Silent nights

I love when freshly fallen snow muffles everything and you get these silent white winter nights. Tahoe was quiet this week, but not because of that. There was precious little snow to be found anywhere, and the few little drifts remaining were crusty and hard, petrified-looking snow. We keep promising Jack snow in Tahoe and have yet to really deliver, but he doesn't seem to hold it against us. He's perfectly happy to shovel off the little bit of snow on the deck with a mixing spoon. Just imagine what he'd do in snow drifts bigger than he is, which there should be this time of year. I hope we get some of that this winter! And not just so my three-year-old can play in the snow, but because California's going to have some pretty epic problems if there's no snowpack come spring. But despite the lack of snow, or maybe because of it, Tahoe was very quiet. The cabin was empty, the streets untrafficked, and we had most places we went all to ourselves. The kind of solitude that would be lovely if a field of sparkling white powder stretched out before you, but is just sort of sad otherwise. We were glad to have some friends along for company, and I think Jack and Sadie were especially glad, because the friends came equipped with baby and dogs. Sadie loves Ezra. I think his feelings toward her fall somewhat more toward the concerned end of the spectrum, but he does appear to like Jack. And Jack likes playing with babies, it turns out. Mostly because he enjoys playmates that he can hand toys to and take toys away from without rebuke (other than from me, if I happen to notice).

So we made the best of it, romping around through slippery slush and/or mud, and the kids enjoyed playing together indoors and out.



Inside play involved lots of climbing up and down the stairs and getting feet and/or heads stuck in the bannister, balancing precariously before plunging headfirst into coffee table and/or fireplace, and pulling out cabinet drawers and then leaning on them so that maximal finger smashing power could be achieved. At least, that's what Sadie's play involved. That girl is trouble! I don't have any photos of that because I was too busy trying to keep her from killing herself. The other favorite indoor activity, which was enjoyed by all three kids, was bathtime. It's not just for getting clean anymore!



Favorite grown-up activities involved making and enjoying feasts and then taking short walks to earn the right to indulge again in subsequent feasts. Walks were shorter than may have been desirable due to resistance from a certain someone who no longer fits into any of our kid carriers and judging by the amount of complaining about his toes also no longer fits into his boots. We'll make a hiker out of him someday. Maybe just not today. He does still take pretty cute pictures, though.



And he loves his sister. What a sweetie pie. Speaking of complaining though, that photo on the left still makes me laugh when I look at it. You may notice that Jack's legs look extraordinarily large. That's because they're not his legs, they're Danny's. He put his legs inside Danny's pants, because he was complaining that he was too cold, even though it wasn't cold, and he refused to put more clothes on.  Jack is an absolutely delightful companion as long as you don't try to tell him what to do. And as long as his requests are perfectly reasonable, like crawling inside daddy's pants, you don't have to!

(Negotiating matters such as bedtime is another story, however, and conditions are rapidly deteriorating. I'm not going to say much about this because when I look back on this part of our lives I would rather just not remember this particular bit. But I will say that what I really long for is the silent nights that come not from a muffling layer of snow but from children that go to sleep without screaming for two hours. Sigh.)