After the birthday (3 of 3)

After Madeline's birthday, Oliver wanted to help clean up.

That afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa took care of the kiddos while Summer and I got out for dinner and a movie -- we can't remember the last time that happened!  (Grandpa took this picture.)

Then the next morning -- Presidents' Day -- Grandma and Grandpa had to hit the road early to try to beat still more bad weather.  Oliver rolled around on their bed, nibbling on a cookie.

We decided to have smoked mackerel for dinner.  In the morning, I cleaned the mackerel so they could be brined before smoking.

But first, Madeline wanted to check out the fish.  She found it very interesting.

Oliver did too.

The next day, Oliver turned 18 months old!

Petey joined him on the chair to celebrate.

Then Madeline did too.

And we realized we ought to have taken a 4-year-old chair picture of her too!  So we got one a little late.

During the week, the snow caused car problems, masking potholes that left me with flat tires two days in a row and damaged a wheel.  The car was fixed just in time for me to pick up the kids after school on my birthday.  We came home to a nice dinner and dinosaur cupcakes made by Summer, followed by a (relatively) relaxing night post-bedtime complete with thoughtful gifts from friends and family (thank you!).

We are now officially counting the days until spring -- 26!  But this weekend, the snow still continued to pile up.

And Oliver continued to spend his snowed-in time reading.

I examined the exterior to check for damage.  We have a pretty nasty looking snow dam on one part of the roof, but I can gear it melting right now as we get one single afternoon of sunny, above-freezing weather.  Hopefully the afternoon sun will do the trick and keep us safe from the water damage that's hit some of our friends.

Madeline's birhday (2 of 3)

Madeline's birthday was an exciting day!

In the morning, she opened some cards, including this one from Ilan, which included a letter and pictures.  She was thrilled.

Then she helped me make her requested breakfast: chocolate chip pancakes.

Later that morning, Grandma Susy and Grandpa John arrived for the festivities and Madeline got dressed up.

Before we knew it, it was time to head to the Rhode Island Audubon Environmental Education Center.  Madeline eagerly awaited her guests' arrival.  (Grandma took this picture.)

When many of the guests were there, the kids began a scavenger hunt in the museum.

Then they got to hear a special story ...

... and put up animals on the felt board.

After the story, the kids got to color or decorate party hats.  Oliver had a blast.

They had some snacks too ...

... and then it was time for cake!

Madeline blew out the candle!

(Thanks to Grandpa for those last three pictures!)

After cake the kids ran around and did silly things like sitting in cubbies ...

(Thanks to Grandma for the second cubby picture!)

... until one by one they trickled out and the party ended.  We braved pretty awful driving conditions on the way home, and then spent the evening eating Madeline's requested dinner (Chinese takeout) and opening presents.

It was a very fun day for our big 4-year-old!

Beginning of February (1 of 3)

The title of this post is something of a misnomer, because this first photo is from the end of January.

But February started off with the inhabitants of casa Allgreene suffering from cabin fever.  Madeline and I have been working on a project in the basement, where we keep sundry oddities as well.

The first week of February marked the second of three consecutive weeks with at least one day of school and office closures.  The snow has been piling up, the outdoor temperature has featured near-record cold temperatures, and it's been getting tougher and tougher to keep busy inside.

Play-Doh helps!

And so does the project I mentioned above: we hope to finish this little free library around the time the snow clears, and then to mount it to the tree in the front yard.

Sometimes, though, we're just stir-crazy.

On one of these terribly cold days, we decided, of course, that it was time for Madeline to get a hair cut.

When the braid came out, her hair was crazy.

The weekend before Madeline's birthday, we brave the snowy streets and went to a midday kiddo dance party at a club in downtown Providence.  The kids had a blast.

One of Oliver's strategies for dealing with being snowed in has been reading.  He loves parking himself on a chair with a good book.

Here's our backyard the week before Madeline's birthday.

And here's a picture that Summer took of the frozen Providence River.

End of January: snow and more snow

The kiddos are cute.

In mid-January, so long ago now, Oliver reached the 17-month-old milestone.

As usual, he was happy about this.

He's also begun following in Maddie's footsteps and experimenting with fashion ...

... and the potty (usually fully clothed).

He's also become a very energetic and chatty little guy.  He is really working on expanding his working vocabulary, taking particular delight in identifying animals in books: cows, ducks, chickens, sheep, cats, dogs, and, especially, owls ("WHOOOO! WHOOOO!") and goats ("GOAT!!!!!!").

One snowy weekend, we attended a birthday party at an indoor space full of giant inflatable playthings.

Then that night, I tried my hand at Rhode Island-style calamari for the first time.  In fact, it was my first time deep-frying anything.  It turned out so well that we decided it had to be documented.

Oliver approved too.

Another day, Madeline made a "snowy owl nest" out of a discus and a mop head.

Still another day, she asked, "Where do potatoes come from?"  We illustrated the fact that they are plants by pulling some sprouted potatoes out of the pantry.

Then, after dinner, Madeline fell asleep looking particularly adorable.

During the week, we were hit with a blizzard.

Out of curiosity, we went out in the snow midway through the storm, before the snow was too deep.

It seemed to make sense to attempt sledding before the snow was two feet deep.

But the snow was already too deep for really good sledding, the winds were blowing hard and, before we'd spent too much time outside we fled back into the house ...

... for some hot cocoa.

Then we had a fire.

And our little house was a picture of coziness in a sea of snow.

The next day, the state was still closed down but the wind was no longer blowing, so we went out to explore the snow.

A friendly neighbor with a snow blower helped make it possible to walk on the driveway.

Oliver was impressed by the three-foot snowdrifts ...

... and by shovels (another favorite word right now).

I hid behind a snowdrift and we had a snowball fight until the kiddos ended up plowing through my fortress walls.

Then, again, we got toasty inside ...

... with a nice fire in the fireplace.

(For the record, this post catches us up to January 28, so we're still over a week -- another very snowy week -- behind.)