Isaac, meet [Winter Storm] Jonas

Isaac "met" his very first blizzard this weekend: Winter Storm Jonas.  He had snow much fun spending lots of quality time at home with both Mommy and Daddy, relaxing around the house, cuddling on the couch with Sesame Street and warm cocoa, trekking out for a few visits with family, a breakfast outing, and of course lots of fun playing outside in the record-breaking 29.2" of snow. 

Snow Days = good eats, so Mommy tried out lots of new recipes and did a good bit of baking as well.  Isaac really enjoyed Mommy's first attempt at homemade Indian food. Mommy and Daddy tore through a batch of chewy chocolate chip cookies, and also made some challah bread which we shared with Mom-mom-mom for her 91st birthday on Tuesday (Isaac insisted the circular braided bread was a giant bagel.) We also enjoyed an improvised version of huevos rancheros, some crack slaw, broccoli fritters, and of course some snow ice cream!

Challah!

Since there was a state of emergency called beginning at 7am on Friday, Daddy wound up getting a snow day before the snow even actually started to fall. So we spent the snow-free morning running a few last minute errands.  Isaac has been showing off some very agile climbing movements, and in the car is no different.  Putting Isaac into the carseat can be such a workout at times, with him going fully horizontal (reaching back to play with the dome light) in one smooth motion (picture below).  

so happy to have Daddy at home all day!

The snow started later in the afternoon, and after Isaac's nap we bundled up in snow gear to check things out.  Isaac was really fascinated to see everyday objects, like his swing, covered in this cold white stuff.  He also enjoyed exploring cause and effect as he tapped on the grill and furniture covers, and laughed as the snow "avalanched" off. Videos: HERE of his first walk outside, and HERE of the "avalanche".

On Saturday we woke up to an (eventual) accumulation of over 2 feet of snow!

HERE is a video of Isaac's fun in the backyard after the snow finally stopped falling.  It's a bit rocky as Mommy was running backwards, and may or may not have fallen down at one point. 

watching the snow fall

After Saturday the days kind of blend together.  We spent time out in the snow each day. The first day Isaac had a blast just running the length of the trail Daddy shoveled out for the dogs.  As the height of the snow went down each day, Isaac gradually braved trying to trek through the snow a bit and had great fun playing different versions of his self-created came of "up, down" (video HERE, with some rare bonus footage of the dogs playing at the end). 

In the bird bath: Last year versus this year! More snow, and more Isaac!

[dachshund] through the snow...

breakfast with a (snowy) view

his tights from Christmas made a perfect snow gear layer

 

snow face!

He really wanted to shovel, but it was just too hard to hold with mittens on

We also had a fun time making some pitiful snowmen, which Isaac seemed to name Broccoli Snowman ("brockee no-man") due to their broccoli eyes and buttons. Isaac accidentally  knocked off one of the carrot noses and got very upset until we placed it back where it belonged. Then Isaac had fun giving the cold snow people hugs and kisses. 

"Muah!"

All of that snow play had to be balanced out with cuddly clothes, and cozy couch time.  We dug out a sweater that had been passed down to us from one of Daddy's friends and it was the perfect snow day attire.  There was also a daily dose of Elmo, Abby, Bert & "Nernie", Oscar, and Grover sometimes from the couch, and sometimes while dancing along.

snow day naps are the best!

laundry basket naps are nice too

Of course we also had plenty of indoor fun. Some more successful than others. Isaac wanted to play Cranium with Allie the other day. You can probably guess how well that turned out.  We also attempted some sensory play with some hidden toys in a tub of pasta. While fun for Isaac, it turned out to be way messy for Mommy to clean up. We also trekked into the treacherous roads of Crestwood to visit with Mommom and CharliePop.  On our way, we saw the Snow Art folks working on their first creation of 2016 (click on the link to be amazed by their very cool snow art!). Then of course there has been a good deal of dancing...both on and off the coffee table. We're embarrassed to admit that that is nothing new, but now Isaac has started to lay down on the table and take a little rest mid dance. 

dancing in front of the Valentine's Day tree

Mom-mom-mom's birthday was on Tuesday so since our original plan of having a big family dinner on Sunday was majorly snowed out, we trekked out for a quick visit after naptime. Isaac entertained Mom-mom-mom and great Uncle Tony by showing him some videos of his snow fun, mistaking their dust pan broom as a hair brush, dancing his fingers in excitement when Mom-mom-mom offered him a banana, and perhaps the favorite moment was when Isaac (without prompting), clapped and exclaimed, "yay!!!" after Mommom opened her presents.  

We also made it out for our Wednesday breakfast outing. This time we went to Willy's Kitchen which is a cute farm-to-table restaurant just 5 minutes from home.  Isaac enjoyed a sunrise buckwheat pancake while saying hi and bye-bye to fellow patrons.  There was one gentleman who came in with a service dog, which Isaac had a great time observing from afar.  When we left, Isaac waved and yelled, "buh-bye puppy!"

Last week, BEFORE the snow we had a week full of our regular happenings.  For last week's midmorning Wednesday breakfast date with Daddy, we went to Greg's Bagels. Isaac enjoyed his cinnamon raisin bagel and laughing at the huge baker statue outside. However, when we went outside to get a picture with it, Isaac very adamantly said, "no! no!" and refused to get closer than 5 feet from it.

Then later in the evening we had our "Christmas" visit at great Grandma Gloria's where we got to also see Aunt Mary, Aunt Felicia, and Uncle Tom.  Isaac was happy to watch Grandma open her gifts and look through the photo calendar we made her. He also seemed to recognize the scarf Mommy made for her as he smiled and pointed with familiarity when she wrapped it around her neck. Isaac also had fun trying on some of the hats that Aunt Brenda sent for the family from Minnesota.

Isaac's vocabulary continues to grow, and in turn impresses and/or humors us.  Some quick talking stories from the week being:

-Usually when Daddy goes to get Isaac in the morning he happily says, "Mommy" and "Daddy".  The other day, however, he greeted Daddy with a stern, "Big Poopy!". When Daddy went to change his diaper, sure enough, it was a big...you know what.  As Daddy opened the diaper, Isaac gave a raised-eyebrow head nod and again stated, "poopy".  

-While playing inside the other day, Isaac suddenly looked at Mommy and asked, "'nack?" (snack).  Mommy asked what he wanted, and he very excitedly responded "CHEEEESE! [and] cracker?". Once Mommy agreed, Isaac ran full speed into the kitchen, tapping on the refrigerator door repeating, "cheese? cheese?"