Check it out - Allie is standing on her own!

The snow continues to fall. The roads are now sledding hills. The driveway and deck are in constant need of attention. Will Santa make it?

More storm pictures here.

This is my first post from the iPhone. The power may be out, but that’s not going to stop us from baking cookies for Santa.

Just like the rest of you, we’ve had some snow. We have shoveled the driveway more than any winter before. The car needs cleaning. But, the skiing is great. And, snow beats rain any day.

Welcome to winter everyone!

Once upon a time there was a beautiful big boy by the name of Thomas and he was skiing. Mr. Skiing Thomas. I love you Thomas, said Papa. Mama was not skiing with Allie. And then Allie was playing with Mama. So, then, Allie really wanted to go skiing with Thomas and she was too small. Allie tried to go up stairs but it wasn’t very good for Allie. Poor Allie. Allie really wanted some milk. Allie really wants her Mama.

One day Thomas was skiing and Allie looked for her brother. The End.

(See more vids and pictures of skiing today here. And, note, the videos are small. They are best watched in the photostream.)

Thomas’s school hosted a Christmas party today. There was lots of singing and a visit from Santa. Both Thomas and Allie posed with St. Nick. The cold weather and snow seems all the more perfect now that Santa has appeared.

And, Thomas has discovered the Grinch. He has watched the How the Grinch Stole Christmas several times and really enjoys it. It’s a nice change from Diego!

Oh, we’re so close to having another fully bipedal member of the family.

Yes, words are coming. Allie says ‘hola’ quite clearly. Bottle is something like ‘bo-bo’. ‘Uh oh’ is easy to say … and we hear it often. I’m not sure where the rest of the babbling sounds are found in the dictionary … but Allie knows!

Great picture Abuela!!

Thomas and I skied on Grouse this morning. The temperature was chilly and the snow was very soft. Thomas took off where he finished last winter — he skied the beginner hill without any assistance. He remains very keen to ski. Tomorrow, the ‘Cut’ will be open and we’ll be there for some turns on a longer, steeper run.