Snow

We didn't get white Christmas this year, but there was no need to fret. It has been snowing plenty for the last couple of days. Even though snow is rare in Seattle (usually once or twice a year), when it happens the whole city gets paralyzed. Schools, offices & stores often close because people don't know how to drive in the snow. Lucky for me, I worked my nursing shift at the hospital yesterday when snow was light (nurses are not allowed to call in sick due to inclement weather) allowing for relatively safe travel to the hospital & back.
It snowed all night, & it would have been trickier to drive a car today. Thankfully, today happened to be my day off so Gerritt & I decided to venture outside to play in the snow. With Sophia napping & my Mom watching Jacob, Gerritt & I had plenty of time to make snow angels, play snowball fights & even go sledding on the hill across from our house.
Snow was a daily part of my existence while growing up in Russia, & I spent many winters skiing & ice skating. I can only hope my kids will inherit some of my love for snow!

The First Snow

Gerritt & the tiny snowman


Gerritt & Sophia building the snowman


Gerritt & Sophia


Sophia!

I was expecting the first snow in December, however, it came on the weekend before Thanksgiving this fall. It started to snow on Sunday afternoon & snowed for most of Monday. On Tuesday the snow has stopped, however, the city was paralyzed. Gerritt's school was closed so we were confined to our house once again. I was just trying to figure out what to do with the kids, when we've heard the laughing voices of children outside. They were trying to sled down one of the hills in our neighborhood. So I had an instant idea to do the same. We even had a sled in the garage (we bought it after the last winter's snow storm when we were stuck in our house for more than a week with no equipment for outdoor activities). After sledding, we built a snowman. The snow wasn't sticking, so the best we could do was to built a small one. Of course, the snowman had to have a carrot nose!


Sophia loves to play pick-a-boo in my husband's bathroom (she's wearing her favorite "hat" made out of a broken rubber ball cut in half)


She closes the door, I knock, she opens it & I yell "Pick-a-boo!" or "Where is Sophia?"


This little girl has the funniest laugh!

I often have to get creative when staying indoors for a prolonged period of time. We usually read books, watch movies, color & do various puzzles. Gerritt is into the comic book superheroes now, so I've learned about the Superman, the Spiderman, the Batman & Robin & their enemies such as Mr. Freeze, the Cat Woman, the Joker, the Two-Face & the Pinguin. Sophia's started to be interested in book reading as well. Her favorite books so far are Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. & Eric Carle, Bear About Town by Stella Blackstone, My First Book of Colors (no author) & My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss. As a result of all this reading, she understands many more words than she can say. Sophia also loves to play a pick-a-boo game, & it's a quick way to make her giggle. This is probably not the last snow this season, so there will be many more opportunities for us to be creative!


Playing with his train set is one of Gerritt's favorite indoor activities


Mommy's & Gerritt's coloring project. Can you guess who colored which car?