King Snow Family - 2009 edition

Tom loves building snowmen. Nicholas thinks it's pretty cool, I guess, but Tom is REALLY into it. Since it was 60 degrees out but we still had inches of snow left, after naps today we figured it was time for the year's snowmen to come to life. This year my job was Charlotte-Wrangler. She decided it would be fun to giggle...then go as fast as she could into the street (not that she ever made it that far).

Taking a break on the snow. Wow those are some dirty mittens!

Tom teaching Nicholas all he knows about the craft.

On the move!

They're done! (Yes...it's dark.)

Gingerbread in January

You can't beat a Williams-Sonoma gingerbread mix on clearance for $6, so we suited up for some delicious cookie-making.

The handsome baker - Nicholas is in charge of dumping things into the bowl and setting his trusty timer

Putting some muscle into patting the dough into disks bound for a few days in the fridge...

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

Nicholas stopped in the middle of rolling and said - "Mama, look! It's that place we were talking about...with the weather!" (the total blank look on my face made him continue) "You know, where Grandma and Grandpa went!" Aaah. Australia. We had talked about how it's summer there when it's winter here. And yes, Tom's parents had gone there last year. And yes, I suppose the dough is the general shape of Australia. Sort of??

Cutting the shapes is Nicholas' favorite part. Unfortunately we didn't have enough dough to use every cutter in the house...which would have been his preference.

Bats and football players and letters, oh my!

He had no problem enjoying the fruits of his labors!

Love and Marriage

Dinner Conversation: (classic Nicholas with the out of the blue topic)


Nicholas - When is Charlotte going to get married?
Mama - When she's an adult.
Daddy - Nicholas, when are you going to get married?
N - When I'm an adult.
D - Who do you think you'll marry?
N - I'll marry Mama.
M - Problem, babe. I'm already married to Daddy
N - Who can I marry?
M - You can marry any girl who wants to marry you.
D - (under his breath) Unless you move to California
N - OK, I'll marry Charlotte.
M - Hmmm. There's a rule that you can't marry your sister.
D - Is there anyone at your school that you'd like to marry?
N - No. Not really.
M - Maybe when you're an adult.
N - Yea, maybe.

Charlotte's First Ice Cream Cone - The Video

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Of Course She Does...

Charlotte's 15 month immunizations had been rescheduled (twice) this month due to her various sicknesses. We were set to do them this afternoon with the tech in our pediatrician's office, but I really wanted the doctor to take a listen to Charlotte before we did them. Charlotte hasn't been able to shake this cold and I just wanted her to be well before we shot her full of stuff. So we rescheduled for this morning when our doctor was available to take a peek. Dr Kung pulled out the stethoscope, listened to Charlotte breathing...and told me she has pneumonia. Pulled out the ear-thing...and told me she has an ear infection in her right ear. So we're on 10 days of antibiotics and have rescheduled the shots again. I guess we had to sneak in another illness or two before we hit February!

On a happier front, I decided to take the kids out to lunch after the doctor's appointment. We went to a BBQ place that the doctor suggested...which happens to have a self-serve soft-serve machine for dessert.

It was Charlotte's first ice cream cone:

It was not Nicholas'! :

Snow Day #2 - Let it Snow!

We woke up to about 6 inches this morning, and school was called off. Another snow day for us! Tom had to shovel the driveway (obviously), so we had a little family snow time before he had to get to the office.

I clearly have to lead with this one. Are you kidding me with this getup?

Nicholas did his part "shoveling" with a garden trowel

Then he gave up and played!

Charlotte seemed to think the snow was pretty fun

We did a few turns around the driveway on the sled.

FYI - Pink golf balls show up in the snow...but they do tend to sink just like white ones

Looking so cute in her brother's old snow suit. But with adorable fur-lined pink boots!

Nicholas in Dec, 2005. Just a few weeks younger than Charlotte is now.

After snow time (at least for the girls), we had a family breakfast of pumpkin pancakes and bacon. What a way to start the day!

Snow Day #1

Music class was cancelled due to snow today, so we made the most of the lack of activities and stayed in PJs all day!

Nicholas taught Charlotte one of his favorite tricks with his pretend kitchen:

Where's Charlotte?

Boo!

Couch cuddles

7

Teeth that is. I know new ones are coming any day, so I was checking her this afternoon...and nothing. Top or bottom. Then I touched something and realized....she has a molar! Since I haven't really been looking in that area, I have no idea when it came in. She now has the front four on top, the front two on bottom...and then a bottom molar. Go figure!

This is what she does when you ask to see her teeth. She's oh so enamored with her tongue right now.

Wag a Tail

Nana (my mom) gave this book to Nicholas for Christmas with a cool new pair of zigzag scissors. Despite his normal aversion to art projects, he decided to create his own creatures today.

This is a pink dog named Nicholas

This is a Tyrannosaurus-Rex named Buttons.

The Year of the Ox

Nicholas celebrated Chinese New Year at school. His class joined up with the two other 4 year-old classes for a party. Everyone wore red (Nicholas chose his favorite red sweater vest) and had a grand time.

Here's what Nicholas told us about Chinese New Year:

"You can sweep up the old and get a new haircut."

"You have a special snack. Chinese New Year rice. It was yummy, but I didn't really like it"

I asked Nicholas to look at me so I could take a picture of him in his red sweater vest. He ran right over to Charlotte, who coincidentally was also wearing red. What a sweet brother!

1, 2, 3...Wheee!

PJ Day At School

Nicholas couldn't leave Nicholas Bear home alone on PJ Day

Sibling Love

I'm realizing now what a complete joy it is to see the two kids just being together. Charlotte is getting to the age where she can play along side Nicholas, and she copies every single thing that he does. I love it! Almost all the time!

He's really NOT pulling her hair...

She really IS sticking out her tongue at him! (and yes...I have cleaned that mirror. Yikes!)

Wow-oooh

This is Charlotte's newest word. It's a combination of Wow and Whoa. She started this on the way to the zoo as I was pointing out things to look at out the car window. She won't do it on command, so it will probably disappear before I can get video, but it's the cutest thing ever!

A Break from Winter

The forecast was for a high of 60 degrees today, so we couldn't pass up some outside time. We ventured to the Zoo and tried to do as many outdoor activities as we could in our 90 minutes before closing.

Still sick...but getting some fresh air has got to be good for her!

Adoringly looking at her big brother

Who wouldn't adore that face?

"I know. You're looking at my cool outfit." I'm not sure when striped pants and polka dot sweater and socks stop being OK, but I'm glad that Charlotte is still at the age where it's cute!

Although it was 60 degrees, the ice on the pond is still there. Always a treat for Nicholas to see the geese "walking on the water"!

OK they moved as I was taking this picture, so this isn't the cuteness I was going for... But I still had to include it so you could see the CRAZY snakes. The snakes were raising themselves up several feet in the air near the glass. See the totally vertical one on the left? It was my favorite thing in the snake house.

Charlotte was fascinated by the sea lions and their noises. I think Nicholas (who has seen them a million times) became more fascinated watching his sister be so excited.

What a handsome guy. Nicholas always requests I take his picture at this spot outside Penguin & Puffin Cove. He does it, I'm sure, because it involves climbing up on a rock!

On the way home, Nicholas (completely unprompted) taught Charlotte how to blow her nose into a tissue. He spoke so sweetly to her, demonstrating technique and then complimenting her on all her tries. It was a proud mama moment for sure!