Winter Came

After taking Cruz on a walk last Monday night, grilling burgers for supper, and playing outside on Tuesday, I was beginning to wonder if winter was MIA this year.  And as someone who could never quite imagine Christmas without a blanket of freshly fallen snow, I've been surprised to say that I haven't missed the white stuff one bit.  Not having to warm the car up in the morning, or bundle Cruz up until he can't walk has been a nice transition into the season and made our mornings much more bearable.  But, in the midst of our 50 degree weather, gorgeous sunsets, and January green grass, we all knew in the back of our minds that winter could hit and shock our systems whenever it pleased.

I just hoped it wasn't in April.

On Thursday, winter came.  It came in the form of 4 or so inches of the perfect wintery snow, light and fluffy.  That, mixed with 30 mph winds made for a Winter Weather Advisory and drifts much higher than Cruz in the middle of our driveway.  When we left for work Thursday morning, Cruz was pretty confused by it all.  Last year, we ventured out in the snow when he was just two months old, but the white stuff seemed all new to him this year.

So to get him acquainted with the precipitation that will likely be a part of his childhood, on Saturday, Beau and I bundled him up and took him outside.  

After piling on layer by layer of snow gear, I have all new appreciation for a Kindergarten teacher!  Our snow baby thought his snow pants were awesome.  He pranced around the house and liked the swish swish swish sound effect they made as he walked.

The boots were another story.  While I'm glad he got some use out of his adorable Gap boots I scored for 40% off, he definitely wasn't used to walking in them.  He'd go really slow, topple over, then resort to crawling to get to his destination.  And this was just in the living room!  The Robeez he's used to definitely don't provide the ankle support these boots do!

After spending 20 minutes bundling him up, we spent about 20 minutes outside.  Up and down the street in the sled Santa brought him, Cruz was pretty emotionless for most of the experience, except when Beau would send him down a slippery slope and he would 'crash' into a snowbank on the side of the street.  Cruz would respond with a low 'ohhhhhhh,' which we equated with interest and awe.  When it came to pushing Cruz down the street, Beau was a little more 'aggressive' than I expected, which left me repeatedly reminding him, 'He's only one!!!!!!!!!!'  But, Cruz seemed to enjoy it, at least until he got a mitten full of snow, and wouldn't stop messing with it.  

After his cheeks began to turn a storybook pink, and our tired boy attempted to rub his eyes with his snow-filled mitten, we decided to call it a day.  And just as we pulled his boots off and set his mittens by the register to dry, he was out like a light.  Cruz took a three-hour nap (in his crib, score!), and I was able to relax with a cup of cocoa and a movie.   

Time to go in!

I'm not sure who was more exhausted by the adventure---Cruz or his parents :).