Go Away Winter

Sorry to be harsh Mr. Winter, but I don't care for you. You're cold, you're usually dreary and you are the reason my kids destroy my house. Thank you Sunshine for helping us out and giving us hope to get us through. Without you, I would be lost.

Even Anna yelled at you, Winter, the other day. Sitting at the table eating lunch, she fiercly proclaimed, "I'm gonna walk outside and say 'hey, go away snow. I wanna eat outside!" I couldn't agree more!

So here is how we find ourselves passing the time these days...

We have beach parties.

We play dressup in 'balleriba' dresses.

We fall asleep on Indi.

We do "Arts & Crafts".
We play with plastic bags. Okay, I guess we're getting desperate. Really, though, Zip-Loc bags have become Megan's new favorite toy. If you find that she's disappeared to the kitchen, you can pretty much guarantee that she's coming back with a plastic bag from her favorite drawer.
We explore the deep blue sea at the Newport Aquarium.
We have snacks with hot chocolate.

After posting these pictures, I guess winter isn't so bad after all. We get to find creative ways to have fun and in the end we all get to cozy up with each other in a warm house full of love. These memories have been good ones, but I'll still be happier when all that snow is gone and we can eat outside!

With over a foot of snow outside, I can't help but dream of warmer days. I was looking at some old pictures and videos on the computer and thought I'd post these sweet ones of Anna playing with Lucy, Great Aunt Maria and Uncle Kevin's dog. This video was captured in early September when we went over to play with their new puppy. Anna fell in love with her and still gets excited to see her. I think these videos are some of my favorite Toddler Anna memories. There's something about a baby playing with a puppy that captures childhood so perfectly....

Megan's Birthday Party
(slideshow with comments)

Cookie Monster Spray and Other Childhood Remedies

I think this will be the title of my mommy-hood book that I write....one day, when I have time... Anna has recently developed this curious fascination with Cookie Monster. The interest started out as pure amusement pretending she was cookie monster and eating things loud, fast and messy. Then in the last month it turned into anxiety.

At first, I thought it was a great game of imagination to get us in the car quicker while she was screaming, "Hurry, get in the car, Cookie Monster's coming!!!!" Then it really became a source of distress for her. She would tell us that Cookie Monster was on her ceiling or coming in her window or sitting next to her. Yeah, a bit creepy....

So one morning as she was feeling a bit panicked, I asked Matt if he would pick up some Cookie Monster spray on the way home from work. "Of course!" he proclaimed to Anna. I told him I was certain that I had seen a bottle at the store the other day. Anna was waiting by the laundry room when he came home that day remembering that he held the solution to her problem - as I'm sure she thinks Daddys always do. It was teamwork between Matt and me to get that bottle in her hands and she loved it. She began spraying the doors and windows. We set it on top of the refrigerator where she can see it and ask for it if she feels she needs it. So far, it's been successful for about two weeks. It must be some pretty powerful stuff.

So we were reading a book this morning about animal habitats. One page had a picture of a parakeet in a fish bowl. It said "Do parakeets live in bowls?" Anna replied laughing, "No!" I asked her what lives in bowls and she said matter-of-factly, "Footballs." She then told me something about the Superbowl. I'm so glad this girl loves sports. If you read Matthew and Kasey's blog today http://blazebaby.blogspot.com/2010/02/hoop-dreams.html, I'd have to agree that it must be in the genes.