It's only the beginning

First real snowfall of the season is hitting today. Of course the girls wanted to go out in it as soon as we got home.

Angel kisses. 

 

DDOT may want to hire Amalia on their crews. 

On a cold Saturday in January

 January is a great time to order discounted Grinch shirts. 

 Amalia is becoming quite proficient with her scissor skills. 

Because it is much too cold to go outside, Lily had the brilliant idea of having friends over for an impromptu Wii dance party. I second the notion as a great way to have everyone burn off some energy.

Lily, Garrett and Gabe bustin' some moves. 

O-HI-O!

Last weekend we drove to Ohio for the annual Steele Family Christmas. Unlike the blizzards and ice storms of past years, this time we were blessed with uneventful, albeit cold, weather. And we're so glad because we had a wonderful time seeing everybody.

 Lily quickly attached herself to cousin Logan. He was VERY kind and patient. 

I agree with Amalia--books ARE good enough to eat. (On a side note, see my lovely silver highlights?)

Amalia in motion with her new Singamajig. He had some sort of battery issue and sounded like he'd had a tracheotomy. My cousin John said he sounded like Stephen Hawking.

  Amalia bonding with cousin Annika. 

 More cheese, please. 

 The cousins making playdough birthday cakes. 

The NFL playoffs were on TV. This picture was taken after supper. The rest of the room was filled with sleeping adults, which we're not showing to protect their privacy. 

One of the playdough creations.

The later afternoon entertainment featured Kinect dancing and adventure games. Here I believe they are on a raft jumping over a crocodile or something.

See earlier reference to Lily's BFF of the day. After Logan went home on the first day we were there, Lily sat down and quietly wrote a note to Andy and me: "I would like a brother like Logan, please." (hers was phonetically spelled)

 A new tradition. The Steele Christmas pinata.

 I think the mess left on Aunt Novella's carpet made this a short-lived tradition.

 

The girls slept together on an air mattress. What a treat! Maybe they can share a room at home after all...

Snow expectations

 

Any little bit of snow elicits tremendous excitement from the girls. So much so that Lily even volunteered to shovel our driveway.

 

Along with excitement come expectations--some more realistic than others. Here, Amalia is trying to build a snowman.

Out of the mouths...

Recent snippets from the girls...

While driving to daycare this morning:

Amalia: Where's the moon?

Me: It's on the other side of the earth.

Amalia: The other side of the earth? I climb up to get it. I get Daddy's ladder.


While dancing with the Wii the other night, one of the songs had the lyrics, "...you take my breath away...":

Lily: That's not good if someone takes all of your breath away.

Me: Right. Remember that in future relationships.

Lily: Yeah, because you can't survive if you can't breathe.

Lights and locomotives

 

For New Year's, we visited a Christmas lights exhibit at a local park. Here's our little Oompa-Loompa next to a poinsettia (or as my grandma used to say, "ponzetta").

A nice alternative to the drive-thru varieties, this exhibit allowed you to walk in, around, and under all the beautiful lights.

It was a bit late (and cold) for Lily. She pretty much stayed bundled up in the stroller. It made me feel like I was pushing someone around the old folks home, perhaps getting out for some fresh air.

 Amalia is a very willing Cheese!-sayer. 

 But she's not very good at staying put for pictures. 

 The old fogey and the Oompa-Loompa in front of a dolphin. 

 The whole famn damily under a tunnel of lights. 

As an added bonus, the park also had an indoor train exhibit. They're always so entrancing. Like a slow-motion version of NASCAR.

 Look! Lily can walk! It's a miracle! Did I mention the train exhibit was heated?

I also should have mentioned that earlier in the day both girls got haircuts. Lily provided specific direction for hers.

Creative juices

One of the nice things about the holidays is the opportunity to just hang around the house and spend time with each other. 

A few days ago, Lily came up with the idea to create a zebra costume. Here she's coloring one of the legs. Boy was she upset when she learned that Andy had recycled the rest of our cardboard boxes the day after Christmas. You snooze, you lose around here.

The animal in action. Note that she dressed all in black to best accommodate the costume.

Always one to look up to her big sister, Amalia set to decorating her own box. We're not sure what her vision was.

Eschewing stickers or markers, she decided to cover it with tape, prompting Lily to lecture, "Amalia, tape is NOT a decoration! You use tape to fix something that's ripped or torn or to attach something to something else." Perhaps Lily has a future at Webster's.

After watching a Charlie Brown special that featured Peppermint Patty as an ice skater, the girls were inspired. Particularly Amalia. 

And last but not least, here we are trying out our new Wii game, Just Dance for Kids. I particularly enjoy how Dana is doing her best to ignore the ruckus.