Snow Day

Alternate title: How Does He Do That?

We can play in the snow for as little as 30 seconds and Nate will be covered from head to toe in snow. He pretty much rolls around in it for maximum coverage as fast as he can, but he has other methods as well. I'll let the pictures explain the rest.

– Oh, hi everyone. It's me, Nate. As you can see, I'm already covered in snow
from rolling around in it. We been outside for about 2 minutes.

– First I'm going to blow a smooch at the camera before I reveal big secret for
additional snow coverage.

– Here it is! If rolling in it doesn't coat you sufficiently, just pick up
whatever you can find and throw it on yourself until the desired look is achieved.
It works every time!

– My brother is so weird sometimes and Mommy is wondering why she bothers to
buy you warm clothes, Nate. It's COLD out here, bro!
Now knock it off and come and help me build my fort or I'll make Mommy do it.*

- L.

* Mommy helped build the fort. Nate continued to snow bathe until it was time to come indoors. I see a polar bear swim in his future for some reason.

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

From everyone at the OP, we hope you are having a day filled with outie belly buttons and love. Both get rewarded with kisses, which is handy since both of my sons have an outie and are full of love. If you aren't blessed with an outie (as I am not), you still get love. Either way, we all win.

- L.

8:54 AM

For Seth, my last:

Five years ago at this exact time you were born.

You are a little fickle about favourite numbers and colours and change them regularly, but you still mostly like blue and orange (and sometimes red, and green or maybe purple).

At age 5, you still like exactness, rules and "onstructions". Your favourite toy is still Lego. If the house was on fire and I could only save one toy for you it would have to be all the "Legos" (although I might die trying). You love to spend time by yourself just building (when you can manage to get away from your brother for a few minutes). It's a joy to see the things you create.

You also love to draw. As you once told someone, "I've never had a problem with drawing" and that's turned out to be very true. You have a real talent there that can't be taught. It just is what you were blessed with, and you are wonderful at it.

When you grow up you want to be an "onstruction worker". I used to joke that you would be my tugboat captain because you were so headstrong, but I could see you taking a real interest in engineering or architecture when you are grown up.

You still love planets and space, and prefer being called "Boogee" most of the time. You continue to be a force to be reckoned with and sometimes tell me you need time to "do some thinking", which is about the time anyone within earshot could hear your gears turning if they were listening.

You have a certain savoir-faire quality about you, and are a master at a good comeback. You are diligent, an excellent helper, and protector of your brother always (except when you are wrestling with him and then I suppose all bets are off). You hold your own very well. You still laugh at your own jokes like nothing else.

You are a thinker and a creator of things. You like climbing and wrestling almost as much as your brother, but you also like your time alone.

This is just a little bit about you at five. I hope you have the happiest of happy birthdays today, Seth.

All my love,
Mommy

8:53 AM

For Nate, my first:

Five years ago at this exact time you were born.

Your favourite numbers are still 1, 4 and 7. Your favourite colour is still blue. You still wake up first in the morning and bounce out of bed to wake up everyone else. You still forgive me when I'm impatient with you, especially if it's very early in the morning. You are steadfast that way.

At age 5, you have learned some things you didn't know a year ago. You are an excellent reader of pretty much anything – there really isn't too much you can't read actually – and I'm not sure what your teachers are going to do with you in kindergarten this September. You are outgoing and like to introduce yourself to people. You talk non-stop sometimes and use big words that people don't expect coming from someone so small, so they stop to listen and wonder where you got such a big vocabulary.

Your favourite things are your maps and your calculator. If the house was on fire and I could only save two things for you, I would grab those.

You still love music and have a quick ear. If I play a song for you even just one time, you can hum or sing the tune right off the bat. You have an excellent memory for lyrics or poems. You cut a pretty mean rug too. Your favourite songs are mostly from the 70s and 80s. Livin' On A Prayer is still very popular with you.

When you grow up, you still want to do whatever Seth is going to do because you want to be his best friend. I'm glad you love your brother as much as you do. It makes my heart happy. You are still without guile and so innocent about things it worries me a little sometimes, but your brother is always there for you too. He is your watchman after all.

You are very much a boys' boy. You have a spirit for adventure, racing, breaking things, climbing things and wrestling with said brother.

This is just a little bit about you at five. I hope you have the happiest of happy birthdays today, Nate.

All my love,
Mommy