Snowmageddon 2K10.

Over a 24 hour period we got over 14 inches of snow. Unbelievable. Unexpected. Unprecedented in my lifetime. Just plain crazy.

The view from our backyard was completely white and incredibly beautiful. And just a little different from the way it looked when we got 10 inches of snow last January!

This is what girl's do when there are 14 inches of snow on the ground. Stay inside in our jammies and color. And be all glam in our "beach sunglasses."
This is what boys do....

Wyatt had a really difficult time walking around in the snow because it went up past his knees! I layered him and tried to keep him warm, but the snow still managed to go in over the top of his rain boots. He was able to handle the snow for about 15 minutes both days, and then he was at the front door whining to come in. Reese asked (once) to go outside, but I just couldn't let her. She's coming down with a cold anyway, but she doesn't like weather. Like, really, she doesn't like any kind of weather that deviates from sunshine. Wyatt likes to play in the rain or snow - not her. She doesn't want to be bothered.

I am kind of going stir crazy here, so I am ready for this snow to GO! I've already missed my sister in law's baby shower, hanging out with Marc and April in general, and I've been stuck in a house with 3 kids (4 counting my husband) for 4 days straight. I wish they would clear the roads so we could get out!

Christmas 2010

We had a pretty lazy day on Christmas this year. We usually go to Brian's parents for Christmas after we do presents, but his Dad got sick on Christmas Eve. We missed going over there a lot (and because of Snowmageddon 2010 we still haven't made it over), but after our last go round with a stomach bug we couldn't chance it. Especially with Hudson. Hopefully the snow will go away soon so we can make it over!


Brian and I were up until 3:30 on Christmas morning wrapping presents. Well, I wrapped presents while Brian cleaned, but we watched Christmas Vacation while we did it :). And then when I ran out of tape at midnight Brian went to Walgreen's to stock up. Of course Hudson woke up to eat right as we finished, so I ended up falling asleep around 4:15! When we fell asleep the house looked like this...

Reese's stocking is kind of stuffed
These are the kids "Santa bags." Brian and I just ordered them this year, and we told the kids that this is what Santa delivers their presents in. He also wraps their presents in Santa Claus paper.

They got a lot of stuff. The presents wrapped around the tree into the kitchen.

Wyatt woke up at 5:45. He saw all the presents, but he was very sweet all morning. He just laid next to us on the couch and watched some Christmas shows until Reese woke up at 7:15. Once she woke up the real fun began. These pictures are basically just a jumble of cuteness from our crazy morning. They started by opening the presents from us.

Reesie loved her princess bath toys (which will never make it to the bathroom).

Wyatt was super excited to see the Imaginext aircraft carrier. At this point, we could probably create our own Imaginext village, but these are the best toys.

We got Reese this Buckley Boo bunny because she LOVES buckles.

Reese got her own Imaginext toy (finally). They don't really make girl toys, but we had to get her this Joker one. It's where she learned the phrase "The joke is on you, Batman!"

Wyatt asked for this monorail about 800 times while we were in Disney World. He was happy to see it!

Wyatt picked out this Dora microphone for Reese for Christmas.

We took a break for breakfast and then unwrapped presents from each other and then Santa gifts.

Wyatt was speedy at unwrapping gifts. Reese would tear off a strip at a time.

After getting all those gifts, Wyatt's favorite thing is probably these little Star Wars Galactic Heroes. He just lays on his belly and plays with them or puts them on shelves and plays with them. It's so cute to listen to his little Star Wars story lines.

Reesie got this little medical kit for Christmas and she LOVES to have her blood pressure checked. I "take it" and then tell her a number and she says "again."

We spent the day in our pajamas opening toys and watching movies. I didn't have any plans for dinner, so Brian went to my parents house and grabbed some ziti for us to eat. Brian and I were exhausted, but we stayed up to watch Christmas with Ozzie and Harriet because it's tradition, but also because it's awesome. While Brian and I were watching the show we noticed that the snow was coming down like crazy...and by 6:00 last night we'd accumulated over a foot of snow! Talk about a White Christmas!

