January 18 - Do you wanna build a snowman?

I’ve always been a big fan of Calvin and Hobbes (honestly, who isn’t a fan?), and my favorites were when Calvin would build...interesting...snowmen that left his parents scratching their heads.  I think it's because of all the adventures that Calvin had, those spent playing in the snow resonated the most with a kid growing up in Maine. I'd build them with my brother in our backyard, always trying to recreate what Calvin had done but never quite getting there.

Elliot has seen some sizable snowfalls before, but he hasn't been old enough to truly appreciate them. The last time it snowed like this he still wasn't that great at walking around in it, and he definitely didn't understand the concept of a snowman.  Now that he is better at grasping both the walking and the understanding, Elizabeth decided it was time to get out of the house and build Elliot's first snowman with him..

Now, I’ll be honest, Elliot took on more of a managerial role. This means that Elizabeth did all of the work and Elliot just suggested the snowman what accessories the snowman needed. This included eyes, a scarf, a hat, a carrot nose, and shoes (a first for me with snowmen).

Elizabeth  started by trying to roll up the body in the traditional snow man building fashion, but because the snow has melted and refrozen it was not as playable and her technique had to be modified.  After some shaping and some patting, here was the result...

I got home right as the nose was being put into place.  And Elliot was SO excited to show me what "he" had built (next lesson: quit taking credit for a woman's work). He named his snowman "Elliot" (it's his favorite name, after all, so that one wasn't too much of a surprise), and he was just about as tall as his snowy counterpart.

The snowstorm that hit us earlier this week is long gone, and it's remnants are slowly but surely going away.  Elliot's snowy friend is currently melting in our front yard.  I don't know if he's actually noticed him fading away, and I hope that he doesn't take it too hard when Elliot the Snowman becomes Elliot the Puddle.

We made the most out of the snow since we don't get to see this every winter.  And I think that's a big part of how Elizabeth and I try to live our lives as parents and what we want to impart to our children. When you see an opportunity for fun or joy or learning or adventure, you take it.  Those can be big adventures like traveling to other states or other countries.  Or they can be small ones, like cooking something together, or going sledding with your friends.

Or making a snowy version of yourself in the front yard.  Our own little Calvin has now made the first in what I can only hope will be many more snowmen.  As with everything he does, I'm excited what Elliot will come up with.