Thurs. Jan 10, 2012 - I want to be like big sister

 I love having fires in our fireplace, but they are only relaxing after the girls are in bed

The family went snowshoeing at Bubolz nature preserve

 Riley loved navigating with her map

 Eventually she got tired and rode on Daddy's back

Micaela does everything her big sister does; Riley climbs on the toybox, Micaela climbs on the toybox

 Riley puts on her socks, Micaela puts on her (Riley's) socks

 We really enjoy doing crafts, and Riley continues to improve her fine motor skills and her patience

 Micaela helped choose the colors

 A vase of paper and foam flowers with pipe cleaner stems

 Micaela can climb anything. I have no idea how she got up onto the rocking chair but she was very proud of herself.

Frosty take 2

 I started the second snowball too far away from the base and it was too big for me to lift so we had to rub off a lot of the snow. I continue to improve my snowman making skills.

 Riley added the scarf while Micaela tried to eat a grape that had fallen out of Frosty's mouth (she was unsuccessful since I bundle her entire hand in the snowsuit)

 5 minutes later, he's still standing! Success!

Cute little Micaela

 Yes, we still have a lot of snow

Micaela and I started Goldfish swim lessons today, a parent-baby class for my water-loving baby

Several of our southern (Chicago and beyond) relatives have asked if we still have snow. Oh yes. This week we went snowshoeing, built a snowman and played in the snow. We finally had a few days above freezing, our first since the blizzard in mid-December, so we've had very little melt. I enjoy our snow activities so if its going to be cold, I'd rather have plenty of the white stuff.

One thing I really admire about Riley is her decisiveness. She definitely gets this from Chad. When I asked her what kind of cake she wants for her birthday she replied, "Tinkerbell and her fairy friends next to a waterfall." I showed her pictures of other cakes, tried to talk her into Snow White cupcakes, but she never wavered. She is definitely testing my cake decorating skills. I'm sure she got this idea from a book, she still enjoys reading. After just one reading she can recite parts of a book. She will read them over and over, act them out and quote them throughout the day. We go to the library all the time and she chooses her own books and usually wants to read them while we're still at the library. Unfortunately we usually can't stay for very long. Micaela also likes going to the library but for very different reasons. She loves pulling books off shelves so the library is her dream come true. I find the library exhausting.

Micaela has had a very big week. She is walking! She's only taking a few steps at a time, maybe 5 or 6, but she is very steady, I've never seen her fall down. She's been cruising the furniture and standing on her own for months, I'm glad she finally decided to take the "next step." She and I started a parent-baby swimming class today. She loves the water so I thought this would be a fun bonding activity for us while Riley is in preschool. It went really well. Micaela loves to splash but she wasn't so sure when I turned her onto her back for the first time. We have an energetic instructor who has great tips for making the baby comfortable in water and they worked great. I think this is the perfect class for us.