Snowshoeing

We went out last Saturday to go snowshoeing with some highly experienced friends. Well, we've had some really warm weather, and apparently the mountains have as well. There was plenty of snow, but not enough to need our snowshoes (that was kind of the whole point). We ended up carrying our shoes and just hiking. We went with our friends Nate and Kristen, and their little girl, Tenley (aka Brooks' girlfriend). Brooks is still too small for the backpack, so we had him in the Baby Bjorn. Chad carried him up the hill and he did great. On the way down he screamed for about 30 minutes straight. He was SO tired and apparently cold. When we got down his little lip was quivering. I felt so bad. Despite my best efforts to bundle him up, the shadows and wind were too much for the little guy on the way down. He ended up falling asleep in the car and slept for 3 hours once we got home. He was tuckered out! Hopefully we'll get out again soon and actually have some snow to walk around in.

Ready to get Movin'

Brooks has just discovered that he can lift his body off the ground. He is starting to practice "crawling" just like his daddy used to. He gets on all fours and sticks his butt up in the air. He is so proud of himself when he does this. He can move his feet in this position like he's going to crawl, but his hands are stuck to the ground like glue. He'll figure it out soon enough. For now, we just get a kick out of him trying. It's too cute!

80 Degrees!

That's right, folks! It was close to 80 degrees in Denver today. We totally took advantage of the warm weather and went to the park. I wore jeans, a tank, and sandals - and I was actually hot! It's fun on those warm days when you can be outside enjoying the warm sun, and still see snow in the background. Brooks had fun swinging and hanging out on the blanket, and Kansas had fun chasing his ball and eating pinecones.

Honesty

Honesty is something that is very important to me. In my classroom, I make sure that the kids always tell the truth. Sometimes it's hard for them to tell the truth because they know that they might get in trouble. But they know about integrity, and they do a pretty good job telling the truth. Well, this morning I got a little bit more truth than I bargained for. Let me paint the picture for you. Today I wore a brown skirt with a white button-up shirt and my mustard yellow ballet shoes. I had one little girl come up to me and say, "Mrs. Hoffman, you look funny in those shoes!" And the little girl next to her added, "Yeah - (haha) and they don't even match!" Talk about a good start to my day. The kids just say what they're thinking. The other kindergarten teacher has been teaching there longer than I've been alive (seriously), and she told me that one day she bent over and a little kindergarten said, "Oh my Gosh! That is the biggest butt I've ever seen!" She said she went on a diet the very next day.
Sometimes honesty is not what you want to hear.

A Snowy Day

In the morning, the first thing I do is look at my window. We live on church property, and there is a time and temp sign outside that I always like to look at. On Monday morning, I looked outside and saw a blizzard. It was 25 degrees and snowing like crazy. I watch the weather a lot so usually I know when we're expecting snow. The weathermen seemed just as blind sighted as I did. There was already a couple of inches on the ground before I left for work. The drive was treacherous (good thing I only live a mile away). It was done snowing by lunch time. Chad has been sick lately, so I got out and shoveled the walkway. I put Brooks in the Baby Bjorn and got to work. I felt like a pioneer woman out there with the shovel in my hands, and my baby strapped to my chest. We also took some time to play in the snow, and Brooks made his first snow angel.

New Hat

That's pretty much it! Not much to say - just check out Brooks' new hat. I love it!

Just Practicing

So - in a short amount of time, Brooks has become an expert at sitting up, and is now getting into the crawl position. He loves being on his knees, but has a hard time getting there by himself. We usually put him on his tummy with his knees on the floor. Then he rocks back and forth. He gets a big smile on his face like he's done something amazing. BUT - he does actually get up on all fours. He gets himself in a push-up position with his butt up in the air (no pictures yet). It's hilarious! It's exactly how his daddy crawled. It won' be long...