Snow angel

Monday was a nice sunny day--and apparently the first we've had for a while, since Ari spent several minutes going on and on about "The sun! Sun!" We've gotten a good bit of snow lately (the most recent coming in on Sunday), so we bundled Ari up and let her play outside. We took her to the playground, since there's a wide-open field there. Around the playground is a barrier, just tall enough to keep all the mulch in. Ari insisted on cleaning off "the step" before she entered the playground.



Tony helped her clear off the platforms on the playground...



Just a cute close-up shot...



You can't really see it, but Tony made a snow angel. Ari watched him inquisitively while he did this, so....



... he showed her how to make one.



When she was finished, she took a look at it. We joked that it didn't really look like an angel--Tony called it a "snow monster" at the same time that I called it a "snow demon." Oh, we are so clever.



I asked her for a smile, and even though this kind of looks like one, it's not. It's her telling me, "Noooooo!"



Apparently she liked making snow angels. The only problem with her laying down in the snow was that she had a hard time getting back up, due to all the layers. It was kind of funny to watch her waddle around in all her snow gear.



She took one last ride down the slide before we went inside. Tony cleared the snow off of it for her, so there was a giant snow pile at the bottom to "catch" her.



Now that I've lured you in with pictures... Wait, don't go! There's a video at the end, I promise.

In other news... we are still struggling on the potty-training front. What I mean is, we are attempting to walk that fine line between just giving up completely and making this issue into a Big Deal. Tony tried a couple stealth tactics yesterday, but he underestimated our child. He tried putting big-girl underwear on her, and she wet them. So he took them off and let her go commando under her sweatpants. Next thing he knew, she was proudly announcing that she peed, and pointing to the kitchen. Sure enough, there was a puddle on the kitchen floor. Not only did she have the presence of mind to pee on the linoleum rather than the carpet (thank God), she also made sure to remove her pants first and lay them aside. Tony wasn't exactly laughing about it when he told me the story, but I was. Hey, I wasn't there and didn't have to clean it... therefore, it is funny.

Speaking of her craftiness... dinner time is another fun time of day. She doesn't want to eat, and again, we don't want to make it a Big Deal, but we do want to enforce some basic ground rules, such as requiring her to stay at the table until everyone is finished (you know, that whole "family dinner" idea). To no one's surprise, dinner time is the time she magically seems interested in going potty--merely because she knows we will let her leave the table to do so. Last night, she took it a step further by telling me she had a poopy diaper. I just shook my head at Tony and said, "I cannot get over how devious she is."

He just shrugged and said, "Well, that's why they call it the Terrible Twos."

"Well, yeh... I figured that meant temper tantrums and such. Not flat-out LYING."

So we've been having conversations with her, trying to explain to her what a lie is, and that it is wrong to lie. Maybe I'm naive (I hear you parents-of-older-children snickering at me), but I never thought I'd be needing to have talks like that with my two-year-old. We have our hands full with this one.

But on to more pleasant stories... Ari is learning how to play hide and seek... emphasis on the word "learning." She and Tony were playing the other night. At first, she was the hider and he was the seeker. And she was the worst hider--she'd either giggle and give herself away, or she'd just flat-out pop out of her spot and go to him before he even got to her (sometimes, while he was still counting). After a while, they switched. Tony showed Ari how to cover her eyes and had her stand inside the bathroom with her back to the open doorway while she counted. Ari's pretty decent with counting... she counts to 20, though she gets the numbers all mixed up after 10. And because of that, she stops counting whenever she feels like it. Tony found a couple good hiding spots, and I helped Ari along with hints like, "Hey, Ari, wherever the dogs are? That's probably where Daddy is." Later in the game, she decided to tell him where to hide. At one point, she started walking out of the bathroom while she was still counting, peeking through her fingers as she went. So not only is she bad at the game, but she's also learning how to cheat to make herself appear to be good at it. That's my girl, all right. I can't wait to teach her how to play mini-golf by Sara's Rules.

She also has an obsession with pockets now, started (I think) by a couple new outfits that have hooded sweatshirts with pockets in them. This morning, when I was getting her dressed, she wanted to stick her hands in the pockets of her jeans, even though I still needed to get her shirt on. She had a bit of trouble squeezing her hands in, so she was more than thrilled when I put her winter coat in and she could easily slide her hands into those pockets. She walked out to the car like that, and even turned down the chance to carry her milk into the babysitter's house later (something she loves to do) in favor of slipping her hands in those magical pockets once again. There is something so grown-up looking about watching my child saunter away from me with her hands tucked casually in pockets.

And, I saved the best for last... My mom watched Ari on Tuesday which, as you know, was Inauguration Day. She taught Ari to say "President Obama" and... well, just watch the video. It's much better than any explanation I could give you. (By the way, her silliness right at the beginning of the video? That is SO her.)


Ariana 1-21-09 from Sariana on Vimeo.