Snow Days

Snow. It's pretty for about two hours. Two weeks, not so much. Certainly not in our part of the world where just a little snow shuts down cities and schools. Make it over a foot, and the whole state shuts down. We were out of school for a whole week. The walls started to close in. We had to be creative, since all the kids EVER want to do is have a screen ... movies ... iPads ... PBSKids ...

We managed to limit screen time to a few hours a day, mixing in some old favorites ... board games ... coloring ... Play-Doh ...

Sawyer loves his Play-Doh ...

 Xander loves his crayons (okay, markers) ...

 Connor loves his board games (though not when Daddy wins) ...

 Sawyer does not love being trapped inside (even with all those toys in his room) ...

And Bruno loves his snow!

Let It Snow!

Not everyone loved the snow. Any guesses which ones did?

 Sawyer on the snow-covered trampoline. He was a little unimpressed with the snow or the cold.

 Connor being silly, making a small fort / slide, and then sliding down it for the camera. It wasn't a very good packing snow, so it was hard to build anything.

Connor and Xander engaged in some good-natured (for the most part) snowball fights. A few reminders here and there to avoid aiming for the face, or the back of the head where it runs down inside your clothes, and they did pretty well together. They both LOVED playing in the snow. I had to make them come in, to avoid getting sick from wet clothes and gloves.

And the puppy. He experienced his first snow back in November, and this time was even more fun to watch. He ran in big circles around the back yard, clearly happy to be outside. It's like watching a race horse run, because he's all muscle and he can move. He did not appreciate the two snow boys throwing snowballs at him, though, which is the expression you see here. That's the "I'm going to jump on you" face.

And he did, I just didn't capture it on film.

Happy Birthday!

In many ways, Xander's social awareness is improving. Just as he looked forward to Christmas this year, he also looked forward to his birthday. We're still not sure that Sawyer knows or understands upcoming events, but Xander told us all month about his birthday, about what kind of cake he wanted, what other items he wanted at the party (hats, balloons, candles)! It was fun to see him excited about his birthday for a change.

Xander requested a white cake with white icing. He's still on a big Minions kick, so we opted for a Despicable Me 2 theme for his cake. Sawyer doesn't like cake, so his cake was something Mommy came up with on her own. He LOVES Sour Patch Kids. So instead of cake, my little OCD boy was surprised with Sour Patch Kids sorted by color and surrounding a flashing LED candle. Mommy knows her boy!

Best gift ever, Xander says. He LOVES his "FedEx trucks-es"!

Magnetic letters, coloring supplies, and Play-Doh. Sawyer was also a happy boy.

In yet more firsts, Xander has started showing an interest in toy figures. These aliens are his favorite characters from the Toy Story series. He walks around saying "Strangers ... from the outside ..." all the time.

Happy, happy birthday, my big boys! We got to celebrate with dinner at home, along with our extended family. Grandma and Grandpa from the lake drove up, though they left a little earlier than plan when it started snowing. Grammy, Pappy, Grandma Jo and Aunt Kelly also came over to help celebrate.

Nine, Part I

Nine, Part II