Snow day!

Today was Charlotte's first snow in two years and we made the most of it! Last night we exercised our right to vote for the weather forecast we liked best and chose they guy who told us we would get 4-5 inches. He was only about half right. Oh well- we'll take two inches!
We were bundled up and outside by 8:30...and back inside by 8:45...and back outside by 9:30...you get the idea. True to my Houston upbringing, Makena and Reese were decked out in ridiculous combinations of not-really-snow-worthy clothes. Neither had boots, both wore Brett's hats, we went through a new pair of pants and socks every time we went outside, their knit mittens were soaked within minutes...it reminded me of the weekend of my 21st birthday in Austin. It snowed/iced and 10 or 12 of my sorority sisters and I put socks on our hands, wore bandanas under baseball caps and layered whatever combination of long-sleeved fraternity t-shirts we could find under our barn jackets. Then we stole silver serving platters from the kitchen and went sledding, but that's another post.
Here are some pictures from our adventures today.
This may have been Reese's first and last smile. She's a warm-weather girl.
Makena, on the other hand, looooved it
Maggie loves anything that takes her outside, but she's a nut in snow.
Our neighbors lent us two sleds- we have a decent-sized hill that's great for sleds and slip-n-slides
Reese
Brett couldn't resist
Now I've had my snow...the winter has served its purpose...I'm ready for summer!

December Summary

I've been horrible about updating our site (for the five of you who actually read it!). Our December was typical for a family with two young kids- BUSY! Here are a few pictures...
Christmas tree shopping
Makena
Reese (show tunes, anyone?)
decorating cookies with Alex and West
Makena's last day of gymnastics
Reese and Hannah as angels at the playschool Christmas program
Makena and Papaw
Reese and her favorite present- Horton (the one who heard a Who)

da Bears and Pull Ups

Last month, we made our annual (two years running makes it "annual" right?) trip downtown to see the animatronic bear symphony that has become something of a Charlotte Christmas institution. We made an adventure of it with our friends the Benders and the Johnstons by taking the light rail downtown, then stopping at Pike's for lunch on the way home. Much fun was had by all!
Here was the wrench Reese threw at me that morning. She insisted on making that day the first day she was ready to wear panties. Keep in mind- I've been dreading the onset of potty training her since Makena was such a challenge, so I hadn't been pushing her to start. Hmmmm...let's take stock of our day. 15 minutes in the car with no available potty. 25 minutes (plus potential wait-time at the station) on the light rail with no availale potty. 5 minute walk through downtown, 45 minutes standing watching the bears (potty available, but at least 50 yards + 1 escalator away), another 15 minutes on the train to the restaurant (POTTY!!), more train then back in the car. This was not looking good. We compromised with a pull-up and, wouldn't you know, she is a dream potty-trainer! Yippee!!
Here are a few of our favorite pictures from our adventure.
Makena and Reese staring at the bears
Cade and Makena- we're in favor of this pairing!
All the kids at lunch- Reese, Cade, Reece, Makena- they did so well!
The after-effects of milkshakes...although one would think three women would be every man's dream...the next picture in this series has Reece and Makena hanging on to Cade's jacket while he appears to dash off for dear life...
Makena in her favorite coat. She wears it inside. When it's 65 outside. Constantly.