Our Snowy Day. 2015 Edition

We awoke the morning of January 24th to several inches of snow!  Far more than the two or so inches we expected!  Caroline was the first to make the discovery.  She said, "snooooowwww!" over and over again.  It was delighful.

 

After breakfast we bundled up and headed to the hill at the Shriner's hospital down the road from us.

 

 

We were one of the only families there, so we got to make a great path in the snow and sledded to our hearts' content.  Around 9:45am, Caroline started to cry, letting us know we had pushed her morning nap back far enough.

 

As soon as Caroline was down for her nap, we made hot cocoa!  With plenty of marshmallows and whipped cream, of course!

 

 

Later in the afternoon, I was driving home from somewhere (the grocery store?), and our neighbor Dan was building an ENORMOUS snowman in his yard with his son, Miles.  He said the snow had melted enough that it had gotten 'packy.'  In the morning it was too powdery to even make a snowball, but as the temperatures rose, it got a little slushy, so, once the girls woke up from afternoon nap, we could make a snowman!! (or three!)

 

Caroline wanted to go outside, too, and decided to dress herself.

 

 

"Hae Hae! Mih Mih! SSsssss" (HAT! Mittens! Scarf!!)

It was a great, great day.  We had tons of fun!

Little side story:  Friday morning picked Ellie up from school early and took her to her first movie in a theater.  We saw a matinee showing of Paddington.  (Pete took the morning off so he could watch Caroline.)

 

It was Pajama Day at school - so we just brought a blanket and she was ready to snuggle up and watch the show!

 It was such a sweet movie, we both loved it!

Ellie's Big Girl Room

Ellie's big gift on Christmas, besides her Elsa doll, of course, was that Pete and I had secretly cleared out the guest bedroom, painted it, and made it into a Big Girl room for her (and, one day, Caroline).

Pete had a work trip to Minnesota the first week of December, so I moved the last pieces of furniture out of the room, spackled and sanded any holes, taped it off, and painted it gray over the course of two nights.  (While listening to "Serial" for all you podcast-ers out there.)  I love how the new color makes the crown molding and baseboards really pop. 

 

Then the carpet we ordered from Pottery Barn arrived.  Also while Pete was out of town.  So I had to haul that thing in the house and around the corner and down the hall by myself.  Not fun.  But I got it done while Ellie was at school - so that's the important part!

Then Pete assembled what will be Caroline's bed, and the nightstand.  We hung some shelves for books, sonces, and a canvas of each girl over her bed (thanks, Cassidy!)  Lastly, on Christmas Eve no less, we installed London shades that I had sewn.

 

Once all the presents were opened on Christmas Day, we told Ellie there was one last gift from Mommy and Daddy and invited her down the hall.  She wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first, but once we explained it to her, she wanted her bed moved down before nap.  We told her that might be a tough timeline, but that she could take her nap on Caroline's bed, and we'd have her bed moved down by that night.  She has slept there ever since.  If anything, she sleeps better downstairs by herself.  (Except for some weird bouts of sleep-walking, but I think those are related to whether or not she has taken a good nap that day.)

 

We moved her dresser down later that week, and now her the clothes from her closet and some remaining photos have been moved in as well. 

 

Ellie is such a big girl now, and she loves it.  Each morning she gets up and runs upstairs to see us, then back down to get dressed.  Sniff. 

2014 Holiday Season

December was full of fun holiday-themed events for us.  We got our tenth Christmas tree from Neiman's Tree Farm.

We attended the Ashland Christmas Tree Lighting.

Ellie and I went to our friend Audrey's North Pole Party.

 

  

Ellie sang in Cherub Choir at church for the first time, and again on Christmas Eve.

This is a rehearsal pic - Pete is holding others hostage on his phone.

Ellie had a school Holiday Program.

We decorated our house, and welcomed Big Dolly up from the basement.

 

We decorated cookies for Santa.

Christmas Eve was a whirlwind this year with back-to-back services featuring at least on of us singing at all points of the night, and dinner in the basement fellowship hall of the church in between services.

 

This is just me rehearsing after the 5:30 service, I didn't actually sing with Caroline on my hip.

  

Christmas morning was relaxed and fun.  We went against our better judgement and allowed Disney Princess-themed gear into our house (some from us, some from Grandpa Crawford) - the girls have never been happier. ;)

 

 

The day after Christmas the stomach bug descended on our house and took out me, then Pete, then Ellie, so our house was down for the count for the rest of the week.  We rebounded and, lastly, hosted all the families on our block for a New Year's Day Breakfast. We're so lucky to have 7 families on our block alone with children 4 and under.  (and two more families we love on the next two streets!)

It was a great start to the year and I can't wait to see what the rest of the year holds!