Meet Little Bob

One of the greatest things about winter in Tennessee, is that when it snows, even a little, it's a BIG DEAL.  School gets canceled and everyone heads out to play.  We had our biggest "snowstorm" in seven years this weekend.  School was canceled Friday, Monday, and Tuesday, and we'll see about tomorrow.  There are very few snowplows in the city, and since the weather right now is a pattern of warming, melting, then freezing, it's too slick for the buses at 6 in the morning.  Church was even canceled on Sunday!  At first the snow was too icy for packing.  And by the next morning there was a thick layer of ice on top, such that Ashley could walk on top without breaking through.  Colby would break through about every other step, totally throwing off his balance.  Here's a glimpse of how we spent the weekend:

Meet "Little Bob" and his creators:

An evening "sled ride" around the yard.  Mush, Bryan, mush!

Sledding with other neighbors down a subdivision street the next morning:

Some people wish it would snow more often around here.  Not me!  Then it wouldn't be so exciting and fun!

Drumroll, please....

Our oldest child has lost her first tooth.  A momentous occasion indeed.  Sienna first noticed her loose tooth on New Years Eve.  Today, three weeks later, it was barely hanging on when I sent her to school.  When she got home I exclaimed that her tooth was gone!  She immediately started crying, because she didn't know when it happened or where her tooth went.  There wasn't even any blood.  Who knows, she may have swallowed it.

Farewell, adorable baby tooth smile.

Hello, adorable gap tooth smile.

Happy New Year

We had a wonderful holiday season.  Here are a few picture highlights:

Sitting on Santa's lap at our local library

or "near" Santa's lap

Watching Sienna's ballet/tap class on parent observation day

Taking cute pictures of the kids

Going to to the zoo on a warm December day

Enjoying the company of the Butlers

and these Shepherds

over Christmas break.  We had fun going to the zoo, to storytime at the library and the park, shopping for Christmas presents for cousins at the dollar store, making graham cracker houses, driving around looking at lights, caroling, mountain biking (for some), opening presents, singing around the Christmas tree, going to the Adventure Science Center, the Frist Art museum, and the Opryland Hotel, playing lots of games, and putting together a 1500 piece puzzle.  It was great just being together with family.

For all the locals...

This is an advertising post for any locals reading this blog.  Bryan and I are singing in a fabulous production of Handel's Messiah on Dec 13 at 7 pm.  There are several professional soloists and musicians involved.  It's wonderful to listen to and be a part of.  And we want you to come!  (But come early if you want a decent seat.)  For more details, see this Flier .

Picture highlights from November

For Sienna...
A class field trip to Gentry Farms (with Grandma as chaperone - a real treat!)

and the Kindergarten fall show (the close-up pictures didn't turn out)


For Colby...
He's potty-trained! Well, except at night. If anyone has any splendid ideas for that, please share. Sienna did it on her own right away. We don't have any great pictures of Colby, but here he is with the others using our closet as a gymnasium.



For Ashley...
She's binky-free! Even at night - hooray! She also likes to undress herself, as well as try to dress herself with whatever clothes she might find around (like Sienna's underwear).




For all of us...
We had a pleasant Thanksgiving, enjoying a huge feast at the home of our friends, the Wallworks.

And since it hasn't been blogged about yet, and in case you didn't know, baby #4 is on it's way. Due mid May.

For more pics from November...

Nov

Beep, beep, beep!

A few weeks ago during Family Home Evening we talked about fire safety. We practiced running outside to our safe meeting tree when we heard the smoke alarm. I think we only did it three times that night. But that's all it took to get stuck in Ashley's head.

A few nights ago the alarm on Bryan's stopwatch went off during dinner. It beeps for a minute, unless a button is pushed. While everyone else was doing the "beep beep dance," Ashley was looking around in panic. She started pointing to the hall where the smoke alarm is, then pointing to the window (meaning outside). Pretty soon she started crying and struggling to get out of her high chair. Eventually we realized she thought it was the smoke alarm and we were supposed to run outside!

Then last night Bryan's watch did a single beep at the top of the hour. Again Ashley panicked, started crying and tried to get out of her chair.

I don't think Ashley has a clue about the danger of fire. But now she definitely has a fear of beeps!


Ashley, begging for milk at the fridge.

Halloween

We tried making these Halloween treats.
Ours didn't turn out quite so nice. But still fun and yummy.


Long before Halloween the discussion of costumes came up in our family. Sienna knew she wanted to be a witch. Colby did too, so we suggested he be a wizard. (I couldn't find any costumes his size, so had to make one). The kids decided Bryan should be Zorro, since he often tells them Zorro stories at night.
Dad: "Well what should Mommy be?"
Sienna: "Zorro's horse!"
I resisted and complained, but in the end gave in to the puppy-dog looks, and became Zorro's horse. One day Colby was describing what everyone was going to be for Halloween. He said I would be "Daddy's horse." Grandma, who was in a nearby room, didn't hear the "s" on the end of horse. She gave me quite the funny look.

Before our church Halloween party:

After:

Our Jack-o-lanterns:

Before trick-or-treating. We were joined by Sophia and Annika Lindemann, since their new sister decided to be born on Halloween.

The witches and wizard:




Ashley was possessive of her loot.