Will the Shoe Boy

William has an obsession with shoes. Every time he sees a pair he demands to have it on his feet. His favorite are his little loafers (not pictured) but for him anything will do! He has worn some interesting shoes to some unlikely places. He wore his Sunday shoes at the YMCA and got a compliment on his "dapper" style. He's also worn froggy rain boots when there are no puddles, and often and these croc knock-offs over his jammies. At least we have not had the froggy rain boots at church yet!

I think that the fact Will can put most shoes on himself has something to do with his interest in them. He is my (sometimes very vocal) independent little boy.

Staying Warm

Q: Just how long can GeoTrax keep 4 kids busy?!

A: 45 Minutes!

David has a little playgroup that meets on Wednesday mornings. He and Will have a good time playing with their little friends Makayla and Jackson.

We are still trying to erase the memory of Monday's temperatures. Thank you, arctic air!

-9 for the low and only 21 for the high.

On Sunday night Brad prepared his gear. He included some hand and foot warmers, two or three different jackets, and a couple of shirt layers along with gloves, hat, and earmuffs. I'm glad I didn't have to walk to the bus! Some of the schools closed because it was just too darn cold for the kids to wait for their buses...

Creativity With Food

Stop playing with toys and finish your breakfast. Sit down and eat. Please, just one more bite.

Sound familiar?

Almost any food can become a car, a trailer, or a train.

Please stop making your food into a train and eat it!

Oh and eat the stuff on the floor while you are at it....

Or maybe playing with food one will (hopefully) eventually eat isn't so bad?

S-N-O-W

We really got slammed on January 12th. When the Boston University Medical Campus is closed it is a big deal. They don't shut down for much, including moderate snowfall. The "perfect storm" for a snow day started during early morning hours and the it fell quickly. It continued accumulating at an insane pace. Boston got 18 inches. We had more here in Watertown.

Starting to shovel out the driveway. Just look how much!

Brad tried to tromp through but it wasn't too easy.

The boys headed out to play!

A snow pile that was just about as tall as Brad.

I'm not a huge fan of weather (rain, clouds, snow, wind or anything that isn't sunny) but I can't complain about a snow day. It is quite the experience! Who doesn't like sipping hot chocolate and taking things easy because there is nowhere to go? Then there is the added bonus of playing with your kids in the snow or ahem, watching them while Dad plays with them in the snow.

Shoveling about once or twice a season even seems kind of novel.

If I only knew what was ahead...

New Year's Day

We spent the later evening part of New Year's hanging a large mirror that had been hiding behind the couch since we moved in September. A task like that is always a little easier with more hands to help. I don't mind having other's opinions either, I'm not great at visualizing the end product when it comes to decorating/picture hanging. Brad was disappointed that we didn't play games but I was so glad to have another little task finished.

New Year's Day:

The boys with Kent and Noelene before they left.

Brad took the boys out for another round in what was left of the snow since Will was napping last time he and David played in the it.

Brad makes a snow angel.

The boys spent a lot of time with this truck. They were filling and dumping, filling and dumping...

Our snowman!

A few days ago David reiterated his disdain for carrots and told me they weren't for eating but they were for making snowmen. I'm glad he has that one figured out.

Catching up on some rest. Why eat carrots when you can sleep?!

And why not just show off how our play room normally looks while I'm at it?!?!

It was obviously a very busy but tiring week for David. Christmas, his birthday, a big trip to NYC along with heading to Newport and playing in the snow finally caught up with him it seems.

I like the New Year and the chance to realign things--I'm looking forward to a bright 2011.