Ah, Spring

Gram was in town last week to switch cars so MiniM.E. was in seventh heaven with loads of attention and lots of play time.

On Tuesday the weather was nice so we gave Gram a break and went downtown with some friends for coffee and a walk in the park.  It is so nice to be outside without feeling like your face is going to freeze or your fingers are so cold you cant zip your jacket.

Wednesday was gymnastics and I had a chance to take some photos since Gram was there to help out.

Wednesday after school it was so nice out that we took a walk through the neighborhood and MiniM.E. showed off her fantastic scootering skills.

I'm looking forward to the weather being warm enough that we can put this:

in the car.  LittleL.G. hates her carseat and I think she'll be much happier driving once we put this in.  But I don't want to put it in until it warms up enough that I don't have to bundle her up to bring her in and out of the car.

Another exciting thing that happened in our house was the girls' first bath together.  I can't get enough of these two- they are so cute!

One Sitter, One Skater!

This weekend LittleL.G. learned to sit up.  MiniM.E. also learned to sit up about this time but it took her a few weeks to look like a sitting baby rather than one that was a little tipsy.  LittleL.G. just decided it was time to sit.  One day of flopping to the side almost every time we propped her up and the next day it was like she'd been sitting for weeks.  I LOVE that she can sit up because it adds another activity to our "rotation".

everything is so much more fun now!

it looks like THIS when I'm not lying on it?!??

not to be outdone... 

now to move on to the next challenge- reading

MiniM.E. also made some huge progress on a gross motor skill.  She is almost a skater.  She can glide with the best of them but hasn't quite figured out the footwork to propel herself forward.  We went to open skate on Sunday and she had a great time!

We celebrated our kids' successes with coffee downtown and a nice walk in the park because another awesome thing to celebrate is that it is actually starting to warm up!!

oops! underestimated how high she was going to go!

yay spring!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Monday was my birthday.  I am not a huge fan of my birthday, though the occasional present is nice and who doesn't want a good excuse to eat cake??  But this made my day:

I also had a great Starbucks date with this girl:

Other than that, sleep deprivation has been getting the best of me so I didn't really enjoy the day.  Both girls have been getting up at 5:30 and neither sleeps through the night.  We are sleep training LittleL.G., and getting to sleep is now a breeze (go LittleL.G.!!)- we can just dump her in the crib-- the problem is getting her to stay asleep.

This happens pretty frequently:

2:06

2:07

So we are introducing some solids to see if that keeps her belly full a little longer:

I have to say, even if I didn't have the most fantastic day on my birthday, I am so excited for my 33rd year with my incredible girls!

1st stroller ride for LittleL.G.

LOL! Even when this one looks like this.

My favorite thing right now is this:

Only MiniM.E. can get her to laugh and it kills me every time!

Lake George Winterfest

I'm not sure that there is anyone who is excited enough about the winter we've had to have a festival celebrating it.  Even skiiers and snowboarders might be excited about all the snow, but what about those below freezing windchills?  Apparently there are enough people in Lake George who love winter so much they had not only a weekend, but an entire month of winter festivities.

The festival ran the whole month of February (mostly on weekends) and we thought since yesterday the temps were fairly reasonable, we'd give it a try.  The agenda for Saturday was dog sled rides on the lake and fireworks at dusk.  We had our last skating class on Saturday, so we thought we'd go up after skating at about 4 and hang around until fireworks at 6.

(Side note:  MiniM.E. made huge progress at skating.  Not that she's "racing around the rink" yet...)

It was really cool to be out on the frozen lake, but without trees or buildings, even 27 seemed pretty cold... I guess the sled dogs thought so too because by the time we got there, they were too cold and had already packed up.  Now we have to make a trip up to Lake Placid sometime because they have dogsled rides there and MiniM.E. really wants to be pulled on a sled by puppies.

We got to see some ice blocks pulled up from the lake, a helicopter and lots of snowmobiles.  There was a super slippery spot too, which was fun for ten minutes or so.  I took lots of videos and photos, but my phone thought it was ice-pocalypse and kept dying from being too cold so I only have a few photos that actually took (or saved?)

The novelty of standing out in the cold on a frozen lake only lasted fifteen minutes or so and then it was... 4:15.  Only an hour and forty-five minutes until fireworks!

I can't even tell there are kids in there!

s'more grown up selfie

MiniM.E. was a real trooper and suffered quietly, and LittleL.G. was wrapped on me and only woke up a few times to realize it was still cold and we were still outside before shutting down and sleeping again.

The highlight of the evening was the wish lanterns (which of course we broke down and bought because what else was there to do?!?!) and MiniM.E. was really excited about them even though she couldn't really participate because of the fire aspect.

6:00 finally came and we saw the fireworks.  Which were, eh, fireworks.  MiniM.E. LOVED them, especially because the snow dampened the noise and they were very quiet.

Next year, going to get there at 5:55, get out to watch the fireworks and leave the car running!  Brrrrr!!!!

