Winter Wonderland

Now that the temperatures aren't 30 below zero anymore, we can actually enjoy all of this beautiful snow just waiting to climbed on, slid in, and sculpted! This week we decided it was high time that Sebastian had his first sled ride - with Misha for support, of course.


A beautiful, frosty tree.

Misha had tons of fun climbing the massive snow piles around our apartment.


Here he is on top of another mountain, reminding me just a little of one of those mining dwarfs from Snow White.

We discovered that, had we wanted to, we could have climbed onto the roof of the garages next to us simply by using the snow pile as a ladder.


Then, of course, we made a snowman. He looks rather Dr. Seuss-y! Misha added the buttons himself. As you can see, we didn't have any carrots, so we used a banana.


Misha found the perfect spot to build his fort - the snow pile right next to our door. He dug out a little spot to sit inside. Then I helped him dig out a deeper area as well as build up the outer wall so he could hide behind it.


Like so.

When we finished for the day, it looked like a real fortress! We even made a pile of snowball ammo, which Misha used to surprise Daddy when he came outside.

Inside, life continued as normal:

Sebastian discovered the ABCs on the fridge.


Misha made an indoor fort for himself and Sebastian out of blankets and boxes.


Misha looking so grown up as he tells me about his day at school. His favorite "job" at school is bell-ringer - every week, a different lucky kid gets to ring the bell to signal that recess is over.


Sebastian can't get enough of standing. He stands in the bathtub, in his crib, and in the middle of the floor.


Ta da!


He often picks up his toys to wave around as he stands.


And when he falls down, he pops right back up again.


Misha wearing his Christmas long johns - and his watch, of course.


Sebastian in his cute sweater, made by a colleague of mine from school. It's a work of art!

I love how babies have an innate sense of rhythm. I think that's a sign that music is an intrinsic part of humanity. Now that Sebastian has learned to stand, it opens up new possibilities for dancing. Here he goes!