In between the holidays

I know I said I would post Christmas pics next, but let’s cover the bit of ground between Thanksgiving and Christmas first.

I showed you how it was beginning to look like Christmas around our house here.

While it was looking like Christmas, it still wasn’t really feeling like Christmas. Actually, it felt more like fall. Comfortably cool weather, beautiful red and orange foliage… you know, fall.

It finally started to get cold…

Hey look, ice!

Perhaps the arrival of the cold weather had something to do with this guy, who journeyed all the way from the North Pole. Readers, meet Henry.

Henry is our Elf on a Shelf, sent all the way down here from Santa himself. Every day, Henry watches over the kids and then at night, he flies back to the North Pole to give his report to Santa (you know, whether or not the kids were “good, for goodness sake”). Every morning we found him in a new place. He managed to get into Addy’s stocking…

and ride a reindeer…

He even hung from a light fixture, got caught in a cage and sat on a wall clock. He’s a silly elf, that Henry.

Anyway, the cold weather and arrival of Henry helped launch us into the Christmas spirit. We decided to make Christmas treats, both for us and for our neighbors.

Making fudge with Daddy.

Addy says “It’s goooooddd.”

The makings of Triple Chocolate Whoopie Pies. Oh yes.

I made one and it was literally >1/3 of the size of Addy’s face. So instead of using two cookies, we cut each cookie in half and put the filling in the middle. Much more reasonable.

We wrapped up the treats for the neighbors…

And then hand delivered them the weekend before Christmas. I think this will be a fun tradition we will continue every Christmas!

Speaking of tradition, we had our 2nd annual Christmas dinner with our neighbors. We have dinner at one house, dessert at the other, and exchange a few small gifts. Such a fun thing to do with our friends

The Thursday before Christmas (and the day before we headed down to Austin), the underside of our tree was looking pretty full…

so we opened a few gifts from Derek’s side of the family.

Addy tears through presents like it’s her job, so before long we had a pile of awesome gifts.

Some of her favorite gifts were a “sparkle shirt” (shirt with sequins on it), a clock that teaches you how to tell time, and a barbie purse with a pretend cellphone and lipstick. Colton was content watching the whole spectacle from the comfort of Daddy’s lap. You just know that next year he will be all up in the action!

And with that, NOW we move on to Christmas pics.

Adelyn is 2 years, 7.75 months old and Colton is 7 months, 2 days old.

Signs that spring is not far off…

Our pear tree is budding…

The sky is a beautiful shade of blue…

And Addy is washing the truck again. In February. (I know today is March 1st, but Addy washed the truck this past weekend… in February).

Look at her, hard at work!

She was making funny faces at the girl in the bumper.

Clean the baby!

Seriously, if spring is here already, it’s going to be a long hot summer…

Adelyn is 21 months old and I am 23 weeks, 3 days pregnant.

Snow Day #2

A crazy winter storm hit Texas last week, dumping ice and snow on a good portion of the state. While we only got about 1.5-2 inches of snow here, some parts of Dallas got up to 8 inches!! Currently, there is more rain and freezing temps on the way, so that should be fun ::sarcasm::.

Addy bundled up like a pink puffball the night the cold front came in.
{Cute jacket, isn’t it? Christmas gift from Auntie Lindsay!}

We took her baby doll for a ride around the block the next morning after the snow had fallen.

The snow was still around on the weekend, so we spent Saturday morning playing outside before it all disappeared.

Addy and Daddy went for a walk in the snow.

And then Addy and Daddy roasted marshmallows before dinner as we waited for our grill to heat up.

She liked it.

Adelyn is 20 months, 2 weeks old and I am 20 weeks, 4 days pregnant.

Wacky weather

So yesterday I posted about the temperature being 70*F in January (the temp from this past weekend). The actual weather yesterday? 27*F (and below) with a light snow. Wind chill made it feel like 10*F. Current temp? 17*F, feels like 9*F. Ah, how quickly things change!

Anyway, a few weeks ago it had been cold and rainy for several days straight, so Addy and I didn’t really venture outside. She was going stir-crazy by the end of that week, so even though it was still cold and wet, we bundled up and went for a walk. Smart girl even brought her umbrella along in case it started to rain again.

She enjoyed stomping through the leaf piles (left behind from the rain)…

and preferred to use her umbrella as a walking/poking stick, rather than an actual umbrella.

She was just so happy to be outside! But now that the weather is cold and blustery again, we are back inside, trying to find things to do around the house. We did have a playdate with our neighbor friends, Rachel and Hannah Clare, though! So at least we got out of the house.

What would we do if we lived further north where it’s really cold, all winter long?!?!

