L&A Years 4&2 Week 38: Leia Cleans Her Room! - 3/15/2018

Leia surprised me big time this week.  On Sunday she totally cooperated with going down for her nap, but 30 minutes later she came to my room to tell me she had cleaned and organized her entire room.  She did this all without being asked, saying she wanted me and Daddy to be able to come tuck her in bed without tripping on all her stuff.  I'm pretty sure it was almost completely motivated by the idea that her Dad was coming home tomorrow, and the last time he came home he did come up to her room to see her after she had gone to bed.  And I'm always complaining that I can't even get to her bed to kiss her because of all the stuff on the floor.  She wanted a clear runway for her Daddy, who she misses so much!  Any way it goes, the room was immaculate, down to the smallest detail of having all the pens in a straight line, all the books put away, blankets folded.  Best job she's ever done, and she did it all by herself, and completely self motivated.  Way to go Leia!  I sent the girls off skiing with Nana and Poppy one day because with Josh gone so much, I really needed a little extra time to get housework done.  Leia was a little nervous about going off skiing with them without me there for reassurance.  Even though she can ski all by herself and knows it, I'm kind of her crutch.  Plus, it doesn't seem that she'll ever forget the time that she and Poppy almost fell off the side of the cat track, which I guess was at the beginning of last season...I guess a memory from 3.5 years of age is not one of those ones that's too young to remember!  Anyway, she willingly went off with them anyway, and ended up having a great time!  Leia had her first day of Turtles swim lessons this week, and as promised, the swim distances were doubled.  She definitely had a hard time swimming that far, but did a great job of trying with no complaints.  Mostly because her best friend Mackenzie is in the class, so that's definitely the one she wants to be in, even if it is harder.  You might remember our new friend, Teddy Beddy, from last week.  Well Leia got so mad at me because I sold his high chair (aka, the kids' old high chair that everyone had outgrown and no longer needs), and now he doesn't have a place to sit for meals at the table! Jeez louise, Teddy Beddy is king around the house these days, and don't even think of doing anything that messes with his needs as a human being!!  Leia has been waking up earlier and earlier every day, like even before 6 am now!  But without fail, she always sleeps in or decides to play happily by herself on days when I have to wake up early anyway, and then comes to bug me on days when I want to sleep in.  I was getting pretty desperate in my need for sleep, so I finally revived our friend Sleep Owl, and told her she couldn't come wake me up until he lit up or she'd lose her morning TV privileges.  We put a big sign on her door in case she forgot in the morning, but she didn't.  It was fabulous!  And now it's daylight savings, so even though everyone else in the world lost sleep, I gained it because Leia's still on the old time: those early 6 am wakings are now more like 7.  Hallelujah!!  But I'm sure it won't last much longer.  Leia got inspired this week, and decided her new name is Doc McStuffins. Just like the character, she has a little notebook and draws a picture of each stuffed animal's diagnosis on a different page.  She's very official, and gets pissed when I forget and call her Leia.  Leia had more cool drawing projects this week.  One morning she woke up and showed me her creation the night before, which was inspired by Zazie's silver medal in the ski races.  It was a winners podium with a gold medal on top, but her design was a bunch of vertically stacked boxes.  She said to me, "I didn't know how to make it, but I looked in my mind and made it like this: x mark, box, x mark, box, x mark, box...gold medal!"  I love hearing about when she uses her brain to solve problems!  Leia had a great ski day with Daddy after Summiteers this week.  He said he was so impressed with her skills that it almost brought him to tears.  She was almost making parallel turns, and really listened to what he said because she wants to improve and be allowed to come on his trips!

