Wintery fun

It was a record-breaking November for snowfall here in Vermont, but honestly, it has been fun for the kids and it's helping get us in the festive spirit.  We attended our first holiday parties of the season this past weekend, the kids had a chance to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and we also made a gingerbread house.  The Christmas tree will go up next weekend!

Noah and Josie's snowman. Sadly it fell over soon after this pic!

The frosting was too liquidy, so it looks like the gingerbread house is crying

Noah had a couple of fun events in his week.  Daddy joined Noah for a school field trip to the Audubon Society to learn about animals getting ready for hibernation, and it was a snowy adventure for all of them.  I also took Noah to get his free Vermont Teddy Bear as part of the Vermont Cub Project (https://www.vermontteddybear.com/cub-project), and we did a factory tour while we were there.  It was such a treat to see the magic in Noah's eyes as he picked out his own bear, and watched it get stuffed and sewn up before taking it home, in the same way the first Vermont Teddy Bear was created by a dad who wanted a locally-made cuddly bear for his young son.

The very first "Vermont Teddy Bear"

Noah looks like Evie in this pic - it's so weird!

The darkness of this time of year has felt especially noticeable in the past week.  As Noah and I were heading home from the Teddy Bear Factory around 1:30 in the afternoon, he said, "Whoa Mommy, it's almost night time!  We'd better hurry home before dinner."  And it was nearly dark at 4pm that day.  We have been filling our after school time with board games, puzzles, crafts and various other indoor fun since it's been too dark to play outside.

Games and brunch with friends

She ate FOUR bowls of homemade soup for dinner!

Evie is a girl after my own heart.  We love puzzles!

Train 'em young

Evie loves snuggling with Sophie when she visits!

Matt and Noah created this Flash costume

This is the best - reading together

I will end with a funny story to share from the chronicles of parenting a strong-willed child.  Matt and I have used a parenting book called '1-2-3 Magic' to help give us some advice on difficult kid behaviors.  It has been generally helpful, until last summer, when Noah was not responding well to time-outs.  In a moment of exasperation, I emailed the author and was pleasantly surprised when I received a really helpful answer back.  Just yesterday, I found out that our question was featured on his video series!  I have never felt so validated as when I heard this parenting expert say "This is a tough kid!"  I'm happy to report that Noah's behavior has improved thanks to their advice.  :-)  Here's a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wa-35hWy1s&feature=youtu.be