mommy, when will it be warm?

::February 28::

Ahhh, the first snow fall. we were so excited ... now, months later, we are more than ready for spring and the promises of consistent warm weather. One of the many wonderful things about where we live is that though yesterday was 5-degrees and snowing, it will be in the 50's this next week.

We've manage to pass the time of frigid days with lots of different things ...

We went to Mt. Rushmore this past week when it was still "kind of" warm ... Hayden was very certain they hibernated during the winter, and was afraid they wouldn't be there ... half-way up the steps, he saw them, and said "Ok, mommy ... they're still up there ... it's windy ... we can go home now." :-) He managed to make it all the way, and we had a great time!



We planted our own "greenhouse" ...


We let Hayden choose what we should have for dinner ... on this night, he chose Pumpkin Pancakes after watching Rachael Ray make something not even remotely close to pancakes ... but she used pumpkins. He told us that we HAD to have scrambled eggs ("They go together like peanut butter and jelly, mommy!").


We work on our ZOOLANDER faces ... and NO ... Hayden has not seen the movie, but has become obsessed with the word "dude!" (thanks, Reid), and I caught him in the middle of one of the many times he sputtered it out the other day while getting the water ready for Ellie's bath ... he was saying something like "Dude ... I want to take a bath first!" Seriously ...


We introduce ourselves to "sippy cups" and fall in love with them ... Ellie started her mix of apple juice and water sitting up ...


and soon after was on the floor talking gibberish ... she cuddled with this cup ... she was very, very happy to have something different, for sure! It was hilarious, and she loves it like one of her stuffed animals ... they're pals, she and random sippy cup.


We found a very favorite spot in the house ... Ellie adores this rug ... she is constantly staring at it and trying to get words out ... and in her attempts to crawl, this is always the place she works towards ... Hayden carries her over to it because he wants nothing more than to see her happy, but mommy and daddy are not thrilled that it is so very close to the stairs!


We get teeth! Ellie has two pearly whites and is so silly about them ... she'll smile like crazy, but I cannot seem to get a picture of it ... so I had to take matters into my own hands ... she wasn't thrilled! :-)

as days go by

Hayden and Ellie have both been growing so fast! They certainly are the happiest when they are together!


A favorite thing to do is to play in Ellie's room ... and stack these wooden boxes. Hayden likes to help "sister" stack them, but she likes to have them knocked down so she can chew on them. Do you see the sad face she's giving as Hayden is trying to be a helper by fixing them?


Hayden and Daddy went to the Rapid City Stock Show/Rodeo the other day, and Hayden has decided that he wants to combine all of his very favorite things, and be a Cowboy Preacher that drives a race car. He was practicing the other day with a water gun complete with a pen and flashlight on the end ... because cowboy's are like police men and they have to help people with flashlights ... you know ... when the lights go out.


Sunday afternoons are officially "veg" times. Reading the paper is a very popular event. Our little guy has a bald spot because while fixing his hair for school one day (he insists on doing this), he thought that he should just cut off the pieces of hair that were not going where they should.


We've been pretty crafty lately ... lots of "school" time at home, because he's been obsessed with homework. This nightlight was a fun painting activity, and is the brightest night light on the planet.


Ellie's personality continues to just blossom, and these are some very common expressions that randomly appear. It's so much fun, and big brother is constantly trying to figure out what she's thinking!