Snow play

Kentucky's weather has been crazy lately! Not only have we had snow pretty consistently, but the temperatures have been the lowest temps in over 15 years. In fact, the first 2 days back to school from winter break were "cold days", meaning we were out of school because the temperatures were so low. I'll tell you this, you've got to get creative with an 18 month old's activities when your cooped up in the house most of the day(s), so I thought that I would share with you some of the fun things I've pulled out of my hat over the past couple of weeks.

First of all, the snow has made for some pretty amazing views. The top one is from the living room window of our house and the bottom one is from the road in front of our house.

So when the temperatures hit a record low, there was also a bit of snow on the ground. Addison really wanted to play outside, but that wasn't going to happen with the news stations cautioning everyone to stay inside due to quick frostbite. Instead of going out to the snow, we brought the snow to us! 

First things first, we made snow cream. I wouldn't be doing my motherly duty if I didn't introduce my child to snow cream, now would I? She LOVED it!! Over and over Pumpkin would come up to see if she could get a lick and Addison would point her finger at her and say, "NO PUP PUP!"

Then we found out that the snow on the back deck was magic snow!! When we added our "potion" to the snow it started to fizz and bubble! We found out that not all the snow was magic though, so we had to do a little hunting for the snow that had magic in it. 

Basically what I did for this experiment was let her have a bottle of food coloring mixed with vinegar. On the snow I sprinkled baking soda. When baking soda and vinegar mix, it bubbles. Tons of fun for my little one! 

It was also fun just to take different colored bottles and let her paint the snow.

I didn't capture any picture of this, but we also took kitchen utensils, such as measuring cups, spoons, and cookie cutters and played with the snow. I simply brought the snow in on a casserole dish and let her play until it melted. She would ask for more and of course I was more than happy to get it for her!

Luckily we were able to venture out a bit when the weather warmed up to a whopping 27 degrees to a little pottery place I've been dying to take Addison to. She has painted before but it was a complete disaster that ended about a minute after it started. You can imagine I was a little nervous, but thought why not!

She had a ball! I let her pick whatever she wanted to paint and she chose a cupcake jewelry box. 

This place sits right on our main street where the train runs through town, so while we painted we got to watch the "choo-choo." She was in heaven!

Her face when the train came through

She's concentrating really hard!

I'm glad I took her and gave it a try because she did much better painting this time around and the ladies who owned the store loved her. Of course she made buddies and put on a show, and I had a ton of fun spending quality time with my girl. 

The finished product. We have to wait a couple of weeks to get it back, but I am sure Addison will love it. She told me about 10 times on the way home, "Mamma, I paint! I fun! Thank you!" Made my heart melt to know my girl had such a fun time!

So, my friends, hope this gave you some fun ideas to try with your little ones. If you've done something that was a big hit, please share it :) I hope you've stayed warm these past few weeks!