a while ago, i was whining and complaining about the lack of snow in december - the time of year when even people who hate snow want at least a little dusting - preparing for christmas is so much more cozy with snow softly falling around you as you sip cocoa from under a warm, knitted afghan in front of a roaring fireplace (how many imagery-cliches can YOU fit into a single sentence?).

FINALLY...we've been getting steady little snow showers for over a week now, and we have a lovely little winter wonderland of our own.

the boys are loving every minute of playing in their big back yard full of snow. they like to eat it. they like to throw it. and they like to ride on it. kenny's having just as much fun as, if not more than, rowan (3 1/2) and sawyer (2 1/2). you see, kenny got himself a snowboard from craigslist for christmas. technically, it is my christmas present to him, but he did all the research and purchasing legwork. i won't say TOO much about the rendering of the scantily-dressed woman on the front of it, but let's just say, a very young and single man owned the board before my husband did. ;) i'm very impressed with how quickly he's picked it up. the first wobble ride he took was a bit on the slow and unbalanced side. since then, he's flying down the hill with the greatest of ease (and he's really only been out on the snow a few times this month!).

between snowboarding, he helps sawyer build snowmen (sawyer's still obssessed even though most of the blow-up snowmen have been removed from people's lawns), teaches rowan how to throw snowballs, and takes them down on the toboggan. i get to watch all of this from behind closed windows since adam (7 mos.) is not yet into the excitement of snow (it makes him crabby). next year, at 18 months old, he'll be hobbling through the snow, and adding only about 26 minutes to the getting-dressed-with-bootshatsglovesandcoats ritual.

thanks to a pretty spiffy masthead at a favorite blog of mine, sawyer insisted i find a scarf for his snowman. he spotted a picture of a snowman at the blog and asked about the scarf around its neck. he then told me that his snowman was cold. he's got such a big heart for snowmen.

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