It's Still Winter...

And we haven't been doing much exciting while we wait for it to get warmer out...

Occasionally MiniM.E. comes up with a crazy idea for an activity.  Most often it's something like, "Mommy, why don't you put on your bathing suit and have a fashion show?"  Ummm... let's think about that... No.  But, "let's feed LittleL.G. some food!!" seemed relatively harmless.  LittleL.G. watches us eat as if it was the most interesting activity on the planet, and often times making exaggerated eating faces gets some pretty cute giggles.  Some babies start food at 4 months, so I thought, "why not? Maybe it will help her take some naps that last longer than 15 minutes!"

MiniM.E. was very patient as LittleL.G. tested it out... 

this face says it all

Turns out LittleL.G. loves having the food in her mouth and drooling all over it if you hold it there for her but she has zero interest in actually consuming any food item.  She is just as happy chewing on the edge of the table.  Eh, it was a fun activity for MiniM.E.

Bob's brother visited over the weekend and he and Bob spent some time with MiniM.E. (but without Mommy, so no photos), and they went out together and I had some MiniM.E., LittleL.G. & Mommy time.  The girls have actually been going to bed pretty well and usually both are down by 7:30, but of course, the night I have them on my own MiniM.E. stayed up an hour later than usual, and LittleL.G. was still making pterodactyl noises in her swing at 9:30...  While we were up, MiniM.E. had another "fun idea" and wanted to play "beach" in the tub and insisted on wearing her bathing suit.

just doing some relaxin'

LittleL.G. was very confused.

Sunday afternoon it was 36 so we went downtown to enjoy the tropical weather, but surprisingly, it wasn't quite as warm as we hoped it would be and we didn't last long- just a quick trip to the toy store and walk up and down Broadway.  I planned on lots of photos at the park, but the sidewalks there weren't plowed well and once we left the shelter of the buildings it was windy.  And, well... cold!

Our excitement of the week so far was a tea party with our friends for lunch yesterday.

Hoping it warms up soon, because I am not motivated to to ANYTHING...

NH Weekend

This past weekend we drove to NH to see Gram and Grumpy and visit with Auntie Jen and her boyfriend who was visiting from VA.

There's a lot of snow here too and they got another foot or so while we were there from yet another weekend storm.  It was pretty cold though, so we spent most of our weekend relaxing inside.

sister cuddles

After the storm, Daddy and Grumpy braved the cold with MiniM.E. and went out tubing.

tubing around the circle

Even though we spent a lot of time inside, the girls kept busy with fun things like...

a tandem rocking horse ride

playing "Where's LittleL.G?"

MiniM.E. went in the hot tub with Gram on what was probably the coldest night of the year and was so excited about her hair freezing in the cold air!  We went with her the next day, but it wasn't quite as cold and the sun was shining, so no freezing hair for Mommy and Daddy... 

hot tub in the snow!

Having so much fun at Gram and Grumpy's really tires the girls out!

Backyard Sledding

Mother nature has dumped a three year old's dream on us.  Feet and feet of snow.  MiniM.E. gets so excited whenever it snows.  Especially lately, since any snow we've gotten up until a week or so ago has been for looking only since it's been so cold out.

Unfortunately, MiniM.E. sees the snow and immediately thinks "snowman!" but it isn't snowman snow... and she wants to play in it, but as soon as she gets in the snow, she is IN the snow.  Like in up to her waist.  Which means that all she can do is be IN because she can't do other fun snow things if she can't walk... 

So after Daddy shoveled off deck and I saw a huge pile of snow in the yard, I knew I had to do something fun so MiniM.E. could actually play in the snow.

We have yet to venture out sledding with LittleL.G. because even though she is plenty happy to be out in the cold winter air, MiniM.E. is a very demanding sledding companion, often requiring a tow up the hill while riding the sled and many times requiring a riding partner... Neither of which I am excited to do with a baby strapped to my chest.

And so, on a cold snowy night after the kids were asleep I took a shovel and got to work.

I shoveled a path from our driveway to our backyard so MiniM.E. could walk out back by herself.  (Which took about 14 times longer than expected)  And then I built this:

And spent half an hour sledding on it *to break it in and make sure it was safe* and also because sledding is fun.  I could have gone to bed early... but it was so worth it.

So yesterday we had a friend over and got all bundled up, baby and all...

 

A. "babysitting"

Mommy's quick "test-run"

MiniM.E. didn't want to use the saucer and I didn't forsee this happening with our plastic sled:

But she didn't seem to mind and was excited to do it again.  I fixed it so it was a little smoother.

the waist-deep on a 3 year old snow

that was a good run!

hydrating 

snow chairs!

I'm not sure, but I don't know a whole lot of moms who make backyard sledding hills for their 3 year olds since they can't go sledding during the week because they have a new baby.  I mean, maybe there... but I'd like to think I am one of the few and give myself some mom-props!