Arwyn is starting to recognize letters and her name for the first time! We were looking at a book when she saw a word that started with the letter A and she yelled out, "That's my name!" Now whenever she see's the letter A she points it out and announces "A for Arwyn!" Even just the word "DAVIS" on my sweatshirt the other day drew her attention, and she pointed out the A for Arwyn. Arwyn has also started saying our names for the first time. "Hi Kafrine." and "My Josh-u-a!" It's really cute. It was also really cute this week when she woke up in the morning crying that she missed her cousin Emmett. Arwyn is so funny when we wash her hands in her bathroom. Every time after we are done, I hand her the towel to dry off, and she immediately insists on drying the water drippings off the floor with it. Then she tries to just toss the towel up in the air in the direction of the towel bar, like she might actually get it to hang back up that way. It's hilarious! It seems like Arwyn is still having lots of nightmares; I always hear her calling out in the night. She must have inherited crazy vivid dreaming skills from me and her Poppy. She's also back to waking up crying rather than happy, so she's no longer snoozing in late or playing happily in her bed. Maybe that new language development??
Leia never ceases to amaze me with her insight into her own complex psyche, as well as her ability to verbalize it. The other day she stopped right in the middle of a fit of whining and fussing because we weren't playing with her to her satisfaction, and informed me, "Mom, I just need some attention!" Again, my teacher said they aren't supposed to be able to communicate about why they are misbehaving. She's so smart to just tell us what she needs! And another day, she flat out asked me why I was being so bossy. And I was being bossy, and really in that instance it was for no good reason except that it's my personality! I tried to change right there. Again, my teacher's little quiz indicated that I have the personality type that need to work on being less bossy and giving up control. Maybe Leia and I will be able to work on this together so we can bat heads less throughout our lives, which would be really cool. We started the "Elf on the Shelf" Tradition at our house, which means that a little elf hides in a spot every day and the kids have to find him. Then he watches them all day and reports to Santa about whether they are naughty or nice. Leia found him pretty well the first day, but then she's kinda lost her hunting swagger because she's better at finding treasures on the ground. She wasn't looking up and he's always hiding higher. I finally talked her through the problem and some hunting strategies, and where else could we look. Her little brain come up with the following reasoning: "Wait a minute, he's called 'Elf on a shelf.' That means I should look on a shelf!" Now every day when she gets upset that she can't find him, she repeats her mantra, "Elf on a Shelf, I need to look higher on a shelf!" It's so funny. Leia surprised me this week. Each kid in her class got a balloon one day, but Arwyn saw it and was really jealous. Teacher Joe said Arwyn could pick something from the prize box, and instantly Leia offered the balloon to Arwyn so that she could have the prize box treasure instead. The prize box was filled with cheap crap, but Leia really wanted this little stuffed animal, which surprised me. We took way longer than necessary because I wanted to make sure she didn't regret her decision. Arwyn also wanted a prize from the prize box, and again gave up the balloon to another little girl, but then quickly realized that the balloon was indeed the best prize and through a fit about wanting the balloon back. Luckily the little girl was also feeling generous, and gave the balloon back. By the time we left everyone was happy. But true to form, the second we got home, Leia decided she wanted her balloon back. Kid works all the angles...got a balloon and a stuffed animal by being nice and then mean to Arwyn at key times! If you know Leia, you know that she loves ballet. The funny thing is, she still hates that ballet class. We don't bother to drive there for it on Thursdays anymore, so she only goes if she's going to be at school anyway. If she didn't go those days, she'd be jealous that she was missing out, but when I ask her about it, she claims it was so boring. But then on Thanksgiving, she did the best little ballet performance for us (to some rocking background music), and when you watch her moves, her skills, and her obvious love of dance, it's so hard to believe that she doesn't enjoy the class. I guess we should probably introduce her to some modern dance classes or something!