Christmas Eve!

Christmas Eve dinner and present opening has become the tradition in my family. Growing up we didn't always do the same thing every year because my parents sometimes worked. We usually went to my grandfather's house at some point for dinner, and if my Dad was working we went to the fire station, but I think the thing we all liked best was just to stay around the house in our pajamas for the day!

We had pizza, ziti and beer for our Christmas Eve meal this year. My mom worked all day Christmas Eve, so my Dad made the ziti and picked up the pizzas. It was really good! At least I didn't have to worry about the kids eating their dinner. We were able to hang out for awhile, but then Wyatt and Katie couldn't wait any longer to open their presents (Katie was the most impatient).

I don't know what this face was about but it cracked me up. I told April it was a little crazy this year with the three kids there (and my Dad held Hudson the whole time), but next year it will be INSANE with Wyatt, Reese, Hudson and Mason (their baby due in February) there! Hudson and Mason will probably be crawling and walking around and falling down around all the boxes.
The tree!

Wyatt opening his remote control Iron Man from Uncle Marc and Aunt April! He LOVES this thing. He likes to set up boxes and see if Iron Man will make it across.

Marc and April got Reese this Ariel toy for the tub. Brian told Reese it was for the bath, and a few minutes later he heard her calling his name - from the bathroom! Apparently she was ready to play!

Reese and her ladybug pillow pet. Wyatt opened his doggie pillow pet first, and Reese shouted "Where's my girl pillow pet?" and went looking for it. Fortunately Katie was able to find the bag with her ladybug in it quickly. I guess next time we should give them these kind of presents at the same time!

This is what happens when a two year old doesn't take a nap on Christmas Eve! She was on a napping strike earlier this week, and she wouldn't take a nap that day. She stayed in bed calling me for two hours! She was asleep in the car and wouldn't even wake up to open her pajamas. Wyatt did it, and let's just say he wasn't too happy with the jammies. Before we got home he kept saying that he really hoped that the present he got to open that night would a War Machine robot to go with his Iron Man. I guess I would be disappointed too. And then he said, "Aren't these the jammies I already wore?" I knew I wasn't going to pull that off well, and it sure didn't happen! I guess next year I'll have to wait until Christmas Eve to give them their jammies, even though it seems like such a waste!

We put her to bed right away and Wyatt helped us leave out cookies and milk for Santa and then sprinkled his reindeer food on the grass. He went to bed really well that night even though he was super excited for Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! Our Santa picture actually turned out pretty well - even though Reese wouldn't sit on the Big Guy's lap! They had a little stool that she could pull up to talk to him. She shouted, "I want Jessie!," while her big brother told Santa that he wants a choo choo train (they're both getting their wish)!. Even Hudson decided to stay awake to meet Santa Claus!

We're going to spend this evening at my parents' house having dinner and opening presents. They both have to work tomorrow, so we'll spend the morning at home and go over Brian's parents in the afternoon. We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

Super Cute Christmas Pictures

While we were on vacation we stayed at Disney's Wilderness Lodge, which is just amazing. We stayed there in 2007, and we knew that it was going to be beautifully decorated for Christmas. I brought the kids Christmas pajamas (which I will wrap and they will open on Christmas Eve) and wanted to get their pictures taken in front of the HUGE tree in the lobby. I figured that we could just take the pictures on our own, but when we checked in I noticed that they had a Photo Pass station set up. On our last night at the hotel we took the kids down for these pictures:

My parents took the kids to Build A Bear earlier this month to make Rudolph and Clarice. They both just LOVE their reindeer and sleep with them every night.

I couldn't find a lay out that would showcase all the pictures the way I wanted them to, so I just ended up going with the pictures on the card, but I LOVE these!

Christmas Card 2010

So I took advantage of Shutterfly's 50 free cards and got a card this year that I absolutely LOVE. We took the kids to get their pictures taken before we left to go on vacation, but I wanted to wait and see what we got while we were in Disney. We ended up getting some adorable pictures while we were there, but I just couldn't make them work on the card. I'll share those later because they are just too cute for words, but I have to say that I just love how this turned out! Getting three kids pictures taken together wasn't easy, and Hudson wasn't really that into it, but I can already see how big he's gotten!

