Winter is here!

A week ago we were playing outside comfortably in the afternoon without hats or gloves. Then, on Thursday, we got the first real snow of the year and we've been out playing in it almost every day since :) We got another couple of inches overnight last night and then a big storm is predicted for this week ... 8-12 inches ... hooray! ... followed by really cold temperatures ... yuck!


It turns out that the little hill going down into the ditch in our front yard provides perfect sledding opportunities for a two year old, and even a 6-month old. Plus, after several days of trial and error, we've finally come up with a combination of clothes for Anna that keep her warm, stay on, and allow her to move (we hadn't quite figured it out yet in the picture below). Bring on the snow!


I'm not sure how Kate feels about the snow, though. Today was the first day I bundled her up to take her out with Anna and me. She seemed to enjoy it, but then had a conniption fit when we came in. Who knows if that was because it was a bit overwhelming when we were outside, or because she wanted to stay out.

Whether or not Kate enjoys the snow, we do know what two of her favorite toys are these days ... a toy knife and a Veggietales carrot girl. For some reason she LOVES to explore both of them with her mouth, often at the same time. Sometimes it's simply hilarious the kinds of faces and poses she gets with both of those toys :)


The other big news in our family this past week was Anna's transition to her "big girl bed" ... a.k.a. a toddler bed. After our hotel stay at Thanksgiving, we realized that since Anna no longer fits comfortably in a pack and play, we needed to transition her out of a contained sleeping space before our next overnight trip at Christmas. So, she helped Matt take down her crib on Friday morning, then set up the toddler bed with Matt, and has successfully taken a nap and slept at night in her bed since. We're realizing more and more what a unique kid Anna is in that we can sell her ideas like the big girl bed without too much stress on anyone's part. She absolutely LOVES the bed and has wanted to show it off to both Matt and I whenever we get back home from going anywhere. She also likes to play around with it and even put her stuffed animals down for nap on it.

Life is certainly different with her new freedom, however. Sunday morning she came stumbling out of her room at 6:15 saying she needed to go potty. Sure enough, she pooped, but then was up for good ... a bit earlier than normal for her. Oh, well. I'd rather take the successful potty experience than an added 40 minutes of sleep for her.