Snowy Days

All winter long, Hannah has been asking to go outside and play in the snow. For one reason or another we never could. It was either too cold (that was the most common reason), Noah needed to eat, or Noah needed something inside and I can't be in two places at once (although wouldn't that be awesome if I could! I could go to the gym and sleep at the same time!!) So FINALLY last Saturday it was warm enough to bundle up the kids and throw them out in the snow. By "warm enough" I mean above freezing. I think it was 33 degrees exactly when we were out there. At least the sun was shining so it didn't feel so bad. Joel and Hannah made a little snow fort and Noah just sat in the snow and stared. He was pretty happy for a while though. Then he just wanted to be held up away from that cold, wet stuff.

Hannah making a silly face while holding on to her giant icicle.

Joel and Hannah had to shovel the yard a bit to make a snow fort. Noah just wanted to stare

He just stared at daddy almost the whole time

Hannah REALLY wanted to make a snowman but the snow was too dry so she settled for fluffy snow balls

The are trying really hard to make that snowman but alas, it was not to be :)

On a different subject, Noah has his weight check today. It was also to be his 2nd H1N1 shot and Hannah's 1st. Since Hannah's older she can have the flu mist instead of the shot. Yesterday, I spent some time explaining what the mist is and what the nurse was going to do. I made sure she understood that there would be no shot and no owwies. She was all set to go. So we get to the pediatrician's office and as I'm checking in, I see a big sign that says "We have no more flu mist, only the injection". HUH?! That's just great. So I had to explain to Hannah that she was indeed going to get a shot. She took it fairly well. She just really didn't want it in her leg; she wanted it in her arm. Why, I have no idea. By the time the nurse called us back, she had accepted what was going to happen and was ok with it...until the nurse announced that the shot was indeed going in her leg. Then she lost it. She was practically convulsing on the table in her attempt to get away. I was holding down her upper body while the nurse tried to hold down her leg and give her the shot at the same time. Noah was in his car seat just giggling during this entire time. Oh my child, you're next! So after Hannah was all done and still crying bloody murder, it was Noah's turn. We weighed him first. He gained a little more than a pound!!! He's up to 18lbs, 14oz. That's huge! He went from the 5%-tile to the 8%-tile. He'll get weighed again at his 1-year check-up but now that he's eating table foods and wolfing everything down in sight, I'm sure he's fine. That's a big answer to prayer!! So back to his flu shot. He was giggling right up until the needle went in. Then he stared at me for a second before his little face crinkled up and the wailing began. But different from Hannah, he only cried for about 20 seconds. Then he realized there was a mirror right next to the exam table and he could make funny faces in it. He was happy after that. Hannah, on the other hand was STILL crying. I had to put Noah on the floor and comfort her for a few minutes. Then we were finally able to get packed up and go. Oh, at one point during the ordeal, she looked at the nurse and said "I'm going to go tell my daddy!" The nurse said that was the first time she's been threatened by a child to tell on her to daddy. Hannah said that a couple times. It was pretty darn funny.

So after all my deliberations on whether or not to even get the H1N1 shots for my kids, I had a completely traumatic experience with them, or at least with Hannah. I'm still wondering if it was even worth it. We'll have to go through this again in a month when Hannah gets her 2nd shot. Oh yes, it'll be another shot. The pediatrician isn't getting any more mist. *sigh* Parenting is hard sometimes!!