Merry Christmas!

Six Weeks Old!

Hudson turned six weeks old on Friday! I'm going to use this post as his one month/ six week post since he turned a month old while we were in Disney!

Hudson, at six weeks/one month you:

• Sleep all the time! You're starting to stay awake a little more, but you are a very tired little guy!
• Breastfeed like a champ! You usually eat about 8-9 times a day. And you usually spit up at least one of those feedings. Uck.
• Wake up twice a night to eat. Usually around 3 and again at 5:30. I think you just wake up for fun at 5:30 because you barely eat and go right back to sleep!
• Have amazing head control and are starting to use your baby bumbo to hang out and watch your brother and sister.
• Gave us your first smile! (As evidenced above).
• You don't like tummy time, but you do a really great job holding your head up. You can also stand while we hold your hands. You've got some serious motor skills like your big brother.
• Have your first ucky cold. You're coughing, but not as congested anymore. We're trying to keep you propped up while you sleep, which has led to a spoiled boy who only sleeps in his swing. We're going to change this soon because the battery consumption alone is wearing us down!

You're getting so big!

Meeting Some of Our Favorites: The Rest of the Princesses

Last time we went to Disney World the princesses were not even on our radar. But Reese wanted to do it, so we took her to see every one that we could find. They at least make it easy by keeping Sleeping Beauty, Belle and Cinderella in the same room, so you only have to stand in one line!

The first 5 pictures were on Reese's second trip, and she had gotten more comfortable meeting all of the characters. I think you'll be able to see that on her face. In the second 5 she looks petrified. I think it was awe and being scared all at the same time!

She was trying to show Cinderella where her picture was on the front of her book.

Wyatt and Belle. He was so confused because they kept calling him "Prince"!

Showing Belle her picture

This is a great comparison shot of her on the last day and the first day. She just looks a little scared in the picture on the bottom!

Brian's mom randomly saw Snow White sitting off to the side one day while we were walking in, so we rushed Reese over to see her - with no line. It was great! She has not stopped talking about meeting the princesses since she got home. Today while we were shopping she started talking to the sales clerk at the store and she said "I met Belle, and Cinderella and Sleeping Booty!" (that's basically how it comes out anyway). Her personality is just so big and she is so outgoing it cracks us up. She just has these little mannerisms when she talks (mainly hand gestures) that are just so cute!

Meeting Some of Our Favorites: Ariel

Reese absolutely LOVES Ariel. When she was a teeny tiny baby we got her an Ariel baby doll, and we started an Ariel ornament collection for her. Mainly because her hair was SO red when she was a baby, but also because Ariel is my favorite Disney princess too :).

Ariel was the last princess that we "met" while we were at the Magic Kingdom. Reese was so excited to meet her. She walked right over and sat on her lap.

The girls who play the princesses do an amazing job with these little girls. Reese just talked and talked and talked and Ariel (and the other princesses) just had conversations with her. Reese's biggest thing was to walk up to them and point to the front of her book where there was a picture of all of the Disney princesses and point to the one she was meeting and say "That is you!"
They were also good at cuddling with the little girls who just love them so much!
Cheesing.

And one last shot. Reese stayed on Ariel's lap for so long that I was a little afraid she would never leave! I kept trying to coax her away (Ariel has a pretty long line), and the mascot attendant (or whatever) kept saying that she was just fine!

Wyatt also met the princesses, but he had a bit of a different take. I think he was a little embarrassed because he thought that they were all "cute girls," and he wanted to impress them. At each princess he would talk to Brian about whether he was going to be Luke Skywalker or Buzz Lightyear. He would walk up "in character" and tell the princess who he was and that he was protecting them. He cracked us up!

I'll post the rest of the princesses later, there are a lot of Ariel and a lot of the others (we went to see them twice), so it would be princess overload if I posted them all. Plus I want to talk about Christmas at some point too. Can you tell I'm still playing catch up?!