life lately // winter haze

Some of the little ways we passed our Austin winter days...

1. the search for the perfect christmas tree
2. baby bear
3. hazel's first haircut - does she look like ramona or amelie? perhaps a bit of both.
4. picking out some holiday greens with mama at trader joes
5. an evening stroll around the neighborhood to look at lights
6. hudson's first "polar bear plunge" at barton springs 
7. a little holiday baking with my tiny helper
8. dancing her way out of the nutcracker - pure magic
9. pillow talk with this handsome little fella, oh how I love him
10. a day of hiking, climbing, and exploring at enchanted rock
11. he's getting so big and strong - already rolls over
12. aspen and I are reading "heidi" together, so we thought it only appropriate to try and do 'heidi hair', so cute
13. such a joyful milestone - sawyer's very own library card
14. I can spend hours watching my babies sleep, never gets old
15. somehow I woke up and I was 38 years old 
16. we are ready for sunshine adventures - c'mon spring, we're ready for ya!
17. always exploring, always in her own little world
18. little moccs on a favorite swing at the wildflower center
19. hazel loves hudson
20. adventures in east austin
21. I'm a sucker for those succulents ;)
22. a morning spent at the nursery always brings joy

Bear feet, mid-winter

On Christmas Eve, the kids got to open a couple of gifts. One was pajamas and slippers, and the other were some Christmas stories (The Mitten for Sawyer, The Nutcracker for Aspen - we are slowly building our collection so we can read a book each night of December until Christmas). Anyway, we were all kind of sick and I didn't really feel like taking many pictures, at all, during Christmas. We got video of the kids on Christmas morning instead. 

Well, the past week we've kind of been "snowed in" a bit here in Seattle, so we've been staying warm and cozy and enjoying our snow days (and trying not to let cabin fever get us too badly). The kids were all cozy looking and we were playing around while making my bed one morning and so finally I caught them - bear feet, and all. Aspen likes to wear hers wherever we go. She wore them shopping the other day, much to her delight ;) I just love my little cuddle bugs!

I'm glad it's warmed up and now the snow is turning to slush (ick!) We're ready to trade in our bear-feet for some bare-feet! We are ready for flip-flops around here! I usually manage to wear them most all the year long - except when it gets snowy out there. One or two days of snow is enough for me. I'm sooo over winter already - bring on Spring - and soon!  

It's snowing in Seattle!

This morning when we got up and looked out the window, it was snowing! Snow doesn't happen very often in Seattle, so we were excited! The whole city pretty much freaks out, but that's okay - it makes for lots of people home taking advantage of the weather and playing in the snow. Poor Jacob couldn't get out of work and the busses weren't going by our house because of the snow...so he rode his bike seven miles to work with all his snow-gear on. He rides his bike every day...but in the snow? Don't you think that he deserves a bonus!?! That's dedication!

The kids and I got to stay at home all warm and toasty. Sawyer tried his first hot chocolate and we bundled all up to go play in the snow. Doesn't Aspen look super cute & cuddly in Sawyer's old polar bear suit? She didn't complain, but it's kinda hard to move at all in the darn thing! At least it kept her toasty :)

We played in the back yard and built a "baby snow man". Sawyer insisted that some friends come to visit him...Did you know Snowmen and Dinosaurs are best friends? I guess so...

And then...an idea exploded in my head! I put Aspen in the backpack and took Sawyer out front and pulled him all along the road on our Boogie Board! Even Aspen was cheering "wheeeee" from the backpack as I pulled Sawyer along, it was just so much fun!

Who knows if it will last?

At least we made the most of our Snow Day!

I'll say this a few days early since I don't plan on blogging in the next few days:

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!