im in east syracuse with my sister, her husband Jim, their son Vincent (2 yrs) and daughter Claire (4 months). im having a blast. the ground was clear of snow when i landed but last night we got 3" of fresh snow. i woke up to a winter wonderland. the high today is 22 degrees F and the low tonight is 12. I've been on a couple trips to the store and I have experienced the dance of an outing with two little ones. Gloria has a stroller that has the coolest thing for a two year old. The front position holds the infant, and the back has a flat platform just off the ground, with hand-hold bars above. Vincent can get on this platform by entering the stroller from the back. its a much more 'active' position where he can stay standing and lean left and right with the turns. its awesome and he is much happier having a more active role during transportation than being strapped into a seat.

the house is at the end of a cul-de-sac and none of the yards have fences. leaving the garage door open is equivalent of leaving the front door open in warmer parts of the country. we wrapped a couple small trees in the front yard with christmas lights. i have been playing with skype - trying to get video conference calls going with mom and with dad.

gloria and i were lying on the carpet about 3 feet in front of the TV and Jim observed that its probably been a long time since brother and sister have watched TV on the living room floor together. it filled me with a happy nostalgia.