Yesterday the mercury topped 50 and John and Edward went out to splash in puddles, build a snowman (who would promptly melt) and throw snowballs (which Edward continues to think is absolutely hilarious--especially when John faked being knocked over by the ones Edward threw at him.) We also had several dump trucks and diggers in our neighborhood working to scrape the impacted snow/ice from the street, but John said Edward didn't want to watch. I think perhaps it was too loud and too close for his comfort. However, these city workers are our heroes for the day as they managed to clear the roads down to pavement, which we have not seen in several weeks. The thaw/freeze cycle had created such a mess that it was basically like driving on unpaved country roads.

However, our spring fever was short-lived as we knew that rain was on the way and would be followed by snow. The rain started just before dinner and included some lightning and thunder, which Edward wasn't too sure he appreciated. We tried to keep the mood light, repeating, "I like booms!" and reminding him that the lightning and thunder were outside and he was inside, but he was still uneasy. Later when there were more booms as John was reading his bedtime stories, Edward actually flung himself against John's chest and grabbed on tightly to his shoulders. I told him when he went to bed his eyes would be closed and he wouldn't see the lightning anymore. He immediately closed his eyes and continued clinging to John. He went to bed without a fuss though and must have fallen asleep right away because the thunder continued for a little while longer, but we didn't hear from Ed.

This weekend we took out the big box of the next size clothes for Daniel. This box contains clothes up to nine-month, so lots of short sleeves and shorts/rompers--a welcome promise of warmer days to come. But the 3-6 month clothes are still cozy sleepers and long sleeve onesies. These are still a bit big, but not for long. Some of the 0-3 clothes will soon be history, and while it's exciting to see Daniel grow so well, part of me is sad to say good-bye to these tiniest things. That includes the penguin hat, but no matter how far we purge and share hand-me-downs, that's an item that must remain in the family archives for the next generation.

On the subject of hats, we had some laughs with this one that Edward decided was not just for Daniel (who can't really wear it anyway since it doesn't fit in his car seat!) Edward needed quite a bit of help squeezing his big noggin into it, but luckily fleece is stretchy and he had fun roaring like a dinosaur. Actually, he doesn't need the hat to justify the roaring, but it was a good combo.

Roaring is part of one of Edward's "songs." Actually, it's about the only part we can understand. He sings a few unintelligible words then says "dinosaur, RAARRRR!" Sometimes he just sings the "dinosaur, RAARRRR!" part. Sometimes he wakes up from his nap and sings to himself for a little while without calling for someone to get him up. This is highly entertaining. He has learned a few songs in a Kindermusik program that is offered at his daycare and will spontaneously burst out with one of them at any given moment or mealtime. Since he only sings some of the words, we're often left guessing and can only offer abstract praise. Singing along is impossible. I did pick up on one of his fragments though and recognized an song we used to sing in day camp, "Bringing home my baby bumblebee." As you can see in the video below, Edward is mostly into the "OUCH! He stung me" line. Something vaguely approaching "Won't my mommy be so proud of me" occasionally goes with it.

We've been trying for a few weeks to capture video of Edward singing his ABCs, but he won't often do it on command. Last night at dinner he started singing and the camera was in reach from the dino hat photo shoot earlier so I just grabbed it and hoped he'd keep going. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that he liberally edits the alphabet--ironically, skipping 'E' most of the time. Lest anyone accuse us of being hyper-academic parents who think early childhood skills lay the groundwork for future Harvard admission, I have to say that we did not teach him the ABC's. We read Dr. Seuss's ABC's and he has several toys that play/sing the song. Maybe they also do it at daycare, but we did not sit and drill him. Harvard is out of the question anyway--there's no way we'd ever be able to afford it!