Arwyn has really started to communicate with us, and make it clear that she understands us. Her words are "na na na" (accompanied by a shake of the head, especially if she doesn't want what you are trying to feed her), "MaMaMa", and "DaDaDa." She can use sign language for "milk" and "more." When she sees her Daddy, she likes to waive at him. She's started practicing a few unassisted standups in the middle of the room, but she still loses her balance pretty quickly. She is, however, able to walk with the very minimal assistance of a very tippy little doll stroller. And she has finally started to take a liking to the park after completing her first solo mission down the slide. She had so much fun that she did non-stop loops up the stairs (by herself), sitting down in front of the slide (by herself), and sliding down to Daddy's arms (by herself, but after I got her into a more lying down position). She was having the best time until she finally got tired, slipped on the steps, bumped her chin, and bit her tongue. First taste of blood! She's big into pointing, mostly at people. And this week, Arwyn had a major sleep strike again. In the end, I think we are chalking it up to being in a new and unfamiliar place and situation. We were all sharing a room on our trip down to Carmel to play in the ocean and see my family. Leia was in the room with her at bedtime, just on a mat, so Leia could get up and touch Arwyn and turn on lights, and in general make Arwyn's sleeping situation not too relaxing. Plus, she pretty much had to go to bed at Leia's later time or she just would have gotten woken right back up. Arwyn wouldn't stop screaming and wouldn't fall asleep forever. I got worried that maybe she needed tylenol for some ailment, but we didn't have any. Finally Uncle Bob went all the way to the store to grab some. In the end, Josh was the hero and rocked her to sleep before the tylenol arrived, and she stayed down the rest of the night. Unfortunately, all the nights pretty much went that same way, and the naps weren't much better. And she really was pissed at us for making her sit in the car for such long drives to get there and back, and then get back in the car every day for adventures. She was so happy to get back to her own home and own bed, and instantly fell asleep without problems. Oh well, guess that's why we don't travel too much. One funny thing about our trip was that I really wanted Arwyn to experience the ocean waves at age 11 months because that's when Leia first did too. At 11 months, Leia was screaming with joy and amazement, which was so funny, and I wanted Arwyn to have that same pleasure. Arwyn totally loved it too; you could tell she was fired up to be walking, loved the wind in her hair (per usual), and loved the sensation of the waves coming in and out around her legs, with her feet sinking in the sand. But in classic Arwyn temperament, she was just so mellow about the whole experience. You could tell she was ecstatic, but in her calm demeanor way. It is so funny to see their differences.
Leia, of course, was also fired up about the ocean. And in classic Leia personality, she was very expressive with emotion. She has been wanting to find shells forever, so she was in heaven running up and down the beach doing her treasure hunting. She said to Josh, "This is so awesome! I'm having the best day!" Hearing stuff like that definitely makes the struggle worth it, well, sort of... The rest of the week was definitely a struggle though. The whining and the demanding behavior are off the chart, accompanied by spitting to test our patience, and hitting if she doesn't get what she wants. One funny but challenging part of the week was that for the first time ever in her home life, Leia did not sleep in a crib for the nights or naps during our trip. She sleeps on a mat at school just fine, and we are close to getting her a regular bed at home, so we thought we'd test it out in an unfamiliar environment, hoping she'd be a little intimidated and more compliant. But the new freedom was just too tempting, she was definitely up and down, coming out to spy on us, turning on the lights, and going over to throw stuff into Arwyn's crib (at one point Arwyn was sleeping with a diaper changing pad on her head!). In reality though, it really wasn't too bad, and once she fell asleep, she slept well. Plus, in the morning, seeing that her dad was still snoozing, she decided to sleep in late too, so that was nice. Leia's big (and annoying) thing this week is spitting. It's like a lip vibrating raspberry into the air, and the recipient gets a nice shower on the face. She knows we don't want her to do it, so she won't stop. Aghhh! She's all decided to start calling me "Mudder." I'm really not a fan, AT ALL. I think she has picked it up from the movie Brave, where the princess calls her mom "mother" but with a Scottish accent, that I can see now pretty much sounds like "mudder." We keep coming across more and more new shows and movies that, while they may have a positive message in the end, have lots of annoying little behaviors that get picked up along the way. Wish we could just stick with Jake and Curious George! On a positive note, I think the daytime potty training has finally sunk in! No accidents (or just a random one or two) at school for almost 2 weeks now! I am so happy to not be dealing with the nightly cleaning of poopy undies anymore, let me tell you.
Everybody say the Pirate Password: "Yo ho, let's go!"
Mommy's here too! Photo credit to Racheal Bauer, who also joined the adventure.
Cold, wet, and ready for a hot tub after taking spill and going under in the rapids!
Leia, of course, was also fired up about the ocean. And in classic Leia personality, she was very expressive with emotion. She has been wanting to find shells forever, so she was in heaven running up and down the beach doing her treasure hunting. She said to Josh, "This is so awesome! I'm having the best day!" Hearing stuff like that definitely makes the struggle worth it, well, sort of... The rest of the week was definitely a struggle though. The whining and the demanding behavior are off the chart, accompanied by spitting to test our patience, and hitting if she doesn't get what she wants. One funny but challenging part of the week was that for the first time ever in her home life, Leia did not sleep in a crib for the nights or naps during our trip. She sleeps on a mat at school just fine, and we are close to getting her a regular bed at home, so we thought we'd test it out in an unfamiliar environment, hoping she'd be a little intimidated and more compliant. But the new freedom was just too tempting, she was definitely up and down, coming out to spy on us, turning on the lights, and going over to throw stuff into Arwyn's crib (at one point Arwyn was sleeping with a diaper changing pad on her head!). In reality though, it really wasn't too bad, and once she fell asleep, she slept well. Plus, in the morning, seeing that her dad was still snoozing, she decided to sleep in late too, so that was nice. Leia's big (and annoying) thing this week is spitting. It's like a lip vibrating raspberry into the air, and the recipient gets a nice shower on the face. She knows we don't want her to do it, so she won't stop. Aghhh! She's all decided to start calling me "Mudder." I'm really not a fan, AT ALL. I think she has picked it up from the movie Brave, where the princess calls her mom "mother" but with a Scottish accent, that I can see now pretty much sounds like "mudder." We keep coming across more and more new shows and movies that, while they may have a positive message in the end, have lots of annoying little behaviors that get picked up along the way. Wish we could just stick with Jake and Curious George! On a positive note, I think the daytime potty training has finally sunk in! No accidents (or just a random one or two) at school for almost 2 weeks now! I am so happy to not be dealing with the nightly cleaning of poopy undies anymore, let me tell you.
