse to put on as soon as we were done. Darn, I was hoping Arwyn wouldn't be so wrapped up in that whole princess gown thing! One day this week when I asked her if she'd slept well, she said, "No, there was a froggy in my bed last night. It was scary!" Too funny; I guess we've really given her a frog complex from that rubber frog we always play with in our bedroom! Arwyn continues to be so tantrumy these days, which then makes Leia act out too, both retaliating and competing for attention. It's exhausting and difficult to deal with all the time! Arwyn really gets into all her imaginative games that she plays with Leia, their favorite is "Family," and they really do a good job of cooperating and getting along well together when they play this game. Arwyn loves it so much, and really gets into her role playing! I love how Arwyn is always concerned about other people, both about their feelings and their safety or injuries. Now when we put her down to sleep, the last thing she says to us is, "You go bop the Yetis, and be careful!" "Thanks, Arwyn, I'll be really careful!"
Leia cracked me up again this week. One night as we were getting ready for bed at the end of the day, she decides that she needs some confirmation that she's a good person, and asks, "Besides stealing Arwyn's cake, I was good today, right Mommy?" "Well, there was a lot of whining and fussing at skiing too." "Oh yeah. But I was good this morning and at nap and tonight, wasn't I?" "Yes, you were really good at those times. I really appreciated you giving Arwyn a chance to have that extra Mommy Time that she really needed while you worked on your art." Yep, she deserved a little recognition, and sometimes I forget, so it's good she reminds me sometimes. For some reason Leia didn't want to go ice skating this week, but she ended up having so much fun, and she's getting way more comfortable on the skates because she wanted to race me across the ice, and she was actually really fast. We also tried playing broom ball after the skating ended, but after a few hard falls, we decided to do something else. Arwyn ended up being the one who wanted to give it another try, and so we went back and had our own little ball passing practice session. Then a nice employee got Arwyn to laugh non-stop, and after that everyone was totally loving it again. Leia says to me, "Wow, Mom, we really go the hang of this game now!" It was a really fun evening for all of us, and I was impressed with Leia's comprehension of the game, considering we didn't actually play a real game. When she explained it all to Nana later, this was how she described it, "We played broom ball. You have brooms, but they aren't real brooms, just these funny things, and a ball. And you pass it and try to get it in the net. And this funny guy was tapping Arwyn on the head and butt and making her laugh. I was so funny!" Yep, she definitely got the hang of it, and man is she ever observant! Leia totally impressed me this week by requesting that I pull out this huge "art box, " in which I've been collecting random stuff (aka junk) that could be cool for art projects. I didn't even realize that she knew it existed, but she dove right in and entertained herself and Arwyn for a really long time making up her own creative projects. They each made a "lantern" the first day. The next day she had a little harder time, but I came up with the idea to make a house, which she loved and totally just ran with it. She even kept going on with the project by herself after Arwyn went into meltdown mode, and the two of us left to have a little Arwyn-Mommy Time. I think she was feeling really good about her success with the project because she stayed in a good mood the rest of the night, was so cooperative, and even helped clean up the living room AFTER watching TV, just like she promised. (This was the night I mentioned above, when she wanted a little acknowledgement for how good she had been.) Leia was super pissed when we had our family ski day because I told her to go slow over the jumps in the park (it was her first time ever going over jumps all by herself), but it caused her to be too slow to even make it up the jump launch ramp, and she got stuck. She was in tears saying that I was so mean. Unfortunately there was only one Mommy with two girls who both needed help going off the jumps. Finally they agreed to take turns and have one person wait up top with Nana while I went down with the other. Everything is so traumatic these days! Leia had her first (well actually second, first was buying her crock shoes) experience with spending her own money. She really wanted one of those little crap toys that comes out of a machine for $0.50, which I obviously didn't approve of (plus I was pissed at how poorly behaved both girls had been for our entire ski day), so I made them use their own money. They always seem to want stuff, so I guess this means it's finally time to start giving them an allowance. Then they can learn what it's like to decide between saving for something really important or spending money on crap (I learned this in my parenting class). However, I'm a little worried about the fact that this will actually translate into buying more stuff than we currently do, since currently we don't actually buy anything! Oh well, I guess we'll have to start this sometime. Even though Leia and I always have our Mommy Time sessions together, I never sit and watch TV with her (it's not allowed for Mommy Time), which is one of her favorite things. She seems really disappointed that I won't just sit and enjoy this great thing with her, and always asks me why I don't. Sorry Leia, too busy. But maybe if you guys started helping out more around the house I'd have more time! I recently re-introduced Leia to the concept of a crescent moon, and now it's her favorite thing to look up and shout, "Look, Mom, it's a cres moon!" So funny.
