Sledding in the City

Early in the holiday season, we heard there would be
a manufactured snow park near city hall, and incredibly it fell on a weekend when all 4 of us were healthy and could go. It was small, but perfect for two kiddos who've never played in snow before. There was a sledding hill and separate sections for building snowmen and toddler play. Emily and Charlotte started off there, but both girls quickly decided they weren't impressed by the cold icy slush, which was frustratingly tough to walk in.

We wanted their first encounter to be a positive one, so after striking out in the toddler area we stood in a l-o-n-g line for balloon animals. Charlotte got a yellow bear and Emily opted for a pink crown. Those were a hit!

After that we ventured over to the sledding hill. From first sight Emily waffled on whether or not she wanted to go for a ride. Lucky for us Aunt Beca was along for the afternoon, and she always seems to bring out the courage in Emily. So together they stood in line while the 3 of us hung out at the bottom of the hill to watch her fledgling flight. (She comes down the right side trail.)

You can see that Emily really didn't know what to make of the ride. She was clearly spooked by the end, and the fact that she had no idea where she was, or more importantly, where we were didn't help. (Which explains why I'm yelling her name over and over and then abruptly stop the video to try and get to her.) Luckily as soon as I stopped taping one of the guys picked her up and hand delivered her into Matt's arms. Probably didn't seem like much to him, but we were very grateful that he didn't just let her stand on the side and panic all by herself.

Once she was back with us we made a BIG fuss over how cool the ride was and what a great a job she'd done, so her uncertainty soon changed to pride and triumph. And it turns out she'd been holding on to the sled so tightly, as Beca rightfully instructed, that her fingers had scraped the hill on the way down and she got a teeny ice burn. Nothing a princess band aid couldn't fix though :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Next year Charlotte will get to ride too!!! Something tells me we won't have to talk her into it ;) 

Merry Christmas!! :: 2013

Here are a few of our family photos from Christmas Eve. (Similar to last year's, we were rushing to church and relying on the camera's timer along with our car's hood for the group shots, so the fact that all 4 of us are in the pic is a minor miracle.)

 

 

 

 

I know it's a lot to ask for, but wouldn't it be awesome if we could get Charlotte to look at the camera AND smile in our photos next year :) MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

PS. Guess who got a new front tooth for Christmas???!?! Which explains why her fingers are in her mouth in all of these pics. I think she's actually trying to point it out to us in the last one ;)

Future Bunhead?

Charlotte is very fond of singing and dancing. Maybe this comes from a lifetime of watching her big sister sing & dance the days away... Well whatever sparked it, a couple months ago it really hit me just how much she loves musical theater when she sat with me completely engrossed in a five minute dance recital on the computer. (Here's the clip!)

From star to finish she was riveted. Our normally squirmy girl sat on my lap COMPLETELY still for the entire dance. And then she motioned for me to play it again. And again. And again. Her first viewing she sat through it 4 (!) times and probably would have watched it again if I hadn't been worried it was too much and turned it off.

Since then I've played the same dance for her a few more times, and each time she's just as into it. Her Aunt Erica thinks we may have a future bunhead on our hands. In these pics, she sure looks the part, right?!

(Btw - there was absolutely no coaching or posing going on behind the scenes of these pics. They are just random shots of her one morning. When it was chilly and legwarmers were necessary, since she opted to wear a skirt. Just like her sister, naturally ;)

Pals

These two. Boy do these girls love hanging out together. Which is amazing. (Actually, Charlotte just loves chasing Emily around, which Emily tolerates pretty well. I mean, how bad can it be having a tiny shadow bouncing after you all day long?!) Charlotte has almost entirely given up pulling Em's hair. And while she 's still learning about sharing, she's getting better. And Emily is an angel. She is so patient and kind to Charlotte. She's the first to run over with a paci or toy when Charlie's sad. Or a song. Usually a song will do the trick and calm Charlotte right down. It's super sweet.

One of my favorite sounds these days is the shrieking I hear when getting home from work on the days Matt picks up the girls. I come in through our basement, so I immediately hear the pitter-patter of little feet running above me. And the nonstop giggles of those two girls. It just delights this Mama's heart.

Charlotte's still working on her words, but once she gets going, oh the secrets they will tell. I can already imagine it. They're going to be the best of pals. The best.