A dollop of snow

So, hey - it snowed! I think it might still be snowing... Last time I looked out the window, nose pressed to glass, it was. Lovely, swirly white stuff to make us feel extra festive around here - in case indulging in scads of cookies and rocking out to our itunes xmas playlist wasn't already doing the trick... :-) Oh, and I am slowly making my way through 'Silent Night' on the harmonica. Seriously!

We needed present-wrapping tape today, so we had to venture out. Last night we used up our tape wrapping gifts for the extended family annual post-xmas-dinner gag gift exchange. A much anticipated event every year. And we needed some other supplies (unrelated to said exchange) from the weirdo Yoko Yaya 123 store we just found in Tinseltown last week. Kind of like Daiso but with less selection.

Plus, Cole usually takes a mini mid-day nap in the stroller and figured we should try even with all the snow. We debated about whether it would be insane to take a stroller out in the still-snowing snow but figured we'd be set with the handle switched around so the big wheels did all the pushing - Bugaboo's sales pitch had assured us that this is the way to motor through difficult terrain. It also makes steering the thing a more nuanced experience, but hey, we are crazy fools who want to walk in the snow so why not? Well, we made it about a block and half, just past the skateboard park, and decided it wasn't working so well at the first go around. The stroller was becoming more of a snow plough than anything and getting around was really hard. We came back home and strapped Cole into the carrier - boots that tend to fall off if you're not holding his feet and all - and grabbed our new baby sled. 'Grabbed' meaning read the instructions, swore, shook fists and then assembled. There's a strange little park in between our place and Tinseltown, perfect for a little sled ride.

Cole seemed really interested in staring down, watching the snow going by. The sled, I should mention, is really odd. I got it at Superstore a week ago on an impulse, looking for something else in the lane that also contained toboggans. I love and hate the Superstore. Inexpensive, yes. Hellish and wide, also yes... Love the impulse-purchase of a sled too. Why not just stick to the easily manageable candy and gossip magazines at the till? Anyway, the sled is named the Pelican, because why? Of course, everyone wants to sit inside a pelican's mouth and of course they are also such snow-loving birds. The hood thing comes off and it becomes a reasonably normal looking sled, good for ages 0-2, if you're curious...

It was a blast to pull him up the little slope in the park and down the other side, and there was so much snow out that we walked a ways more, pulling him along the covered sidewalks until we got to the main road. So much fun.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying being slow and quiet inside. Grilled cheese sandwiches using white bread and fake cheese. Lots of tea. Playing in front of and staring out the windows, often with comments like "it's really coming down out there" again and again.

I even took a nap! I was going to wrap presents since we are flush again with tape but laid down for a second while Jamie put Cole down for his nap. The next thing I knew it was nearly 5 and Cole was up for dinner... I'm not a napper - hey, and the result is now I can't sleep at night, but man, that nap was such a lovely feeling of hibernation.

I'm curious how much snow there is out there on the roads and sidewalks downtown now. We were out early, but it snowed all day...

Santa + lights + snow

I started writing this post two days ago... Where does time go? This weekend we did about a million Christmas-y things, many on Saturday alone. It wasn't planned to be so, but it just worked out well. Kind of helped that nature was on our side and there was lovely SNOW that night too.

I'd been meaning to take Cole to see Santa at the mall, hoping to do it on a weekend day so Jamie could come too but dreading the prospect of the mall-Santa lineup on a day starting with 's'. Of course, not to be daunted by the fact I loathe Metrotown mall (fuelled primarily from the many lunchtime jaunts made there when my office relocated from West Hastings way the heck to the Siberia that is Canada Way), we took the Skytrain out there.

Victory in itself, as Jamie is not a fan of public transportation. In theory, yes, but in smelly and damp practice not so much. He's a fan of the foot patrol and walks to work every day. The theory was that Cole would nap on the Skytrain and we wouldn't have to get him in and out of the car. Just wheel the sleeping baby up to the Santa lineup and we're good to go. Chances of that happening as planned? ZERO. Cole enjoyed the train ride, making eyes at other riders and laughing at us.

The Santa lineup looked short but took about 45 minutes. Cole was very alert and we were worried that he'd use up all his perky awake time on the line alone. We were firmly lodged between a very nice family dressed in their mall-best, including three-year-old in a buttoned up suit, and a guy who Jamie thought was eyeing our diaper bag for valuables. Maybe it's just me, but getting really dressed up seems a little excessive for a Santa photo? The fancy people took about four million photos of themselves in the line, brushed their hair a hundred times and eventually had to bribe the children with french fries to keep quiet, which required the grooming process to start anew. It did make waiting in line entertaining for me, while Jamie took Cole for many walks to look at the elevators, the choo-choo and the shoe stores (what can I say, he's my kid and likes shoes).

Cole was nearly as jolly as Santa when they got to meet. He promptly pulled Santa's beard (it was real!) and laughed and laughed. He didn't want to sit down at all, preferring instead to dance on Santa's lap. Couldn't wait to see the results... We took the car yesterday to go back to the dreaded Metrotown to pick the photos up. Interesting journey and much aggravation along the way (more on that later), but it was worth it ten times to see this photo. So Cole - I love it:

We skidaddled pretty quickly after the photo, opting to ditch plans to do our food-bank grocery shopping at Superstore and save that for this weekend.

Cole didn't sleep on the ride home either. He did, however, end up taking his afternoon nap earlier which worked out well because we decided to hit up the Festival of Lights at Van Dusen Gardens that evening. Good thing we went earlyish - it was c-c-cold! So beautiful too. Cole loved the lights and was amazingly fine with the cold temperatures - not a peep of complaint out of him. Probably helped that I had him in enough layers to withstand a trip to the North Pole.

And of course, who can forget the lovely snow on Saturday night (or Sunday morning, depending on your perspective). We braved the frigid temperatures and uncleared sidewalks for our morning walk and went to do a little Christmas and food shopping. We had to take Cole to see his first snow - he saw the snow and then promptly slept for the remainder of our trip. Again, I think it was the layers that kept him so complacent...