My toddler & 9 month old baby both woke up congested with a runny nose. we haven't seen or been around anyone with symptoms. could they have gotten sick from the cold weather outside? they were only getting in a car & had coats on?

Many people, including you, can carry a respiratory virus home to your kids when you never have any symptoms at all. It comes from a lifetime of encountering many upper airway viruses and developing a resistance to their invasion. Kids & adults don't get sick because its cold, they get the virus from someone, who may or may not have any symptoms. That is life.

Check the temperature, use nasal saline which is often effective in reducing the symptoms. Watch for signs of shortness of breath and fever. Keep your child well hydrated. COVID 19 testing is available.

Although people are more contagious when they have symptoms of a viral respiratory disease (colds, flu, COVID-19), they can be contagious enough to spread it without having symptoms. This is especially true of COVID-19. Would recommend observing, checking for fever, making sure they're drinking plenty of fluids and if sicker, consider test for COVID-19/flu and seeing their doctor.