Snowed In

The big blizzard of 2011 lived up to its hype. I truly thought the "possible storm of the century" would end up dipping south leaving us with only 6 inches. However, the weathermen were right! While they've been having a hard time getting official numbers due to the drifting, I've heard Des Plaines got anywhere from 17.5 to 23 inches of snow!

When I woke up this morning and saw ALL THAT SNOW, I felt like a kid again. I got my camera out, put on some layers and headed out. After the wind died down, I took Nora out (see how she liked it below!) This storm virtually shut everything down. Many stores were closed including grocery stores and hardware stores. All schools in the area had snow days. Even Chicago Public Schools had off - the first time in 12 years!! As a matter of fact, the snow plows have been having such a hard time clearing everything that schools are canceled for tomorrow too (yes, even CPS). I'm sure the -40 degree wind chills for tomorrow also have something to do with it.

This very well might be the storm of my life. I don't ever recall seeing SO much snow. All I have to say is thank you Grandma and Grandpa Sowinski for buying such an amazing snow blower in 1982 that it still is running strong. It helped us clear our driveway and our neighbor's driveway today! I have to admit, for the past 3 years I have been intimidated by the size of the thing but this year I learned how to use it and conquered it!

We were able to open our back door just enough for Dan to sneak through and this is what we saw to the left.

After a confused Rusty ran out to go potty in the morning he was covered in snow.

The back yard while it was still snowing. After we woke up, we still got another 4-6 inches.

Looking down the street - kind of peaceful.

The neighbor attempting to start the snow removal process.

The snow finally stopped and the sun came out. Time for us to get out too.

The first run through with the snow blower and you can see just how deep it is!


Rusty had a great time leaping over the piles burrowing his head into the snow banks to get his ball.


He was wiped out after a tiring day of chase.


There's the beast of a snow blower. It was the first time the neighbors actually noticed how big it was and they were impressed.

In a spot with no drifts the snow came up to mid-thigh!

The neighbors kiddy-corner from us literally had to shovel out their cars.

Front of the house.

She was a little leery of the snow.

But then Rusty came and quickly calmed her nerves.

However, I wanted to show that some of the areas were taller than her...

and she did NOT like it.

The driveway and sidewalks are completely cleared!

The King of Snow Blowing is happy to be done!

The massive pile at the end of the driveway.

The sidewalk tunnel.

Back of the house.

Snow days call for doing something special. We spent the day in pajamas, playing with toys, and baking PB&J muffins (unfortunately, not a keeper recipe)

The Walker was on the move all day! :)

She's pretending to eat the cookie from her picnic basket.

Party Time

It's not every day a little girl turns one. There's no better reason for a party if you ask me! Nora had a great time at her polka dot party. She (and her mom & dad) were exhausted that night.

Nora's personal polka dot cake.

Special birthday girl outfit.

even more presents

mmm.... can I eat these now? (thanks Gramma Gramma Sowinski)

She was much better at opening gifts than she was at Christmas.

In a very Nora fashion, she calmly ate the frosting off the top of the cake. She is her daddy's daughter.

Finally, I broke a piece off for her, which she loved.

But still, she'd rather eat her graham cracker.

After all was said and done, I said to Dan, "Can you believe we just threw our own child's birthday party!?" AMAZING!

The guests' cake.

Birthday Girl

We've got a ONE year old! I had slight feelings of nostalgia throughout the day. I just can't believe (as I say every month) that she's one already. Thinking about everything she's learned in just one year is amazing to us! Here are the normal monthly pictures and some of her opening presents!!

She wasn't the most thrilled to lay down and get her picture taken.

She just wanted to GO! But I got 'em.

Got this before she walked away!

The family on Nora's FIRST birthday!

PRESENTS!!

She did a great job opening her gifts.

Of course, Rusty helped too.

"Look, I got pjs."

a picnic basket from Gram

new bath squirters from mom and dad

NFC Championship

Dan and I were lucky enough to get tickets to go to the Packers vs. Bears game this past Sunday. We had such a great time - and even better with a Packers win! SUPER BOWL here we come! With my new "mega-zoom" lens I got for Christmas, I was able to get some pretty amazing shots! This was absolutely something we'll remember forever. Something we'll be able to tell our grandkids... "We were at the game in 2011..." And then they'll roll their eyes and mumble "This story again" under their breath.

tailgating

we are all bundled and ready to make our way to Soldier Field

Dan at Soldier Field

The tunnel leading there -- lots of crazy fans! We were all getting heckled (but in a nice way... most of the time) on the way in -- mostly people yelling things like "Packers Suck!" Could've been MUCH worse!

Warm ups

This was the Bears pre-game huddle. I thought rather than dancing maybe they should have done some warm-ups to prepare for the game. Mighta helped 'em... I'm just saying.

warming up the arm

Mason Crosby

And in comes the Pack!

The coin toss

Vince Vaughn was there waving a Bears flag around before the start of the game.

Opening Kick

The first play of the first drive (which we scored on in case you forgot)

Hand off to Starks

American Idol winner of season 9 --Lee DeWyze -- was the half time entertainment (which I didn't see because I was in the longest bathroom line ever... didn't get back until the middle of the 3rd quarter!)

It's official!! THE PACKERS WIN!!

Big smiles with the Super Bowl just two weeks away!

Big Developments!!

During the last couple of weeks, Dan and I have taken many laps around the inside of the house with a little someone clutching on to our finger walking along with us. She wanted to go places but, unable to walk on her own, she would put her hand out and wait for us to help take her there.

Then while Dan was off, he started supporting her by her hips to help her get more proper balance. She would take steps if you helped her start -- just a couple at a time.

This weekend however, we had big developments in the quest to walk. If she knows you are there waiting for her, she'll start towards you. The only problem, she gets so excited that she's almost there, she'll reach out and fall! She's come a long way in just a week or two. I'm thinking by her birthday (which is only 18 days away! whoa!!!) she might be walking EVERY WHERE!

Here's a little video of where she's at as of today.