It's Wintertime!

It was a little strange reading all of the books at Christmas time with snow in them since we live in such a snow-free area. Today we finally got snow in Ballard! Zane was outside saying, "It's wintertime!" There has been snow in various places since Saturday, but today (Wednesday) is finally our day. Luckily it wasn't my weekend to work, and with the MLK holiday in there I haven't had to be anywhere. Tomorrow we go back to daycare and work, and the snow is suppose to have turned to rain. We'll see.

The snow was still coming down and blowing sideways, but I was afraid if we waited until later it might turn to rain. I bundled Zane up in lots of pants and socks and shirts, found his winter boots from last year (which still barely fit), and bundled us up. Zane was very excited to get pulled around in the sled and was almost bouncing off the walls. We spent about 45 minutes outside with me pulling Zane around up and down the sidewalks. For some reason he kept chanting "Miles and miles and miles..." as I trudged along. I accidentally dumped him out of the sled a few times which was not well received, but otherwise he seemed totally fine. I finally had to make him come inside to get warm. He kept saying "One more time", and threw a squirm fit when I made him come in.

But then we got to have the snow day reward of hot Ovaltine milk and warmed up brownies! I threw all of our wet stuff in the dryer in case we went out again, and we had a wonderful snack while watching the birds at the suet feeder on the porch. After our long break Zane decided to stay in and watch a new kids nature video instead of going back out. I was pretty pleased with that as I was still cold! After nap time it will be getting dark already, but we have a date to go next door and play with a grandmotherly neighbor. As long as the commute is good tomorrow, I'll be well pleased with our wintery break!

Now I can look forward to spring (maybe). I few days ago we picked up a broken branch from a tulip tree, and thought I'd bring it in to see what it would do. During a sun break yesterday it looked particularly lovely in a stark way.

Zane has had a growth spurt during the last couple of weeks. Some shirts are starting to be too short in the arms, but his pants look about the same, so I think he bulked up a little more than he grew up. Maybe that will happen next week. His paper diapers are all of a sudden too small, too, so I got the next size up. His everyday gDiapers still rock, though! Those are the best.

I keep hoping for toilet training in our future. Zane likes his new ladder potty, but lately when I put him on it he complains that the seat is cold. Our bathroom is often very cold as we have no ventilation and keep the windows in the master bedroom/bathroom open for several hours a day. I can't blame him for clamping up when I bribe him onto the potty! I guess spring weather will be better for this. Meanwhile, I can dream!

Oh Heck, It's Up To My Neck!

Happy Winter!

Usually the first day of winter in Seattle is just another cold rainy fall-like day. Well not this year! We're in the midst of a series of snow, wind, and ice storms that have paralyzed Seattle. And the weather has been freezing or below, to boot! That's pretty normal for some parts of the U.S., but not here.

Bijou and JoJo have been mostly cooped up inside and are getting antsy. Our usual routine in the mornings (when I don't work) is to go into the backyard for 20 minutes or so to stretch legs and catch up on the smell news by sniffing everything. JoJo also needs to check out her excavated burrow and make sure it's still open. Well this week I've been going out to feed the birds and defrost their bird bath, and JoJo and Bijou come out but don't stay long. They both seem pretty irritated by the snow, although JoJo has dug around in it and eaten some. And JoJo is finally camouflaged!

Here's a short video of JoJo in the snow:


For the rest of the day Bijou sleeps on her bed in front of our heater and JoJo lounges behind the couch or on her pile of blankets in the livingroom. In the two and a half years we've owned JoJo, she's never shown the slightest interest in any of the heaters, but it's been so cold that yesterday evening (while Bijou snoozed in a comforter on the couch) JoJo had a bath and a nap on Bijou's heater bed for 40 minutes! We've never seen her do anything like it before. I guess the house is cold!


The poor birds in the backyard have been cold. I've been pouring hot water in their bath every day, making sure they have food, and defrosting the hummingbird feeder. The Anna's hummingbird overwinters in Seattle, and I have at least two that visit my feeder. I've been very worried about them in this extended cold weather, but today I saw one at my feeder again, and that made me very happy.

The other birds have really been enjoying the warm water in their bird bath:


I've talked to my Mom on the East coast, and they're having snowstorms, too. Well, wherever you are, take a cue from the animals and roast yourself in front of a heater, have a hot bath, and drink sugar water. Merry Squidmas!

Snowtasia!

I really prefer to visit Maine in the summah, but if I have to go in the winter, it might as well snow! While we were there, we had two beautiful snow falls, both nicely scheduled to not interfere with our travel plans.

The first snow started on the evening of the 30th while we were snugged up in Harpswell with my Dad, my stepmom Becky, my brother Brady, and the cat Scout. It was still a snowy winter wonderland when we woke up. I shoveled and snowshoed, and then the sun came out for even more beauty.

To cap it all off, when were set to leave for Camden, I saw an owl fly onto a branch in the yard. He was very big! He stayed for about 10 minutes while the Henderson-Gibson-Williams paparazzi snapped many photos. This owl was pretty big -- maybe the size of a raccoon. I'm thinking he might be a Barred Owl. A recent blog post here says, "The widespread reports of Barred Owls being seen in the daylight hours in Maine this winter has some people thinking these birds are having a tough winter already and they are stressed and hungry enough to come out in daylight." I hope he wasn't too stressed. Very magnificent.
On New Year's Day in Camden, we had another pretty snow storm which started at about 2pm. We went for a nice long walk around Chestnut and Bayview Streets in Camden. It was absolutely beautiful, and I'm really glad I didn't have to drive anywhere. This ivied lamp post is at my brother's house, where we were staying.