When Winter Gives You Snow...

Make Snowmen!

This winter has been brutal - with the ice, and snow, and cold.  We have only had a few days where it warmed up enough to actually be outside for a while, so when those days arrived the kids and Jason headed out to make a snowman.  Ellie was very excited to get to use her "snowman kit" that Santa brought last year.

Then they headed into snowball fight mode.  This didn't last too long, because this snow was so compactable that those snowballs really hurt.  Not ideal for a 4-year-old and 2-year-old.  Where are those obnoxious, teenage boys when you need a target?!

And finally, they had a little taste test.  For some strange reason, my kids love to eat snow.  Of course, we always make sure to point out that one should only eat the nice, clean, new snow, and never dirty or yellow snow.  Mmm-mmm-good.

Peek-a-boo with Mr. Snowman.

P-U-D-D-I-N-G

Max likes pudding.  Well, not just pudding, but chocolate pudding.  And the pics below say it all.

Generally, Max is a great eater, and some would even say a fantastic eater when compared to his older sister.  While Ellie sticks to the main food groups of chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and mac 'n cheese, Max will usually try anything we put on his plate.  This boy will even eat hummus and sauerkraut.  With such an exploratory appetite it amazes me that he is still such a skinny-mini.  He has that 2-year-old birthday and check-up coming up soon, so we'll see if he has jumped up much on the growth chart from 18 months.

Catch Up

Yes, I know it has been ages since I've posted, and now it feels a little overwhelming to try to go back and blog about all the stuff that has happened over the past few months, but I'll do my best.  My main preoccupation has been this pregnancy, and family, and the holidays, and...

Everything has been going well with my pregnancy.  The baby is growing like he should, and maybe growing a little too well - my doctor is projecting this new little guy will be even bigger than our almost 9 pound newborn Max.  Which I'm totally fine with - I think the bigger babies eat better and sleep better sooner (at least that has been my experience) and it means more pregnancy weight is lost during the hospital stay.  HA. 

It's getting into one of my busier seasons at work, when I'm normally traveling quite a bit, but at over 34 weeks now, I only have a little more time available for flying before I'm grounded.  I'm sure the next few weeks will fly by trying to wrap up as much as I can before I begin my leave.

We still don't have a name picked out for the little guy.  There are a few names that Jason and I both like, but we haven't nailed it down yet.  I also don't have the nursery ready for the baby, since Max is still in the crib.  We'll be doing some room shuffling, but amazingly, I'm not stressed about it the way I know I would have been at this point in my pregnancies with the other two.  I know it will get done, and the baby will be in our room for the first couple of months anyway.  Although I do need to drag out the baby clothes and get started on some laundry.

So, here's a picture of the little rugrats to tide you over till I get some of my backdated posts up.  These two were all snuggled up together in Ellie's sleeping bag, after a long day of playing with new Christmas toys.