Snow days - you have to embrace them!

Today was the 2nd full snow day of the week for Julianne.  She got out of school early on Monday because of the ice and impending blizzard.  The ice wasn't too bad until the wind and snow hit.  I am not exactly sure how much snow we got, but I did see a weather station that reported Chillicothe as having got 10 inches.  Thursday is another snow day, maybe they will get back to school on Friday.

Today, we embraced the snow by bundling up and taking a walk around the house to see the drifts.  Areas of the yard were quite deep, while others had barely any snow!  The girls had fun and enjoyed getting out. Neither of the girls were outside very long, I would say 20 minutes tops.

Katelyn went in first.  She struggled walking thru parts of the yard because the snow was too deep for her  When her boot came off and her sock got covered in snow she was done.  Julianne wasn't to far behind as she was cold.  I stayed out and cleared most of the driveway.

Here are some pictures from today of the drifts and the girls in the snow.  Enjoy!

The drift out the front door.

A robin looking for food.

 The drift out the garage door. (sorry for the sideways picture)

Side wall in the driveway and garbage cans.

The drift right against the garage door.

Katelyn ready to go out.

The Rambler covered with snow and drifts.

The stairs have disappeared.

Julianne in front of a drift and grader pilings.

 Katelyn in front of a drift.

The other side of the driveway and the front stairs.

Julianne on the front porch.

Katelyn finally made it up.  She stepped down and fell off the front porch into the little rock garden.

Julianne and Katelyn in front of the front door.

Katelyn and Julianne walking along the drift.  In some places it was almost to Katelyn's waist. 

An area where there was barely any snow.

Julianne falling in the snow.

Neat patterns in the snow from the wind.

Drift in front of the slide on the play set.

The back deck.  

Katelyn - freezing!

The dryer vent area even drifted.  I guess I need to do some laundry to melt the snow!

The drift on the neighbor's roof.

Julianne having fun!

The drift by the neighbor's fence.

The girls trying to swing.  It was hard because the snow was deep and they couldn't pump their legs!

The mostly cleared driveway!

Sorry for the sideways pictures.  I am not sure why they are like that.  They are the right way before I add them to the blog.  Have a great evening and enjoy your Thursday. 

Valentine's Day Cards

Disclosure: I borrowed this idea from a friend (thanks Jeannie).

I love doing crafts with the girls.  Sometimes they enjoy them and sometimes they do not.  This year, I asked them if they would like to make their own Valentine's Day cards and they were excited.  When we were at Hobby Lobby, we found some Valentine's Day stamps and got a red and pink stamp pad.  I used pink, red, white, and purple paper I had to make little note cards.  I got 4 cards per piece of card stock for the little cards and 2 cards per piece for the cards for the teachers.

The girls were very eager to get started.

Stamping away...

They both had fun and got all their class Valentine's done!

Katelyn's Valentines

Julianne's Valentines

It took longer than I thought, which was good.  I needed them occupied with something that they weren't going to start fighting about.

Basketball

Both girls are playing basketball thru the Y.  They are on different teams and both get better with each game.  It is fun to watch them play.  Here are some pictures from their games.

New shoes

Katelyn in her new silver high-tops.  She loves them!

Julianne got new tennis shoes for basketball and gym.  She told me she is going to wear them everyday!

It's a blizzard!

That is right, Chillicothe is in the middle of a blizzard right now.

As I have watched the news over the past week they have been talking about the epic storm that would be hitting the midwest.  I watched and wondered if it would really happen.  Guess what, it did!  I must say I am enjoying it.  To me, it is a comfort of home.  I remember the days of sitting at home with my mom and/or dad during the storms.  We would venture out, at least I would, with my sister and the neighborhood kids and we would go sledding or just play in the snow.  Oh, those were the days!

Now, I am at home with my kids.  They are watching this storm in awe.  Julianne can't believe how high some of these drifts are getting.  The wind is blowing and at times it sounds like objects are hitting the house.  I check...it is just the wind.

Since we cannot go outside, well, I won't let the kids go outside, I need to find things to keep the girls' time occupied.  Today we played in the basement for a bit and made no-bake cookies.  Tomorrow I am planning on doing homemade Valentines, playing the Wii, and doing a little more baking.

If Thursday is another snow day I will be coming up with some more projects.  It will include more baking and another art project.  I think we will probably break out the boxes of plaster to make stepping stones.

Here are some pictures from the blizzard.  A couple are from around 4:30 and a couple are from around 8pm.  The snow fall got heavier and the wind picked up as the sun went down.

William's 15 month check-up

I took William to the pediatrician on January 24th for his 15 month check-up.  At his check-up he weighed in at 25 pounds 2 ounces and is 30.5 inches tall.  He is in the 60th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height.

William is excelling in both his motor skills and his vocabulary.

William is a climber.  He climbs on anything he can.  His favorite place to climb is the dining room table.  We no longer leave the regular chairs up to the table.  If we do, he pulls them out climbs on the chair and then onto the table.  So, one chair is against the dining room wall and the other three are in the living room. He won't move them if they are not up to the table.  He is also into climbing onto the couch and the chair in  his room.

William is very vocal.  He loves to jabber and yell.  He really LOVES to yell.  If his sisters are around he doesn't use his words as much he points and says, "ah, ah".  This sound drives me crazy.  I am working with him on using more words.  He signs and says more.  He can also say mama, dada, papa, ball, balloon, basketball (bah-bah-ball), yes, no, please (pease), thanks (tanks), and a few more words.  I LOVE that he is talking and using words.  I love asking him yes and no questions because he gets excited and can answer me.  He also understands a lot.  I can tell him to go find a book, his pacifier, one of his sisters, or a number of other toys and he can do it.  He interacts with us so much and I love it!!

William is just like his mom and dad and LOVES snow.  If a door gets left cracked for a second he is out it.  He loves to play with the snow.  I can't wait to get him out to play in it when it warms up a bit.  I haven't had a chance to take him out in it yet because up until a short time ago, he wouldn't leave shoes on.

What a great time this is with William.  He is adventurous and his laugh and smile are contagious.

Enjoy the pictures!

My house is being invaded...

My house is being invaded by light sabers.  The little neighbor boy (Connor) LOVES Star Wars!  In fact, I have recently learned he sleeps with his light saber instead of a blanket or stuffed animal.  While I am not a Star Wars fan, Brian is.  But since the girls, especially Katelyn, have been playing with Connor alot, he is rubbing off on them.  Brian loves this, I don't mind it.  I love kids that are well-rounded and play with a variety of toys.

When we were down in Kansas City for William's 15 month check-up we went shopping and spent Christmas money and gift cards.  Julianne and Katelyn both really wanted light sabers when we were at Target.  Julianne got one because she had a gift card for Target, Katelyn had to wait until we went to Wal-Mart.  

So, we were the proud owners of two light sabers.  A green one (Julianne's) and a red one (Katelyn's).  However, having 2 light sabers was causing a problem.  The girls didn't want to share with William and he wanted one!  So, off to Wal-Mart again to get William a light saber.  He got a blue light saber.  He loves it! The girls love it also because they do not have to share theirs with William.  Since buying the light sabers I have learned that the bad guys in Star Wars have the red light sabers, oh well. 

Today when I walked into the kitchen, here is what I saw:

And since getting home with the blue light saber Katelyn traded her red one for William's blue light saber.  William doesn't care, as long as he has a light saber!