Leia cracked me up again this week. One night as we were getting ready for bed at the end of the day, she decides that she needs some confirmation that she's a good person, and asks, "Besides stealing Arwyn's cake, I was good today, right Mommy?" "Well, there was a lot of whining and fussing at skiing too." "Oh yeah. But I was good this morning and at nap and tonight, wasn't I?" "Yes, you were really good at those times. I really appreciated you giving Arwyn a chance to have that extra Mommy Time that she really needed while you worked on your art." Yep, she deserved a little recognition, and sometimes I forget, so it's good she reminds me sometimes. For some reason Leia didn't want to go ice skating this week, but she ended up having so much fun, and she's getting way more comfortable on the skates because she wanted to race me across the ice, and she was actually really fast. We also tried playing broom ball after the skating ended, but after a few hard falls, we decided to do something else. Arwyn ended up being the one who wanted to give it another try, and so we went back and had our own little ball passing practice session. Then a nice employee got Arwyn to laugh non-stop, and after that everyone was totally loving it again. Leia says to me, "Wow, Mom, we really go the hang of this game now!" It was a really fun evening for all of us, and I was impressed with Leia's comprehension of the game, considering we didn't actually play a real game. When she explained it all to Nana later, this was how she described it, "We played broom ball. You have brooms, but they aren't real brooms, just these funny things, and a ball. And you pass it and try to get it in the net. And this funny guy was tapping Arwyn on the head and butt and making her laugh. I was so funny!" Yep, she definitely got the hang of it, and man is she ever observant! Leia totally impressed me this week by requesting that I pull out this huge "art box, " in which I've been collecting random stuff (aka junk) that could be cool for art projects. I didn't even realize that she knew it existed, but she dove right in and entertained herself and Arwyn for a really long time making up her own creative projects. They each made a "lantern" the first day. The next day she had a little harder time, but I came up with the idea to make a house, which she loved and totally just ran with it. She even kept going on with the project by herself after Arwyn went into meltdown mode, and the two of us left to have a little Arwyn-Mommy Time. I think she was feeling really good about her success with the project because she stayed in a good mood the rest of the night, was so cooperative, and even helped clean up the living room AFTER watching TV, just like she promised. (This was the night I mentioned above, when she wanted a little acknowledgement for how good she had been.) Leia was super pissed when we had our family ski day because I told her to go slow over the jumps in the park (it was her first time ever going over jumps all by herself), but it caused her to be too slow to even make it up the jump launch ramp, and she got stuck. She was in tears saying that I was so mean. Unfortunately there was only one Mommy with two girls who both needed help going off the jumps. Finally they agreed to take turns and have one person wait up top with Nana while I went down with the other. Everything is so traumatic these days! Leia had her first (well actually second, first was buying her crock shoes) experience with spending her own money. She really wanted one of those little crap toys that comes out of a machine for $0.50, which I obviously didn't approve of (plus I was pissed at how poorly behaved both girls had been for our entire ski day), so I made them use their own money. They always seem to want stuff, so I guess this means it's finally time to start giving them an allowance. Then they can learn what it's like to decide between saving for something really important or spending money on crap (I learned this in my parenting class). However, I'm a little worried about the fact that this will actually translate into buying more stuff than we currently do, since currently we don't actually buy anything! Oh well, I guess we'll have to start this sometime. Even though Leia and I always have our Mommy Time sessions together, I never sit and watch TV with her (it's not allowed for Mommy Time), which is one of her favorite things. She seems really disappointed that I won't just sit and enjoy this great thing with her, and always asks me why I don't. Sorry Leia, too busy. But maybe if you guys started helping out more around the house I'd have more time! I recently re-introduced Leia to the concept of a crescent moon, and now it's her favorite thing to look up and shout, "Look, Mom, it's a cres moon!" So funny.
Josh and Zazie enjoying some silly road trip gas station antics.
Josh has been dying to have a ski helmet like this for sooo long!
Love to see this happy face!
Off to school she goes, with all her important accessories!
So sad, it's February 2nd and there is still not enough snow to ski down Broken Arrow, or even Mogul Hill! And today is my first day on Headwall Lift. Crazy!
Happy Birthday Sarah! They made her a cake and helped her blow out her candles.
No good birthday party would be complete without a special live performance from the Dancing Princesses!
The girls were so excited to be able to celebrate a birthday with our good friend Sarah. After enjoying cake, they insisted on performing a special birthday show for her.
Arwyn can hardly believe her good fortune: Leia finally let her wear her Elsa nightgown!
Loving life in her new gown!
Ice skating pro!
Who says you can't ice skate in a long dress?
Racers ready? Let's go!
Leia and Arwyn are getting more comfortable on their ice skates each time we go. Leia was so comfortable she wanted to race me, while Arwyn just likes to keep it mellow. Everyone was having fun!
Loving the lit up waterfall!
A trip to Squaw Creek wouldn't be complete if we didn't hang out by a fire pit for a bit.
Arwyn didn't want to get to close.
Learning the in's and out's of Broom Ball!
Face-off! Who's going to get the ball?
So impressed with the athleticism of these two...they both could hit the ball, and they figured out pretty quickly how to avoid most falls.
Yep, even Arwyn was making contact with the ball!
Big smiles and laughs thanks to our new friend!
Fun evening out with my girls!
My new plan to clean out my cupboard involves picking one thing each week that needs to go and making a new recipe with it. This week, Indian Spinach and Split Pea Dal with Tandoori Chicken and Yogurt. Yum!
Proudly displaying their original artwork. Leia said it was a "Lantern." Concept, design, and execution all carried out without adult help!
Now we are modeling ourselves and our fine creations.
Fast asleep with her purse still slung over her shoulder. It's a pretty large purse, just don't think that could be comfortable!
Taking a little slope side break with her Nana.
Uh oh, it's official, she's figured out about using chairs to get what she can't have!
Help, it's the sunscreen ghost! (Light isn't so great here, but her face is all white too, in case you can't tell.)
Excited about her new hiking boots and playing silly games with her silly sister.
Exhausted? Class hasn't even started yet!
Oh yeah, photo documentation...Leia is carrying her own skis AND she has a smile on her face while doing so!
Thank you to our awesome teacher Rochi for making Leia's ski days so fun!
Every week, Arwyn is figuring out this turning thing a little more. This week she was able to link several turns together. I've never actually taught her to turn, I just go to the other side of the hill, call for her, and she comes!
A real, honest to goodness date night with my handsome husband. Bowling is fun and full of smiles. We need to do this more often!
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