snow day

i know that yesterday i said posting would be sporadic, but how could i not post about the first real snow of the year?! we got a little over 2 inches last night and woke up to a blanket of white - i love that. plus, madelyn doesn't remember snow from last year so today was sort of like her first snow. when she woke up i told her to hurry and look outside with me. i don't think that she was quite as excited as i was, but she did go and get matt's hat to put on her head.

while eating her breakfast she looked at the deck and the backyard where the dogs had already had fun in the snow and said "uh-oh" over and over. i am not sure if it was because the snow was all tracked through or that it was all over the patio furniture and grill; either way she was distressed.

after breakfast i asked if she wanted to go outside and play in the snow. this was met with a strong "yes" and "side" as she headed to the door. i explained that we need to get all dressed for the snow and i got my first experience of layering up a toddler in snow gear. it wasn't really too cold today (mid-30s), but i should have bundled her a little heavier on top. oh well. she couldn't have cared less! we got her these bib overall snow pants and she didn't really like having them on at first because they were a little (a lot) big. but once i got her jacket on over it she settled down and ran to find her boots. once boots, gloves, and a hat were added to her outfit we were ready to go outside for a little bit.

madelyn didn't quite know what to make of the snow at first. you can see in the video that it took her a little bit (and my lead) to take a few steps out into the snowy yard. i like how she gave a little laugh after each of her first steps to squish the snow. this video is pretty long and not that eventful, but it is her first steps out into the snow. i was trying to capture it for matt since he was at work. i hate it when he has to miss a first.

she really started to understand the appeal when i showed her how to make snowballs. well, how i could make snowballs. she kept asking me for another and another wanting each one to be bigger than the last. she didn't really like how the snow stuck to her gloves - at first. after a while she stopped caring. this next video is shorter - i promise.

after playing around for a while we could hear some of the neighbor kids out having fun in the snow too. that was all madelyn needed. off she headed down the sidewalk to see who was out and about in the snow. i wasn't really planning on being out so long, but once madelyn saw michael and dylan in their yard she yelled an excited "hi"! and then michael came down to hold madelyn's hand up the hill to his house. madelyn was so excited to see that other kids played in the snow too. plus, michael and dylan know what they are doing and have lots of shovels and toys to play with in the snow.

we went out again in the afternoon because madelyn was carrying around her jacket saying "side" and trying to get me to come to the door with her. she was much more excited about the snow this time, but i left the camera downstairs and couldn't run in to get it. she was picking up the snow and throwing it up in the air over her head. i don't know where she got that idea from at all. i didn't show her and i don't think that she has really seen snow fall before. no matter where she got the idea, she had a great time doing it. she also liked trying to pick up the biggest pieces of snow she could from when matt shovelled the driveway this morning before work. after a while she was covered in snow head to toe and i had to carry her in kicking and screaming when it started to get dark - she was not done yet.

surprisingly, it snowed more after matt got home. i told him that he should take maddie out really quick to actually see the snow falling. matt threw on a coat and i wrapped maddie up in a blanket so that they could stand outside before it stopped. madelyn liked being wrapped in a blanket so much that she kept requesting it to be wrapped back around her shoulders every time it fell off. i wrapped it around her like a towel with the end tucked in so that it became a dress for her. she was so cute prancing around in the blanket dress. i took some cuter pictures, but this one shows one of her favorite pouting poses in the kitchen. i forget why she was pouting, but the back bend off the refrigerator always makes me laugh. love.