snow & ice

Mighty icicle,

mighty cute little rider.

Sunny nap in snow,

and up again to hit the trail!

Tucked in under a snowy blanket.

holly-dazzle

A pre-holiday weekend with the cousins....

All aboard the Polar Express train ride in Duluth!

Choo, choo.

Classic L & L pose.

Listening to the story,

and hot chocolate for the bobbsey twins.

Later on in Bentleyville, Andrea snuggles in with Mateo and Emma.

Pop pushes Will, the marshmallow.

S'more making.

Up close with the reindeer lights.

Hello Rudolph,

and Hello, Mrs. Claus!

the holly-daze

Team Tree displays this year's harvest.

Little peanut eyes which ornament to rip down first.

Mmmm, sugar in many delicious and not-so-nutritious forms....

One less sweet tooth here. Big L lost his first tooth. Literally - at school somewhere. He says "maybe it just flipped out of my mouth when I was talking?" Or maybe it went the route of those carrots they had for snack today.....

more tiny love

Newest addition to the cousin gang: tiny wonder, Leo Christopher Carlson, born December 2. Big sister Izzy beams.....

gal pals

A glut of sisterly pics lately, as bro toils away in Kindergarten...

Clothes on,

clothes off.

Sledding (and slumping),

sipping hot chocolate (and wishing her milk was chocolate...).

Playdough chef,

and happy clean baby bum.

the big cheese

Amidst the swirl of turkeys and travel, little girl learns to stand alone....

with trusty pal dolly,

and tiny pillow.

Power squat!

little wrastlers

A dusting is all you need

for anxious little skiers,

shovelers,

and snowy by-standers.

Back inside, Linnea and little friend Sammy work on their WWF moves: the one-handed forehead squeeze,

and the rolling smackdown.

babies abound

Welcoming home newest cousin and brother:

with a sporty poster,

a giant bowl of frosting,

a pile of dollies,
(and a drooled-on shirt)

and a snow-pile-man!

Finally, the little bundle arrives home....

tiny love, Mateo Watson!

No longer the baby, but what fun to have a dolly that moves!

4:30

Whoever invented daylight savings time obviously did not have young children.

This is how we all feel today.
5:30am wake-up time magically turns into 4:30am. Super.

A whole extra hour in the day to hug a tree,

or wear a funny hat.

the chef, the T, and the impossible

Flanked by the skeleton, Chef Louis hams it up at the school Halloween party.
(Stunning hat, isn't it? Thanks inside-out Priority mail envelope!)

Little pumpkin doubles as...

the letter T.

Meanwhile, Miss "I'm 3, I woke up at 5:30am, don't mess with me, and don't even THINK about getting me out of my pajamas all day."

3/4 year

Peace. I'm 9 months old.

I rummage,

I chew on tractors,

I ride Mama-side,

and I eat mysterious, yet delicious, blobs of food.