L&A Years 4&2 Week 39: Arwyn the Karaoke Superstar - 3/22/2018

Arwyn had a really good week this week.  She cracks me up at bedtime because she loves to pick a word and have me change the lyrics of the song to include the new word.  For example, the other night instead of singing about a spider, we sang about "The itsy bitsy tutu went up the water spout..." We had another great swim lesson this week, and the second she got out of the pool, she ran up to me and exclaimed, "Mom, I had a great day at swim class!"  She is just so happy to be able to be in a swim class like Leia, and she does everything the teacher asks of her with no problems.  We went to Leia's friend's house after swim class, and Arwyn did such a great job of playing there, despite not having a friend close to her age.  She was so independent, didn't hang on me or need me really at all, and went back and forth between playing with the big girls, playing with the 1 year old, and playing by herself.  It was so great.  She was so exhausted after that big morning that she ended up falling asleep in the car on the way home, despite Leia screaming in the car the whole way home right next to her, and even stayed asleep when I got her out and put her to bad!  Wahoo!  Arwyn also had so much fun at her friend Luna's birthday party the next day, especially playing with the karaoke microphone.  It was funny because she was a little shy at first, but as soon as she got comfortable, she loved belting out her voice into that mic!  Of course she had a total meltdown when it was time to leave, screamed for food and for the sake of screaming the whole way home, but by the time we actually got home, she was so exhausted she asked to go right to bed.  She curled up and fell asleep the second I put her down with no food and no story.  Wahoo again!  We got a lot of snow this week, and Arwyn wanted to help me with all the shoveling, but was pretty dismayed at how difficult it actually was since there was so much!  It was cute the other day because Arwyn was very concerned when I woke her up one morning without my usual helper.  "Where's Leia?" she said immediately.  Arwyn has been doing so great with her potty training.  She's pretty much completely potty trained at school, and almost never comes home with soiled underwear.  And really, she has been doing well with this for awhile now.  I know she'd be completely potty trained by now if it wasn't for the whole winter season thing, but I make her wear diapers on most home days because I don't want her having an accident when we are off skiing or out playing in the snow, and stuff like that.  I also don't think I properly documented the fact that Arwyn has been a pro with recognizing her colors for quite awhile now.  She has also started declaring that she has a favorite color, but mostly she just says whatever she thinks is Leia's favorite color, and I don't think she actually has a favorite color at all.  She seems pretty happy with all of them.

As much as I hate how much TV we let Leia watch, I'm totally amazed at the stuff she learns from it, both good and bad.  The other day during one of her play sessions, she declared, "We need to make a campfire.  I'll go get some flint!"  Josh and I just looked at each other flabbergasted, and when Josh questioned her about whether she actually knew what flint was, she said, "yes, Dad, it's made of stone."  So amazing, as usual!  Leia has been begging to be able to have a play date with a friend for weeks now, and we finally made it happen with Mackenzie after swim class this week.  Leia did such a great job at the play date, no tiffs or hassles, was very polite, and was super cooperative when it was time to leave.  But as soon as we got in the car she had a total meltdown the whole way home because she was convinced that Mackenzie gets to have sleep overs with her friends, whereas I wouldn't let her have any sleepovers yet (she was also very tired and hungry).  It's so miserable when she gets like that.  If fact, she was super whiny all weekend, and Josh and I are sick of it, so we put our foot down finally.  We had a lot of confrontations over whining all weekend, and she lost a lot of privileges because of it.  The thing is, she can change her voice pretty instantly when she wants to, so it's really our fault (per usual) that this has gone on for so long!  Hopefully we can stay strong and nip it in the bud!  Leia had her last day of Summiteers for the season this week.  It was a pretty miserable rainy day, so I think they only took about 1 run, and spent the rest of the time having a party.  Oh well.  She  received the award for "Best Chairlift Storyteller" this year, which sounds about right.  It was a great season for her, and she seems to be really close to making parallel turns, and she can ski most of the runs off Roundhouse.  So great!  I'm a little bummed because I really didn't get to see her ski during her lessons much this year because they were all over the place and hard to find (which is actually a good thing!)

Have you ever seen a prettier soup?!  So delicious, and it qualifies for our new Arbonne 30-days to Healthy Living Cleanse!

Leia decided to do my hair.

It's all about accessories!

She did Arwyn's hair too.

Leia wanted to dress up like a Leprechaun to trick Daddy.  Even wrapped her hands all up in green!

Day before St. Patrick's Day, getting prepped!

Ha ha, tricked you Dad!

Rainbow ballerina practicing her spins.

"Mommy, watch me tirl!"

Arwyn is getting pretty good at her ballet, especially her outfits and twirls, thanks to her brilliant Teacher Leia!

Aghh, save us, it's a real live yeti!

View out of my favorite window in our house.  We finally have some snow!

Ready for swim class!

Arwyn is doing so well in her Guppy swim class, and is just so grateful to be there getting to learn!

Swimming is challenging, but Leia is working hard and up to the challenge!  She won't give up until she gets it down pat!

Miracle March...we got a lot of snow!

I think there's a hot tub under there somewhere...I guess I have a lot of work ahead of me!

And yes, the snow on the hot tub deck was as high as my shoulders!

Shoveling forever!

Thank goodness I have a little helper!

She was a little dismayed at how difficult it actually was to shovel when she snow is so deep!

Hour of shoveling were rewarded with a nice hot tub session (and a stiff neck the next day)!

We needed to fill up the hot tub, so Josh through in some fresh snow.  And that's what happens when you don't get out when you're asked to!

When the hot tub water levels are low in the winter, you just throw some snow in.  When your daughter won't get out, you just throw the snow on her!  Hey, she did actually tell us to do it!

Very cool mask decorating supplies at Luna's 3rd birthday.

The artists hard at work.

I just love love love the way Arwyn used all these great colors.  She really has a talent with painting and color coordination!

Leia made a really awesome princess mask.  She's so great with multi-media!

Arwyn studied the big kids performing karaoke so that she would know what to do.  The second the machine opened up, she nabbed it.  A little shy at first, but once she found her voice, she didn't want to give up that mic at all!

Soren and Arwyn finding their voices.

Oh yeah, Arwyn likes the power of the microphone!

Yummy cupcakes made inside mini ice cream cones.

Singing on stage with her buddy Tatum.

You can tell she's got that low low voice going on here!

Arwyn definitely dominated that mic today!

The birthday friends! (Shayla and Leia, far left; Tatum, Luna, Arwyn, far right)

Fun Daddy Day ice skating adventure.

Josh was so impressed with Leia's speed!

Josh's first time ever being able to ice skate with the girls!

Arwyn's entry into the Savemart Easter Coloring Contest.

Leia's entry into the Savemart Easter Coloring Contest.  They actually both did them in the car on the way to Luna's birthday party after we made a quick stop at the store.

Costume party on the last (and very rainy) day of Summiteers, with coach Rocio.

Fun to see our friend Kari from back in Hunter, who came out to Squaw for the NASTAR races this week.