first snow!

Very exciting!

snowy spring

Oh first day of spring break...and the snowflakes are flying.

catch-up

Looking into the mirror together for post bath hair drying.

Snuggles under Nate's new big-boy quilt.  That's right ... at age nearly-2.5 Nate has graduated from the sleep sack.  He's still comfy (and contained) in the crib, though will surely be excited to one day have a bigger bed to bounce around in.

Natester has had enough snuggling for now..

Proud puzzler.

Snow!

Mmmm....delicious.

Bigger scale snow-cone.

This couldn't have ended well.

It's been fun to have several little snows this winter .... and each time we get a snow angel filled yard.

 

snowy day

All dressed and ready to roll (in the snow).

Papa and Abby attempt to snuggle up for a pic and instead tip over - hilarious for Abby! - must be all of those extra layers.

Natester is surprised to see a white backyard when he rolls out of bed.

By this time Abby is well on her way toward eating her body weight in snow.

Abby still thinks pictures of her (or anyone else) blinking are hysterical.

Lots of reverse snow angels / snow eating while lying down.

Took a while for Nate to eat his breakfast and get bundled up, but he sure was ready to get outside and play with Abby!

The rarely seen toddler tiptoe pushup.

Race!

Wooo hoooo!

present box

As some blog readers know... we shamelessly bribe Abigail into taking a nap each day. Refusing naps became her fun new behavior that coincided with Nate's birth, and we had epic multi-hour tearful battles many days. Until we started using the "present box". If Abby takes a nap, there's something in her present box. If no nap, no present. "Abby, if you don't close your eyes and go to sleep there will be: Nothing. In. Your. Present. Box." Such statements are taken seriously by the nearly-3 year old member of our household. When she wakes up the first thing she says is "I want to open my present box!"

Luckily, it need not be a full-fledged "present" every day. We're starting to think it's more about the anticipation and act of opening the present box than what is inside (e.g. even a post-it note with "Abby and Papa go on a special mission to the grocery store!" written on it is met with enthusiasm). But even if the present isn't a "thing" it can be pretty neat. Witness today's present: play with snow in the sink!!

And so we did.

Oh food coloring, we love you.

Some green snow may have been consumed.

Meanwhile, in the other corner of the kitchen Nato happily bounces and tries to eat his blanket.

Oh yes, we used blue too.

Then Po arrived and things really got crazy.

It was Po's birthday! (Note: it is Po's birthday EVERY DAY, except when Po's birthday is TOMORROW!)

Abby made "ice cream" and "cupcakes" out of snow to celebrate. And she helped Po blow out the candles. And we sang Happy Birthday. Several times.

All in all, a lovely way to occupy multiple hours of this afternoon! Thanks present box.

yo, sno.

It snowed! Abby rocks the mid-90's* snowsuit look, another goodie from cousins Emily & Nattie. See you guys at Christmas!

*exact vintage year to be confirmed

snowsnowsnowsnowsnow

Oh yes. It snowed a lot here. And now we are expecting an additional 10-15 inches by tomorrow.....

Our front stoop does not usually look like this:

One major milestone was when the mini-snow-plows (aka Bobcats) arrived on the scene early one morning. This kept us entertained for quite some time..

Bye bye Bobcat. Come back soon!

Scotty went sledding and we tagged along. But Abby didn't want to get in the sled, she just wanted to eat snow.

There is plenty of snow to snack on.

Mmmmmmmm....

Delicious.

Abby contemplates how she will get over this vast expanse of snow to reach mommy.

still winter

In case anyone was wondering, spring is not here yet. We are hunkered down in the midst of the big blizzard which has been quite dramatic! Here's Abigail practicing singing "Happy Birthday to Grandad" before we Skyped with them earlier today! Hope you have a great rest of the day Grandad!!

Just peeking, and reading.

Snow drifts through the porch window.

Patio furniture and A's little backyard house, snowed in.

Abby goes outside with Papa to shovel / eat snow.