Adelyn is 20 months, 1 week old and I am 19 weeks, 4 days pregnant.

What do you do when it’s 70* in January?

1. Help Daddy wash his truck.

2. Play outside with our neighbor friends.

3. Look grown-up. I mean, seriously. She looks like she’s at least 5 years old!

4. Garden. Ha!!

And here’s a cute shot of Addy helping us assemble the new desk we got this weekend. What a ham!

Adelyn is 20 months, 1 week old and I am 19 weeks, 3 days pregnant.

It’s a snow day!

Snow! In White Oak! Two years in a row! We didn’t get as much this time around, maybe only 1.5 inches… but that’s more than enough for us to get outside and play in it.

First things first, we had to bundle up. Adelyn got to wear her new snow suit!

Addy wasn’t quite sure what to think of the snow… it was chilly and sticking to her boots.

Our neighbors brought Hannah Clare out too and the girls enjoyed some quality time in the snow.

Chatting about this weird white stuff on the ground.

“Lemme back out, Daddy!”

The snow was still around yesterday, so that was exciting!

Addy was ready to go out and play this time around.

(Sorry, no sound… I don’t know why.)

Momma pulled her around in a makeshift sled (our laundry hamper)…

… and then Addy pulled her baby around for a bit too.

(No sound again…)

Adelyn is 19 months, 2 weeks old and I am 16 weeks, 2 days pregnant.

Spring so far:

You know that saying “If you don’t like the weather (in Texas), just wait 5 minutes and it will change”?  Yup, it’s true.

Two days ago, 70 degrees.  This morning, we woke up to snow in our backyard:

Monday’s forecast: mid 60′s and sunny.  Crazy weather indeed.  Addy got to wear her cool new hat though, so it was worth it!

All ready to brave the cold weather before church this morning.

“Crawling is hard on this slippery floor, Momma!”

Snooooow.

Happy equinox

Okay, now that it is “officially” spring, we are under a winter weather advisory here in White Oak, with a 60% chance of rain/snow tonight, and 70% chance of rain/snow tomorrow.  Welcome, spring!  We’ve missed you!  Ha.

We received a very appropriate gift in the mail today, a new hat for Adelyn!  My Aunt Joan knitted it and it is so cute (this is the second one she knit for Addy because the first one was just getting too small).  I think Addy likes it   Based on the forecasted weather, it’s definitely cold enough to wear it.

“I love my new hat!”

I think the pompoms match Addy’s eye color!

So cute.

When was the last time I posted a video?

Or six?

2/2/10 – Bath time in Tucson! Addy loves playing in the bathtub, especially when she has fun toys like her turtles. (8 mos old)

2/3/10- Ringing a wind chime, aka. the breakfast bell (8 mos old)

2/3/10 – Playing in her drinking water (8 mos old)

2/12/10 – Snow in White Oak! (8.5 mos old)

2/12/10 – Having a delicious, nutritious snack. (8.5 mos old)

2/12/10 – Addy’s snowman. (8.5 mos old)

Snow!!! In Texas?!

Can it be? Oh yes, White Oak had snow!

It started snowing yesterday but nothing really stuck on the ground. Last night it started to snow harder and the temperature dropped, so the cold, fluffy, white stuff started building up. When we woke up at 7:30am this morning, we were greeted by this:

A winter wonderland!!

Adelyn put on her excited face:

(Ha, just kidding!)

We all bundled up and headed out into the backyard to frolic in the snow before it all started to melt away. But first things first, how much snow did we get?

We measured 6 inches in our backyard! (Dallas got 10-12 inches. It was a big snowstorm! But I digress. We don’t live in Dallas.)

First we took some pictures to commemorate the event:

Brrrrr.

Birds in the trees.

Daddy and Adelyn love the snow!

And then I began the project that most everyone embarks upon after the first substantial snow – building a snowman!

Rolling the base.

Starting on the middle.

Got to pack the snow juuuust right.

Putting the finishing touches on the snowman.

Ta Da! Addy’s first snowman!

She was very impressed.

Hellllllo!

Addy likes the snowman’s… ears? Antlers? Antennae?

Wow! Now that’s a good looking snowman!

Yippee! We love the snow!

Nova wants to come out and play in the snow too.

Then we drove out to visit Derek’s grandparents:

Where are we?! I thought we were in Texas!!

Winter Wonderland

Derek’s pump jack is all snowy!

Visiting Great-Grandmother and Great-Granddad Dollins

It was a very nice winter day The snow will be gone by tomorrow (temp is supposed to get back up into the lower 50′s), so it’s a good thing we enjoyed it today!