Dog Days of Winter...

Winter has been official for quite some time around here but the weather hasn't necessarily lived up to it's Michigan standards of constant blizzards, wind chills below zero, or consecutive cloudy days. In fact it has been strangely sunny and mild making most people happy except for teachers or students who wish for those snow days every week through March.  However, with February coming to a close and this being my first winter "at home"...I feel like it has been the longest winter of my life! Okay...that's dramatic...sorry. I'll rephrase. It's been a "winter of trying to find things to do indoors that accommodate an active toddler, a small newborn, and a mother who desperately needs time out of our house before she begins counting tiles on the kitchen floor" (although...that may be a good counting activity for Noah! hmmm....)

So here is what we have been up to this February in pictures to beat the winter blues!



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Playdough! Right now...Noah is still at the squeezing, breaking, throw-on-the-floor...and EATING stage as seen above!

 



Making Valentine's cards for the grandparents and Daddy!





Making sugar cookies to decorate as gifts to the grandparents





Olivia enjoying some tummy time...and Noah using every effort to observe his sister with his eyes, not his hands :-)

Reading lots of books!



Being SILLY!

 


Being ADORABLE!



A few times a year a lady from Grand Blanc Public Schools comes in to do an activity with Noah through a program called SKIP (Successful Kids Involved Parents). It's a free program for kids 0-5.  At this visit, Noah was playing with a box full of dried beans, rice, and plastic food figurines practicing his scooping and dumping skills. A wonderful 20 minute activity that kept him engaged but required the vacuum cleaner out immediately after!

A Saturday morning trying to get Noah to enjoy painting :-) Usually lasts around 10 minutes!

These are "paint" markers that are waterproof and smell like fruits...

Of course I haven't documented how many Elmo videos we also enjoy on these wintry days when I'm feeding Olivia, changing some one's diaper, loading and unloading the dishwasher, folding laundry, or trying to keep this house "germ free" as much as possible. But who wants to see those pictures anyway?

Would love to hear from other stay at home moms what they do to "contain the sanity" through wintertime with toddlers and babies...ideas are welcome!