Arwyn took a fancy to my old "Tom Bear" from when I was a kid, and has started sleeping with him at night in order to keep him safe from the Yetis for me.  She's also started to fuss at bedtime every single time, saying she doesn't want to go to bed, and doesn't want me to leave the room.  All of a sudden it's a fight every time now, and the only way to get her to lie down now is distraction or yetis! Arwyn had a great day at her first day of the new Guppies swim lesson session.  She was so bummed last time around because Leia got to do it and she didn't.  She is so grateful to be able to take the lesson, so she's happy the whole time, having fun, and doing everything the teacher asks of her perfectly.  It was pretty funny this week because Arwyn slept on the floor again for nap one day, and I was a little late in her up when she woke up, so the next thing I know she's knocking on her own bedroom door from the inside, asking to be let out, even though it's totally unlocked and openable.  Super cute.  She had a really fun ski day with Daddy.  She lasted much longer than the last few weeks, and wanted to see her skiing videos right after I took them for a little on-hill analysis.  It was so funny.

Goggles on, ready to go, let's get this swim class started!

Paying very close attention to all the teacher's instructions.

Getting comfortable putting their ears and head in the water.

Could she be any cuter?

She loves floating on her back!

Arwyn was so excited to be able to take a swim class again, just like her big sister.  Nothing but smiles and fun for this little Guppy!

Between Arwyn's early 8:50 am lesson and Leia's late 10:35 am lesson, we are at the pool for quite awhile...might as well settle in and get comfortable!

Love that teacher Ryan, he always keeps them smiling!

Leia working on her back floats.

Leia's first day in the next level Turtle Swim class proved to be much more challenging due to the longer swimming distances, but Leia stepped up to that challenge nicely!

Really Amazon?  Usually you do a better pack job than this.

I don't really get to see Leia sleeping to much these days, so this was a rare treat to see my precious sleeping cutie.

While I don't like to encourage it on a regular basis, the rare nap snuggling up with my littles can be a nice treat.

The proud cleaner showing off her immaculately organized room!  Bed all made, papers and pens all organized.

Desktop straightened up and organized.  And the two items that she couldn't figure out where to put away were determined to belong to Daddy anyway, so we just returned them to him.

Floor is clean and walkable, bags hung up, coloring books and pads neatly displayed along the wall.

She even put away all the books and folded up the extra pillows and blankets.

The pens all lined up in perfectly straight rows.  And she literally did it all on her own, without being asked!

After "driving to school" while playing "family," Poppy sneaks in some quick hugs!

Leia was really fired up about taking Cooper for a walk today and holding his leash.  Very important job!

Cooper does not normally go for walks on a leash, so he was a little annoyed but obliged us anyway.

Arwyn has never gotten to hold the leash before, so she needed to get a turn too.

Yay, Daddy's home, and he brought new Easter dresses and purses from Grandma!

Ta da!  Yes, Leia, you look marvelous!

Cutest duo ever, I think they're ready for Broadway or something!

Cheers! Celebrating a successful trip, some great results for Zazie, and the return of their Dad.

Oh KT, my great friend, so happy to finally have you back this season.  And all to myself on a powder day no less.  Only had to wait until March 14th!

Fun to have our Daddy back for a great family ski day!

Look, no hands!

We were all very excited to have Daddy back home from all his ski trips so he could ski with us!  Arwyn showed him how good she's getting at turning!

No big deal, but Arwyn just insisted on a little on-hill video analysis for some instant feedback on her blossoming turning skills!

Josh was finally able to ski with Leia, and he was so impressed with all her progress.  She's almost making parallel turns!  And she even listened to his coaching because she wants desperately to earn the right to come with him on his trips!

A few pictures from Josh's trip back East last month...

Cracking herself up with her new diaper hat, just like Dad.

Races in VT meant that Josh got to see his family.  Fun week playing with Worm, Olivia, Hunter and Steele.

Looks like Hunter likes his tractor.

Baby Steele is a cutie.

Zazie is the oldest of 4, so she's good with little kids.  And it looks like Steele likes her too.

Uncle Josh and Steele.

Can't go to Vermont without a stop at Ben and Jerry's!

Next stop, Lutzen, WI.

