L&A Years 4&2 Week 49: Sister Love Week - 5/31/18

Leia was so excited this week when she saw we were finally preparing the guest room to be her bedroom.  She didn't even want me to paint it because she didn't want to have to wait another day to sleep in it.  We ended up letting her sleep in it right after painting, since it didn't actually smell much at all.  Leia is always wanting to go to the library these days because of the scavenger hunt and treasure box prizes.  We went after swimming, and she was really disappointed to learn that there was no hunt this week.  Luckily she ended up having fun doing other activities, and ended up getting a prize anyway for completing the Lego Challenge of building a house with doors and windows.  Leia's quote of the week: "I wasn't born to be the helping type!"  Guess we need to change that belief!  Actually, I know she's super helpful at school, so it's really just home that's the problem.  She was also really whiny and helpless all weekend, and likes to threaten to hit us now if we don't do what she wants.  "I'm bored!" and "It's boring!" are her recent go-to phrases when we don't give her attention or turn on the TV, but eventually she does find something fun to do, it just takes a little coaxing.  We had a really great trip to the Kids Zone museum this week.  Both girls had so much fun, did every single different activity, made some great art, and didn't even throw a fit when it was time to leave!

Arwyn had previously been excited about the prospect of getting a new room, but when push came to shove, she didn't want to move into Leia's old room until I showed her how how we would take all of Leia's stuff out, put her stuff in, and give her a new, big girl bed.  That seemed a little better to her, but she was still a little leery of getting Leia's hand-me-down room.  It really started to sink in that maybe this would be a good thing when she saw Leia's old closet totally empty and ready to receive her own clothes.  The girls had a blast playing in all the furniture that we had to move into the garage during the room moving transition.  Arwyn and Leia loved climbing in the big wood shelf unit and pretending it was a bunk bed.  It was cute and I'm glad they liked it, but I'm still not getting a bunk bed because I hate changing top bunk sheets!  Arwyn currently loves to strip off all her clothes and yell out, "Naked Baby!"  She gets such a kick out of it.  Arwyn also had a blast on our trip to the museum, and was so cooperative the whole time.  But she drank so much of the free lemonade that she ended up peeing in her carseat on the way home!  I love how Arwyn gets a huge smile on her face whenever it's time for our family meetings because she loves the spotlight when she gets to give out her compliments and appreciations.  It's so awesome!  Although she still mostly compliments all of us on either cooking or eating our dinners.  Arwyn, on the other hand, is still not doing so awesome on eating her own dinner.  She still keeps inhaling food and almost choking at dinner time.  Arwyn was super tired all weekend, and nap time and bedtime and bedtime kept being a little too late, so she would get into super overtired, freakout mode.  Luckily she was eventually able to calm down and lie down, so that was good.  Arwyn is starting to do a really good job of expression her emotions.  She likes to tell me, "I'm really frustrated!"  I'm glad she's learning that skill and I hope I can keep helping her deal with her frustration in a positive way.

Catching worms after the rainstorm!  And making big strides in the bravery department...last time she wouldn't touch them!

Leia and Arwyn's Wedding Ceremony!  Such beautiful brides!

Kinda bummed that I forget to take a proper "before" picture of this guest room before we took it apart to start painting.

Another view.

And the "after."

I think we have some happy campers.

Excited about the close proximity of their new rooms, the girls have rekindled their love and affection for each other.  They love love love living right next door!

Annual Squaw Valley Fire Fighters Pancake Breakfast!

Always exciting to get inside a real Fire Truck!

Uh oh, don't look now, but 3 little kids have highjacked the fire truck!

Hey Arwyn, I see you in there!

Help, let us out!

Lots of fun things to do at the library, in addition to reading so many cool books!

My daughter really must be a giant if she's bigger than an elephant!

Yummy Arbonne approved meal with fresh Morels from our yard!

Little Red Riding Hood hits the Farmer's Market!

Beware of the Princess Pirates...they love to hunt for treasure and steal all your booty!

She's like the Incredible Hulk, carrying that huge rock like it's nothing!

Climbing the nets to the upper decks.

Love that cutie pie!

Just hanging out at the top of the world.

How come she only does the cooking and cleaning when it's for pretend?

The creative juices are flowing!

Beautiful rainbow snowflake, Arwyn!

Fun Sunday night family dinner party down by the creek, thanks to Miss Leia, of course!

I love it when Leia wants to snuggle and smile!

Love these two cutie pies!

Silly billies!

The one, the only, Googie Woobs!

Leia's new garage bunk bed!  I guess we don't need to build forts if we just keep this!

I think it's Moana Day again...sporting Daddy's gorgeous Moana Rock Necklace, and wearing bandanas for clothes!

Talk about living on the edge!

I think it's a sister kind of thing.

Sillies.

Arwyn insisted on sleeping in her Super Girl costume tonight!

