Making gingerbread cookies

I just had to post these two photos of our gingerbread cookie-making afternoon. Donned our aprons (Larson: "We're chefs!"), mixed large quantity of dough, then rolled and cut to our heart's content! Yum.

Family snow fun

Here is a lovely view of the fresh snow we were treated to last week. Just like a dusting of powdered sugar! Post-snow, we got a morning of cool, sunny weather, perfect for dusting off some very old equipment of mine:

Once a skier...always a skier. I don't know if it's part and parcel of my Norwegian background, but there are just certain people who are born to love the snow (and if you aren't one of them, you probably at least know one...), and I get all giddy and smiley when the white stuff comes falling down. Even now as an adult. I remember when I was working in Chicago, in an office on the 40th floor of a skyscraper in the loop: we got a big snow one afternoon and I was just gazing out the windows, happy as could be and admiring the view. My coworkers, however, had nothing at all good to say! Lots of grumbling and complaining...it was then that I knew there was just something different about my constitution where winter was concerned. :) My ski coach used to say that it didn't matter how hard he pushed people or how hard they trained, if you didn't have "the love", you'd always be missing the most important ingredient. I'm sure this could apply to lots of other sports/pursuits, as well, but I've definitely learned what he meant.
Cora got treated to a ski around the 'hood on fresh but not too powdery (ie, perfect!) snow last Sunday. I think she liked it! Larson felt left out, but I'm not talented enough to manage to hold him and ski...and he's just a little too big for the bjorn. :) I'm trying to get him all psyched up for some ski lessons next winter! For now, he had to content himself with playing musher to Brett's sled dog action :)
Happy, happy snow day to all the snow bunnies out there!

More cute baby...

"I'd like peace on earth and some teething toys, please"

"Hmmm...this is taking a little longer then I planned; I wonder when lunch is?"

"Oh! There you are, mom! Hey, how's it going?"

"Just...can't...get 'em...all...in, no matter which way I try!"

+ Snow Day! +

Schools were closed for the second day in a row for unseasonably cold and snowy weather. Since our city has little or no snow removal equipment, we spent the day close to home. Here are the boys doing "work" at the breakfast table this morning:

And here is Brett pulling Larson in a vintage Sno-Tube. This gave Brett yet another occasion to gloat about keeping every piece of sports/recreational equipment he's owned since 1985. I'm still waiting for those first-edition roller-blades to come in handy...
Needless to say, Larson got a kick out of riding around on it and joining all the other kids in our neighborhood at the park for a slide down the hill. Yes, those are rain boots on his feet, but who would have thought we were going to need the other kind this winter?
Cora all bundled up for a walk in the snow:

It was a hot-chocolate-making, Christmas-cookie-baking, extra-book-reading, rosy-cheeked kind of day.

Tree trimming, shorty-style

Got our tree from a local lot this year, in my efforts to support local businesses (ie, not the big orange store...).

Larson was very into the whole deal and was super-excited to start putting on all the decorations. I loved getting all these pictures of him walking around the tree, putting up the ornaments exactly where they should all be if you're 3!

+ 4 months +

I can hardly believe our little cutie is 4 months already! Put differently, 1/3 of that magical first year is already over! The top photo is a picture of Cora in a hat that was mine as a baby. Not exactly the latest fashion, but pretty darn cute and warm to boot. And may I also point out the ruffle-butt pants?
So, what is Miss Cora up to these days? Most of her awake moments are spent as you see her above: fists/fingers in the mouth. She hasn't quite gotten to a thumb-sucking stage, but just loves to chew on the entire thing. Lots of drool. And here's a cool thing: have you ever read about "having a conversation with your baby?" You know, you make some sounds and she/he makes them back to you? Well, either I didn't have the right skills or Larson was too serious to participate, but I never really believed that this actually happened. Until now...Cora loves to make this gurgly sound at you and I've even initiated a back & forth with her by making it myself. She really is trying to communicate. I probably look totally wacko trying to do it, but aren't all of us parents willing to look like fools for our little ones?

Gotta love that smile! It just makes my day. As you can see, she's getting pretty good at lifting up her chest while on her tummy. And she's also pretty good at rolling onto her back these days. Still working on the reverse direction, so stay tuned!

+ 3 Years +

I can't hardly believe that it's already been three years since we brought our little baby boy home. And now he is a bona fide preschooler! By now I'm sure I sound like a broken record, but how time does fly. Larson, we are so proud to be your parents and we love watching you learn and grow. You surprise us all the time with your astute observations about the world around you, especially when we think you're not paying attention. You entertain us with your stories, made-up words and imaginative play. You are the highlight of our day when we get to hear your squealing laughter and see your bright-eyed smile. You catch us off guard with your pointed questions because sometimes we draw a complete blank trying to answer them. You've already become a watchful and loving older brother to Cora in just 4 short months. Happy birthday, congratulations on being three!

We had a family celebration with just the four of us for Larson on his actual birthday: cupcakes, teriyaki chicken (his favorite food) and presents. It was a great way to start out being three.