Apparently Arwyn had a big week of fun and cuteness, and I have about a million pictures to prove it! She turned 10 months old this week, so we of course had our monthly photo shoot of fun. She's also really starting to communicate her needs and feelings in a more meaningful way. She's ok to be alone most of the time, but when she wants to be held now, she crawls over and starts climbing up your legs...very clear and effective communication I'd say. She's also starting to like a lot more food, which she will gladly lean in to get bite of and gobble right up. When she's decided she's finished eating, she can now shake her head back and forth for "no." Even though she has her needy moments, she continues to be a very independent little baby. At Mackenzie's birthday party, Arwyn hung out by herself on the blanket for probably 45 minutes (without eating a single pine needle I might add!) while I had to run around taking care of Leia. She was totally fascinated with watching all the other kids who were running around at the party. And when she got bored of that, she entertained herself by inspecting her carseat and diaper bag, which were both nearby. Not a peep of need, want, or frustration came out of her mouth the entire time! We got her in the bouncy house for a bit, which she loved. And she had her first little slide down the slide at the park, which made her a little nervous. After the rashes and bad eczema last week, we went another week without dairy. She slept through the night the entire week, but still had pretty bad eczema and splotches (mostly after the hot tub). So my current hypothesis is that her eczema is just a natural byproduct of our high and dry climate. But these hypotheses change by the moment, so we'll see...
Leia had a very long and busy weekend playing with the kids next door (Echo and her friend Sean, who are both around her age). The sharing thing was about 50/50; some sessions she shared like a champ, some not so much. The outside playing was the best, all the kids running around and throwing sticks in the creek. We even had a new "first" for her: Saturday evening she actually played down on the lawn with all the other kids without needing any of our attention, so we were able to stay inside and take care of dinner/Arwyn/etc. It was amazing! We also went on a hike up Shirley Canyon to see the waterfalls with the crew from next door. Leia hiked all the way up to the lower falls all by herself! I was hoping it would have really tired her out so she would nap early before her best friend Kenzie's birthday party, but instead I think she was so amped for the party and so OVER TIRED from all the playing and hiking all morning, that it all backfired and she never fell asleep at all! She did sit quietly in bed reading, talking and resting, so that was very good of her. Then we headed off to the birthday party, where, in my opinion, the lack of nap was very evident. She and Kenzie were so excited to see each other, and played really well for the first bit, but as more kids started coming, the dynamics were a little strained. Leia ended up playing by herself for the rest of the party, and required my presence most of the time. Oh well, she had fun and considered the party a success in all her post-evaluations. Probably the worst part (for all the kids there) was the present time, when Kenzie got all the great presents and no one else got anything! That was definitely meltdown time, as well as our cue to leave, and my exhausted little turtle passed out on the car ride home. On the food front, it is definitely official that Leia inherited the chocolate hating food gene from me. She was begging and begging for a little "muffin" at Echo's house one night, but when she actually got to eating it and discovered the chocolate chips, she was not happy, and gave the whole thing to her dad. I actually had the foresight to bring her a piece of white cake to Kenzie's party, which was good since all the cup cakes were chocolate, and she was very happy with me because she wanted nothing to do with that chocolate stuff! After all the exciting adventures of the weekend, she was a little disappointed on Monday when Daddy told her that Echo was not home. She refused to believe him, and insisted they go knock on the door anyway. When no one answered, she still wouldn't take no for an answer and said, "No Daddy, it's ok. We'll just go inside and I'll take my shoes off," believing that if she just followed the rules of the house, everyone and everything would be as usual. Too cute!
