How much longer is winter?

I remember being really smug last year because i made it all the way to April before getting spring fever.  My track record has improved a little each year-- less whining, later deployment of my long underwear, more acceptance of the weather.  I'm afraid that the linear development of my winter hardiness is going to go madly off the rails this year.  Last week we got a ton of snow-- around a foot all told and life just marched right along.  On Sunday night we got another 3 inches or so in about 2 hours.  Thankfully the sleet that was predicted came later and in the form of rain, but yesterday was marked by such dense fog that i felt like i was in the steam room at my favorite spa-- sans nice warm heat.  It's grey and supposed to rain more today, but that was okay because it's warmish (30s) but tonight, it's supposed to snow another foot in a major storm.  Seriously?  I'm about to stop whining because i know i do live in Chicago and all, but this accumulation of 8 inches here, another foot there, that doesn't melt but just adds up to lots of black gross snow is wearing on me-- when does spring start?
Adding to my winter woes is Silas' cold which he came down with on Sunday.  He ran a low-grade fever and slept fitfully enough so we kept him home yesterday.  Henry has a mild case as well but his seems confined to a stuffy nose.  Although Silas did not nap as long as we were all hoping yesterday, he slept like a champ through the night and seemed to be improving today.  I bundled them both off to school and hopefully that was the right decision. 
Because of Silas' cold, we temporarily suspended our room-sharing transition.  Which is too bad because by the end of last week i think we had turned a corner.  After some very stern talks with Henry, he finally went back to getting into bed and falling asleep rather than carrying on for an hour after he went down.  Hence, Silas slept much more soundly as well.  Depending on how Silas does at Brenda's today, we'll decide whether to keep him upstairs with us or bunk him back with Henry.

10 Months / 2 Years, 9 Months

I think it's safe to say the dust is still settling in the bedroom shake-up. We've decided that since we don't actually need the top bunk right now we're going to take it back off. Henry and Silas' room is not very big and the tall bunk beds kind of tower over everything making the room feel like submarine sleeping quarters. Plus, although the fact that the upper bunk is lower than a normal bunked is great in the event of an unexpected fall, it lends itself to lots of bumped heads by mom and dad. So, hopefully tonight we'll take it back off and stow it away in the basement.

Both kiddos are pretty square with sleeping through the night, but, they've been engaging in all kinds of antics before finally falling asleep (Henry) or after an initial wake-up. JT said that two nights ago he had been listening to Henry chatter away but somehow something just wasnt right. He went in to check and Henry was out of bed standing next to Silas' crib trying to fix his jungle crib toy that had fallen over. Last night i got home in time to put both boys to bed. When Henry was getting in bed he told me that "baby might cry again." I told him that if Silas did cry Henry could talk to him or sing to him. Bad idea. Again we were greeted by Henry chattering and then squeals of laughter by Silas. It took awhile to settle them back down and then they were out for the night.

So, we're going to keep at this room-sharing thing. I know it will work itself out in the end but every night is an adventure.

Quick Silas update, JT said that while i was gone Silas is trying to pull up on anything and everything. He's not been successfull yet, but it's always nice to see signs of forward progress in the little ones :)

17 Months, 4 Weeks, 2 Days

Henry seemed to be feeling more like himself yesterday. He was chipper in the morning and Brenda said he had a good day but a restless nap. He seemed tired when i picked him up in the afternoon, but once he got home he was extremely animated. I however, was a lump on the couch as the winter germs have caught up with me again.

Henry was eagerly walking from the kitchen where he was eating his snack while JT cooked back and forth to me in the living room. He was chattering away and just really happy and being silly. It was pretty easy to tell when he got tired because he just started whining out of nowhere so he was off to bed a touch early.

When i dropped Henry off Brenda had a stack of books in her hands and all the other kids had their chairs arranged in a circle with books. Henry was zeroed in on the kids and scanning the room at their books. Brenda told me he has a favorite book that is some kind of "pop-up" that she holds back for him because he goes crazy if someone else is looking at it. I'm hoping we can move out of this intense non-sharing phase before the new baby arrives. Considering he gets bent out of sorts when the cats walk near his toys, i'm not sure how much he's going to love the new baby laying on "his" stuff.

17 Months, 1 Week, 4 Days

When i went to pick Henry up at Ms. Brenda's today Henry and the other kiddos were all sitting on the floor individually working on puzzles. Henry was right in the center and working on matching up farm animals with the spaces they came out of. He couldn't necessarily get them back in the puzzle, but he did great and putting the cow piece at least on top of the cow slot. Brenda and i cheered him on and he finished the whole puzzle. He wasn't very happy though when the other kids took it over as we were leaving. We really have to work on this sharing thing.

He took a bath without incident tonight, so now we're just waiting to see what normal daily occurrence becomes terrifying next. My bet is on brushing his teeth, but he already dislikes that so it will probably be something like his books.

Speaking of teeth. Henry has at least one new tooth on the bottom and maybe more that are farther back. He really won't let me look in there or even get my fingers in so i really can't tell.