Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!!!

I'm not sure whether it's officially being called a blizzard, but, over the past 24 hours, Philadelphia did receive the largest amount of snow in a single event in December since 1909. According to the official sources, there's 16 inches of the white stuff on the ground at the airport. (***EDITED: The official snowfall now is over 22 inches and this is now the biggest December storm on record, surpassing the aforementioned 1909 one by about an inch).

By the time the kids woke up this morning at 9am, we had at least four inches of the stuff. Hallie was thrilled and came running to me announcing "It's snowing!" This is the first time, I think, that we've had enough snow for it to have actually made an impression on her. Last year, we had hardly any at all. And, while I took her outside while it was flurrying a few weeks ago, nothing stuck and she found it kind of a non-event (which it was).

We monitored the situation over a lazy breakfast (half a piece of toast for Hallie and homemade blueberry pancakes for Sharon and me....Lea grazed on all sorts of stuff) and then, fortified with a couple of cups of coffee, I went out to shovel. Hallie wasn't interested in staying behind, so she decided to help me:

Karina was outside, too, helping with snow removal from her parents' car by eating it, as well as shoveling it, and the two kids had a fun time making snow angels:

Hallie was out for a good forty five minutes enjoying the snow event. By the end, her cheeks matched her snowsuit:

Had she been willing to try some hot chocolate, this would have been the perfect time for it!!! Hallie, being Hallie, settled for removing her cold wet clothing and warming up with a bowl of cheerios instead. By all accounts, she had a great time.

Lea did not make it outside today, but this is what she looked like all bundled up for our trip to pick up Hallie from preschool yesterday:

She had on a oneside, fleece pants and a jacket, a fleece snowsuit, and her quilted snowsuit. Needless to say, she was too bundled up to move. We kept her in today because 1. she doesn't have real boots; 2. she isn't walking yet and cruising while sinking into snow that came up to her chest didn't sound terribly pleasant; and 3. crawling in 8-10 inches of snow really isn't an option. She will have to go outside in it on Monday when we venture forth to get her a whole series of medical tests (this deserves a post in its own right, but she's been plagued with a miserable UTI which likely accounts for the crying, moaning, and lack of sleep that we experienced last month) so she'll get to see the snow even if she doesn't get to shovel it or eat it.

Provided that there is sufficient moisture in the snow (it's very cold out--was in the 20s all day--and the snow was quite dry), we're going to try to make a snowman in the morning. That is, after I shovel yet again!