Playing in the snow

So this took place a few weeks ago but I thought you'd enjoy it anyway...

Only twice this winter has is been warm enough (with no snow fall) to take the kids out to play in the snow on a Saturday. But when it happened, we made a point of taking Lyla out to play in it. Both times we went over to our friends' house and played in their driveway and yard.

It was a blast getting to pull Lyla around in a sled, sliding down the mounds of snow that the snowplows had left, making snow angels, and building snow men. For being a relatively low-key kid, Lyla sure has a sense of adventure (so long as she isn't too cold). She loved every moment of it... and as a result, so did I.

Looking forward to this aspect of next winter and having Will join us as well.

Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday Uncle Ryno!!!!

Our extended family has grown a lot in the past few months. Since November, Lyla and Will have gotten a new cousin, a new aunt, and a new uncle... all of whom they're very excited about.

Today is Uncle Ryno's (Julie's husband) birthday so we wanted to wish him a happy birthday and take a moment to say how glad we are that he is part of our family!!!

So here we go:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE RYNO!!! WE'RE VERY GLAD THAT YOU ARE PART OF OUR FAMILY!!!!

Seriously, though, Ryno's a great guy: kind, funny and all sorts of awesome. I mean, he's good enough to marry my sister and that's not something I say lightly. (I've actually threatened a boy who was dating my sister because I thought he was being disrespectful... I take my job as a big brother very seriously. I am very happy that Ryno is part of our family.)

Here are some pictures from Ryno and Julie's wedding last year:

Breaking News!!

Not really. But the only other title I could think of didn't seem appropriate.

Putting Lyla in her carseat to go to Ms. Linda's house (the kid's daycare provider), Lyla gave her "Oh no! Something mildly catastrophic is happening to me!" whine. Thinking I'd pinched her with the buckle or something like that I asked, "Are you okay? Did I get your leg in the buckle."

Her response, "No. My butt hurts."

Kind of flustered and trying to stifle my laughter as NOT to encourage such talk, I asked the only follow up I could think of. "Do you need me to kiss it?"

Luckily, she said, "No."

Happy Birthday Lyla!!!! *or* Holy Moley, I Can't Believe My Daughter is TWO!!!

Seriously? When did Lyla grow up? It seems like just 730 days ago that Katherine was telling me it was time to go to the hospital. Yet somehow my Little Button became my Little Baby and my Little Baby become my Little Girl. All those country songs suddenly make a lot of sense...

Friday, December 4 was destined to be a special day even before it began. For us the magic began the night before when the first snow fall of this winter began to fall. We were forecast to get 3 or 4 inches over night and boy did we. We awoke Friday morning to a blanket of soft, white, beautiful snow covering everything.

Typically I have mixed feelings about the snow. I love the serenity and the beauty of freshly fallen snow, but I dread the cold and the exertion of shoveling our walks. But this was different because this was going to be the first snow that Lyla got to play in and that she would remember. And it happened on her birthday, what a neat gift.

I think that Katherine and I were slightly more excited about Lyla's actual birthday than the Birthday Girl was. Granted she had been talking about her birthday non-stop for at least two weeks and had made us sing "Happy Birthday" to every single person that we know, at least once. But I awoke that day more excited than I'd been in awhile.

We started the day with a special breakfast: blueberry pancakes. Special because we seldom make pancakes. They were good. Then we got dressed and all went to Target, whoopie!! Look, just because it was Lyla's birthday doesn't mean we can avoid the day to day tasks of running our lives. We all went together so that was fun.

After Target, we came home and Lyla got ready to go outside. We got her snowsuit on plus her hat and these great winter boots she got from her friend Sadie. Out Lyla and I went and shoveled the path. I had bought a small snow-shovel for Lyla a couple weeks ago and she was more than happy to help me clear off the snow. After shoveling, she and I built our very first snowman. Nothing too special, we used a carrot for the nose and leaves for everything else. Lyla really enjoyed packing the snow down. I think he turned out rather nice and he sort of looks like Grover from Sesame Street.

After playing in the snow we came in and were treated to a nice lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and soup. It was the perfect meal to warm us up from the cold. After we finished, the kids went down for naps and Katherine and I started to get ready for Lyla's party.

For her party we wrestled for a long time as to what to do. Last year we invited a few friends and their kids over, four families in total. In the subsequent 365 days, 3 of the 4 families had another child and all the other kids aged a year. As a result, having the same families over would have been pure chaos.

So instead, we invited two families for dinner. I made pork street tacos and they turned out pretty good. After dinner we did presents and then cupcakes. After dinner, the chaos slowly ratcheted up until the kids ended up hitting a wall. The following pictures will give you some idea of how chaotic just two additional families can be:

Playing with friends...

More friends, more playing...

Adults trying to converse as the kids play...

More playing...

Pretty soon Will had had enough...

So we opened presents...

And then we played with the presents...

Pretty soon Will and Kevin had had enough...

So it was time for the cake...

Lyla likes cake.

So does Ian...

So does Sadie...

And then it was over.

The next day, we woke up and played with our new toys.

Lyla drying her hair with Mommy..

Later that morning, we went over to Sadie's house for her 2-year-old birthday party. I decided that Will and I should dress a like... I'm glad I did.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LYLA!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Test video interview with my dad

This is a trial video I did with my dad and Lyla seeing if we are able to record a video call and post it on the website. Even though this was only practice, we did not hold back with regard to the seriousness or intensity of our conversation. You've been warned.