Leia had a very long and busy weekend playing with the kids next door (Echo and her friend Sean, who are both around her age). The sharing thing was about 50/50; some sessions she shared like a champ, some not so much. The outside playing was the best, all the kids running around and throwing sticks in the creek. We even had a new "first" for her: Saturday evening she actually played down on the lawn with all the other kids without needing any of our attention, so we were able to stay inside and take care of dinner/Arwyn/etc. It was amazing! We also went on a hike up Shirley Canyon to see the waterfalls with the crew from next door. Leia hiked all the way up to the lower falls all by herself! I was hoping it would have really tired her out so she would nap early before her best friend Kenzie's birthday party, but instead I think she was so amped for the party and so OVER TIRED from all the playing and hiking all morning, that it all backfired and she never fell asleep at all! She did sit quietly in bed reading, talking and resting, so that was very good of her. Then we headed off to the birthday party, where, in my opinion, the lack of nap was very evident. She and Kenzie were so excited to see each other, and played really well for the first bit, but as more kids started coming, the dynamics were a little strained. Leia ended up playing by herself for the rest of the party, and required my presence most of the time. Oh well, she had fun and considered the party a success in all her post-evaluations. Probably the worst part (for all the kids there) was the present time, when Kenzie got all the great presents and no one else got anything! That was definitely meltdown time, as well as our cue to leave, and my exhausted little turtle passed out on the car ride home. On the food front, it is definitely official that Leia inherited the chocolate hating food gene from me. She was begging and begging for a little "muffin" at Echo's house one night, but when she actually got to eating it and discovered the chocolate chips, she was not happy, and gave the whole thing to her dad. I actually had the foresight to bring her a piece of white cake to Kenzie's party, which was good since all the cup cakes were chocolate, and she was very happy with me because she wanted nothing to do with that chocolate stuff! After all the exciting adventures of the weekend, she was a little disappointed on Monday when Daddy told her that Echo was not home. She refused to believe him, and insisted they go knock on the door anyway. When no one answered, she still wouldn't take no for an answer and said, "No Daddy, it's ok. We'll just go inside and I'll take my shoes off," believing that if she just followed the rules of the house, everyone and everything would be as usual. Too cute!
Life's Irie in Jamaica and Neverland!
When Mom doesn't give you any toys on a boring car ride, there's always your foot!
Fun Mommy-Arwyn wrestling and raspberry session!
Arwyn is one happy little camper!
April showers bring perfect, beautiful little flowers!
Arwyn is of the opinion that flowers like herself need dirt to grow!
Captured in the act...a little toddler Romeo and Juliette??
A little damsel in distress...Leia is always such the actress!
With all that hair, Arwyn is the perfect little willing victim for Leia's hair dressing desires!
Love it when they make each other laugh!
Kinda hard to lean back and relax on a wiggly bouncer, but Arwyn seems to have gotten the technique down just fine.
It's always easier to think creatively while stroking your pink beard!
Daddy Day at the park!
Cutest little thing!
It's mustache month at the Transues!
Even Arwyn is in on the mustache celebration!
Just a little nervous about her very first slide!
The waterfalls did not disappoint after a very big hike for this little girl!
Shirley Creek is definitely going off at this time of year!
"Yeah Mom, this place is amazing!"
"Silly Mom, you need to turn around...I can't see the falls from this angle!"
First of many successful hikes with these awesome girls!
Leia wasn't able to settle down to sleep for her nap, but at least she was reading!
Not concerned about the normal conventions of the head and foot ends of the bed!
Kenzie and Leia whooping it up at the birthday celebration!
Loved watching all the kids jump around in the bouncy house!
Arwyn sure loves to wrestle these days!
Leia is very possessive of Arwyn: "That's MY baby sister!"
Arwyn getting a little air time for herself and loving it!
Arwyn getting right in the mix come cake time..."Hey, why is my plate empty here?!"
Scarfing down the yummy white stuff a good safe distance from all those chocolate lovers!
My breakfast is never safe with the long reach of this little exploring paw...breastfeeding does not distract her from her mission!
"Hooray, I'm 10 months old and happy to be here!"
Sweet as candy!
Just bursting with love.
Such flexible little knees!
Little miss smiley!
Always happy to model and smile, but you have to be quick because holding still is not part of the deal!
Crawling at very high speeds these days!
Somebody's having a good time here!
That guilty but I'm so cute you have to forgive me look, "Sorry Mom, I bent your sign."
I think that's a belly laugh!
Crazy yoga pose...she's so inventive!
I love all these new positions she's getting her legs into!
"Ok sorry Mom, let's get serious again and show everyone how old I am."
Do you see how cute those little feet are? No wonder she's always trying to eat them!
Smile, smile, smile; so full of smiles!
Practicing the pouty look.
She wins all her wrestling matches by distracting me with cuteness!
Flying baby!
She loves those Daddy kisses!
Little angel baby always loves her baths!
Could the smile get any bigger?
"Don't mind me, I'm just busy being cute here!"
Baby full moon!
Thankful to be just sitting at the bottom of this steep slide and not having to go down it!
The aloof girl with the sun hitting her face and the cute smiling boy who rolled up to say hi...does this photo say Calvin Kline add or what??
