Happy Purim

Dad was out of town most of this week, so it was just Hazel, Mom and me.

The day he left, Tuesday, we got lots of snow. Yes, we still live in Texas, and the inch or two on the ground was the most snow we've had in six years (so I've heard). As soon as Hazel went down for her morning nap, Peepa, Mom and I played in it on the deck. I loved sweeping it with a broom, sliding in it and feeling it in my hands. Peepa liked eating it. And Mom threw a snowball at me, which was hilarious. We couldn't stay out as long as we wanted to because since it's usually 75 degrees here, like it was two days before this happened, I don't have any gloves or mittens and my hands were turning red. Next time I will wear socks on my hands, but we thought of that too late for this time. By Wednesday it was in the 50s and sunny again, and all the snow melted. It felt magical while it lasted.

Although Hazel didn't get to play outside with us in the snow, she's been making her own fun. She is really pulling herself up to standing now, which means she can reach more of my toys. She especially likes pulling herself up at my train table so she can play with my legos and trains. I don't mind. I really laughed at her the first few times she did it and she is fun to play with.

I am doing really well sleeping in my big boy bed. Mom and Dad said it is going better than they expected. I am even napping better than I did in my crib and I am going to sleep pretty quickly at night too. Hazel is enjoying my old crib too, which we moved into her room. It actually has taken her a little longer to adapt to the new sleeping situation than it took me.

This week I have been testing out more new words, like "water" and "more beans" (thanks to Amy, Gigi, and Aunt Laurie, who gave us yummy Freebirds gift cards), and twice while Dad was gone, I said, "Dada home," which Mom was really excited about. I am also paying more attention to the teacher in my Gymboree class.

Tonight all of us went to a Purim celebration at our synagogue. I wore my lion costume from Halloween, and got lots of compliments. Everyone was very impressed with my fearsome lion roar. We ate hot dogs, danced to some fun songs, played with the water fountain, and ran up and down ramps. But my favorite part was playing in a bounce house. I had never been in one before, but when I saw other kids jumping around, I really wanted to try it - even enough to wait in line for it. Dad waited with me in line and tried to convince me to be patient. When it was finally my turn, I ran and jumped around for my entire allotted sixty seconds. When it was time to come out, I came without any fuss. Mom and Dad sure were proud.