Beautiful view out to the lake.  I didn't realize the ski hill was so close!

Second place finishes for Zazie two days in a row!

First place in the Juniors.

L&A Years 4&2 Week 37: Horse and Carriage Creations - 3/8/2018

Arwyn and Leia made a very elaborate horse and carriage out of chairs, blankets, and pillows this week, and proceeded to play "family-horse and carriage version" with it for quite some time.  They got some of the supplies from my workout area on the third floor, including some hand weight dumbbells, which Arwyn called "my honks!" and proceeded to carry around all morning.  3 lbs each, but for a little person that would be a lot!  Guess she's strong!  We had some new friends over this week, who were both Arwyn and Leia's ages.  They all played together pretty well for awhile, but after Leia got upset with the older girl and stopped wanting to share, Arwyn really impressed me by stepping up to the plate and generously sharing everything in her room with the girl.  Arwyn didn't want to ski very long this week, which bummed me out, especially because they finally groomed Subway and it was in great shape for her to try to do it solo.  Oh well.  Arwyn has switched to spitting on me slightly more than scratching me when she's pissed these days.  Hopefully the transition is a sign of this phase coming to an end soon...we'll see!  Arwyn still loves helping me cook and make my salads at night, and really wants to use the knives to cut by herself.  She really wants to do a lot of things by herself, which is great, but pouring the huge gallon of milk is still a little too much for her!  Arwyn has been drawing more these days, and likes to give the pictures to us, saying it's a picture for me and Daddy and whoever else because it's a family picture.  I was so happy this week because Arwyn didn't make a fuss and actually stayed with Leia and her buddy Fletcher and the other strange kids in the library at the new school we went to look at while I went to the parent meeting.  Whahoo!

Leia has a new toy infatuation all of a sudden.  One day a random white bear from her pile appeared, and was introduced as "Teddy Betty."  Teddy Betty has to do EVERYTHING that Leia does: sits at the table for meals, sits on the potty, put on PJ's at bedtime, needs to be put in her carseat in the car, etc.  It's very annoying when you're in a hurry!  I was late and trying to put Leia in the car, but she was having none of it until she finish getting Teddy Betty into his carseat right next to hers.  And then she refused to eat with us at the big table because that table was too high and Teddy Betty couldn't reach her food!  Grrr!  But cute.  Leia cracked me up one morning this week as we were climbing out of the car to head to school.  "Mom, it's like the same day over and over again!"  Her uncanny comprehension of life's bigger picture is almost scary sometimes!  Along with her letters, Leia has gotten really excited about learning to write her numbers.  Her random strings of letters that supposedly say something always includes a few numbers now.  One morning Leia brought me one of her best ever art projects that she had created the night before in bed: a pictorial representation of everything she wants to have at her birthday party (yes, the one that is over 3 months away).  She drew a picture of everything from chocolate chip cookies to goodie bags, a piñata to fancy cups and drinks, multi-tier cakes to pirate balloons.  It was so cool and well thought out; I was very impressed. She had me make one for my own birthday party as well. Leia's next art project was to make a bunch of small pictures ("cards" as she called them), and then she insisted we walk around the neighborhood and deliver them.  Some of the deliveries were pretty given, like Nana/Poppy and MorMor and Opa, but then she also wanted to give them to many of our other neighbors as well, people that we don't really talk to that much.  Those people weren't even home so we had to tuck them into their door jams.  They probably came home to find this funny little picture and had no idea what it was all about!

Little snow angel!

Pretty deep today!

A very light and fluffy powder angel.

Mommy Angel and Baby Angel, side by side.

Sledding plans foiled when I sunk down to my waist with every step!

Pissed and not playing with us because she wanted to deliver her cards before playing in the snow, not after, even though our original plan was cards second.

Off to deliver cards around the neighborhood.  Now everyone is happy again.

More great smiles.

V8 moustache!

Ride 'em, Cowgirl!

