We have had more snow this year than we've ever seen since we moved here. We love it. It is piled high next to our driveway. The kids have a good few inches to play in. I love seeing them go on little adventures together in the yard. Some days we tire of all the white and cold. Annie wishes it were summer already. But we're making the most of it and trying to play outside as often as we can.
Tommy's love for boxes continues. I ordered diapers online and they came in a huge box. The kids have been playing in the boxes all week. But Tommy uses them the most.
Tommy loves "nastick class". He is getting better at sitting to wait for his turn. His favorite part is the obstacle course at the end of class. This week he was picked to run the course first! Totally made his day!
Annie's dance class has their first performance on March 5. To help the girls prepare, they wore their dresses to class this week. A lot of the choreography involves holding their skirts. The girls were bursting with excitement. I can't wait to see their first performance. Recitals at this age are so cute.
For fun one night we taught the kids how to do baking soda volcanoes. Our first one was red. Annie liked it so much she wanted to do her own. Then Tommy wanted his own too. Tommy decided on blue lava. When his volcano started to erupt, Tommy freaked out and backed out of his booster chair to get a safe distance away. He was fascinated but a little afraid too. Annie loved every second. She made her volcano erupt about three times.
We have a little scientist in the making. She loved this activity!
Joey can sit up on his own now! We have to set him up, but once we do he can stay put for a while. He likes viewing the world this way and is impatient when he's stuck on his back or his tummy. He's also doing slightly better at sleeping. He's going for five or six hour stretches at night. But that stretch usually starts between 6-8 p.m. so we're still getting up in the middle of the night. He has a six month check-up next week so we'll give you his growth stats next time.
Lily is gone all day at school. We sure miss her during the day! On Thursdays we get to pick her up from school for dance class. She was out early this week so we went to get a treat at our town Soda Pop stand. Lily and Annie ordered a drink called the "Pool Party". It was Sprite with blue raspberry flavoring and Sour Patch Kids floating in the drink. So cute! They loved them.
And this is what happens when I leave my phone in the kids' room. I found about a dozen selfies of Annie and Tommy. Silly kids.
The highlight of our week was skiing lessons for Lily and Annie. Saturday morning we took them up to Kelly canyon for a lesson. They were excited and nervous. They did great. I wish I had taken a picture of their little skis. So darling!
Here they are learning how to put on and take off their skis - and stand up in them without falling over. Their teacher was so kind and had a really gentle approach. He was a good fit for the girls.
Annie wanted and needed a little more one on one time. She was great at turns and stopping but really didn't want to get momentum and needed help using the bunny slope tow. By the end she was skiing on her own and feeling pretty proud of herself.
Lily loved using the tow to get to the top of the hill. She was braver than we expected her to be. She did so well and took to it pretty naturally.
So strange to see my little girls skiing down a mountain!
Their teacher said Lily is doing awesome and shouldn't need much more instruction on the basics. A few trips with Daddy should be enough for her. Go Lily, go!
Tommy made his own fun in the snow while the girls skied. He was "sledding" down some snow piles and burying himself in the powder. He had a great time but was definitely ready to leave once the lessons were over.
Annie's little skis were so tiny. I cried a little as we led them up the hill for their lesson. It seemed like they were too little to be ready for this. But I was amazed to see kids at one year old out there on skis and snowboards. Days like this make me realize how quickly they are growing up. Once the lessons were over, the instructor came and told Daddy what the girls can work on and how we can help them. Now Mommy needs to catch up and get another ski lesson......or five. Oh dear!
Saturday afternoon the girls went to a princess birthday party for their friend Natalie. They dressed as Anna and Elsa from Frozen. It was a super fun party with their buds from the neighborhood. When I came to pick them up, the mother who hosted the party thanked me for raising such nice girls. She said my girls were so polite and obedient even in the middle of the party chaos and fun. She was so impressed. We know they are amazing kids, but it is so nice when other people see it too.
