Winter

Winter is here. The first snow came last night. Lots of it! Turned out to be the perfect winter's night for a 4 year old. The best part was it was totally unplanned. Amelia was adamant that she would be playing in the snow after dinner. We tried to explain that it was very cold out and the snow was really wet, she didn't care. She was out the door with Ford all bundled up to "take a walk" in the snow. She came in one snowman later covered in wet icy snow, drippy nose and rosy cheeks but pleased with her first snowman of the year. She jumped in the bath, hot cocoa with mini-marshmallows waiting. To top it off, a little Rudolph was on television. Amelia's first time. Cozy in her jammies, hair still wet from her bath, warm cocoa in her tummy and tucked under a blanket between Mom and Dad on the couch (Evie was asleep in her crib), she watched Rudolph and the Abominable while she nervously chewed on the blanket in anticipation. Her first experience with the Abominable and all his scariness...and she couldn't stop talking about him afterward. And how come he wasn't as scary after her had no teeth, anyway? :)
A four year old's winter memory.

Mama Mia!

It seems Evie is learning a trick or two every day now. Some new ones and some new and improved...
Mama Mia (pictured above)
Waving...she's been doing this for a while but now she waves at EVERYONE. Random strangers even.
She is getting the gist of blowing kisses although her hand starts at her chest instead of her mouth...but she's got the swinging out action down and her intentions are good.
She says "Uh Oh" in response to anything that is dropped, whether it's on purpose or not.
She goes to sleep by herself! I almost gave up thinking this would ever happen for one of my babies...but she does it. The set up: Sucky, lovey, soft music, sound machine, dimmed room and a little snuggle, swaying and humming...lay her down. She's out without a peep. It's truly awesome.
Singing. She's been doing a lot of singing, in her crib in the car, while she's getting her diaper changed...I love it.
Tantrums. This is a nice one. She's continues to arch her back and scream when she doesn't want to partake certain things, namely getting in her car seat, being placed on the floor to play when she'd rather be held, or being placed in her exer-saucer. Feisty that one.

And perhaps my favorite is this...
While playing with her big sister on the floor recently another fight ensued. Amelia was hoarding the nesting/stacking blocks with her back to Evie. Evie was trying hard to get a few. A scream and then a scream in response...back a forth a few times. I encouraged Amelia to teach Evie to share by giving her a few blocks. It worked. Amelia shared, Evie shared back. The rest of the playing session was amicable.
Later, that same day...the same scenario, same blocks...but this time, Evie hoarded two blocks right off the bat, held them close to her chest and stared right at her sister and shook her head "NO." Wow, 10 months and taking her stand. Right on.