Be careful what you wish for . . .

I think I need to apologize to everyone reading this in the Midwest because I feel somewhat responsible for this weather. I have been wishing for snow for quite awhile now, even lamenting that if it's going to be January, it might as well feel like January and have some interesting weather. Well, I finally got my snow but oops, I guess I didn't specify in my wishes to please let the temps be above zero so we can play in it! Or at least be able to run errands without frostbite. Or not wake up to frozen pipes (yes, that was us today, but after 5 min with a hair dryer, Andy fixed it all). Or not feel like maybe I'm going to go out of my mind if I don't do something fun SOON! I know all stay-at-home moms feel this way this time of year, so I'll just think spring and make it through. It should be warm enough to play outside tomorrow, and that will be a big improvement over the last few days of limited activity choices. :)

When we finally got our snow the other day (and readers in the North will realize we only got about 4 inches), I quickly bundled Quinn up in his snowsuit, and we went outside in the waning hours of sunlight to enjoy it before the Arctic blast came. I hadn't seen him in his snowsuit before, and I wasn't really prepared for how hilarious it was to see my little blue marshmallow waddling around the yard! He was soooo cold but sooooo happy to be in the snow. I wish you all could have heard him as he walked through the yard, kicking up snow. With every step, he recited one of his favorite books, Dig Dig Digging, which talks about a different truck on each page. I guess he was imagining he was a digger truck, so he was muttering,
"Diggers are good at dig, dig, digging, scooping up the earth, lifting and tipping. They make HUGE holes with their dig, dig, digging. They can work all day." (Yes, he knows every word of that by heart!). It was so so cute to see him imagining like that.

I liked the lighting in this one.

Here he is making his first snow angel. When I showed him this picture, he said, "Oh, just like Peter!" Peter is in another favorite book of ours, Snowy Day, and he makes snow angels.

I really, really dislike being cold and haven't played in the snow in years. It's funny how having a toddler makes all those dislikes disappear.

He was reciting his book as he trucked along, making tracks in this picture.

The More Things Change . . .

. . .the more they stay the same. I had to laugh when I realized that these two pictures are almost exactly 2 years apart. Both show Andy and Quinn on our bed, watching a football game. I didn't realize until I downloaded the recent one that Andy is even wearing the same sweatshirt in both pics!

Jan. 20, 2007 above, Jan. 1, 2009 below

We finally got some snow here, but we're holed up inside in bitter cold temps--I think it's 0 right now. I did get some cute snow pictures when we braved the chill yesterday, when it was a much "warmer" 20 degrees, and I'll post those soon.

Christmas Day Pics, Finally!

I am pictured out. I've just spent over 2 hours uploading pictures from the last three months to my Walgreens account, so I can get them for 10 cents a print (deal ends today). I have, in the last month, spent so much time with pictures, making photo books, Christmas ornaments, Christmas cards, thank-you notes, etc. that I really don't want to deal with them for awhile. That will probably be fine, since January has nothing on its agenda that will be picture-worthy for quite some time! I figured I'll just blog these quickly, with few comments, and then it might be awhile till I post again! (:
To sum it up, Christmas Day was wonderful, and as my blogging friend Katie said, just as how I imagined Christmas with a small child would be! Quinn loved opening more presents (keep in mind, because of his birthday and various family Christmases, he literally had presents to open about every other day for almost 3 weeks!), and he loved being with his aunts, uncle, cousins, and grandparents. Christmas with my family and now 3 kids gets crazier every year, but it's wonderful.

Every year since I was a little girl, we take a family picture before opening presents. It is so fun to look at them over the years and see how people change and how people (and pets) are added. The only one missing this year is Oliver, who doesn't get along very well with Sully, my sister's Golden Doodle. (In Sully's defense, as a 65 lb dog, he thinks 4 lb Oliver is a wind-up toy!)

Quinn got some really fun tools and construction hat set from my parents. He's very into wearing hats and play clothes.

Quinn and Carys check out Carys's family's new DS. Andy's wearing his new hat from me, for some reason.(:

Here Quinn receives a kiss from Aunt Carolyn and thanks her for giving him that adorable chef outfit, which he often wears while cooking in his play kitchen.

Islands in the Stream, anyone? Quinn and Fiona loved his sing-along cd player, even though they put the mics in their mouths to sing, causing the mics to get too wet and not work for awhile! Maybe that's why it was for ages 3+!

Aunt Carolyn reading the babies Q's new truck book.

How adorable is this? We showed the cousins how to slow dance, and they danced for awhile! They both took music class this fall, so they love to dance.

Quinn the policeman, works with his new mixer! I'm working to raise a boy with a domesticated side. (:

And after all the presents, really, what's more fun than bubble wrap?

Happy New Year, everyone! Here's to hoping 2009 holds many new blessings and adventures.