Tag: snow

Posted in Daily Life as a Parent

Winter….Oh Man…

Posted on by Mama

Well, winter is here and frankly I am not thrilled in the slightest. Having to layer myself was always a pain, now try to layer a slightly defiant and fiercely independent fourteen month old.

Not an easy feat I have to admit.

Though, I will say that some days are easier than others and she actually helps to dress herself; grabbing her socks, boots, jacket, etc. But going anywhere, even a walk, and having to throw on layer after layer is exhausting.

Plus, Valeria hates the snow. It’s kind of comical to be truthful because this is the first year she is really getting to experience winter and all it’s bone chilling, yet mildly beautiful, offerings. We bought her a full snow suit so that she can play in the snow; her snow suit, boots, hat and gloves were wrangled onto her and we stepped outside. Mind you this was about a week ago.

We had been getting some winter storms, so we had a lot of snow in the yard. My husband and I thought, she is going to love this! It was packing snow too and for anyone who doesn’t know what that means, it’s perfect snow to build snow men and have snowball fights; it essentially holds together really well and is slightly heavy. We popped her down in the snow and she immediately started crying. To be fair, the snow was about chest high for her. We began to show her to throw around the snow with her mittens, to make a ball in her hands and even made a mini snow man (more like a little snow tower, but eh!) and she stopped crying. We had to dig around her so that she had room enough to turn and walk the little bit that she had. Needless to say, she wasn’t really enjoying it much, but I did capture a very cute photo of her at that moment in time. Pretty sure my husband had more fun in the snow then she did!

The snow has slowly began to melt, but I still find it difficult to do much with her outdoors. The weather is a bit deceiving because it could look sunny and beautiful, but you step outside and you are freezing your ass off!

So, I’m trying to find indoor activities to do with her and we do take her for walks during the day. But you know how it is, that gets very boring after a while.

I thought about getting her one those little coloring boards that you can wipe it away after and they can doodle again, but then I thought she may be a little too young. She loves music, so we’ve been putting a lot of music on for her lately. It’s just, she is such an active little girl, that I want her to get as much energy out as possible and to be able to use her creativity and to learn all at the same time.

I might do a little research and see what other parents suggest, and any suggestions in the comments would be so appreciated!

But that’s all I have for today and I hope you have a wonderful day or night wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Travel/Vacations

Pioneer Village Winter Walk

Posted on by Mama

When I had planned this out, the weather was suppose to be sunny and nice. However the weather had changed and we are suppose to get a snow storm. Needless to say, this effected our whole experience unfortunately.

Valeria is having a hard time this week, but we find if we keep her busy she seems to nap better, we assume from the stimulation of learning and people watching. Well, today was to be our winter walk at the local Pioneer Village. The drive out there is about 30 minutes, and sadly our baby girl fell asleep in the car….sigh! We should have known that was going to happen since she is notorious for car naps.

We debated driving around with her, but thought she would sleep in the stroller once we transitioned her. To be fair it usually works, but this time it did not. She was not a happy camper. It was cold and a bit windy and really we probably should have turned around and went home, but we proceeded. She was bundled up in her winter attire and we always have a heavier blanket for the stroller rides right now.

We walked into the visitor centre just to make sure that the winter walks were available. Basically we can walk the grounds of the village, but no buildings were open to go inside and no staff/reenactors were on the grounds.

On the way in, we made a small donation in the village donation box, and the village was completely empty except for us. Eerie and peaceful all at once, I know that sounds contradictory, but you had to be there. Not even the photos captured that feeling. Valeria fussed and cried the whole time and at one point my husband had to carry her wrapped in the blanket. Not an ideal situation for sure, but it allowed us time to walk around and get some photos. We will go back in the summer when the village is properly open and the weather nice.

We didn’t stay very long, it was cold and started snowing. I’ll have to do a post when we go back and write about the history and the buildings that are there. It’s a pretty cool place, my husband liked it, but he wished we could have stopped to read each sign that was in front of the buildings. We headed back to the car, popping baby girl in first to get nice and warm. She was happy as a clam being in her car seat.

We headed home and the rest of the day was spent quiet, watching the snow lightly fall as we entertained Valeria. I made breakfast for dinner: eggs, bacon and hash-browns. Quick and easy, exactly what I needed.

Valeria woke up from her evening nap pretty smiley, so we opted to do bath time while she was still happy and calm. I think she is starting to like the water, she finds the water fascinating to watch, it’s kind of funny. And when I wash the soap off and it ends up around her, her little eyebrows perk up curiously. It’s hilarious. Bathed, lotioned and diapered and we had a cheery baby on our hands.

She just went down around 9 PM, so we are pretty sure she is down for the night….hopefully. So I am going to call it here and go relax. Tomorrow Valeria turns four months, so got to do some photos. Still have no idea what to do…eek! Wish me luck!

Ciao!

Posted in Daily Life as a Parent

Baby It’s Cold Outside…

Posted on by Mama

This morning we woke up to a wonderful snowfall, actually a little bit of a winter storm. As we gazed out the window, baby girl was mesmerized the the snow; little fluffy pillows of snow fell from the grey sky, blanketing our barren trees and shrubs. Depressing and beautiful all at the same time.

I sat there thinking “Another day inside, how boring…” and it’s true. It’s exactly how I felt, I’m tired of being inside in this frigid cold recently. I miss our daily walks with the baby, now we sit around like couch potatoes. Not ideal when you are a mama trying to lose weight! Our dog on the other hand is loving the snow, the little fluff ball is 14 and acts like a puppy when it comes to this weather. Silly girl!

What a better way to pass the time than to go out in the front yard and take some photos. The photos above this paragraph is the start of the snowfall. It continued throughout the day, stopping only briefly once or twice. The photos below are later in the day.

Valeria had a tough time napping again, taking 20-30 minute naps at a time. Not really sure why, but I’m finding weekends are her toughest days. I wonder if it’s because my parents are home and she hears more noise throughout the house. We are fortunate that she was in a good mood all day, even with the little sleep she had.

Baby girl spent some time with grandma and grandpa as well. My parents love spending time with her. My dad’s face just lights up whenever he sees her, and he adores playing with her and making her smile. Mom doesn’t want to put her down whenever she is spending time with her, it’s so cute to watch them with her.

My husband cleaning his car – FYI this is not his usual winter attire, however not surprising to see in Canada!

This afternoon, I suggested that my husband to clean off his car so it doesn’t pile up too much and potentially freeze. That’s what you are witnessing above.

The rest of the day was pretty quiet and fairly boring. We had hoped to do some errands, but with the weather that changed our plans. I uploaded my photos to my Instagram, I think I got some good shots.

Weight loss journey update – I’ve been on a streak for logging my food and drinking at least 10 glasses of water a day. Sadly, my steps have dwindled since we can’t do our hour walks lately. I should really figure out a workout plan I can do inside for days like these. Maybe I can find some suggestions online. If you have any suggestions let me know! My husband says it seems like I’ve slimmed down, but the scale says otherwise. Who knows!

Baby girl is wailing and I hear mad shushing from my husband, so it’s time for mom energy.

Ciao!