Spring is in the air...

You might wonder why a post with the title "Spring is in the air" contains a series of snowy pictures. It's all about attitude. Luke decided this morning that he was done with being cooped up, put my running shoes on (they were the pair nearest the front door) over his pajamas, and headed out to the front yard to play. I managed to convince him that his boots and coat would be better and that the back yard is a superior playground. He has been out playing for at least 45 minutes. We're back to the lazy mom days of warmer weather where he can be counted on to play outside by himself for hours at a time. He took his sand tools out and played in the snow with them. He also really enjoyed walking all around the backyard on the frozen layer of snow. He did, however, come get me at one point when his boot got lodged in a snow drift. There is that hint of spring in the air as well-- we're supposed to get above freezing this weekend. That's spring in the upper midwest.

Here he is with the shovel. He thought it would be good to remove some of the snow that surrounds the swing.

I have started counting to three while I take his picture. It seems to work well to get him to hold still for a few seconds while I snap.

He then went for a ride in the snowy swing.

In other news, Noah ate rice cereal for the first time last night. He really liked it. He has been watching longingly as we eat for a while. He looks at the food, follows it with his eyes all the way to our mouths, and then chews with us. I figured that it was torture to hold out any longer. We gave him some cereal right before bed in the hopes that he would sleep better. He didn't-- but we'll keep feeding him anyway.

Here are some action shots: