let it snow!

little girl was so excited when we had our first snow. unfortunately, it was bitter cold, and i didn't want to get out. but, when it started snowing a second time, i took the kids out for a quick play.

i showed little girl how to make a snow angel. she looked at me and asked, "how do you make a wiseman?"

baby boy was so happy to be out -- he took a crawl in the snow and didn't mind when he took a face-full of snow!

playing in the blizzard

for someone who loves a few inches of snow, a few feet is a different story. little girl was not so eager to play in the snow when she could hardly walk in it. mr. pike tried to get her to make snow angels and snow balls. they even tried to sled down the front steps. but it was a little too much snow for little girl. she and i retreated back into our warm house, while mr. pike shoveled the walk.

celebrating a blizzard

did you hear? maybe you're also a part of it -- that huge snow storm sweeping across the midwest to northeast. well, it hit us last night. and it snowed and blew and snowed and blew all night long. (i should know, i was up with little girl at 3 a.m.) and then snowed more this morning.

well, today we finally got a snow day, after a mere 20-ish inches piled up. (here's a pic of the blizzardy snow this morning. see how the snow is close to the branches of the pine tree? the first branches are about 2 feet off the ground, if not a little more.)

midwesterners are quite undaunted by snow. when we first moved to these parts, i would often call my work colleagues to see if we had a 2-hour delay on snowy mornings. "a what?" they'd reply. "we're already at work." i'd then hurriedly get out of bed and rush to work a little depressed.

that was the east coast in me. you don't leave the house when it snows there. we'd get off of school at just the threat of snow sometimes, let alone a few inches.

so, i had to learn how to buck up and take these snowy midwest winters with a grain of salt. snow doesn't keep you indoors here. well, except if it's a blizzard. that's where the brave midwesterners draw the line.

and today i am reverting back to my east coast ways of snuggling up for a movie and reading a good book (in between keeping up with a toddler). last night i made a loaf of cinnamon swirl bread -- it turned out perfectly. i was so impressed with myself, and i told mr. pike i was amazing. when he tasted my bread, he agreed. we each had two slices last night with hot chocolate as we watched a movie. it's so soft and little chewy. i think i hit bread perfection -- if only i could always repeat these kind of results!

this morning i sliced it up for french toast. what a yummy breakfast for a snowy morning! it was so satisfying and delicious. i was wishing i had made two loaves instead of one.

and that's how we kicked off our blizzard celebration.

snowflakes falling

as a child, i dreamed about snow days. i loved bundling up and making the first tracks in the snow. i loved building snow forts and imagining that i could live outside like an eskimo.

this saturday brought our real snowfall, and i couldn't wait for little girl to experience this winter wonderland -- despite still not having all the gear we need for her. (notice she's wearing socks on her hands. and she'll need some snow pants and boots, too!)

little girl was as happy as can be. she ran around in circles, while i tried to teach her how to make snow angels and snowballs.

now little girl signs and says snow over and over. we're ready for another trip outside.