News Update - January 12th

I guess I'll start with today (Yesterday since it took me all day long to get blogger to upload pictures) and work my way backwards until I've covered the list of things to post that has been building up since December 29th.

Events:
Today (January 12th) is the 3½ year anniversary of Sir's and my marriage. That's 42 months or 182 weeks or 1278 days. I can remember when this date was our -6month anniversary. A lot has changed in that time - we've survived moving, job changes, three broken (beyond repair) vehicles, and welcomed two beautiful children. The best part is, I'm still married to my best friend and I wouldn't trade any of it!


Weather:
Just this past Tuesday (the 9th), when Sir got home from work we fed the kids, packed them into the van and took off to go shopping for miscellaneous things that we've been putting off for forever. It was going to be a late night for the kids, but I wanted to get out of the house and spend some time with Sir for a while. Earlier that day it has been unbelievably windy and the night before we'd been pelted with horizontally flying hail that coated the entire driveway and alley white in less than five minutes.

Anyway, we got to the first store that we were going to, and since we'd be parking way out in the middle of the parking lot, Sir stopped by the front of the store to let the kids and me out. As I was unloading the kids, the 'mist' or 'rain' that had been falling, turned into snow. We didn't think a thing about it assuming it was just a bit of snow mixed into the rain. Half an hour later, upon exiting the store, we were greeted with a white parking lot and fast falling snow. There was already over half an inch of snow on the ground. After heading to two more stores we finally made it home about an hour and a half later and it was still snowing. Fast.

It snowed all night long and Wednesday morning we were greeted to about four or five inches of powdery snow. The kids and I shoveled the walks, went for a walk in the stroller (not recommended for sane people - especially when snowplows bury the sidewalk with an additional 6 inches of snow and ice each time they drive by every half hour), shoveled the walks again and waited for Sir to come home. It snowed on and off throughout most of the day and by the evening there was close to a foot of snow. And it was still snowing.

The prayer/reading meeting was cancelled in Richmond. I don't think we would have tried to make it out with the snow falling the way it was. Especially since it was supposed to start freezing. That night it was supposed to hit -12° C (that's about 10°F for anyone who's wondering)with a -20°C (-4°F) windchill! Yeah. Cold.

Thursday morning everything was frozen solid including the snowbank that was surrounding our van so Sir did his best to ignore the kids and me while he worked from home. We did our best to stay out of his way too. We shoveled more snow and ice and played with the GG and the sled. When Sir finished his work he freed the van and went out to get salt. We had supper, put the kids to bed and then went out and shoveled everything and finished by salting everything down.

Today it's warmed up a little (currently it's ten after noon and -3°)- it's supposed to get up to 0° C and then continue to get warmer each day until Monday. Between the windstorm that preceded the snow and the weight of the snow itself, three sections of our fences have collapsed. So, you can guess what we'll be doing when the snow finally disappears.

Kids:
December 29th proved to be a milestone day. I discovered PC's first tooth. It really helped to explain the fussiness, sleepless nights, and a lot more.

I had been waiting for him to get his first tooth before starting him on solid foods, so that afternoon the kids and I went shopping and PC sampled his first other than milk meal. He loved every bit of it and looked at me like I was not playing fair. 'Come on Mom, I'm only getting a snack sample?! Three days later with increasing his meal amount at each meal, I finally found the limit to my son's hollow leg! He can really put away the food!

December 30th was also a milestone. PC started to crawl. By the next day he was doing well enough that I could show him off by tossing a desired toy just out of his reach and he'd go get it himself. Two days after that I found him standing up holding on for dear life to the table leg and box that he had used to get into that position. I guess he's in a hurry to get around. Like 'normal' people. He loves it when we hold his hands and let him take off. He looks like a little soldier marching when he walks because he picks each foot up so deliberately that the foot that's up is equal in height to his other knee. It's very cute. On the other hand, I suddenly remembered the joys of a crawling baby in the house. Everything has to be locked or picked up. We didn't have to worry about stairs when it was Dolly's turn.
January 6th - PC presented us with his second tooth. And demonstrated the 'bite'. He has sharp teeth I'll have you know!

Miscellaneous:
I have three weeks to put Dolly's 2 year birthday part together. I just started. At least I've already picked up a few presents for her over the past few months. I wrapped them the other day and put them on the top shelf of the bookshelf for her to see and anticipate. I know - cruel mom that I am.
And I strongly suspect that when we were out playing in the snow Wednesday morning, that Dolly lost her soother (pacifier) in the snow. Thankfully we have a spare, but it's a bit nerve-racking to be using the 'spare' all the time. What if that gets lost too? There are some days when she really 'needs' her soother. Hopefully, we'll find the main soother somewhere inside, or the snow will melt soon and we can take a look outside.

Addendum:Guess what,? Last night we managed to lose the 'spare' while visiting at a friend's house. I guess I shouldn't be so optimistic. For now Dolly is borrowing one of PC's soothers, but she knows that it's not hers.