The Family *roll

We’ve survived our first January in Minnesota. The driveway is an ice slick. The baby has a space heater. There were some days early in the month where it was snot-freezing, eye-ball icing, car engine-whining, thermostat-busting cold. The house isn’t too drafty but you can’t put Eleanor on the carpet to play until the place fully warms up (10 am). We’ve trained Belly to have her last pee of the day on her extendable leash so we don’t have to leave the back porch.

But we have managed to enjoy this month: we’ve skated, gone cross country skiing, Dan is playing hockey and Eleanor is no longer screaming when we put her in her little red sled. She even cracked a smile in the sled yesterday when Dan was making donuts with her while skating on the ice rink (and afterwards, she fell asleep in his arms while he was skating around and harassing me to learn cross overs). We make a lot of soup and hot chocolate.

February is an exciting month for us: we are going to Chicago and leaving the baby with Lu and Aubrey for 3 days. I have my first papers due and a “Nurse’s Day of Action” in St. Paul. P & V are visiting at the end of the month. I also start working at a local free clinic for the uninsured. We also have this giant 8-month-old who we get to cuddle and carry around and marvel at as she discovers her toys and the world around her and fine tunes her hatred of bearded men.