Snow Day Fun

When Nemo hit, we were kinda bummed since we had planned to take a trip to our beloved NYC that weekend. That said, the amount of snow sure didn't disappoint. Nearly two feet piled at our front door! There was also a statewide ban on driving so there was no doubt that our day would be spent largely indoors. The thought of a baby cooped up for twenty four hours is enough to make any mom transform into a creative genius. Here are some of the fun things we did: 

I used contact paper (sticky paper) and placed some fun items of different textures on it for Kz to find and explore. The paper is transparent so I stuck the protective paper underneath to provide a solid white background. This helped to make the colorful objects pop.  Picking up some of the objects was a challenge but it made it all the more interesting to Kz.

 He can finally move around pretty efficiently so he scooted around the periphery of the paper, occasionally testing the stickiness with his feet.

 

 When he accidentally scooted his entire body onto the paper, he got a bit frustrated. Don't worry, I rescued him shortly after snapping this photo. Hehe.

After Kz's first nap, we suited up and attempted to brave the outdoors. We quickly used Kz as a measuring stick before stumbling onto the front path. Three waist-deep steps later and I was spent. Luckily, it wasn't so cold outside so we took in the view from our lawn, touched the snow, looked up at the snow-lined trees and marveled at the icicles surrounding the windows.

There were still some flurries coming down so Kz batted his eyelashes and giggled at the cold flakes on his cheeks. I held him up so he could touch the low branches of the trees. He shook them and watched the snow float down around us. Something about the snow is so magical. The stark white picturesque view, the intense hush of the busy street. I could stay outside for hours in this weather. Alas, I worried that Kz was becoming too cold and we trudged back to our door and spent the next half hour taking off the many layers of clothes we've piled on ourselves.

I couldn't miss an opportunity to let Kz explore the clean snow up close and personal so I grabbed a glass container and filled it with the fluffy stuff. I added a cupcake tray, some spoons, and some old container lids to use as tools.

We worked on a waterproof mat which managed the water from the spillover pretty well. I laugh when I look at this photo because it's funny that I expected Kz to use the tools I provided.

Silly, mommy. He only needed one tool...

And he used this little hand to shovel fistfuls of snow directly into his mouth. 

For fifteen minutes. 

Without a break.

Yum.  

When he started making this face...

... I knew his lips were numb and it was time to clean up. 

Now it started to get a bit tricky. Kz wasn't quite ready for his nap but he was a bit testy and looking for some attention while he played. I got a little desperate and remembered this simple play idea from Childhood101.com. I only had clear tape which probably made this much harder for Kz. I can imagine him saying, "WTF?" as he tried to figure out what was going on with his fingers. 

Maybe if I shake my arm really hard...

After this futile attempt, he moved on and started crawling around with the tape on his hand. I admired his nonchalance and removed the tape for him. 

Still cranky, I tried one more simple idea. I took the protective paper from the contact paper I used earlier and gave it a quick crumple. What a great crunching sound! I did it again to get Kz's attention and he reached for the paper.

He scrunched it, shook it, crawled on it...












...and then promptly moved on. Yup. It was finally nap time.







 Kz just started sleeping on his belly and like any anxious and  irrational new mom, I stare at the video monitor to make sure I can see him breathing. On this snowy day, I could not see the reassuring rise of his little chest, so I did what any other anxious and irrational mother would do; I jiggled the doorknob to make him stir. Convinced the tiny noise wouldn't completely wake him up, I watched the monitor as he stirred and blew out a sigh of relief. A moment later, that sigh became a gasp of horror as I watched Kz sit up in his crib and start crying, angry and red-faced like a dragon disturbed from his lair.

Now it was my turn. "WTF." That was not supposed to happen.

So after several failed attempts to put Kz back to bed, I carried him into the living room and met my fate. A cranky baby on a snowy day. I reached for my secret weapon. Crankiness is no match for, duh duh duhhhh...

Bubbles!