Easter

The kids really enjoyed Easter this year. We don't make a big deal out of it, and barely mention the Easter bunny, but last year, in a moment of weakness, I bought the kids an Italian Easter egg from Maria's in the North End. I wasn't really thinking this would become tradition, but Max remembered it clearly, so this year, Grandma and I went in and bought each child an egg (Lauren would definitely have noticed if she didn't get her own toy this year). Max was thrilled and had a great time opening his and finding his rooster in it. He also enjoyed helping Lauren open hers. We also hid plastic eggs filled with stickers around the house. They really enjoyed finding them.

I am not sure if we will to the chocolate eggs again next year as they really cause issues when it comes to kids wanting to eat chocolate all day, but they definitely are fun.

Kids in Wigs

The kids love to play with my wigs. We have two that we have decided to let them call their own. They love them. Max has claimed the black one as his, and Lauren, the blond. The results are pretty funny. For some reason, when Max puts "his" on, it really accentuates those beautiful red cheeks and lips (got to love those telling us his body is still making lots of red cells). Lauren's look is something else, too.

Oh, and just for the record, I do know that Max is going to hate me for this one when he gets older.

Another day to play in the snow

I think everyone was surprised at how much show we got this weekend, including the weather-people. There wasn't much talk of snow happening, and then on Thursday night / Friday morning they started predicting anywhere from four to ten inches falling from Friday night to Saturday morning. It did snow for a long time, but we ended up with about five inches of heavy snow. Saturday afternoon we packed up the kids, the dogs, and the snowshoes, and headed over to Great Brook Farm to tromp off through the woods. As usual, (and you'd think we'd plan for this by now) Max announced he wanted to get in the carrier. So we took Lauren down, put Max up, and of course Lauren wanted to get into Max's snowshoes. She stomped around in them for a while, announced "I doing it!", and then grew tired and asked me to take them off for her.


Max did eventually get down from the carrier again, and he and I trekked along while Mom and Lauren went off after the dogs. The dogs never get too far ahead of us, but they do spend a lot of time running back and looking at us as if to say "Well, are you guys coming or what?" Today Max made sure he payed attention to everything along the way so that we would know how to get back when we were done. Imagine his surprise when he found we walked in a big loop and ended up back where we started. At least he recognized that, so he must have been paying attention.




After trekking through the snow for an hour or two the kids were a little cold. At least that's the excuse they gave us when they asked for hot chocolates. In the winter they offer cross-country skiing at Great Brook Farm and one of the old farm buildings has been converted into a lodge and ski rental shop. We ordered hot chocolates for each of us and settled down at a picnic table. It was my first time in the lodge and I had a good time exploring the old silo and split-log benches. Max and Lauren, for the most part, sat and enjoyed some nice hot chocolate and talked with the other children. It was another good day in the snow for us all.

One more snowy day

Well, I got my wish of one last (?) good snowfall this winter! It snowed all day on Friday and left us with a good six inches of beautiful snow. After clearing the driveway and other necessities we decided to take the family over to the fairgrounds for some nice outdoor time. Max walked over in his snowshoes, but once we got to the park he took them off so he could run around with the dogs. Lauren wasted no time in asking to get down from the carrier and into the snowshoes herself. She's gotten big enough to wear them and did a fair job of stomping around in them. Max is getting big too and is finally big enough to walk to Diamond on his own. Well, almost big enough. Cisco loves running in the snow and it's really impressive to see how fast he can run.

It was nice to have another chance to see our neighborhood covered in snow again. It's really beautiful to look at, especially when it's fresh and still sticking to the tree branches. We often point out tracks in the snow to the kids and ask them to "help" identify what animal made them. And of course it's great to just watch them run around and have fun in it. They've been sledding in the yard, Max always helps me with the shoveling, and Lauren loves to stomp around like a yeti. It's been a good winter for us.

