Snow shovels and swim suits

Hello from the frozen tundra of Lawrence. We've had a good start to 2007, with the obligatory highs and lows. The boys seem to be figuring new things out every day, and sometimes we think they may be getting almost too comfortable, because they have begun testing their boundaries and ignoring some of the previously-accepted rules of the house! We know what you're saying: "sounds like your average household with two toddler boys!" Well...We don't feel like your average household yet, but we're getting there. :-)



Four inches of snow over the weekend gave us the opportunity to test our little Siberians' abilities and agilities. They loved it. Very pleased to report that their favorite activity was helping Papa shovel the sidewalks! We did some sledding, some snowman construction, and lots and lots of shoveling. We will go a long way in endearing ourselves to the neighbors if the boys continue to shovel their sidewalks like they did this weekend.

Now, parental instinct is yet another thing that will have to come with time. Good evidence of that is the time it took the boys to thaw out after Papa kept them outside too long. They didn't complain a bit while we were outside, but were not happy once we came inside and their fingers, toes and noses were cold. You can tell by the above picture that Conner thawed out more quickly than Carson. It may have something to do with his favorite TV buddy, Elmo. He likes the muppet so much that any time Elmo is not actually on screen during one of his videos, he asks for him. "Elmo all gone??"

Ah, the swimming pool. Since we returned home from Krasnoyarsk, the boys have had very limited access to pools. They enjoyed their Aunt Heather's toddler pool and John & Consty's pool (both bigger than a baby pool but smaller than your average backyard variety) So we thought we'd try out the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center. They took to it like little Russian fishies. There is a wonderful zero-entry family section with a dragon slide, a floating hippo, and lots of fun little showering devices. Above, Conner shows his delight while we play under what he called "the raining." Below are two more pics of general pool enjoyment:

While we're on the subject of water sports, we broke out the camera for some shots of Conner's cool mohawk during bathtime. We'll have to share more in the future of their favorite bathtime activity, which is suctioning the little toy ducks to various parts of their face and limbs. We almost got a shot of Carson using them as ear rings, but it didn't really come out. Lucky for him. These will be fun to show future girlfriends!