When it Snows, it Blizzards

This is the type of winter I remember experiencing as a kid.

I think most of us from the upper midwest can remember the Halloween of 1991.  Now we have the December of 2010.  We got 20 inches in one day.  It did not occur on a holiday this time, but it did create a celebratory weekend for our family.  We celebrated our family.  All four of us, and ONLY the 4 of us were together for 48 hours under the same roof.  The only separation we had was if someone was shoveling or sleeping or shoveling.  Did I mention we did some shoveling?

  

Outside favorites from the weekend:
 * Snow Angels (how did we stand up without ruining them as a kid?)
 * Freefalling into nearly 2 feet of snow
 * Discovering a cool fort (one that won't collapse in on us)
 * Sliding down the snowbanks
 * Feeling amazed at the sheer amount of snow amassed around us


What Sydney was doing while Lucas and I played outside...

Thrilled to find a nuk outside of her crib!

She was surprised that her nuk did not go with her when she walked away.  After about a second of debate, she chose to stand there with her nuk for a few minutes before moving on to other adventures.

Lucas and Ernie created a fantastic fort complete with Christmas lights.  A perfect place for reading, writing, and a little nap.



Notice the marker in her hand?  More to come on that later.

We had a pizza picnic by the fire and the Christmas tree.

Indoor favorites from the weekend:
 * Hide and Seek
 * Baking (and eating) Christmas cookies
 * Taking the time to cook a tasty meal for the family
 * Playing Bally-ball with Lucas (a game of his own invention)
 * Movie night with stove popped popcorn
 * Hot chocolate complete with whipcream, chocolate shavings, and mini chocolate bars
 * Reading with the kids....and finally finishing my book I've been reading for about a month!

Who me?

Yeah you.

Our little artist.  She took that marker and decided to restyle our living room chairs, her hands, her ear, and those are the locations we've found so far.  Thankfully the chair cushions had removable covers and the Magic Eraser worked wonders.  Funny how we didn't have that problem ever with our oldest.  But, as Ernie pointed out, we didn't have very many markers laying around when Lucas was this age.  All writing utensils are now locked up out of the reach of a determined, artistict 1 year old.

Happy Minnesota Winter!

Happy Halloween!

Distraction leads to happiness

I bought two suckers, one for him and one for me because it was a nostalgic sucker for me.  The kind we used to get as kids for a few cents from the candy store by the cabin. 

He asked me with all his kind words could I please open his sucker for him.  I said sure in a minute because my hands were full.  I was also on the phone.  I set down what was in my hands and turned to help his sister with something or other.  He again asked me to open the sucker.  Oh yes, that's right, I said I would.  I opened the sucker, and still on the phone, handed his sucker to his SISTER. 

She was delighted and just taking her first lick (first lick of a sucker in her whole life that is) when he snatched it out of her mouth so quickly and exclaimed 'That's my sucker!'.  You can imagine how pleased Sister was to have her first ever sucker whipped away by Brother.

Now I am thankful I bought two suckers.  I almost didn't buy the one for me.  He picked his out.  And I stared at the suckers.  Actually took a full minute to decide if I should buy one for myself.  I decided not to, but then the cashier said, "You're not buying one for yourself?".  That was enough to twist my arm, so I did.  And because of that final decision Sister was the happiest baby/1-yr-old I have ever seen.  And I didn't set her in the highchair to keep things neat.  I let her stand (her favorite past time these days, standing) and drag it across the ottoman and drip it on her shirt and chew on the stick. 

I didn't get to enjoy the nostalgic moment of eating my sucker, remembering how we'd hike to the store and how great it was to buy and eat one as a kid.  I got so much more.  My two loves thoroughly enjoying their suckers.  Much more than I would have I'm sure. 

I know its a little blurry, but I love the look.

Happy Weekend everyone!

First Birthday!

Brother thought Sister would like a doughnut for breakfast on her 1st birthday.  With sprinkles.

Don't you wonder what she's thinking here?

He was right, because she devoured it.

This of course led to a morning bath.

How in the world did our parents get photos like this with everyone looking at the camera?  Thank goodness for digital because it took until shot #10 to get them both looking!

We thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful weather at the local apple orchard.  We climbed on hay bales, went through a hay bale maze, rode on a hay ride, and picked out some tasty Honeycrisp apples.

Later when we opened presents, she kept making this adorable surprise face with her mouth wide open.  It was hysterical.  Where did she learn that one?

Can you tell she's thrilled with her stroller?  She really did seem to like it, I guess I just didn't capture the happy face in the pictures.



And we took the traditional Minnie Mouse picture...this one shows what usually happens when we lay her on the floor:

How much has changed in one year!

                       2 weeks old                                                                                        52 weeks old

                    3 1/2 years old, 1 day old                                                           4 1/2 years old, 1 year old

Over her birthday weekend she got her first tooth and took her first step!

Delay tactic

He was supposed to finish one book then head to bed.  I had been doing the nightly routine of getting ready for the next day, when I realized it had been way more than the allotted 2 final minutes.  I peeked around the corner and saw this:

They were deep in conversation, discussing Electricity...how it works, where it comes from, what it is. 

So fun to hear how his mind is working. 

And he figured out we'll answer all kinds of questions...right as he's going to bed  : )

Siblings

The love I have witnessed between these siblings is amazing.  They look for each other to say Good Morning and Good Night. 
I was getting lunch made when Sydney finished what had been on her tray (she announces LOUDLY with her Ba Ba's... that she would like more).
Suddenly it got quiet.  I turned around and saw this:

Lucas had gotten down from his chair and was feeding Sydney her applesauce.

Unprompted.  So very sweet!  Moments like these help me remember that every now and then we do get it right...the wonderful experimental world of parenting.

He loves his ice cream

After a long day at the fair, he couldn't stay awake to finish his ice cream cone.  

Oh he still finished it...he managed to eat it in his sleep. 

Change already?

I went ahead and already changed the title of my blog.  It finally feels right.  I guess the way to find my title was to jump in and create the blog.  Here I was putting off creating the blog because I didn't have a title, and what do you know, I needed to first create the blog before I would find my title.

Beginning...

The Purpose.  I'm starting this blog in hopes of being more conscious of living by focusing on the positives and reflecting on the days*.

The Title.  I often have a hard time remembering titles, whether it is for a movie or a person, it doesn't seem to be something that sticks with me.  I've been intending to start a blog for a few weeks.  One of the big reasons I didn't get it going, was because I couldn't decide on a title.  I didn't want that to be the reason I wasn't posting, so I reminded myself that I can always change it and decided to just go for it. 

*or weeks or months...depending on how frequently I post!