Fun in the Snow - Sledding toddler style

We have a great park to go sledding in, but I was afraid Cooper wasn't quite ready for the speed, so we took to the streets.  Another disclaimer in this post: we had adults posted at all intersections, so the toddler was in no danger (other than eating snow).

 

 

The last photo is one of my recent favorites. He was having a ball, and I love the rosy cheeks.  I think he will be ready for the big hill the next time.

Betcha can't top this one

Okay, we had almost a foot of snow powder to drop on us yesterday. I say powder because that is the exact consistency. Easy to push, hard to lift because it gets heavy. So, off I go outside to clear off the sidewalks. We did a quick clean-off of the main sidewalk I use with Cooper yesterday, so that one wasn't too bad. I push and pull and dump and grunt and heave and you get the idea for two of our three sidewalk with stairs and the just the stoop and stairs for the last one. I did a pretty good job. There is some ice left where we packed it down yesterday.

So here comes the part I bet you can't top. My dear hubbie pulls out a new tool, the Weed Dragon.  Where he then proceeds to hook it up to our propane tank, and yes, you guessed it ... blow torch the ice off the sidewalk. 

 

I'm not sure if I should be frightened or impressed.  He is very impressed with himself.  If a boy has a cool tool, I think he will do any job in the world.  And I am the only one who will be sore from shoveling snow tomorrow.  When will I learn?

What do you do on a snow day?

Here's what we did.

We ate mangoes because everyone needs a tropical fix on such a cold day.

 

We did a little household cleaning.  (No child labor laws were broken.  All labor was completely voluntary.)  Little did he know that J was taking down his crib while he was vacuuming.  He realized it was gone, but really didn't care.

 

Then we braved the snow ... to keep away the cabin fever.

 

AK and I were supposed to up our running yesterday, but needless to say no running group occurred.  So we snuck in a little cross-training by running Cooper up and down the street.

Then we warmed up with Cooper's first marshmallows and hot chocolate.  It was a huge hit.

 

Then he finished up the afternoon vegging on the couch.  For some reason, he wanted to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  Maybe the snow was throwing him for a loop.

All the normal Saturday activities occurred for the adults ... laundry, dishes, etc.  And the day wouldn't be complete without me spending the evening working on our taxes.  Aren't snow days the best?

Wordless Wednesday - It's tough to be a monkey in our house

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, check out 5 minutes for mom, Go Graham Go, Two of a Kind, Working on a Full house and 7 Clown Circus!

Wordless Wednesday - Life is Good

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, check out 5 minutes for mom, Go Graham Go, Two of a Kind, Working on a Full house and 7 Clown Circus!

Big boy bed

We finally decided it was time for Cooper to move out of the crib.  He loves the crib because of the awesome crib tent.  But it was starting to get a little small in there.

We decided to start him out with just the mattress on the floor, then we will gradually build it up.  While I was out grocery shopping, J brought the mattress into his room and moved his crib over.  Cooper responded with "PUT IT BACK!"  Then proceeded to scream that statement over and over.

I asked J to take him downstairs while I staged the room.  The room is already a little on the small side, so the rocker had to come out in order to keep both beds in there.  I moved everything around, and made up his bed with his new supersoft, microsuede comforter.  The boy loves his soft stuff.  Out came his monkeys, bears, flashlight, pillow, nite-nite, paci, books ... he likes to have lots of stuff around him.

When he came back into the room, we had a few more "Put it back", but with less emphasis this time.  Once he got under the comforter, he was sold.

The best part is he went right off to sleep without any question.  Just snuggled down under his supersoft comforter, and he was out.  Nite-nite.

Oh, and J did agree with me.  The staging was the trick, but mommies are always right.  Right?

Break in the weather

We are not too sure what is going on with this crazy cold weather. There is still snow on the ground from the December snow, and that is unheard of in this area. We did have a small break in the weather this afternoon, so we made a dash for the back yard.

Not sure what this look was for, but it was too funny not to post.  He did try to make the periscope into a vacuum cleaner.

Mommy and Cooper Time

A few months ago, J & Cooper visited the Children's Museum and bought a membership.  Between crazy weekends and Cooper's nap time, we haven't had many opportunities to visit again.  I quickly got him ready while J packed a lunch for a little Mommy and Cooper time.

C-mor is set up with mini-exhibit areas.  Cooper just jumped right in.

What's under the hood?

A little grocery shopping.

Stalking through the treehouse.

Water fun. Love the colors.

Digging for dinosaurs.

Then it went a different direction when Cooper found a broom and dustpan.  He felt the exhibit needed a little cleaning.

He polished off the PB&J while enjoying a little sunshine in the lobby.

We had a great, but tiring morning. Next on the agenda, a four hour nap.  When I am going to learn to nap when he does.

Just what a boy wants

Disclaimer: We greatly appreciate all gifts from all the aunts, but there is just something about gifts from Aunt L, and she rarely sees him.  I think she had only met him once.

Cooper goes nuts when he sees the presents. She completely satisfies his needs for monkeys, Elmo, art projects, vacuums, and the basic boy needs. I need to dig out the pictures from last Christmas, or his birthdays, or any other time.  I don't know how she does it, but she always tickles his funny bone. 

Thank you Aunt L for always knowing exactly what the toddler wants.