Leia never ceases to amaze me with her insight into her own complex psyche, as well as her ability to verbalize it. The other day she stopped right in the middle of a fit of whining and fussing because we weren't playing with her to her satisfaction, and informed me, "Mom, I just need some attention!" Again, my teacher said they aren't supposed to be able to communicate about why they are misbehaving. She's so smart to just tell us what she needs! And another day, she flat out asked me why I was being so bossy. And I was being bossy, and really in that instance it was for no good reason except that it's my personality! I tried to change right there. Again, my teacher's little quiz indicated that I have the personality type that need to work on being less bossy and giving up control. Maybe Leia and I will be able to work on this together so we can bat heads less throughout our lives, which would be really cool. We started the "Elf on the Shelf" Tradition at our house, which means that a little elf hides in a spot every day and the kids have to find him. Then he watches them all day and reports to Santa about whether they are naughty or nice. Leia found him pretty well the first day, but then she's kinda lost her hunting swagger because she's better at finding treasures on the ground. She wasn't looking up and he's always hiding higher. I finally talked her through the problem and some hunting strategies, and where else could we look. Her little brain come up with the following reasoning: "Wait a minute, he's called 'Elf on a shelf.' That means I should look on a shelf!" Now every day when she gets upset that she can't find him, she repeats her mantra, "Elf on a Shelf, I need to look higher on a shelf!" It's so funny. Leia surprised me this week. Each kid in her class got a balloon one day, but Arwyn saw it and was really jealous. Teacher Joe said Arwyn could pick something from the prize box, and instantly Leia offered the balloon to Arwyn so that she could have the prize box treasure instead. The prize box was filled with cheap crap, but Leia really wanted this little stuffed animal, which surprised me. We took way longer than necessary because I wanted to make sure she didn't regret her decision. Arwyn also wanted a prize from the prize box, and again gave up the balloon to another little girl, but then quickly realized that the balloon was indeed the best prize and through a fit about wanting the balloon back. Luckily the little girl was also feeling generous, and gave the balloon back. By the time we left everyone was happy. But true to form, the second we got home, Leia decided she wanted her balloon back. Kid works all the angles...got a balloon and a stuffed animal by being nice and then mean to Arwyn at key times! If you know Leia, you know that she loves ballet. The funny thing is, she still hates that ballet class. We don't bother to drive there for it on Thursdays anymore, so she only goes if she's going to be at school anyway. If she didn't go those days, she'd be jealous that she was missing out, but when I ask her about it, she claims it was so boring. But then on Thanksgiving, she did the best little ballet performance for us (to some rocking background music), and when you watch her moves, her skills, and her obvious love of dance, it's so hard to believe that she doesn't enjoy the class. I guess we should probably introduce her to some modern dance classes or something!
Always fun to have your best friend in your swim class.
Password = Leia
Leia's new teacher Ryan keeps the swim class fun and full of laughs. Leia is getting so much better at floating!
Is it still Trick-or-Treat time?
Excited to help Mom put up the Christmas lights!
Snow thrones for these silly princesses!
When you'd rather not wear clothes but it's a little too cold.
Leia decided it would be a good idea to paint the snow!
Didn't really work out quite as well as they hoped.
Leia kinda skipped the 2T winter size, so Arwyn is swimming in some of these ski clothes, but it's still cute.
The look of love!
Sister love!!
These two are just too cute!
Leia is so good at puzzles, and it's funny because she doesn't care about doing edges, she just does it by sections.
The proud puzzler, did the whole thing by herself!
Meet Bingle, our new Elf on the Shelf. Dec 3rd was day 1, watching for good table manners from the chandelier.
This year Leia is actually using her Christmas Advent Calendar properly, taking off the ornaments one day at a time rather than pulling them all off all the time.
Dec 4th, day 2. Making sure the girls eat their fruit. It was a bit problematic though, because you aren't supposed to touch him, so how can you get your fruit out?!
Playing with Cousin Norman, Emmett's new kitty cat.
Arwyn at school with her best friends, Jennifer (mother) and Julia.
Dec 6th, day 4. Bingle likes to see good oral hygiene! (Not pictured: Day 5 - Tangled up in the Cactus plant.)
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