Arwyn said her first functional object word this week (ie., besides Mama, Dada, Leia, hi, no, etc). She was sitting on her changing table while I was putting on her shoes and socks, and she pointed towards the shoe and said, "Shoe." She can also put it into the plural, "Shoes." It is the cutest thing ever, and I guess not surprising that it's her first word since she does seem to be infatuated with shoes. She's gotten really excited about putting her shoes on for as long as I can remember. And recently, when she's barefoot, she'll even go off to find a pair of shoes, bring them back, and insist that I put them on her. She pretty much likes all her shoes, especially any new shoes that appear, but her favorites seem to be the clear jellies that she knows Leia is so jealous of and always tries to wear. I really hope this doesn't turn into the same shoe obsession that Leia has! This new word comes at a very opportune time because Josh was just telling her that she needs to learn how talk because she's started to get very frustrated when we don't understand what she wants. Despite not talking yet, she is actually a very communicative little girl in many other ways, and mostly we understand her. I'm still trying to get her to sign for "please" more, but other than that her signs are pretty good. She's also a very loving girl, but just to the people that she's close to and see's all the time (Mom, Dad, Leia, and a few of her favorite teachers at school, like Maria, Desiree, Lynsey, Heather, Ruth, and Joe). She loves her hugs, her cuddles, and her kisses. She loves to run across the room to greet her Daddy when he walks in, stopping whatever it is she's been doing for him. After she gets her quality fix of Mommy or Daddy "carry me" time and is feeling more secure, she's really good at going off on her own, getting involved in an activity, and entertaining herself. She's even learning how to find all the toys that are put away in drawers and get out what she wants. She's also extremely good at picking things up and helping to put them away in their boxes or bags. Spill a bowl of cheerios or a bag of poker chips and she's your girl for getting it all picked up, down to the very last hard to find one. Until recently, she hasn't been all that concerned with gifts or possessive about objects, but this week she got a little sparkly purple elephant from her cousin Shana, and she took to it right away. She was screaming on the diaper table, so I gave it to her, and she snatched it right out of my hands, hugged it, and got happy. Then, when Leia tried to take it/trade for it, she was very upset. The elephant and the red headed alien creature seem to be her favorites. Arwyn likes feeding herself, and has recently insisted on try to use the spoon herself too. It works best if I fill it and hand it to her, but she always flips it upside down as she's inserting it in her mouth, so if the food isn't sticky in the spoon, it all falls out. I'm trying to show her how to keep the spoon level, and I think she'll get it down pretty quickly.
The theme for Leia this week is bedtime antics. She's decided that she's a big girl and doesn't need to wear a diaper at night anymore, so she keeps taking it off (if we even manage to get it on in the first place), and then peeing in the bed. She's never woken up lifetime with a dry diaper, even with the middle of the night pee, so I'm not sure why she thinks this is a good idea. She's peed herself almost every night for a week straight, and still insists on not wearing the diaper. It's driving us crazy! She's also started making multiple outfit changes right at bedtime. She'll go through 2 or 3 outfits before she decides to stick with one for the night, shoes included. In fact, she's been doing so much stalling before bed that we've given up and started just leaving her, telling her to stay in her room, play quietly, and turn off the lights herself when she's ready for bed. It's actually working out ok because we get out of the room faster and she comes out just about the same number of times as she would have if we'd gotten her right into bed. She does seem to be staying up too late more often than not, but I think it's our fault for putting her down for nap too late. She puts herself to sleep much faster on school days when she's more tired. She's been really interested in helping Arwyn with stuff lately, "because that's what big sisters do." She'll still take toys or push her over, but she helps her out almost as often too.
The theme for Leia this week is bedtime antics. She's decided that she's a big girl and doesn't need to wear a diaper at night anymore, so she keeps taking it off (if we even manage to get it on in the first place), and then peeing in the bed. She's never woken up lifetime with a dry diaper, even with the middle of the night pee, so I'm not sure why she thinks this is a good idea. She's peed herself almost every night for a week straight, and still insists on not wearing the diaper. It's driving us crazy! She's also started making multiple outfit changes right at bedtime. She'll go through 2 or 3 outfits before she decides to stick with one for the night, shoes included. In fact, she's been doing so much stalling before bed that we've given up and started just leaving her, telling her to stay in her room, play quietly, and turn off the lights herself when she's ready for bed. It's actually working out ok because we get out of the room faster and she comes out just about the same number of times as she would have if we'd gotten her right into bed. She does seem to be staying up too late more often than not, but I think it's our fault for putting her down for nap too late. She puts herself to sleep much faster on school days when she's more tired. She's been really interested in helping Arwyn with stuff lately, "because that's what big sisters do." She'll still take toys or push her over, but she helps her out almost as often too.
2nd outfit change AFTER being put to bed for the night!
Caught on candid camera just hanging out quietly, entertaining herself with nothing, and not going to bed.
The real question is, why doesn't she ever hang out quietly while entertaining herself with nothing like this during the day??!!
Head rushes are fun!
Finding the secret knob to enter the cute little cottage and explore! Sarah is such a fun person to hang out with!
Look who finally got her first uninhibited access to an iPad!
Nestled in next to her Daddy and checking out the world of computers.
Looks like she's decided to get into a better snuggling position...even pulled up her own blanket.
Clearly these two know how to get comfy...two peas in a pod!
Snuggling close with her Dad but still able to entertain herself and be independent...well, except for when she kept shutting down the program and getting stuck in the wrong screen...she'll learn to fix that pretty fast though!
After 3 days of rain, the creek is ripping and the lawn is flooding. So what does Leia do? Puts on a bathing suit and takes a dunk of course!
Putting green is now part of Lake Transue.
So crazy when the creek gets this high!
Reading "Vader's Little Princess" in bed.
From ballerina to cowgirl, this girl's got many interests in life...as well as a song to write and sing about each one!
Password = Leia
Our little cowgirl Leia rides a bucking moose, while playing a guitar, and singing her cowgirl song...yep, pretty sure we've got circus material here folks!
Chilly Daddy Day at the park.
New jacket, big slide, big smile.
Arwyn's really into the head-first slide these days!
40 degrees, snow on the ground, and Leia decides to take her clothes off, just because Daddy told her to keep her jacket on...check out that rebellious smile.
Two little monsters enjoying their breakfast together.
