Leia Week 66: Finally the Rain Came! - 10/1/2014

With the big King Fire and all the thick smoke that's been blanketing all of Tahoe, it's been a tough couple weeks of being stuck inside.  All of us were going a little stir crazy, but especially Leia.  Finally the rain came, which was just what we needed to put out the fire, but it also continued to trap us a bit.  When it finally let up, Leia had her first experience with puddle jumping, and let me tell you, it sure was fun!  She officially turned 15 months old right at the beginning of this week, and we had a couple fun days of hot tub swimming.  Also, our previously great eater (pesto chicken with couscous, middle eastern spiced eggplant with polenta, curry chicken salad sandwiches, eggs with salsa, salsa straight from the jar, etc.), has been a little picky and fussy lately, much to our distress.  She only wants to drink milk, which, on the plus side, has gotten her to like whole milk more (as long as we mix in a little booby milk that is).  Finally, after a particularly bad night, we figured it out…another new tooth popped through!  That's 5 on the top, and still only 2 on the bottom.  Josh and I also learned how to say "Thank You" in sign language, only to realize that Leia has known it and been saying it to us for quite some time now!  She's so advanced!!

Looking stylie in her new fun fall clothes!

Mom, have you seen the rest of my hamburger?

Nice to snuggle up in a robe after a great dip in the hot tub!

Monkey in her arms and cats on her feet.

The only time she gets to watch the TV is when the steelers are on, and Josh has to tell her not to stand so close!

Mommy wrestling!

So jealous of that Downward Dog!

Leia's corner.

Little lunch break in the middle of a Reno wind storm…not very relaxing!

She's got her bag and she's outta here!

Uncle Josh finally gets a good little snuggle with Emmett.

Guess who's starting to smile!

Put your hands up and don't move!

Enough already with all the pictures!

Leia likes to push the stroller rather than ride in these days.

Puddle jumping with Linda and Grief!

Reading in bed!

One man band.

Soon she'll be good enough to put out a hat and make us some money!

Flying with Mom!

Leia's Got Rhythm Movie - 10/15/2014

True to her can't sit still nature, Leia loves to dance.  She has loved to since day one.  We have a previous video of her early dancing that is also posted on this blog, but now she's at a whole new level and picked up some fabulous new moves!  I actually have another dance movie that I need to make of some moves that came before this, but this new video was so funny that it just couldn't wait.  Please enjoy!

Leia's Got Rhythm HR from Katharine Transue on Vimeo.

Leia Week 65: The End of an Era - 9/24/2014

We had a pretty mellow week at home.  Leia is very into dollies again, and she had a day at school where she wouldn't part with one of her favorites and had to bring it home for the night.  Neither Josh nor I are too fond of these dolls because they are so featureless and lame.  Oh well, what can you do.  On the bright side, it's caused her to add a new word to her vocabulary - Baby!  Leia is also really into this one purple and silver book of Nursery Rhymes that she just got as a present. She insists on having us read this book every time before bed, but again, Josh and I hate the book because it turns out nursery rhymes are very racist, sexist, and abusive (just go back and read See Saw Margery Daw, My Little Hen, and The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe if you don't know what I'm talking about!).  I think Leia really likes the pictures of this particular book because the same rhymes in a different book don't seem to be as interesting to her.  She's loving running around the house and playing chase with Dad, being a little goof, and dancing.  It is absolutely hilarious to watch her moves.  We will upload some of the latest dance videos soon.

The biggest news of the week was that we finally cut Leia off from breast feeding.  It was a really sad time for both of us.  Well, more sad for me, Leia was just pissed.  And now that I am no longer the best source of milk, she is starting to snuggle up to Daddy for comfort more and me less!  I guess the punishment fits the crime, but it sure hurts:(  We made it a good long stretch, 15 months, and even though I didn't really want to stop, it was probably a good time in her development.  Now we are putting a big dent in our stored up milk in the freezer...I definitely thought those 3 huge boxes would last longer!  Anyway, hopefully now we'll be able to start trying for another baby…  I love you Leia, thanks for all our special feeding time together!

Cool girl out for a spin on her pet giraffe.

Our little social butterfly chatting it up on the phone again!

How cute is that little face?!

First day eating a bowl of Rice Krispies and milk…snap, crackle, pop!

First day feeding herself from her bowl of Rice Krispies!

The nice thing about working from home is that no one knows when you are only wearing underwear!

Nakie baby!

Thanks to Josh, walking sticks and canes are very "in" right now!

Baby Elvis!

Yeah Mom, you're the bomb!

Little tea party at the park.

She's very into pointing at the cameraman these days!

Selfie!

She balanced that crown on her head for quite awhile…she really must have some princess genes!

Baths are always the best time for a little window face smashing!

Looking horrified at that last play…come in Steelers, lets get it together please!

Cuddling, rocking, singing, and chanting "Ba-by" all evening!

Like two peas in a pod…how can they sleep face down like that?!

Leia Week 64: The Final Days of Ryggs - 9/17/2014

We returned to Squaw after our fun week down at the Hideout only to continue the celebration.  More hikes, play days, and night time get togethers with new friends and old.  We were sad to finally see everyone go, but ready for a little quiet and recovery time.  Leia really enjoyed the last week of running wild with all the kids, not having to always eat in her chair, and all the fun outdoor activities, but she was glad to get all her stuff back to herself and not have to share anymore!  Guess we'll have to work on that sharing thing…  New this week for Leia was her first time running away from home (seriously, she grabbed her dolly and her rolling cart and headed out the door and down the street) and her first time with a total self feed (even got to hold the food container and didn't toss it across the room)!

First hike up Shirley Canyon since she got so heavy…what a workout!

Check out these cool cats!

Babies said "enough pictures, get moving!"

Evan and Nana climbing through the rocks.

Hard to take a selfie with a big camera!

The crew head up the trail.

Evan was having a blast jumping and scampering across all the rocks.

Good boy, loves his Mama!

Reb and Nancy were psyched to show Evan their favorite hike and have him love it so much!

Brit with Tram Face in the background.

Whoa, cool lightning bolt damage!

Wait for us, this is much harder with a big pack on!

Ari sure is good at sleeping in crazy places!

This was definitely a great day for a hike!

Throwing sand is so fun…getting in trouble is not.

Not too big for this slide quite yet.

Wheeeee!

Perfecting the barefooting like his Uncle Papi.

Round and round, up and down, this never gets old!

Ari's ready to take her turn.

Long line at this popular ride!

Loving big bro helping his sister who was a little unsure at first.

Evan even tried to be a big bro to Leia and help her learn to share and work together.

Little dare devil loves to get tossed…the higher the better!

She's getting very good at her kicks and paddles.

Figured out how to put on her own had and glasses!

Got my dolly and my wheely and I'm outa here!

Crazy red sun from the King Fire.

Hot stuff in her aviators!

Taking down the yogurt all by herself like a total pro…well, almost!