It's Christmas Again!

I failed to mention in my snow day post that when Jack peered outside Monday morning that he yelled, "It's Christmas again!" What a funny idea to have that snow and Christmas go together...not usually in the South, sweet boy.

By the way, we are on day three of our great snow-in. We've got plenty to eat. We've been able to cook and re-heat...just hoping we won't lose power when all this snow and ice starts to melt. Josh ventured back to the office today. Not sure how many patients he'll actually see, but maybe it's a sign things will be back to normal soon. We're trying to enjoy our unexpected family days at home. We've played lots of Memory, CandyLand, watched a few movies (Toy Story, Despicable Me & Veggie Tales), made a snow man, created snow angels, thrown lots of snow, baked cookies.

I'm a little eager to just get out and drive around a bit, but I won't wish these rare days away. Hope you are enjoying some rare family time too!

Snow Day

There's no day like a snow day, and we were thrilled to welcome one today. Our first snow of 2011 arrived quietly while everyone was sleeping. We went to bed like any old Sunday night, but awoke to a winter wonderland Monday morning. I actually got a sneak peek at about 2:30 when I had to go upstairs to take Jack to the potty. I peered out the window before heading back down the stairs to see the ground completely covered. I couldn't see the driveway, street or anything and it was still coming down. Overall, I'd guess we got somewhere around 7 inches.

It took some convincing and a few layers but we managed to get Jack out in the fluffy stuff, and I even think he had some fun. Josh & I sure did. Before heading inside, we grabbed a bowl full of snow and whipped up some snow cream. Hands down, this was Jack's favorite part of the day.

Even though the heavy snowfall resulted in Josh's office closing for the day, the hospital was still open. So, early this evening he set out for his weekly shift at the ER. Our family snow day has come to an end, but I'm hopeful that he'll be home by lunchtime tomorrow. Who knows...maybe even sooner if they decide to close the office again tomorrow. Sam is already in bed and Jack is not far behind...then, I'll spend the rest of my night watching the last college football of the season.

Snow Day photos to come...right now I've got a game to watch. Hope you enjoyed your snow day too!

Snow Day

So, we saw our first snow of the year (I'm optimistic that it won't be our last) on Thursday afternoon. It was really pretty while coming down. Unfortunately after a week of temps in the 20s, Thursday was kind of warm. So, it took a while for the snow to start sticking. I would guess we got close to a half inch.

On Friday morning, everyone bundled up...which was no small task and resulted in quite a whine fest from Jack. We headed outside to explore the white powder. I tried in vain to encourage Jack to toss some around, but he mostly complained about how it was "cold totside." Needless to say I spent more time bundling us both up (think bundling a 2-year-old up is tough? add a pregnant lady to the mix!) than we spent outside. After some muffins, Josh headed to the office and Jack and I stayed inside where it was nice and warm.

The new year has gotten off to a great start. Last weekend was so much fun. Josh was off Friday and didn't have to work any on Saturday or Sunday...so the three of us spent lots of quality time together. In the last couple of weeks, Jack has developed a precious little habit that neither Josh nor I will grow tired of. Each night when we put Jack to bed, we each tell him that we love him. Once you are almost out the door and ready to close it, he yells out: "Love you, Daddy. Love you, Mommy." It melts us each and every time!!

Say Cheese

Saturday we took Jack to have some photos made, sort of commemorating his first birthday. A great gal I grew up with does photography in our hometown. I've been admiring her images for months on her website and facebook profile. I was excited for the opportunity to have her photograph Jack. The shoot took us to Athens, actually Winterville (which is right outside of Athens). We even managed to get some Christmas shopping done and squeeze in a home-cooked meal with my family. (Thanks, mom!)

Anyway, Sue Ann (our photographer) posted a few "sneak peek" shots from Jack's session on her blog. There's one shown here, but hope you'll take a look. We are so pleased with what we got. We can't wait to see the rest. Thanks, Sue Ann!

I guess it's also been several days since an update, so I'll fill you in on some fun things that happened this week. First of all, it snowed here on Monday! Fun, right? None of it stuck, but it was so pretty! Here's a picture of it coming down in our backyard. Jack wasn't nearly as interested in watching it fall as I was. Maybe once there's some to play in, he'll be more into the snowfall. Anyway, how cool is it that we have snow here on Dec. 1? "Very" is the expected answer!

Our final MOPS meeting of the calendar year was on Friday, and it was a bit silly! We had a game where each table had to make one of their members into a reindeer with only the supplied materials. Somehow I was selected to be the guinea pig...I think I was a pretty good sport. What do you think?

We also brought cookies to swap and share with the lovely and sweet volunteers who keep our children each meeting. I wasn't in the baking spirit and instead assembled these reindeer cookies I spotted in the Family Fun magazine. I've posted new pictures on the Picasa site as well. Hope you all are enjoying your holiday season.