A Big Sigh and a little Snow

It snowed again last week.  It was beeeautiful.  For a couple of hours ;)  Fortunately, P was up early enough to get in some playtime before it melted away.  Unfortunately, the boys next door were at school and unavailable for play (P's used to snow days in NYC and all of the neighbor kids playing in a huge pile.)  To top it off, Zia and I weren't particularly interested in a snowball fight first thing in the morning :( So P, always the problem solver, had us stand in the window and blasted us there.  This was infinitely more fulfilling anyway, since he could hit his sister straight in her face without any guilt ;)  She cackled, he cackled, it was all good.

Then he scored a carrot and corralled as much snow as he could to make Mount Hood (the neighboring ski slope) and a snow man.
Good times :)

Inside, he rediscovered BB's chateau and set it up in the living room. This totally demonstrates how P plays.  He sets things up.  In minute detail.  Harry Potter Museums.  Art shows.  Totoro exhibits.  Science experiment shelves.  Even his castle.  He very carefully places his battle boys in specific spots.  We usually duel, one on one with these bad boys. But the other day, my character got a little aggressive and accidentally sent a passer-by flying, knocking over a couple of other players and toppling the castle tower.  The Little Man fought back tears.  Things were out of order, his perfect display was a mess.  I felt awful, playing willy-nilly like I did as a child, forgetting how particular P is about his set-ups.  I was much more careful when the Minotaur moved in next door to the chateau this week.

Meanwhile, we've had a huge leap of luck with Zia.  I know sesame seeds give her insomnia.  (I've tested them THREE times, hoping this was a joke.  I would very much like them in my diet for a calcium source - and I just like sesame seed stuff;)  I decided a couple weeks ago that hummus probably doesn't have enough sesame seeds in the tahini to make things tough.  Ditto on baba ganoush.  I mean, its got to be such a tiny amount, how could it even count??  So I've been enjoying these new foods and wondering why the baby can only catch tiny naps and sleep a couple of hours a night.  Gee.... why???

Enter in head smack.  Two days after giving up my hummus habit, Miss Z is taking her first real nap in a couple weeks.  After clocking a decent number of hours in bed last night.  Not only does this make for a happier baby, but the more focused attention that P gets during these naps makes for a happier seven year old.  And that, well, that makes for a very happy Mama.

Zia's most favorite thing this week: her toes.  She likes to lay bare butted on her sheepskin and fold herself in half, baby contortionist style, to suck on her toes.  Kick, repeat, giggle.