Snow way!

I can hardly believe it...last night there was snow in South Carolina! Beaufort, South Carolina, to be specific!

Of course, it started coming down just AFTER we put Ian down (yet just BEFORE his little eyes had closed). But in this family, sleep will hardly take priority over a new and exciting adventure, will it? (Only for the littlest people, like Zoe, that missed their nap that day and passed out practically dead to the world).

We didn't plan the day like this, but we went from this:


To this:


In less than 12 hours! Quite humorous, don't you think?

As you can see from the huge grin on his face, Ian had no trouble waking up to enjoy the falling flurries! The most precious moment of all was only moments after really processing what was happening, he lovingly turned to make eye contact with both of us and said, "I LOVE snow!"


Ian's steps for "How to Enjoy Snow" would look something like this:
1) Run around in circles with a huge smile on your face, in an ever-widening arc around the yard,
2) Chant, "It's snow! It's snow!" or "Snow! I love snow!"
3) Randomly squeal and shriek in excitement as snowflakes touch any part of your body,
4) "Catch" snowflakes by opening your mouth very wide while running with your arms flailing randomly about,
5) Repeat from step 1. :)

Matt was there the whole time to share in the joy of the moment with us, bathrobe and all! It makes me so happy to see what a good Daddy he is to his kids! It was like all of us were kids again, sharing in Ian's excitement!

(For those of you that know Matt well, you know this is a big deal to see him making such cold temperatures look so "cool" and casual...LOL).

We even knocked on our neighbors door (their son is a month older than Ian), and had fun partying in the snow with their company too! Part of what made the night so exciting was hearing the shouts of joy from all corners of the neighborhood as kids (and adults) were having fun in this rare Beaufort occurrence!


Eventually, it was time to head inside. Ian stopped running around in circles and with rosy cheeks tramped into the house. I know that he had dreams of the snow, because when he woke up the next morning the first thing he said was, "Mommy, I gonna build a NO man!!" with emphasis.

Rewind just slightly (since Ian did sleep in until 10am!), Zoe and I headed out first thing in the morning for her to see the cold white stuff for the first time.

Zoe's first reaction to the snow was ambivalent. In fact, a somewhat contented expression even crossed her face at first...


That was soon to change as we got down to the level of the snow to explore closer. She feigned a lack of curiosity (she does this quite often, content to let someone else check it out for her first), and tightened her hold on my arm.


I scooped up a little handful of snow to let her touch it, because I could see she would NOT be happy if I just plopped her down in it. She humored me, and reached out tentative little fingers...


...and, I have never seen a baby this young do it, but she ROLLED her eyes at me! And, she heaved a big sigh and retracted that little hand in a very firm statement. "Mother, I do NOT like snow, and don't EVER make me touch it or get near it again."


I didn't listen, and when Ian finally woke up, I decided to try again. Sometimes, little people just need extra time to process things. But Zoe had not changed her mind in only a couple of hours:


She did think about it for a moment longer when brother was next to her on the blanket,


but at this moment in her life, she does not care for it. At all.


In fact, she was a little mad at me.


At least her brother cares and listens to how she feels. When I was trying to snap a picture of both of them on the blanket in the moment she seemed content, Ian informed me, "Mommy, Zoe can't want snow. She can't like it. Pick her up, Mommy. She can't like it."


Pardon me for my snickers of amusement. I know one day Zoe may decide she likes the cold white stuff, but I can't help but think, "That's my girl!" I love the looks of snow, but 10 minutes quite satisfies my curiosity. I don't like building snowmen, or making snowballs, I like to look at how pretty it is from under my warm blanket.

Special thanks to Ian for showing Mommy that snow can be tremendously exciting...even more than any amusement park! :)

We made one teensy snowman, which Ian promptly picked up, "Mommy, da NOman want on da road, not on da NO!"


We made a couple other snowballs (that I intended to be snowmen, but Ian corrected me), "This da NOman, this NOT a NOman, Mommy." I asked him what they were, and he never gave an answer. It was very cute how he lined them up!


What I will remember most about this beautiful episode of February 2010 is Ian's electric pursuit of snow. It's all melted now, but yet another memory is saved!



It's such a blessed experience getting to know my children through their experiences. I will never take for granted how different each of them has been created, and how wonderful it is to celebrate their uniqueness! Most importantly, how exhilarating it is to be present with the ones you love...to soak in the sensations of every moment. :)