Maximus and I having a gelato date last February at our fav restaurant.

The whole family has had the pleasure of being at home all week so far, with school being canceled and Karl's work on hold until the weather clears up. Can you say cabin fever?! It's much colder and way more snowy than usual, so we're not quite used to it around here. The kids want to play outside, but we lack adequate snow gear, so our ventures out to play are cut short by cold, wet pants (Maximus outgrew last year's snow pants and I didn't think he'd need new ones this year until it was too late!) and frozen cheeks. Speaking of the boy, it seems like little Maxi has been pushing my buttons and trying our patience in general lately, but then when we're worn out and about to be pushed over the edge he has little ways of making us laugh and putting things into perspective for us. Last night it was when he kept getting out of bed. He's a persistent little guy, that's for sure! Finally he started to settle down and called for Karl to come in there, asking Daddy if he would sleep with him. Karl walked in and I heard him ask Max to scoot over in his bed, followed by Max's response (in his sweetest voice), "No, Daddy, you can sleep on the floor. I'll get you a pillow." And then Max pranced out to the couch for a pillow and tucked his daddy in on the floor of his room. It completely cracked me up. He's in a funny place, having just turned three and beginning to really enjoy his role as Big Brother and his capabilities toward being independent, yet still sometimes wanting to have special time to snuggle with just Mommy or Daddy. He has never been much of a cuddler, the way his sister is, which means I really enjoy the special moments when he stops running long enough for a long hug, or insists that I read "just three" books to him at bedtime. I hope these last.