Sledding

Since this was a very cold winter, we only got to go sledding once... But it was a good one:

Getting pulled to the sledding hill.

Ready - set - go!

And here she goes:

Ice-skating

Natalie tried ice-skating for the first time this year! At first she reminded me a little of "Bambi on thin ice" (ah, the Disney Classics), but she quickly got the hang of it.

I tried to get some pictures, but most of them turned out like this one:

Bambi...

Or this one:

Full speed ahead...

But eventually, I got this one:

That smile is priceless!

Towards the end, she got really good at it:

Unfortunately, she took a good spill shortly after this video was taken, and she even knocked out a tooth - a baby tooth that was very loose and would have come out anyway within the next few days. She kept saying she had fun and she wanted to go back, but we didn't make it back again this year, since the temperatures kept being way low... We'll try again next year!

Snowy Christmas

This year, we definitely had a white Christmas. On Christmas Eve day, Natalie and I went outside to play:

Snow angel.

Get ready...

Get set...

Go!

And get ready for the next round!

Natalie had a whole story about the snow:

Sledding

So far, winter had been unusually mild around here. But the other day, we had a little bit of snow that actually stayed on the ground for about a day and a half. Natalie and Karsten went sledding. I was able to bundle up and come with them. I enjoyed sitting on a bench watching them have fun in the snow. And, it also made me the designated photographer:

It's nice to have someone who can pull you up when you are down...

Ready, set, go...

When life gives you snow...

Make a snowman! Or, if the snow isn't "sticky" enough, just make a pile of snow and call it a snow-puppy...

Happy Winter!

A wintery day

A few weekends ago, we went outside to play in the snow. Natalie got a new sled that she enjoyd - a lot...

Getting pulled up the hill - soon to go down the hill again!

Of course, any outside time wouldn't be complete without a snack break...

We recently bought her a new trike. It is a little too big for her yet, but it is much more heavy duty and all-terrain, which fits well with our back yard. We decided to let her try it out, and the flattest spot we had that day was on the pond...

Trying out the new trike - don't worry, the ice was very thick and safe.

Very determined - Natalie has places to go and things to see!

Snow!

We got a lot of snow in December:

Ehm, a little help, please...

Of couse, we have been playing outside a lot. We even made snow angels:

Who knew that snow angels could be so much fun!

Garden of lights

The local botannical garden was having their annual Garden of Lights festival. We had such a great time there.

We had to park at an overflow parking lot and ride a schoolbus to the entrance. Natalie was so excited about the schoolbus, I think that might almost have been what she enjoyed the most!

Of course the lights were beautiful:

Pretty flowers!

We enjoyed walking around looking at all the pretty lights and talking about the shapes they made. We also took a break on a bench where Natalie could get a snack. Karsten was taking pictures of us when a friendly stranger asked if we wanted a picture of all of us:

The whole family at the botannical garden!

I really like the picture, it is so rare that we get one with all of us in it. What a nice thing for that perfect stranger to do for us!

More snow

We went out in the snow on Saturday:

Daddy, what is this white stuff?

Natalie went on a ride on our improvised sled. She took a spill shortly after this picture was taken and came up with her face all white with snow - and she didn't even complain!

Here's a little video of Natalie and Karsten in the snow.

Let it snow, let it snow...

More snow today - yay!