Things to Do During a Blizzard

We got another big storm today. It was beautiful snow, the kind that clings to the trees (and makes them fall and take out power lines, but luckily that didnt' happen to us). We spent much of the day indoors, just watching it come down. Usually, Max is dragging me out to play the minute he discovers it is snowing, but not today. He must be getting used to it. Instead, we built a volcano. The kids and I had made playdough and dyed it green, red, brown and blue (Max's idea) for my volcano class at work. Because there was no school today, I didn't need it today, so we used it instead. Max built a really nice volcano, and we had a blast watching it errupt. Then, I finally managed to drag them outdoors. As usually, Max had a blast. The dogs did, too. They are happiest when they are either swimming or playing in the snow. Lauren was the surprise, though. The snow was quite deep and for the first time, she really walked in it, not just on the packed areas. She really seemed to enjoy it. I am sure it helped that there was little wind and it was just shy of freezing, but she played for quite a while (it helped that she kept her gloves on).

Merry Christmas

What a wonderful Christmas we had this year. Josh and I were sick, and unfortunately managed to get Mom and Rich sick, too, but we still all enjoyed each other's company. Greg brought his girlfriend, Jenni with him. It was nice to have all of us together again. It is fun to see how each year, the children's understanding and ideas about Christmas changes. When Max was two, he wasn't all that interested in any of it, and it was hard to get him to open his gifts. Lauren was like that this year. Last year, Max was excited, but as soon as he opened a gift that interested him, he just wanted to go off and play with it. Uncle Greg is still like this. This year, he was all about the opening, and flew through them so quickly, no matter how we tried to slow him down, that not only did I not manage to write down who gave what to whom for all thank you note gifts, but he was done way before everyone else and proceeded to pout about it. Oh well. Once we finished opening gifts, he was happy.

The time went by too quickly as always and everyone headed home too soon. The kids love having Josh home and his time off was too short for their liking. It was lovely, though. It was such a relaxed holiday.

What a year it has been. I can't believe it is over. Happy New Year everyone.

Lauren Learns to Like the Snow

Last year, Lauren didn't like winter much at all. She refused to keep her mittens on, so her hands were always cold, she couldn't walk in the snow because she was so tiny, and pretty much, we were stuck inside all winter. This year has been a bit better in that at least she keeps her mittens on for the most part, but has still struggled to walk in the snow, preferring instead to be carried in arms or on my back. However, she discovered the joy of playing in the snow during our last storm, throwing snowballs, goofing off, and having fun, though she did eventually get cold and ask to go in. She still takes her mittens off some of the time.

Future Musicians?

The kids love music, playing it, dancing to it, singing with it. They often fight over the piano, but here is a rare moment where they are sharing and getting along.

Let it Snow

We have been getting snow this year, which has been a lot of fun for the kids (though not for Josh on Thursday when it took him close to three hours to drive home from work). We have had three decent storms already this year (one that is going on right now). The first was the perfect snowman snow, and Max and I took full advantage. Grandma saw these pictures and sent one of Max's presents along early, which is good, because the next storm brought about a foot of snow, and it is good that his new snowpants don't end mid calf like the ones he wore with the snowman. Today, we went out and did some snowshoeing.

The snow is a bit too deep for Lauren, and she can't really walk in it yet, but she doesn't take her mittens off this year, so she stays pretty warm. She loves a good sled pull, too.

The dogs are equally happy, running and playing in the snow, though they keep losing their toys. We have no more balls. I hope they sniff them out, rather than having to wait for it to melt.

I dont' want to jinx us, but it might actually be a white Christmas this year for the first time in ages. (For us)

Hunting the Perfect Tree

Why pick out a Christmas tree in the summer or on a warm fall day when you can wait for it to be bitterly cold and windy to do it?

Lessons for the day.

1. 4YOs look for different things in a tree than adults.
   
   
2. While it makes sense to buy mittens for the kids, buying some for the adults isn't a bad plan, either.



3. A cup of hot cocoa and a tree wrapper is all it takes to make a 4YO forget about the cold.



4. If you are going to put a second layer under the child's clothing, maybe you should think about doing it for yourself as well.



5. While decorating a house for Christmas in a methodical way has its pleasure, nothing can beat watching the joy that small children get out of it, even if it means you end up with blinking lights and stockings that are "out of order."
   

All that being said, Max picked out a great tree and we had a lovely time doing it, though it might have been just a little bit more lovely last weekend when it was in the 40s with no wind.