Crosby's first snow

We did get a little more snow late last night! The kids were ready to go outside and play again this morning. Rhett really wanted to build a snowman. Here he is getting started:This snow was very powdery and not very conducive to snowman-building. Rhett got frustrated trying to get it to stick together.
He asked for a carrot for his nose and something to use as eyes (pistachios).
Bogart had fun too!
This was Crosby's first snow. I bundled him up and sat him on a towel with R & A for just a few minutes for a picture. I've always loved this moose hat and mittens. My sister got it for Rhett when he was a baby. Crosby didn't seem to mind the cold!

Rhett went back out to play for a while this afternoon. Crosby was excited when he saw him out the window! I love how he has his little hand on the glass.

This evening we met friends at Razorback Pizza for dinner. We were ready to get out of the house and had a great time visiting with them. Church has been cancelled for tomorrow, so I let the kids skip baths tonight (I never do that, but it seemed okay on a snow-day!).

Sledding

No school today! We didn't get much snow (I was really hoping for a lot for Rhett's sake), but it was enough of a wintery mix to play in a little bit. Lane was home so he kept Crosby inside while Rhett, Alexee and I bundled up to go sled with the neighbors.

Alexee wanted to ride with the "big girls". They were sweet to help her.

Hoping for more snow tonight!

Cindegorilla

This girl is such a delight! She says so many cute things, and she is very full of energy! I think she's just the perfect balance of tough and tender. She loves to dress up, but she'd be happy putting on a beautiful smocked dress and then slipping on her cowboy boots with it and going to the barn to ride the pony or jump in a mud puddle!

I bought a new casual dress at Target the other day, and she was with me when I got it. She went on and on about it while it was in the cart. She wanted to hold onto it, etc. I put it on Sunday morning to wear to church and she came in the bathroom and said, "Ooooh, that is so pretty. I'd like to borrow that sometime." I told her she could borrow it any time. :)

Last night at bed time we were reading her princess books, which is the routine since Christmas (the book set was a gift from Lane's brother's family, and she LOVES them all.) She wanted to "read" them all to me last night. I knew she had two of them memorized, "Ariel Learns a Lesson" and "Snow White Makes a Change", but it was new to me when she said she'd read them all. I loved when she got to the one about Cinderella...only she called her "Cinde-gorilla"! Lane and I think it's cute that when she reads the Snow White book and says the line, "she even found a shoe in the soup pot", she follows that sentence with "That's gross!" EVERY time.

This afternoon she was upset because Rhett went outside to play with our neighbor, but I told her she had to stay inside with me and Crosby. I tried to distract her by asking her if she wanted to help me make Daddy a sandwich. She stopped crying instantly and said in a cheerful voice, "I'd be happy to!"

She really likes to build with blocks. Rhett got these neat wooden blocks for Christmas one year, but he honestly hasn't played with them very much at all. She likes to build castles with them. She always wants to build one and wants me to build a separate one. She especially likes the blocks that form a circle in the middle:

I love you, Lex!

Ten months

(This was originally Rhett's little prince shirt.)

This cutie is 10 months old today! He is crawling everywhere, and two days ago he figured out how to crawl up the stairs--yikes! Tooth #5 just peeked through (top right) today. I think it has been bothering him for a few days now. He's eating more "real" food, like tiny pieces of bread, tiny pieces of mixed vegetables and fresh fruit, etc. He sleeps through the night consistently (about 6:30 p.m. to 6:00ish a.m., with one bottle in between around 11:30 p.m.). I think he weighs about 23 pounds. He had to go to the doctor for an ear re-check a few weeks ago and I think that's what he weighed then. He's a big boy! He loves to crumple paper and dump Bobo's dogfood out of the bowl. He also likes to hide under the dining table between the chairs. He still likes to be held, which I'm thankful for because I still love to hold him, and he can say both "Momma" and "Dada". What a wonderful 10 months it has been!

Go Wolves!

Rhett had his second Upward game yesterday. Our team made a basket this week! Lane and I had really tried to encourage R to pay attention to what was going on and to listen to his coach. We'll keep working on that. His arm band and the time clock are both distractions. He said he had fun though, and he learned his memory verse for the week:

"God is light. In Him there is no darkness at all."

They have a really serious announcer for the games--Alexee thought it was too loud!

I glanced over at the bench at one point during the game and realized R wasn't there. It scared me for a second until I saw him running back from the water fountain!? I guess he got thirsty and just decided he wouldn't miss much. :)

Bogart

Bogart is such a good dog and so crazy about the kids!

Bobo and Crosby bird-watching out the kitchen window:He was in need of a bath...so Alexee volunteered to roll up her pants and go in to help:
Crosby worked on the faucet while Alexee washed:

(He's not a big fan of baths!)

Rock band & movie theater

Yesterday one of Rhett's friends rode home from school with us, then our neighbor came over to play, too. They played really well together. It did sound like a train was going through upstairs, but they were very good and polite. Alexee wanted to be a part of everything, and for the most part they let play. They did leave her behind once, and I heard her on the stairs yelling, "Lawson, you SAID you were going to take care of me!" Lawson came back for her, which was sweet.

They formed a rock band:
And then they wanted to pretend they were at the theater and eat popcorn and watch a movie:
Watching Scooby Doo:

Flippin trip

Rhett had a four day weekend from school, so after the Upward game on Saturday the kids and I went to Flippin to visit my parents. That afternoon we drove down to the river to look for patches of snow (leftover from last week) for the kids to see, but it was almost all gone. This is the neat little dirt road between their house and the river. It's such a pretty place, but when I look at this picture I realize how bare and cold everything looks in January and how ready I am for SPRING!

Dad was out of town for work on Saturday, but was scheduled to land at Flippin's small airport at 5:55 p.m. so I took R & A to watch the plane land. We parked right at the fence and rolled down the windows to listen for the plane. This was Rhett's first time in an airplane--he thought it was really cool! Alexee was a little scared--she would only go to the top of the steps.

We hurried back home because Mom had a delicious dinner waiting on us. My Grandparents came over to eat with us. My Grandmother loves her great-grandchildren (she has 16!). And the kids love their great-grandparents, too. I thought this was so sweet of Crosby kissing "Mo Nina"--look how he put his little hands on her cheeks.

After church on Sunday, it was warm enough to play outside. Alexee wanted to ride the pony. The wind was still cold, so I sat in the truck with Crosby most of the time, but he even had fun doing that (he is such a happy baby!). I like this picture because it shows the one little curl on the top of his head.

Taking turns riding Banner

Mom said that as they were going down the road during Alexee's turn she said, "I love this." And when her turn was over she said, "I want to ride just a feeeew more longers." She has combined "few more minutes" and "a little longer" into her own cute phrase that she uses often. :)

Crosby's first "ride"!

They also took turns driving the farm buggy. Alexee thought it was so fun to bump into the hay bale with the buggy. She laughed and laughed!

Rhett's turn!

Sunday night before bath time, Mo and Alexee were cozy in the chair watching a cartoon.

Granddad & Rhett sharing popcorn.