Thurs. Jan 31, 2013 - It really snows a lot in Wisconsin

 Sledding with Daddy, I hope they obeyed the rules!

 We had another snowday so we made a special breakfast

 Frosty the Snowman pancakes

Micaela loves helping me change the sheets. She lays on the piles of blankets...

 ...and stands at the foot of the bed so the sheets float down on her

Checking on the bread in the oven

 Fresh, warm bread on a cold day is wonderful

 It doesn't matter how cold it is, this crazy baby still takes off her socks and shoes in the car

Chad's going to have to unbury the grill before the Superbowl, BBQ is part of the big game!

 The pile at the end of our driveway. If we get any more snow, I have no idea where we will put it.

Seriously, Wisconsin gets a LOT of snow. I knew to expect more snow since we are further north than where we grew up but I was not prepared for this. We had another snow day on Wednesday. They don't call snow days lightly here so I've learned to expect some real weather when they do. We don't have any activities on Wednesdays so we didn't miss out on anything but we still had an extra fun day at home. We made Frosty the Snowman pancakes, baked bread and ate it fresh with honey, and shoveled. Then we shoveled again. Then Chad came home and shoveled one more time. I think about 12 inches of snow fell on Wednesday and its definitely easier to shovel often before it piles up and gets too heavy. Our wonderful neighbors continue to bail us out. Frank brought his snowblower over while Riley and I were out shoveling and did the bottom of the driveway, the worst part since the snowplows throw all of the snow from the street onto that part. He even told me to let the snow cover his tracks and tell Chad I did the entire thing. What a great neighbor. 

Poor Micaela got 6 new teeth, including 2 molars, during the month of January. 2 more are on the way and I'm really hoping she gets a break from all the teething after they come in. I'm really enjoying our swimming lessons, its so fun to play with her in the water. Today was a safety class. The kids wore lifejackets while the instructor pulled them around in a little boat, then we helped them float on their backs with the jackets. Micaela had a serious look during all of these new experiences but her mellow attitude allowed her to complete them all. One little boy wouldn't put on a jacket, another refused to get into the boat, so I'm very proud of her.

Riley is always surprising me. I want to invite a few of her friends over for a playdate so I've been asking her who she plays with at school and she usually answers, "No one." She can be very shy so I believed her. I talked to her teacher about it after school one day and Mrs. Patterson laughed and said, "Riley is definitely not shy. She is so funny and talkative. She usually hangs with the boys, she can be very rough and tumble." This is my quiet little girl who refuses to climb into her own carseat because its too hard? Parent-teacher conferences are in a few weeks, I can't wait to hear more about preschool life because I'm clearly not getting the details from my daughter!