First Time Sledding

Today Amy, Ryan, Danny, Ed, and I took Hannah out for her first time sledding. It was a temperate 20 degrees. We were all excited to see who she would want to ride with and how she would react on the hill.
Here is Hannah and Danny getting ready for a fast run down the hill. We would let her pick who she wanted to ride with. The bad part about being chosen is that you would have to pull her back up!!!

There were several one foot tall bumps along one path of this hill. Ed and Ryan thought it would be a splendid idea to ride together. The first two bumps sent them nicely in the air. The third bump lost the battle to the sled and they went through it, not over it!

Here is Amy and Hannah attempting the bumps on the hill. Unfortunately for the two of them, they only made it to the first bump. They were unable to land it. If you look closely, the sled is still in the air.

After pulling Hannah up the hill several times, Ryan and I decided that it was our turn to be pulled up. After several inches, Hannah decided that I was too heavy.

Uncle Ryan was much nicer than I was. He pretended that he was getting pulled up the hill when in fact he was crawling up the hill. This made Hannah feel good about herself. Although, Ryan only lasted about five feet before he was tired of crawling.

Hannah normally would lay on her belly when being pulled up the hill. However, she soon decided that she would "snowboard" her way up the hill. It was very cute to witness. She was getting bolder and bolder by the time we left.

Lastly we have Hannah and Ed taking a trip up the hill. It is amazing how heavy a little 35 pound girl can seem when you add a little bit of snow, a brand new sled, and the force of gravity. Ahhhh, but it was well worth it to see her smiling. Her first experience sledding was definately a good one. It is nice to live in a place where sledding is just another winter hobby.

TIME OUT!!!

We woke up this morning excited to take Hannah sledding for her first time. We had a nice breakfast of Captain Crunch and started putting Hannah's snow pants on. When her snow pants were finally on, she told daddy to put his on.
Ed immediately went to use the bathroom before putting on his snow pants. Hannah slammed the door open, looked right at him and told him to put his snow pants on right now! She then proceeded to count to 4. Once she reached 4 and Ed hadn't moved, she walked over to him, spanked him and put him in time out! I couldn't contain my laughter. To top it off, she held him there and had Holly guard him so he wouldn't leave. Once she counted to ten she took him out of time out and told him to put his snow pants on RIGHT NOW!!!! Amazing how quick little ones are to pick up on our habits. Ed had to act as serious as possible otherwise we would be sending the wrong signals to Hannah.

Baking Cookies

Today we spent most of the day baking cookies and candies. Ed tackled the never ending battle of keeping Hannah at bay. While mom and I made fudge, divinity, and peanut brittle, Ed and Hannah rolled out and baked sugar cookies.

It took about two minutes to realize baking with a two year old will ultimately end in a mess. Here is Hannah and Ed rolling out the dough and getting ready to punch out some cookies.

Hannah would tell Ed what cookie cutters to use. Then the two of them would press them down and make "PERFECTLY SHAPED" cookies.
Somewhere between rolling out cookies and pressing the cookie cutters, Hannah found time to use the flour as make-up.
Several shirts later, and flour floating through the air, we had our last tray of sugar cookies to put into the oven. Now comes the task of decorating and putting frosting and sprinkles on them. I can't wait to see what new way Hannah can invent to frosting the cookies.

Playing in the Snow

The other day, Hannah, Holly, and I went out shoveling snow. Last year Hannah wouldn't even stand in the snow without whining. This year she ran straight in and started rolling around. It is amazing what one year can do to a child.
What is funny about the Hannah/Holly relationship is that they take turns white-washing each other!!! This is one of Holly's victories. I am sure there will be many more throughout the winter season.

Here is Hannah's attempt at a snow angel. As we have all figured out at one point in our lives, getting up out of the snow angel without ruining it is the hardest thing to do.