Icy Cold Cabin Fever

It's like those few really warm days last week were a cruel joke... getting us all excited for spring, spending our days at the park and going on bike rides, only to be trapped in our homes the next 5 days due to bitter cold and icy conditions. We're starting to defrost over here, but since our house faces north, you're greeted by this as you walk up to our front door...

If you don't slip and break your neck walking on that, there's still the jagged icicles hanging overhead to watch out for...

Despite the looks of it, it's actually a pretty nice day out where the sun is shining. Warm enough even for me to venture out to the backyard to get a few photos before the winter wonderland completely melts away...

I also thought I'd share a few photos of what we've been doing to keep the kiddos busy while we've been cooped up inside...

The boys (cousin Luke included) love to turn on the demo songs on the piano and dance. They have different dances for the different kinds of songs - fast and slow, crazy and quiet... it's pretty funny to watch them get into the music.

One night I got so desperate for something to do, I pulled out an old box of glow bracelets left over from Halloween. The kids were mesmerized...

Another thing we've been doing while we've been home-bound, although not so fun, is really focusing on potty training. I'm VERY happy to report that just yesterday Ben pooped on the big potty for the first time... WOOHOO! No, I don't have a photo of it to share (I'm sure you're all very disappointed), but here's one that sort of ties in with the potty training theme...

We found him dead asleep in nothing but his birthday suit the other night! I figure he decided to get undressed in case he had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night? Or maybe he just has a new fascination with getting undressed now that he can do it all by himself to go potty. Poor kid was freezing, but at least the bed was dry!

Looking forward to a warm weekend out of the house!

Blue Skies & Bike Rides

We've had some amazing weather the last couple days...

And we've spent almost every minute of daylight outside soaking it up before it disappears again...

And the cherry on top is that Ben finally decided to give riding his big bike another try. You see, he's the stubborn type, and when he couldn't get the pedaling thing down right away this past summer, he gave up and didn't want a thing to do with that darn bike. I randomly pulled it out of the garage a couple days ago and he hopped right on and took off like a pro... and hasn't wanted to do anything but ride it since! The only thing he needed help with was slowing down and stopping...

So, we had a quick lesson on how to...

No problem. Mo had fun watching and doing what he does best...

And he has his most prized possessions (diapey, bear blanket, and binky) with him at all times these days. When he wasn't wandering the, thankfully very dead, streets as he tried to keep up with brother, he took a few minutes to check his messages (he's very popular)...

Apparently, they were a little too personal to share with me...

After taking care of his personal matters, he waited patiently to hear back from whoever it was...

Or maybe he was just waiting for an invitation from his cool big brother...

Hope you all have a beautiful day!

All About Ben

Ben just makes me laugh. Yes, he can be stubborn, frustrating, and very naughty (hello, he's 3) but he's mostly just entertaining and has a fun personality. In a few words, I'd say silly, creative, and excitable. I've been lucky enough to get some pictures recently that have his personality written all over them...

I love the sneaky smile he has when he thinks he's getting away with something.

He's such a curious little boy, especially about how things work. In this picture, he was opening and closing the drawer of the table from underneath so he could see all the working parts... maybe a future engineer?

Just being silly for the camera...

His energy and excitement are contagious...

The other day when I was getting him down from breakfast, he had a surprise for me, a secret...

Very Napoleon Dynamite... got any tots in there?

In short, you could say he's all boy... and we LOVE him!

Always Kiss Me Goodnight

I usually save this kind of stuff for my scrapblog, but the 2 readers who check it already know about this. So, for those of you who might care, I want you check out the latest creation by my sister, Jeni...

This is definitely my new favorite kit... so fun and HUGE too! Here's what I've made with it so far...

You can also get a little coordinating freebie on her blog right now... go check it out!

The Amazing Race

My sister, Jeni, and I have teamed up again for the Amazing Digi Scrapping Race going on right now. We're already finished with the first week's challenges, but there will be many more to come. If you're interested in checking out what we're up to, go here... Just thought I'd let you know in advance that I might be slacking off on the blog for awhile because of it!