L&A Years 4&2 Week 48: A Very Merry Unbirthday to Daddy - 5/24/18

Arwyn's new favorite quote is "That's freaking me out!"  She learned it from Leia, and she says it exactly the same way, with all the same intonations, which is freaking ME out!  Arwyn also loves to dance these days.  She's always dancing around with a great little rhythm when she's talking to you, never standing still.  She's my little happy dancer.  Both girls got sick this week, but Leia did first, so by the time Arwyn got it, I knew what it was and what to expect.  Which was a good thing, because she kept saying, "My tummy hurts," while pointing to her neck.  I had to verify that it was in fact her neck, or more specifically throat, that was hurting her.  Strep throat, to be precise.  Poor kids, but the antibiotics had them feeling much better very quickly.  Arwyn loves when Leia included her in her diabolical plans, and then she turns into a little mini Leia.  Those two are trouble when they put their minds together!  Arwyn was really impressing me with her bravery this week.  She went flying down the big slide in our yard like it was no big deal, and multiple times in a row.  She almost always chooses playing over TV, and wanted to stay outside and play when Leia went in to chill out and watch TV.  She's really starting to get to that age where she's testing us with millions of little social science experiments of misbehavior, but with her, it really does work when you make the consequences clear and follow through (like walking away when she won't do something, or taking her food away when she won't eat).  Arwyn still transfers well to bed when she falls asleep in the car at nap time, and it's so sweet how she really snuggles into me when I pick her up and carry her to bed.  Arwyn has returned to being her normal sweet self at school again.  As we hoped, that acting out was just a testing phase, and clearly the test results were deemed not favorable, so she's back to being good Arwyn with no more acting out.

Leia continues to amaze me with stuff stuff she comes up with on a daily basis.  This week, she was doing a demonstration of how she uses her favorite lotion (clearly she's a natural Arbonne Consultant), and she shows me how you have to dab it all around your eye.  And while she's demonstrating this, she's describing what it is: "It's called Emotional Crisis."  She's too funny, I don't know where she comes up with this stuff, but at that moment she really could have been selling me a special lotion to put on your face to help deal (or possibly conceal) an emotional crisis! Leia has been super obstinate and testy recently.  It's her way or the highway about everything.  One day she wouldn't get ready for nap and wouldn't go to the bathroom, and kept hitting me, so I walked out of the bathroom, but I locked the door shut with my foot.  Well, that was clearly a mistake on my part, and it really pissed her off, so she just peed on the floor to get back at me.  Finally we had a heart to heart the next morning.  I apologized and agreed not to lock her in rooms anymore, and she agreed to try to find a better way of communicating dissatisfaction other than peeing!  Leia got strep throat this week.  She was up in the middle of the night sobbing because of ear pain, but it turned out to just be referred pain from the throat issue.  She was feeing much better within 24 hours of starting antibiotics.  She did have to stay home from school one day, and she was so funny because she insisted that I make her a get well card and present, and give them to her, just like she does for other people.  She really is a caring and generous person, so it makes sense that she would want to get that treatment back.  Do unto others as you would have them to unto you (I think that's how the saying is spelled!)  Leia decided to plan a big birthday party for Daddy one morning, unfortunately he was actually at work and couldn't even be there to celebrate with us.  She and Arwyn made him a bunch of presents and wrapped them all up.  Then she planned a big brunch out on the driveway.  Luckily Nana and Poppy were available to join us.  For awhile I was attributing her whiny behavior to the fact that she was sick and probably not feeling great, but fast forward sneak peak and two weeks later, it's still happening (although, spoiler alert, she gets sick again, so who knows what's going on).  Anyway, she did get super whiny and insist on getting a new lamp by her bed right at nap time.  There was no reason not to do it except that it was nap time, and I don't like to let them put off nap with a million requests.  But she put up such a fuss, and the lamp was right there and it took two seconds.  God, I'm the worst!  And she's the best manipulator!  Monday morning was finally a Daddy Day, so I had a little extra time, but then Leia almost made me late because she wanted Mommy Time, and Mommy Time consisted of putting together an impromptu Moana Costume!  I was actually impressed with what I was able to throw together, but I still got frustrated and impatient because she was really making me late!  And then she got really upset that couldn't make a Moana stone necklace for her because I didn't have the tools to drill a hole through a rock!  But then I had a good idea that I shared with Josh, and he took it to the next level and made the two most awesome rock necklaces for the girls with wire and a hot glue gun and lots of fancy art work.  Leia of course freaked out and didn't want his fancy decorations because it wasn't just like the picture in the book, so he just made Arwyn's super fancy, and Leia ended up being a little jealous.


Arwyn is a little rock star at swim class.  She's able to do everything the teacher asks, just not totally by herself yet.  Great form though!



Leia's going to be a master at her multiplication tables before she even knows how to add, thanks to her new favorite CD from Cousin Jordan.  She always asks me to "play Multiple Hip Hop!" (aka, Multiplication Hip Hop).


Arwyn, the little sponge, is always picking up on phrases that Leia says, and she even uses the same intonations.  It's totally freaking me out every time she does it!

Homemade Light Saber and birthday present for Daddy on his very merry Unbirthday!

It's a beautiful day for a birthday brunch party, unfortunately without the guest of honor (Daddy).  Leia did all the set up and decorating (down to necklaces hanging in bushes all around the driveway).

Backyard picnic and water play...love it when these two are so cute together!

Creek time.  Fun when the spring water is rushing!

Cutie patootie!

Ready, aim, fire!

Working on that throwing arm!

It might be a small beach, but sand play is still possible!

Living room forts never get old!

Spoiling our Daddy with Unbirthday presents galore!  

He actually got some good loot because the girls made some great art projects that morning.

Happy Moana Day from Leia!  It's amazing that I can ever get to work on time when I'm having to do stuff like make impromptu Moana costumes while trying to get out the door!

Pretty darn good costume on a beautiful girl, if I do say so myself!

Check out this handsome hunk, who is officially down 30 lbs and wearing his new "skinny sweats," thanks to Arbonne's 30 Days to Healthy Living program!

What a good Daddy we have to hot glue gin together some Moana rock necklaces!

He was up late, perfecting every last detail, long after the girls went to bed.  Josh has been waiting so long for an excuse to make cool art projects like this with his children!