Not quite sure yet what she's doing up so high on this shiny red truck thing.
"Ok, yeah, this is pretty cool!"
Climbing on big red firetrucks makes everyone happy!
It's the annual Memorial Weekend Pancake Breakfast at SVFD.
Emmett likes fire trucks too!
I'm happy the cousins are starting to have more and more fun playing together.
Two happy cuties.
Arwyn's got the happy tongue!
Peek-a-boo, I see you!
"Oh wow, I really am high up here...this is some serious freedom!"
Password = Arwyn
Finally got her out of a dress and into some "work clothes" to help load up a dumpster!
Sitting on Leia's lap in a Leia mandated "time out" for Mommy.
This girl is ready for our big adventure of rafting down Squaw Creek!
Everybody say the Pirate Password: "Yo ho, let's go!"
Daddy and Leia cast off into the wild raging waters of Squaw Creek! (I'm being serious here, it actually is a pretty wild ride with all the spring runoff, especially in spring with lake kayaks and an almost 3 year old.)
Mommy's here too! Photo credit to Racheal Bauer, who also joined the adventure.
A really gorgeous place to raft, with a new perspective of our valley that you don't get to have too often. We went from the Squaw Peak Condos to our own backyard.
Cold, wet, and ready for a hot tub after taking spill and going under in the rapids!
She's happy and tough...only cried for a second after going under, then she shook it right off!
Thumbs up to a great day!
Arwyn decides to take the laundry matters into her own hands!
Jody's first ever Rice Krispy Treat. Of course it was of the gourmet variety, courtesy of Cary, baker extraordinaire!
So funny to see what they find comfortable when they sleep!
With all the proper tools in hand, she's ready to hit the beach in Carmel!
Arwyn, checking out the incoming waves.
Her favorite activity of walking, combined with this awesome new environment, equals all smiles!!
Waves do the coolest things to sand.
So much cool stuff to look at around here!
Throwing sand is fun too.
And with the wind in her hair, Arwyn is just in heaven!
Checking out Leia's bag of treasures!
Cousin Daniel was full of great treats...Leia loved it all, but Arwyn was more interested in the sand.
Arwyn recruited Aunt Joanne to be her next walking marathon victim!
Check out that cool little surfer girl scouting her next waves!
Joanne and Daniel did a great job of keeping Arwyn entertained!
Between the sand art and the treasure hunting, she was definitely on a mission today.
So fun to feel the waves flow past and let you feet sink deep in the sand.
Waves are getting bigger!
Love the big smiles!
Working hard on some beautiful beach art.
I think she's happy.
Admiring her brilliant work!
The two beach artists hard at work.
And here it is, the final product...a little Picasso for sure!
Arwyn's looking a little worried about that big dog.
Charging hard and loving the freedom!
"Come on Dad, let's go get more waves!"
Oh yeah, power stance...work it girl!
The treasure hunters went way down the beach to find the good stuff.
All smiles and fun, despite the chilly weather!
Password = Arwyn
Racing down the beach to show off all her treasures...think she's going to be tired later??
What do you think Arwyn, does sand taste good?
Arwyn keeping a close watch on the sands of time.
Happy girl in her swing.
She's got her big smile and her disco feet...definitely in her happy place.
Good thing Leia's planning to stay little forever because this park only had baby swings.
Pretty much her first real exploration of a big kid play structure.
So many cool things to check out, that's for sure.
Password = Arwyn
Leia and Josh checking out the animals on our trip to the Monterey/Salinas Zoo.
Arwyn cooperated and checked out all the animals, but clearly was not impressed...caged animals were not nearly as exciting for her as the park slide was.
Little raccoons peaking out of igloos are much cuter than the ones who get into trash cans.
Funny little chimp with a big leathery butt.
Watch out for Mr. Tick Tock Croc here!
Definitely saw some beautiful lions.
Yep, we got to get this close to this big lion! Just a little plexiglass and there she was giving us a show.
Leia was excited at first, but the pace of the guided tour did not keep her interest.
Tiger relaxing in the sun.
Have I mentioned recently that I no longer even attempt to dress Leia? She has a mind of her own when it comes to her wardrobe.
Now comes the real fun...feeding the elephants!
From the nose to the mouth.
Leia's turn to feed the elephant...this was what she'd been waiting for all afternoon!
Hmm, not too sure about this feeding thing anymore!
Don't worry, Mommy will sacrifice and stick her hand in the elephant's nose for you Leia!
Could have been a great family photo, but all the patience and cooperation has been used up for this day.
There was a zebra, buffalo, and ostrich there too.
View of Leia in the monitor staring at her feet up on the wall after having turned on the lights.
Ok, she finally passed out, but lights are still on.
Poor Arwyn, after she finally got to sleep, she did manage to sleep through the rest of Leia's antics.
And there she is live, passed out on her new matt bed with all her stuff and the lights on.
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