As Mary reported earlier this week, we received a lot of snow on Wednesday, and that, coupled with some cold temperatures (it's 3 degrees as I write this) has meant a lot of inside time for the Kenyons. Mary and I can find things to do, and Daniel mostly sleeps, but Edward is a restless ball of toddlerhood. That has meant a lot of diversions, creative ways to play and other ways to kill time and burn energy.

On Saturday, that meant a trip to the mall for Edward's first real haircut. Some might remember our "de-mulleting" of Edward last fall, but things had gotten beyond our parent-with-scissors capabilities. So, we took him to the cheap haircut place at the mall for his first time in the chair. He did great, sitting patiently while his hair was sprayed with water, combed and cut. The only time he caused problems was when the stylist was cutting the hair in the back because Edward kept wanting to turn around to watch, a physical impossibility that made it somewhat difficult. Overall, he was declared one of the best first haircuts ever and sent on his way.

He was rewarded with an hour at the soft toy playland, where he and about 50 other kids ran around like crazy, jumped and slid on the various big, plastic toys there. He absolutely loves the place (it's a free, open spot at the mall where parents can let kids burn off steam during a shopping trip), and while it's noisy and a bit nerve-wracking, I think I could sit and watch him play there all day. The video at the end of this post has a clip of him there.

From there it was home for a quiet day. I spent an hour shoveling out our driveway so we could use our garage for the first time in a week, and that proved to be the extent of the Kenyons' time outside for the weekend. Today, we've tried many different things to keep Ed occupied, from an improvised game that involved him carrying his various balls across the room to drop in a laundry basket to breaking out some Play-doh (that smell is primal... I felt like a preschooler again just taking a whiff) to make animal shapes (both documented in the video). Then again, the most fun we had was in watching Edward acting silly while carrying a ball through a game of "chase," making strange sounds as he made his way through the living room.

Through all of this, Daniel quietly celebrated his one-month birthday today. It's hard to believe a month has passed already, though in some ways, we've settled in so well as a family that it feels as if it has been longer. We're steadily figuring out how to balance the needs of both boys and still have some time for ourselves, and having a lot of fun watch Edward love (though at times "maul" might be a better word) his baby brother.