Nice horsy.  Always pet your horse.

Arwyn cuddling with my old Tom Bear and keeping him safe from the yetis for me.

Fabulous horse-drawn carriage constructed by Leia and Arwyn all on their own.  No help whatsoever on anything from idea, to supplies, to construction model, to execution.

Arwyn and her honks.

This one is a strormtrooper drawn carriage for Miss Amaryllis.

Nap was late, tension was high, and Leia retreated to this little hiding spot.  I was about to get her up and put her to bed to nap, but realized she was basically already asleep.  She ended up taking a really good long nap here.  And Arwyn had to sleep under the chair in her room as well.

Happiness is contagious.

Brr!  0 deg today!  And last week it was -6.

Teddy Betty, all strapped in to her carseat and yellow seatbelt.

Leia's Birthday Party Activity Plan!  I labeled all the parts according to her description.

My cute little winter snowflake!  It only took a year and a half for her to decide she wanted to wear this sweater!

Didn't notice it when I got home from work at night, but woke up the next morning and discovered Leia had made a little present for me.  So sweet.

Day #4 in the books for my Arbonne 30-Days to Healthy Living Challenge.  So far so good, and considering that I'm a toal carb-aholic, I'm actually surprised at how well I'm adapting to the breakfast and lunch smoothie thing!  And my smoothie game just want off the charts with our brand new Vitamin that arrived today!!  Oh yeah, this thing is awesome!

Leia was so excited about making this "house" out of tomato baskets and pasteboard.  She kept herself entertained for at least an hour!

Arwyn was excited to make a house, until I put the kibosh on the huge glue puddle she was making!  Then it was a meltdown fight of epic proportions.

All I can say it that Arwyn really likes glue!

I thought Arwyn's little fireworks splats were so cool until I realized she was smashing the tips of our nice pen set to make them!  It's still cool looking, but now she's only allowed to make them at school!

Leia's "Lantern" creation.  All her own idea, from the planning to the execution.  So creative!

Leia's getting very skilled with those scissors!

Classic Arywn: bold and simple, makes a statement.

Happy Birthday Card for Mommy.

Loving this bright and colorful scene by Leia: sun, rain, rainbows, person out in the garden with the flowers and butterflies.

Person walking into her house with the sun shining overhead and a beautiful rainbow in the sky.

Butterflies!

Leia's been making some really cool books these days.  She likes to have them open from the back though, so this is the front cover and it opens on the left.

Looks like this book may be a biography.

Leia went through a phase where she was framing all her art around the edge...really gives it a nice, finishing touch.

Leia's rendition of the car that slide into the snowbank.

I'm pretty much a sucker for anything that says "For Mommy."

Leia's family portrait: Mommy, Daddy, Leia, and Arwyn (from left to right).

Cool alternative media project with some sort of sandy/gritty paint.

Leia drew this awesome picture of "Jack-o-lanterns on a gate with rainbows."  She really liked this concept and stuck with it for a week straight, improving on her design with each new rendition...

Here's version #2 of the Jack-o-lanterns on a gate.

And here in version #3 we see a fancier gate along with a more traditional rainbow.

Tongue depressor snowman.

Hard to tell the size in a photo, but this is a very very large painting by Arwyn.

Tape art by Arwyn.  (She really likes adhesives...first glue, now tape.)

Improving on the basic stickers by adding bodies and fish bowls.  Nice job Leia.

Leia really impressed me with her ability to do these Barbie stencils that she got from Cousin Jordan. She did a great job of lining the stencil outfit up the the body and keeping it from moving while she traced.  And she's so good with her sticker accessories!

Leia's Birthday Plan: multi-tiered cakes, piñatas, muffins, drinks and fancy glasses, presents, bead bracelets, chocolate chip cookies, cheerios in a bowl, goodie bags, and pirate balloons.  Looks like a fun party.  Not much planning left to do I guess, just the execution!