snowdrift+four year old=FUN!

snow...snow...snow! yep, we have quite a lot of snow. with the wind it has drifted, but with our fence that means we have some good sized drifts in the backyard. elizabeth and i were outside playing while jilly and kater napped...and as she dove into a huge drift of snow i realized we didn't need a gigantic hill for sledding...nope, for my four year old, the big ol' drift would do! it took her a few times to get the hang of it, but man, she got it...she sledded down that drift (and the even bigger ones that were piled up from shoveling the driveway over the course of the past week of snow) one her bottom, on her knees, on her belly, and, of course, backwards and upside down! i think she could have spent the entire afternoon sledding. eventually kate did join in on the playing outside fun...and she too enjoyed a few times down the drift (no pics since i had to help her a bit), but she actually preferred helping me shovel the driveway!

my favorite part is the end...did you catch that. "and now my hands are cold"...but did that make her want to go inside...nopers! i think that was really a ploy to get mommy to stop taping her and spend more time playing. after this video we did lay on our backs, stick our tongues out and catch some snowflakes!

making a snow angel

catching snowflakes on her tongue...while plopped in a drift

backwards and upside-down


and a kater gator

and here are a few glimpses of what we're up to when we're not out in the snow!


making a playing lots of new "folder" games...which is truly satisfying a creative need for me...contact paper, scrapbook paper, sharpies, glue and packing tape...lots of fun (for the girls too!)

this sweetie bug is having a rough week or so...her bottom teeth are right there, ready to pop through...but in the meantime she has some crazy poo-ing...a nasty diaper rash to go with that teething poo...and an abnormal habit of fussyness. poor sweetie. but can i tell you how much i adore the way she sucks on that bottom lips...she has been "chewing" on it quite a bit lately.

i captured these last night...just elizabeth lovin' on jillian. elizabeth has been so into jillian lately...it is precious! i love the way they are smiling at each other in the second pic!

i have an entire post dedicated to kate rolling around in my mind...just no time to actually type it up at the moment. suffice to say, she gives me a run for my money...and then proceeds to bring the biggest smiles and laugher. can we say one extreme to another! but, i will go ahead and mention that in the midst of crazy kater-ness i was getting quite discouraged by her unwillingness to tell me when she needed to use the potty...she was successful only if i stayed on her ALL day...and seriously, i just can't do that...so as a last ditch, frustrated effort, i just put her in elmo undies today...thinking to myself, "oh my...i'm going to be cleaning out wet poopy undies all day!" but my, oh my, my big girl surprised this mama...she stayed clean and dry all day...not even telling me, just going and using the potty of her own accord several different times. go katers!