Fun with sunglasses

Six inches of recent snowfall and freezing temps once again. What's a lil' peanut to do? Shop for new sunglasses and get ready for summer, of course!

Ali thinks the pink ones are pretty cool:

She is nice enough to share her purple shades with her little brother:

Now these are some cool kids:

Lesson Learned.

Never turn your back on a toddler with fingerpaints.

Something new every day

It really is true that your kids surprise you with new stuff every day. I haven't had much time to post lately so I've gotten behind on a few things and it seems like lots of the "new stuff" has really added up.

Alison has two new loves in her life: finger painting and Play-Doh.

Actually, she likes the paints themselves but prefers using a brush. If she sticks her fingers in the paint, she holds out her hand, says "dirty" and waits for me to wipe off her fingers. I guess this is what you get from a child that has had her hands wiped with anti-bacterial wipes 100 times a day by her germaphobic mother since she was three days old.

"You mean I'm allowed to stick my fingers in this stuff??"

Okay, using the brush is much better.

She's still getting used to the Play-Doh and actually has more fun watching her mom play with it. (Now there's a scent from your childhood you'll never forget - when you open a new can of Play-Doh). She likes when I roll it between my hands to make a long snake-like figure, which Ali calls a "Noonie" (that is Ali's word for "noodle").

Ali quickly learned that red + white = pink.

Ali is also now counting to 6 by herself. She also knows the colors blue, green, brown, orange, black and red. I'm a proud mama.

I am convinced that I am the mother of the world's largest 3-month old. Chris is such a wonderful and calm lil' man but, boy oh boy, he is HUGE. He is so long and quickly outgrowing all of his footie PJs. That being said, he is pure joy. Chris is now sleeping between 6 and 8 hours at night (now that's a happy mama!). He also laughed for the first time at 12 weeks - at his big sister, of course. What a great sound.

The not-so-little Lil' Man.

"Mommy, I feel so handsome and cute in my Grumpy Old Man hat."

This is Chris' GQ "Blue Steel" pose.

Here are some more pics of the kids. Enjoy.

My, how times have changed.

Superbowl Sunday has come and gone. I remember when Bryant and I used to watch the game (from start to finish - Bryant for the actual game, and me for the ads and halftime show) with junk food and a few beers.

This past Sunday we were able to spend gametime in the basement with the TV on, but let's just say we weren't relaxing on the couch with munchies and drinks. (Plus we had to fight Ali on the fact that we were NOT going to watch Caillou or Barney).

Bryant spent much of the time on the floor painting with Ali:

And Chris was in his swing, cute as ever (Ali was apparently trying to play Restaurant/Kitchen with him...)

I think both of us were able to catch about 5 minutes of the game and a couple of ads here and there. But we were with our kids, which was - believe it or not - even better than a bag of Doritos and an MGD.

Trying to escape bathtime

With her daddy working late last night, I was in charge of Ali's bathtime. I went into the bathroom to start the bath water. When I came out, my darling lil' peanut was hiding. Or at least TRYING to hide:

A Minnesota Mom

I am convinced there is no person heartier than a Minnesota Mom in the dead of winter.

Today we went to open gym and the library at the Hillcrest Rec Center in Highland. (This is our typical Monday late-morning activity). I know I've been complaining a lot about the cold, but today was another one of those so-cold-it-stings-your-face-and-freezes-your-nostrils-shut kind of day. But I still braved the cold, bundled up the lil' peanuts, and headed to the rec center.

Here is Chris, so bundled up in his "Grumpy Old Men" hat that he just gave up and took a nap:

The parking lot at the rec center was packed. Moms from all over St. Paul came out of the woodwork today for a chance to let their toddler/preschooler run around and burn off some energy in a warm place before lunch and naptime. Give these kids a few balls, tricycles and a big open gym and you have an hour of playtime excitement right there. So, we drove through the parking lot about four times (each time exiting the parking lot with Ali screaming, "No!! Balls!!, thinking we were leaving without going in to play) before we stalked a woman coming out of the library and finally got her spot.

Playtime was fun. Ali got to run around a bit. She's pretty good about going out on her own now and not needing me by her side the entire time. Every few minutes she'll look around and say, "Mama?". But once she sees me wave to her, she smiles and goes on her merry way. Just her way of checking in. I hope that continues through her teenage years...

That leads me to my thought today that MN Moms are the heartiest lot there is. I must toot my own horn and say: me included. I watched moms in the parking lot today, taking the strollers in and out of their slush-and-salt-covered cars in subzero temps - buckling up the kids in the carseats that all need to have their straps adjusted because none of them fit because they are all so bundled up in sweaters, hats, coats and scarves - trekking through snowbanks to get to the sidewalk - trying to push a double stroller through the snow and ice to get to the sidewalk so you can walk all the way around the long way instead of being able to go straight up the steps to the main entrance (okay, that one was only me...) - taking off your mittens and digging through a dirty snowbank to find your crying toddler's beloved lost pacifier (thank goodness that one was NOT me...). The list goes on and on.

We do this for our kids.

We also do this for our own sanity and to get out of the house, only to look forward to returning to that warm lil' house, making a cup of hot cocoa and letting your one-year-old have a sip or two with you.

We do this - all looking forward to few short months away when I will most surely be writing and complaining about how darn hot it is.

Not much new here

but it's been a few days since my last post so I feel compelled to come up with something.

It is cold. Very cold. And I'm still struggling with different things to do to get Ali out of the house every now and then and burn off some energy. We look forward to Thursday mornings now when we have our new ECFE class at the school just down the block. Ali and I both love it. We are also lucky that our friends Rachael, Claudia and Wilson and Angie, Coco and Elliot are in the same class. What a great time for moms and kids alike to get out the house for a few hours.

Today we had a fun playdate at Sarah's house in Stillwater with Gillian and Crisha. Mmmm...homemade mac 'n cheese and chicken fingers (thanks Sarah!). Ali had a good time chasing Larry the cat and showing everyone her muscles. Unfortunately she slept most of the way home so now she is in her room protesting nap time.

Ali is talking more and more every day. She is putting sentences together like "Daddy wash Elmo" (in the bathtub) and "Mommy color too" (when she wants me to color with her) or "No water, more juice". She has also counted to 3 on a few occasions, and - I say this with great pride - has consistently peed in the potty about twice a day for a couple of weeks now. She also loves to brush her teeth. She takes it pretty seriously:

(hey, sometimes you just get tired and need to have a seat).

Chris is my mellow lil' man whose big three interests right now are nursing, pooping, and watching his big sister. He is still sleeping about 5 hours at night which I can't complain about. When I was pregnant with him, I felt bad because I couldn't imagine loving anyone as much I loved Ali and that somehow this second child might be short-changed in the love department. But, as all parents with more than one child say, your heart truly does grow bigger and you love all of your kids more than you ever thought possible.