Snow day!

We are officially in winter's snowy grip... it's a snow day! It started snowing yesterday morning, but we decided to head out for church anyways. While we were there, it really started coming down, and we had a pretty tense drive home. We bundled Sam up in the evening and took him out for his first snow experience. Steve gave him some snow advice from years living on the praries, like "Son, never eat yellow snow," and "Don't forget to dot the 'i' if you are writing in the snow." Teaching him bad habits already. We woke up this morning and everything was covered in snow! With Steve working on roofs, it was pretty clear he wasn't going to be working today, or probably for a few days. So, we got all suited up and went out for a walk on the deserted streets. I wore my winter boots that I don't think have been worn since Winnipeg days, and we put Sam in about 5 layers of clothes. He seemed sort of confused by the snow, and sat very quietly in the stoller while we walked for about an hour... sort of a record for him. We had a great walk, then a nice cozy rest of the day indoors. We were talking about how much fun it is because it is such a novelty. I remember living in Winnipeg, and even Calgary too, and after a month or two of snow it's hard to feel particularly enthused about it. But we are enjoying it right now. If it last for much more than a week, I think most people will be feeling a little grumpy about it.

On another note, we had our first journey to the emergency room with Sam this past weekend. We were putting together an ottoman in the living room, and Sam popped something in his mouth too quick for us to see what it was. Steve tried to grab it out, but Sam was too quick. He swallowed it right away, started choking and sputtering, and was very upset. We knew he was breathing fine, but were concerned with what it was he had swallowed...specifically if it was a screw or something else from the ottoman. So, we took him to emerg, and they were amazing there. They got us in right away, and took x-rays of his throat, chest and abdomen. Nothing showed up on the x-ray, which meant whatever it was he swallowed wasn't metal. That was a relief. So, they sent us home. And last night, we discovered what it was he had eaten. Steve was changing his dipaer, and lo and behold there was a pear stem, about the same width of a pencil and about an inch long. No wonder he was so upset! Anyways, he is totally fine, and we got that out of the way. It was nerve wracking to say the least.

Other than swallowing everything, which he loves to do, Sam is changing and doing new things everyday. He has perfected crawling. He started crawling pretty early at 5 months, but it was a funky little worm crawl which looked a little like break dancing. Like father, like son. Now he is doing a traditional crawl, and is moving about 5 times faster than before. Which means he can reach things 5 times faster, and is 5 times faster in ripping books off of shelves, grabbing cats tails, and pulling on all manner of cords. He is also a total pro at standing up, and is cruising around the furniture. He hasn't taken any steps away from furniture yet, but we are OK with waiting for that milestone. He hasn't started saying "mama" or "dada" yet, but does say dadadadada, and mamamamama. He has also started shaking his head no. Ummmmm... that's fun. He likes to do that especially when I am trying to feed him. We think he is going to be a little stubborn, and can't figure out where he gets that from...