That’s what I heard when I came home from work today. Mike said he was doing something with the other boys and next thing you know Ben had disappeared. Apparently, he just needed a little down time so he found this hiding spot and took a little rest. It took Mike a couple minutes to find him.
Our second snow day meant an extra early start to this year’s winter break and some extra fun play outside. The wind had died down some today making it a little more tolerable outside. I was at work most of the day but during a short break at home between assignments Mike went out to shovel and the boys followed. They saw our neighbor out sledding with her dad and Nick joined in.
When they tired of that they had a snowball fight.
And Zander tried to join.
Too bad it looks like he is trying to off his brother.
Nick didn’t like that much.
And all is well again, mostly because my boys are far, far apart.
As for the quality of these photos, I took them from inside the house. It wasn’t all that much warmer (I was on the three-season porch) but at least it wasn’t wet!
Our first snow of the year definitely didn’t disappoint (unless of course you didn’t want snow and then it was a huge disappointment). Winter storm Draco (yes, like the Harry Potter wizard) dumped between 8 and 12 inches of snow on the town. School was canceled and travel was not advised. Being the rule-follower that I am I opted to take a snow day with the boys. However, Mike didn’t know this for sure when he went out to snow plow and rake the roof. After our old snow plow went kaput and Mike got to buy a smaller, but newer, one he was excited about the chance to get out and see what it could do. Unfortunately for him, so was Nick. I was supposed to stay inside with Ben, but I couldn’t resist stepping outside to snap a few (or a hundred) shots. So I left Ben at the window and went out to brave the blizzard (it really was, the wind was blowing up to 50 miles per hour).
Poor Santa had a rough night.
Nick started by following along behind Mike with the shovel, but quickly begged his way into taking the reins.
Happy boy!
Once inside Mike made chocolate chip pancakes for the boys and I searched through totes full of winter stuff for snow pants and boots for Ben. I couldn’t find any in his size, but figured these pants, which are a size too big, and the boots, which were also a size too big, would have to do.
Ben also had his first Play-doh experience. He wasn’t completely sold on the whole idea.
Then we invited the neighbor over to watch a movie (How the Grinch Stole Christmas) in our super cool fort.
And we did art projects.
And ended the day the way it began, outside plowing and playing in the snow. Only this time the Abominable Snowman Benny got to join us.
He wasn’t quite sure what to think of the snow or the wind.
Or the snow plow.
And he was done. Oh, and mom, when you read this, doesn’t he look exactly like a Graham in this picture.
The boys tried sliding down our neighbor’s backyard, but the snow wasn’t quite ready for real sledding. I don’t think they ever actually made it down the hill. Maybe tomorrow. Word on the street is school is for sure delayed and might even be canceled again. Yeah, for extra long Christmas breaks!
Zander was all dressed up for his school program today so I thought I might try to snap a few cute pictures of him inside our local performance hall before our Kindermusik class started. But, he wanted nothing to do with cuteness (and it was dark outside so the light was really bad anyway). What he did want was pictures of him being a Power Ranger. This child is obsessed with all things Power Rangers and will turn whatever is at his disposal into something Ranger-related. Like the watch on his wrist. That is a spy watch from a McDonalds Happy Meal. Well, at least that is what its original purposed was. To Zander, it’s a Ranger morpher and he is ready to roll. Lightspeed Rescue! Ranger Zander reporting for duty.
There are some benefits to sending my boys to a Catholic preschool. One of them is holiday concerts! The music choices are simple. The notes are never in tune, but the show is always one worth watching. And my little guy surely didn’t disappoint (though I almost did – more on that later). For 15 minutes Zander and his classmates sang their little hearts out about gingerbread men, Christmas and baby Jesus. Though Zander wasn’t always as vocal as he was during his Thanksgiving program he was definitely doing his part to make sure the whole gym heard when they sang a Christmas version of “If You’re Happy and You Know It” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Isn’t he so cute?
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As of my failing as a mother --- My kids don’t dress up. We don’t go to church. We don’t go to fancy restaurants and we don’t entertain or go places to be entertained (unless you count Chuck E. Cheese or McDonalds). So, we don’t own dress up clothes. Apparently, we own none in Zander’s current size. And this was supposed to be a “dress up” kind of program. So after dropping the boys off at school I high-tailed it to the mall in search of something, anything, he could wear today. Then I remembered the two other reasons my kids don’t dress up. There are very few things out there for boys and what is available is expensive. But, I bit the bullet and bought this cute shirt/sweater combo for Zander and two other sets for Nick and Ben. They cost an arm and a leg, but to get matching stuff like this I have to buy the “just in” clothes or there is nothing left in the right sizes. So, now I have to get their pictures taken this winter and I have to find a reason to get them dressed up (though Zander was obviously not digging the two-shirt combo – he kept pulling at the sweater trying to readjust everything through much of the show). Oh well, at least he looks cute.
It was just a few short months ago that Nick was saying goodbye to Kindermusik. He had (mostly) happily stuck with it from about 6 weeks through 6 years. But, Zander seems to be aging out just a little bit faster. After Nick outgrew the preschool class Zander decided he wanted to come back to class with Ben and me. I was happy to have both my babies in the class again, but Zander seemed only mildly interested at most. Many nights he would fight me about even coming, though once he got there he almost always had a good time. I’ve repeatedly asked if he wants to go back to the preschool class and he said no. But, I am tired of fighting him about going every week (it’s too expensive to let him do as he pleases), so I think this might be it. His farewell. My second baby is growing up. I don’t know if I am ready for this.
Even Ben got into the running tonight.
And the jingle bells!
Zander used his scarf to prepare himself for the cold winter weather.
Ben just had fun.
Especially with Miss Marissa.
The monster feet were a big hit with Zander, who walked around Roaring at everyone, including Miss Marissa. She really was having fun with him when she grabbed his chin!
And the sleds. These sleds are the only thing that kept Zander excited. He would ask about doing them every week, but more often than not there were just too many kids to get them out. He loved getting to be the big kid and pull Benny around.
And da bubbles. Who doesn’t lova de bubbles? I love that song, too. It makes me smile everytime I hear it and every time I see the kids going after the bubbles. Pop! Pop! Pop!
And his final “Goodbye song.” I think this was the first time all semester he hugged anyone but me. It wasn’t a very huggy class. In the past we’ve had more boys who’ve pig piled more than hugged. These girls seemed a bit timid.
