Snow 2013

It snowed on Saturday, February 16th and it was not only Wade's first snow, but the most snow McCord has ever experienced.  Here are a few pictures from our fun weekend.

Here's a picture that Bo took of our front yard. Love that everything is so silent when it snows -  no traffic, no hustle, just quiet. 

Bo and Mc worked really hard on building this snowman (almost as tall of Mc!).  

I totally forgot about the gigantic hill down the street from us.  If it snows next year, I can't wait to take the boys sledding!

Wade is 9 months old

At the maple, 9 mos.  Wade's fist snow!

Bo snapped this photo with my phone without me knowing, and I'm so glad he captured this moment of Wade, freshly bathed and ready for bed.  He is especially cuddly at this moment in the evening, and I soak it up nightly.  

Hanging out at the playground is lots of fun these days!

Wade does this thing with his hands when he's especially smitten with something.  And sometimes I can't help myself, I just have to nibble on those chubby fingers!

A few highlights from the past month: 

- At 9 months old, you've been out as long as you were in

- Wade is growing a new tooth on the bottom (four on top and almost 3 on bottom!)

- Sweet potatoes top the list of favorite foods with carrots a close second

- He's working on crawling, but to be fair, he's a much better scootcher

- I'm pretty sure his favorite color right now is orange, because I see him repeatedly reaching for orange toys over other colorful items

- This month, Wade began sleeping through the night!  Hooray, time to celebrate!  It's been a long time since I slept 8 consecutive hours at night - especially since I didn't sleep while I was pregnant with Wade. And here we are, 18 months later, loving every restful second. 

-The past few nights, Wade has bathed without a baby tub - he just sits in the big tub with his brother now.  He seems to really like having free access to all of the bath toys.

- McCord has started a little game he loves to play at nap time called, "Hey Wade!"  I put Wade in Mc's bed before tucking Mc in for a nap, and McCord gets in Wade's face and says "Hey Wade! Hey Wadey!" And Wade just loves it - arms and legs flailing everywhere.  Then he starts reaching for McCord and McCord starts laughing. It's a special moment between brothers.  My heart doubles in size every time I witness their little game. 

- Wade's been enjoying his Kindermusik class and loves music.  He especially likes it when we sing the blessing "God our Father" or play his Kindermusik CD in the car. 

- Sometimes I think Wade was supposed to have wings instead of arms.  He gets so excited about things, that his arms just start flapping as if he's a bird.  At bath time, I love to hold his naked, rolly self up in the air and "fly" him into the bathtub.  He gets so excited about his bath, and those arms and legs are pushing the air furiously as he is trying to get to the tub as fast as he can.  He looks like a little cherub sending love and slobbery kisses to all in his path.  

  

Sledders on Surrey Lane

A Surrey Lane tradition - when it snows, all the kids come out to play!  We will surely miss this good family fun.  The next owners of our house are in for a treat!

ps - The photographer who did McCord's newborn photo shoot is having a contest on her blog to vote for the best photo.  Obviously we're a little partial.  If you'd like to vote for (ahem!) PHOTO #12, then click here.  And of course, you'll have our undying gratitude!

My First Christmas

A post by McCord...

My oh my! My parents woke me up in the middle of the night to go to church!  This is a picture of me and my dad at OAPC's midnight service ushering in Christmas day! (in my pjs)

Here I am sitting at the top of the stairs ready to see what Santa brought me - my mom says that I have to take this same picture every year...we are starting Christmas traditions on Surrey Lane

I got lots of gifts from Santa and my parents

...and Santa filled up this special stocking just for me - look it even has my name on it!

Santa brought me lots of goodies - spoons, a baby food maker, and a sippy cup!  How did he know that I'm about to start solid foods?!!! 

After we opened gifts, my daddy and mama took me to eat a Waffle House where they did lots of people watching

And, what a wonderful surprise for my first Christmas...SNOW!

Here I am with my Daddy the day after Christmas standing next to my maple

Look at the branches of my maple gathering snow!





It's been a very special Christmas!

Sledding on Surrey

Saturday I woke up to find a yard full of snow. Bo's out of town on business, so I tried to capture a few shots of the wintry mix to share with him when he returns.


One thing I love about living on Surrey Lane is the birds-eye view we have of the neighborhood. The steep downward slope on Surrey makes for a perfect raceway for the neighborhood Rugrats on bicycle, scooter, golf cart, and sled. Growing up, my best friend and I had a favorite hill where we loved to ride our bikes. Feeling the wind against your face was the closest thing to sprouting wings and flying.



All children should feel such magical powers.


Since Bo and I've lived on Surrey, we've heard many a squeal of delight from kids racing down the hill. Unfortunately, we've also heard many a crash at the bottom. One time I had to rescue the 5 red-headed siblings who live around the corner. It seems the oldest brother thought he could tie his bike to the youngest brother's scooter and pull him all the way down Surrey. Bad idea. A couple of scrapes and a bum tire later, I loaded the two youngest Red Heads in my car with the scooter in the trunk and a bike in the backseat. Three older Red Heads trailed behind us on their bikes. I promised not to tell their mom. She surely would have killed them.


This weekend however, Surrey Lane provided wholesome, family fun. Per neighborhood tradition, children of all ages gather at the top of Surrey Lane when it snows. Here are a few early morning images I caught. The first is called a Double Decker - otherwise known as Bigbrotheronbottom, Littlebrotherontop. Notice the Mom of the Year - she stood out there all day and gave each snow bunny a proper push down Surrey Lane. She cheered, encouraged, and laughed in good company when they belly flopped in the grass. I bet she even made them chocolate chip cookies when they went home.






I fell in love with this little girl - you can tell she's prepared for the snow in her pink ski suit.






And then there's this endearing image:

So here I am, in the middle of the wintry mess, missing my husband, and hanging some Roman blinds in the soon-to-be-nursery (more on those later). As I look out of the window, I see this:

...families making memories on Surrey Lane.


The view from the nursery looks oh-so-hopeful.