Snow

I don't know if this is good or bad parenting, but we had a nice snowfall on Thursday evening--- so Christmas came early for Julian. The snow began hours after we purchased new winter tires (we can thank Lise for that idea). We had even more snow on Friday-- and it stayed cold enough that it was still here Saturday. The new sled we had purchased came down from the loft and was promptly assembled Saturday morning. Minutes later we were outside. I pulled him around the neighborhood-- there was snow and ice everywhere-- nothing had been plowed or shoveled (it just doesn't happen around here). We then visited the neighborhood sledding hill. I must have dragged him up that hill a hundred times. He has no shortage of attention when he is having fun.

I probably had as much fun as Julian. In many ways, life here is very different than where and when I grew up-- but sledding is a direct point of reference back to my own childhood. I still have very cool memories of my father taking me sledding. We used my the sled my father had as a child-- and despite how its weathered patina, we much preferred it to anything more modern. It was simply faster and could be steered better. Julian doesn't share the family sled, but sledding conditions are a bit different here-- so he has what is essentially the standard Norwegian sled (even though it is a Swedish brand). It is more than capable of handling the both of us. As he is not yet two, he can only copilot. Besides, he hasn't quite grasped the concept of steering and braking yet.