New year's day

New Year's Day was a perfect start to Mallory's year - it snowed!

Casey tried to share the snow with me ... inside the house.

It's part of being a kid, right??

I got to play inside with this cute little diaper buddy.

She found her favorite ornament:

Elvis - Suspicious Minds

and we danced while Mallie and Daddy cleared the driveway.

Embrace the Horror

Winter.

Oh Buckeye.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
I'm tired of winter too.

More snow...

When life gives you (more) snow ... climb snow mountains...
From across the yard Mallory would yell, "Daddy, oh no, save me!" and then run, run, run until he scooped her up in his arms. And once surely wasn't enough...
And let's not forget about our smiley little bystander with the best (and warmest) seat in the house.
If I had to guess, I'd say it's 8 inches and rising since 10am today...

What a difference a year makes...

It is still fun to watch Daddy clear snow off the driveway even if she no longer needs a chair to do so (and OMG, look at her hair!).

Snowman

Saturday night's forecast showed rain and 6-8 inches of snow. By 7pm Mallory was begging to go outside as the snow began to cover everything in sight. I started by telling her it was too cold and dark to go outside, but then realized (after stepping outside) that the snow brightened things up and it wasn't near as cold as I thought.

happy, happy, happy girl

To our delight, the snow had perfect packing ability and a snowman was quickly born.
After adding arms, Mallory decided the snowman needed a hat.

Layers and layers for 30 minutes of snowy bliss. Every occasion has the great potential to end in tears. Thankfully we're not above bribery and offered a snack in trade for coming inside.

Indoor Ball Pit

Our neighbor gave me the idea - to add some excitement to all of our indoor winter days - of blowing up Mallory's pool and filling it with balls. Since she got some for Christmas we were in business (though clearly we could use another set or two).

It was a definite hit and she has enjoyed it every day since!