Christmas Love

Not a Baby Anymore

I cannot believe these pictures.  Last week, we went to our last Mom and Tot class of the session and were heading to decorate gingerbread houses afterward with our friends Mara and Addison, so I grabbed the camera.  I'm so glad I took it with me, but seriously....this is definite proof that she's not a baby anymore.  She looks crazy old in these!   Cue the tears...

 

 She loves singing all the songs during class!  

Riley is usually the only one that wants to ride on the 'bus' while we sing Wheels on the Bus.  So different than her brother...he was always one that preferred to walk with me than ride, but she hops right on!

After one ride, Addie did decide to join her for a short ride.

But her favorite is probably singing the 'Popcorn' song with the help of the parachute and foam balls.  It goes a little something like this....
You put the popcorn in the skillet and when it gets hot,
Sizzle sizzle sizzle and pop pop pop!

Riley loves the balls popping all over!

After class, we headed over to Addie's.  Mara did an adorable job setting up a little station for the girls to decorate gingerbread houses and cookies.  Super mom, huh?

Before we left, the girls played, danced, and sang.  Riley loves singing.  I think we'll end up getting her this microphone someday....she sings all the time!

Our baby is growing up so fast.  It's so bittersweet!

A Winter Wonderland

Gosh, I love it when it snows!  It's something I've always said when Jarrod would talk about a new job a potential move...I had to be somewhere that had some seasons!  Of course, living at the beach would be awesome, but I'd miss the beauty of the snowflakes.  {But, give me another month and I'm certain I'll be ready for warm weather again!} 
We got our first snowfall pretty early here.  And when it snows here, it shuts down much of the city.  We don't have the appropriate equipment to clear roads, and this time it was much worse because we got ice first, then about 9 inches of snow.  When the snow would melt a little through the day, it would just freeze up again overnight, making the ice thicker and the roads worse.  Gavin had a total of FIVE snow/ice days!  Many friends were complaining of being stir crazy, and I couldn't have disagreed more....we had so much fun being  homebound.  Lots of family time {Jarrod did go to work each day, but he went in later than normal and was home early}, lots of playing in the snow, lots of hot chocolate!

Riley was just getting over being sick and we didn't want to make it flare up again so our time outside was limited before she'd start coughing and I had to bring her back in.  She sucked on some candy canes to help soothe her throat and calm the cough, and couldn't wait to go back out the next time.  We had so much fun!

 

The kids loved jumping off the porch into the snow.

These are definitely not all great photos, but I love the goofiness that is Gavin in them.  You can tell just how much fun he was having!

 

  

 

We remembered the sled Mimi bought us when we were moving to NY and the kids both absolutely loved going for sled rides around the front yard.  Bonus for Daddy....cardio workout!

Next up...a little baseball game using a rake and snowballs!

 I even was able to get in a couple photos! :)

 And this was the first year that Gavin actually enjoyed hot chocolate, so that was a special memory.  They loved coming in and having some in a couple of Riley's teacups from her Minnie Mouse tea set.

Considering we already have five make up days for school, I don't know if I really want anymore snow, but I wouldn't mind too much if I got stuck inside again with these special people.  Doesn't look like we'll have any snow for Christmas this year, but at least we don't have anywhere to go for the next few days so we can pretend to be snowed in and spend lots of quality time together!

 

Computer Time with Mimi