"Group" Photo

On my birthday last month, I pulled out the camera to show my parents a few photos of the kids. Well, any time I pull out the camera, the kids both begin clamoring for an opportunity to take pictures themselves. (And, I must admit, sometimes they take some decent shots.) Anyway, this was no exception.

Leah immediately wanted to play photographer and family historian; in her most authoritative voice, she commanded, "Okay, everybody get together so I can take your picture." Well, who wouldn't obey an order such as that coming from an almost-five-year-old? We all complied (my parents, Scott, myself, and Hunter), standing close together for the group shot.

"Okay, now I'm going to take your pictures. Nama first," Leah replied. Yes, her "group" photo was more like several individual photos that could be grouped together. (See for yourself below.)

Mom's laughing because of Leah's concept of a "group" photo.

Of course, because Daddy covered his face, Hunter had to do the same.

Snow Days... Enough Already!

Though the kids have enjoyed the snow, I do believe they are tired of it. Perhaps that's due to the extreme cold that has accompanied the white stuff this year. Despite bundling up, the kids are lucky to last 5 minutes! (Seriously, the last snow we had Hunter didn't even last that long!) Know when they did play in the snow? When it was 40 something degrees out. Go figure. Below shows the extent to which we played in the snow (these were from the Valentine's Day snow). Come on Spring!

The Hulk gets ready to venture into the snow.

Like the snow fort that "we" built? More like, I built it while the kids ate snow. They do deserve some credit, though; they painted the fort using colored water.

Okay, maybe I shouldn't have said "kids"; more like, while Leah ate snow. Forget playing in it. She just wanted to eat it.

See what I mean? I had at least 2 other photos of her doing the same thing.

At least Hunter played (or tried not to fall down).

Guess what she's doing here?

Hunter tries a bit of snow, too. Must be good if Leah's eating so much of it, right?

Christmas in January

Considering how far behind I am in posting lately, is it any wonder that I'm just NOW posting photos from our Christmas trip to NY? And when I say Christmas trip, I really mean our trip in January to celebrate a belated Christmas.

We drove up the first Sunday in January (the week of the polar vortex on the East coast) through snow and freezing rain. The rain coated our car in ice, making for slow going. At one point, the ice was a couple inches thick on the windshield wipers and edges of the windshield! Most of the bad weather was in MD and PA; once we crossed over into NY, the precipitation was primarily just rain. (There was snow on the ground, though, an important detail to note for later.)

After dinner Sunday night, we celebrated Christmas with Scott's parents and Grandma. Hunter definitely understood what that meant this year! He and Leah both were eager to open gifts, but were patient (enough) to wait their turns, too.

Monday morning when we woke up, bitterly cold temperatures greeted us... but no snow! The rain had melted it all during the night. So much for taking the kids sledding while we were there. No matter. The kids enjoyed playing with their grandmothers during the day. That evening, Scott's brother and his wife and their kids came over so that the cousins could exchange Christmas gifts. (So, keeping track? Two nights of gifts.) Leah, Kate, and Mila had a blast together, while Hunter and Cam tried working out how to share (not exactly the easiest thing for 2-year-olds to do).

Tuesday afternoon, the cousins came over again so that they could have a chance to play again (since they don't see each other too much, they cherish those moments together). Hunter immediately assumed (as any 2.5-year-old might) that meant MORE gifts. He sat down on my lap and said, "I'm ready to open presents now."

The rest of our trip was filled with plenty of play time with the grandparents, a trip to Great Grandma Teddy's house, and just time relaxing together as a family before we had to venture home on Friday. Though we couldn't play outside at all because it was too cold (below 0 on a couple days) and the snow had melted, we enjoyed ourselves. (Oh, we did see more snow before we left: There was probalby a good 2-3 inches on the ground Friday morning as we packed up to leave. No matter. We've certainly had our fill of snow back home in VA now!)

Hunter playing with Great Grandma Teddy. Hunter adores his Grandma Teddy (I still think it's because he was born on his Great Grandpa's birthday). Scott walked out to see what they were playing, and Hunter said, "Go away, Daddy."

Leah, Grandma Teddy, and Hunter

Grandma Mel was exercising, so Leah wanted to also.

Scott helps Hunter exercise, too.

Mila, Leah, Kate, & Cam. (Hunter ran out of the room and refused to come back for the photo.)

The "silly" picture