Sometime over the last week or two, Emery learned how to make snowflakes at school! He is pretty proud of each and every one!
So on the weekend we tried our hand at circular snowflakes. It took Oliver a few times to figure it out and remember the steps, but once he did he wanted to do it over and over again. 
Now we have several very beautiful paper snowflakes adorning our kitchen windows! 
It was a wintry kind of weekend in NS!
We curled Saturday morning, we slid Saturday afternoon, and the kids worked on the fort they’re building in the big snowbank in front of our house (living at the end of a court is good for that sort of thing!).
We recently discovered a great sliding hill at a nearby school. It’s just the right steepness and length so the boys can walk back up themselves and get just enough speed – the most important part!
Eleanor isn’t into sliding so much yet so she doesn’t last too long. Maybe next year.
On Sunday we took our snowshoes and some good friends and took to a trail that runs just behind our subdivision. The trail was well run over and packed over and the boys were wanting to run so we didn’t actually get to try out our new snowshoes (next time, nana and papa!) but the afternoon was beautiful!
We veered off the trail and found a spot to make a campfire, complete with hotdogs and s’mores. Eleanor didn’t enjoy this part so much because the snow was kind of deep and I think she got cold once we stopped walking. Maybe for this year we will keep the campfires to our back yard. 
The last couple of days have been rainy and warm, so … bring on the next winter storm!! Winter is nowhere near as fun when it’s green!
Oliver, being one of the last of his circle of friends to have all of his baby teeth, was really anxious to lose his first tooth. The sucker was loose and hung on for what seemed like months!
Finally, on a New Year’s Eve family bowling trip, he bit into a jelly bean and it was a goner. Thankfully daddy found it and put it in his pocket.
He was pretty tickled that it happened on a special day like New Year’s Eve and spent several days talking about how funny the hole felt. He was pretty excited to show his friends when he returned to school!
The tooth fairy brought him $4 and he was stoked to spend it on a new beanie-boo.
Christmas and Boxing Day were so mild this year that, on Boxing Day, we took a break from toys and games and got outside for some fresh air. It was wet after days of rain so, rather than venture into the woods, we walked the trail around the Frog pond.
Oliver was all about the pictures – “Mommy! Take a picture of me between these trees!” (and “on this rock” and etc, etc, etc). 
Eleanor was all about … well, being Eleanor. Sweet as usual. 
Emery was all about climbing trees! He was having a ball until a slight misjudge turned into a scrape on his back. 
And of course what’s good for one is probably good for all three kids… err, I mean the boys and papa. 
It was a lovely walk and good for everyone to get some fresh air and take a break from Christmas. Last year we took a walk in Point Pleasant Park on Boxing Day so perhaps we have started a tradition!
