This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

See, this is what happens when I try to take advantage of a teachable moment when Soren expresses an interest in both measuring things and going outside. I hand him my good straightedge and tell him we're going to measure how deep the snow is, and let him outside while I'm putting my boots on, and then when I come outside he asks me where the ruler is, and I ask HIM where the ruler is, and it turns out he's dropped it into the crawl space under the deck, and I'm not going under there because there are dead spiders, and so my good straightedge is gone FOREVER. And I have to buy a new one. That's it! No more learning.

Note: Comments pointing out that I shouldn't have given a toddler my good straightedge will be deleted.

Child Labor

I mean, it's nice that he wants to help out, but I really think he could work a LOT harder:

Oh, THAT'S Why People Have Kids!

Slave labor! I'm getting Soren trained early. He picked up his first snow shovel today, and was thrilled to help Mama pick up snow and throw it (although his method was more like "push snow and drop it"). We did some token shoveling, and then went for a walk, but didn't get very far before he started saying "mall shuvva" ("small shovel" -- he was using the little retractable shovel that usually lives in the car), so we turned around and did some more shoveling.

I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow. He's a funny boy.

Insights into the Toddler Mind

Soren's vocabulary is growing every day, and I think it's just the coolest thing. I love knowing what he's thinking about.

The funniest thing he does at the moment: he throws his arm into the air and announces "DONE!" when he feels it's time to move on to a different activity. It started as a way to tell me when he was finished eating, but now he's expanded its use to try to put an end to diaper changes, shopping trips, naps, and visits to friends' houses (sorry, AlaskanMama! Nothing personal, I'm sure!). He says "DONE!" as soon as his butt hits the changing table. Nice try.

He's in his crib right now, saying "Done. Mama. Done. Mama." However, I haven't heard any actual napping going on yet, so I'm going to ignore him. If I ignore him for five minutes or so and he still wants to get up, he'll get truly desperate and start asking for Daddy.

He's been a total wuss about going outside lately, which is bugging me because I would like to see the sun occasionally during my six-hour window of opportunity, and I can't really go for a walk without him. I bring him out anyway, trying to play up the fun and excitement of tromping around in the snow, but he's not buying it. He puts up with it for about 8.5 minutes before starting up with "House. House. Book. Lap. Book. Lap." Which, okay, is really freaking cute. My little boy is telling me that he'd rather be in the house, sitting on my lap and reading a book. I love that. It almost makes up for his bizarre distaste for sledding.

In other news, we went to a craft bazaar gift extravaganza thing last weekend and got two excellent Alaskan souvenirs: a cribbage board made out of a caribou antler, and a hammered iron fire poker with a little Dall sheep head on the top (not a real sheep head... it's also made of iron... just wanted to make that clear).

OH OH OH AND we have some real actual moose meat in the freezer! Chris managed to pick some up on his trip to Fairbanks! Plz send moose recipes kthx.

Along for the Ride

Here's how Soren generally looks while he's riding in the sled:



And experiencing the joys of eating snow (he didn't feel like wearing his gloves... big surprise):

Sledding: Not So Bad

I've taken Soren out sledding a couple times, and he seems to be OK with it -- it's not laugh-out-loud excitement yet, but he at least seems enthusiastic about climbing the hill for another run. It doesn't take too long before he starts saying "house," though, indicating that he'd like to go home.

I'll have to get a picture of him riding home in the sled (I tie my scarf to a handle and pull him home). He just lies flat on his back, arms out, staring at the sky.

Snow Big Deal

It's like some fundamental law of the universe that a blog post title must be witty. Or, you know, be an attempt at wittiness. I'm not sure I'm always successful.

Anyway, it's snowing! For real this time! It's snowed a few times before this, but yesterday was the first day that there was any meaningful amount of snow left on the ground after it stopped falling from the sky, and it started snowing again last night. It looks like it's pretty much done for the day, but there are a few inches on the ground! Yay! Now I can try and force Soren to sled again.

While I'm here, I'm going to have to change my attitude about snowy days. In Rhode Island, everyone makes a fairly big deal about snow (cleaning all the grocery stores out of bread and milk is something Rhode Islanders like to do in preparation for two inches of snow). So on a snowy day in RI, chances are good that you'll get out of work early, and no one will really expect you to go anywhere after that, so it's a great excuse to sit around and watch TV or maybe take a walk around the neighborhood. In sum, snowy day = slothfulness.

In Anchorage, though, people spend good money on studded tires, because it's a given that there will be snow on the roads pretty much constantly between November and May. So a snowy day is... just another day to go out and live your life. Go to work, go to school, go to the grocery store, all that fun stuff. So much for my slothfulness. I guess I'll have to start practicing driving in the snow.

Come to think of it, I don't even know if they have snow days in Anchorage schools. I'll have to look that up.

What's White and Flaky and Falls on my Shoulders all Day?

Snow, of course. It's snowing again! Snow is so nice when it's the very beginning of the season and it hasn't gotten all dirty and gross. At least it won't get slushy here -- apparently, once it gets below freezing, it pretty much stays there until spring (or, as we hard-core Alaskans call it, "breakup"), so the snow never melts into those astonishingly deep slush puddles that like to hide at the edges of the road in Rhode Island. Instead, it just gets packed down into solid sheets of ice, which I guess is somehow better.

I'm looking forward to getting some snow on the ground so that I can take Soren out sledding -- given how much he likes scooching down hills on his butt, I can only imagine how ecstatic he'd be about actually picking up some speed on the way down.

Chris and I got a night away while Grammy and Grampy were here last week, which was very nice. We went down to Seward and enjoyed the SeaLife Center at a pace much more leisurely than a toddler's, played cribbage in a coffeeshop, and got to see the first decent snowfall of the season.



The above picture was taken in front of the (unfortunately underexposed) signpost marking the historic start of the Iditarod race (the official starting point was moved north to Wasilla, with a preceding ceremonial start in Anchorage).

So, anyway, yay for snow!