Snow: Day 1

Vacation is officially over.  After 3 full weeks of having Matt home every single night, I got spoiled.  But, now it’s back to the real world.  Matt woke at the crack of dawn to catch a flight to MN for the WHOLE week.  Boo!  We thought, though, his flight might be cancelled because we awoke to a world of white!  Unfortunately, though, the snow didn’t stop anything.  The kids were up in time to tell Daddy bye, but they were both considerably distracted by the snow.  As soon as Cole saw the snow, he ripped off his pj’s, threw on his hat, and jumped into his boots.  He was ready to go play.

Everyone hugged and kissed Daddy bye, and then we got ready to go outside.

I was actually dreading going outside without Matt around to help me, and it did take us a good half hour to round up all our snow gear and get it all on.  I was pooped before we even got out!  But once we got outside, we had FUN….  well, some of us did.  All Cole wanted to do was eat the snow.  He hated wearing his mittens, so it didn’t take long for him to pull them off.  But, he continued to eat the snow, so every time he picked up the snow with his bare hands, he would cry.  Scream.  Pitch a fit.  I tried to get him to sled with me, but all he did was have a major melt down.  Finally, after about 30 minutes of this, I took him inside and stripped him down.  He sat at the back door and watched Chloe and me sled for about an hour.  Chloe and I had so much fun!  We had on our new snow boots from Pappy and Papa, and we used our new sleds from Pappy and Papa.  What great gifts!  Chloe and I raced down on our sleds and would race back up running (but of course, I had to tote her sled up the hill).  After an hour of this, we were both beat!  As tired as we were, we can’t wait to get back outside.  Now, I’ve got the fever….  We’ve been wanting to go snow skiing, but now I REALLY want to go snow skiing!

I was actually a little surprised at how much Chloe loved the snow.  I thought if either kids would have wanted to go inside to get away from the snow, I thought it would be Chloe.  I had it in my head that Cole would love the snow, especially since he jumped right in his boots wanting to go outside.  He did wake up this morning super early, so maybe he was just tired.  We’ll try again and see how it goes!

As much as Cole didn’t like the snow, he LOVED snow cream.  After naps, we collected snow, and the kids helped me turn it into snow cream.  Cole was shivering, but he would not quit eating it, and Chloe loved it equally as much!

When they were finished, they cuddled up together under a blanket to warm up, and the rest of the night was a movie night.

A Pillow for Cole

We’re starting to think about the possiblity of making Cole’s room a “big boy” room and putting him in a “big boy” bed.  Recently, when I put him to bed, he has begun to lay down with his head at the head of the bed and pulls the covers, or as he calls it, the “cuddles” over him.  Since he started doing this, I decided I would get him a pillow to lay on to sort of train him to sleep  as if he were in a regular bed.  I put the pillow in his crib, and we talked about how he should lay on it, etc.  Chloe was SO DARN EXCITED!  It was the funniest thing.  She wanted to watch us put him to bed, so that made Cole even more excited about his pillow.  Matt and I laid Cole down in his bed, and Chloe stood at the door watching and shrieking, “I’m so excited!”  When we closed his door, she hugged us and told us she was so excited Cole had a pillow and that he was going to be a big boy.  I wish I had a picture from that night, but here is the next day at nap.

Jake’s 2nd Birthday

Happy Birthday, Jake!  We had a fun morning playing and visiting with lots and lots of friends.  Chloe and Cole were very excited to go to Jake’s birthday party, and they played and played and played.  I think the highlight of the party for every kid was the CAKE!  Miss Courtney had to light the candles twice because guess who blew out the candles before Jake could.  Yep… Cole.  Then, when it was time for Jake to blow them out, Miss Courtney and Mr. Jason said Cole could help, so he blew them out and then excitedly yelled, “I blowed it!”

Random Kizer Kiddos Talk

Ever since Cole started talking, one of his first words was “Chloe;” however, it came out “Wah-wah.”  I don’t know why it came out that way, but Chloe has been “Wah-wah” since Cole started talking.  Matt, Chloe, all the grandparents, and even Carrie and I have worked and worked and worked and worked (you get the point) on getting Cole to say “Chloe” correctly.  Now, it’s “Wah-wee.”  Closer, I guess???

We were driving home from dinner last night, and we were talking about how cold and windy it was.  Somehow Chloe started talking about summer and warmer weather.  She said, “Do you know what we get to do when it’s warm outside?”  Matt answered, “Go to the pool!”  Then Chloe replied, “No.  We get to wear skirts!”  Matt whipped his head over and looked at me and said, “Oh, Lord.”

Cole loves water towers.  Every time we drive by the Factory, he points to the water tower and yells, “Ook (look), Mama!  Ook!  Wah-tuh tow-uh!”  Earlier this week we were driving somewhere (can’t remember where), and there were two water towers side by side.  Cole pointed and yelled, “Ook, Mama, ook!  Two wah-tuh tow-uhs!”  He was holding up two fingers.  This was the first time I’ve noticed him being aware of numbers/counting.

This week at school Chloe has been learning about the letter “S” and about Samson.  Matt and I were asking Chloe questions about Samson and she was telling us that he was very strong.  We asked her where Samson got his strength, and she very sweetly and innocently looked at us with those big, blue eyes and answered, “God.”  Ah…  good stuff.

Do I Dare?

Do I dare show a before picture of my junk drawer????

I’ve (once again) been so inspired with everyone’s creativity and talent, especially with all the new projects everyone is tackling for the New Year.  There are so many blogs that I read/follow, and it is so motivating.  I have so many projects floating around in my pea-brained head, but really, who has the time and energy and resources and stick-to-it-ness?  Not I.  But, what had gotten my attention lately is getting ORGANIZED.  There are a million blogs about organization and how to do it.  One could read blogs 24 hours a day and never get close to reading them all.  But, I’m going to give it a shot to do some organizing.  Wonder how long it will last?!?

Junk drawer before (and yes, I’m very embarrassed to show this – but it got even junkier while trying to assemble all the Christmas presents).

Junk drawer after.  Sigh of relief.  I keep walking past it and just opening to look in it.