The Winter Months

See this picture of my TT?  That is how I feel most winters. From approximately December 1st until about March 1st, there is no going outside to play.  It's cold in MN this time of year.  I mean really, really cold  (I think it's about -20 today, if you really care to know)  As Nur and TT get older, our winters are getting better.  I'll never forget our FIRST winter.  Now that was an awful winter.  I had a 6 month old, and a year old child, who were very difficult to entertain. 

The picture above? Yes, that is our very first winter.  Also affectionately called the longest winter of my life, and sometimes, I just call it HELL ON EARTH. 

Things have gotten a bit better, but I'll be honest, most days, my kiddos don't get outside.  At all.  T and I despise the cold, we have a nanny who comes into our home, so there isn't a reason they leave every day, and, it's just not safe to be outside in this cold.  So we spent A LOT of time indoors. 

Here is how I'm currently keeping my two loves busy.  One, we have Curious George sessions in the mornings and in the evenings, right before bed.  Pre-kids, I was going to be very strict on TV watching.  And don't get me wrong, it's still not a free for all.  But when they wake up, we do allow a little TV watching, and right before bed.  Let me tell you, this winter, the kiddos wake up around 7:30.  Their first winter, mornings startedat 5 to 5:30am, so this in itself makes things much easier. 

We play a lot of dress up and pretending.  And because TT has the more dominant personality, poor Nur also is a princess many days. 

We are really into trains right now, and spent hours at Nur's train table.  Nur loves when I play with him, and loves building BIG trains. 

 

We read  ton of books!  Nur is really into tractor books, and TT is really into Clifford, Fancy Nancy, and her all time favorite book is called, "Please Baby Please."  We will sit for along time jus reading and reading. We love to play play doh, and draw pictures.  We love to sing songs and do actions for all the different songs, we love to prctice the alphabet and numbers, and play with "pretties."  We build forts, and play in caves.  Oh, and all this only takes an hour. :)

We try to get out of the house whenever possible.  The kids go to school once a week, and Sunday School every Sunday.  There are some local indoor play places that we frequent, and we try to get the kids involved in diferent activities when we can. 

MN winters are no joke.  If my wonderful family didn't live here, I'd move to a warmer climate in a heartbeat.  But here we are, in -20 weather,and trying to make the best of it.