Fun in the Snow

This morning was Carter's first time in the snow. Sean has been out in it several times, but Carter didn't get boots and a snowsuit until Christmas, so today was one of her first real opportunities. As we were getting her dressed, she was not real thrilled. She was hot, puffy, and annoyed. But once we got her outside she suddenly understood what all the fuss was about and started enjoying herself.

Sean and I had a snowball fight. We also built several snowmen. Each of which he would immediately knock over as soon as they were finished. A stack of ANYTHING is irresistable to a toddler. MUST..... KNOCK.... DOWN.....! They just can't control themselves.

Sean's also got a little Christmas character confusion - every time he sees a snowman, he says "A snowman! Ho ho ho!" Hopefully we get that straightened out next year.


Christmas Morning, 2007

First Christmas in the new house! And even though it is technically Carter's second Christmas, we sort of feel like it is actually her first, as she was only a couple of months old last Christmas. Both kids had an amazing time. They got the concept of fun stuff in paper wrappings this year, and tore the presents open like a couple of wolverines. And they insisted on making me set up each toy as it was opened, so that they could play with it for 20 seconds before grabbing another package. Fun was had by all. :)



Visit from Grandma Maxwell

Grandma Maxwell, Grampie Big-Truck, and Unca Adam came to visit the kids after Christmas. It was good to see them! Linda (excuse me, I mean Grandma Maxwell, hee hee) has been working third shift, so we've been missing her lately. It was nice to get some time together.


Milking the Cuteness

Carter got this little stuffed bunny last Easter, but it's been in storage - so she hasn't seen it in a while. While unpacking some boxes, we found it. Carter has since adopted it as her baby. In all of these pictures, she is making the same sound. It's a half "oooooooh" and a half "awwwwwww" sound. Basically, the sound we make when she does something exceptionally cute. In essence, she is trying to show us how cute she is while hugging her bunny.

Except in this last picture - where Bunny has angered Her Highness and must be disciplined!


Kissing Cousins

Or worse yet - kissing siblings. Carter's kisses have a tendency to be a little on the ... shall we say ... 'open-mouth' side. Hopefully this sort of stuff stops by the time they are teenagers. But seriously - aren't they adorable? And we didn't even ask them to do this. Sean did this totally on his own. He really loves his little sister lately, and makes a real effort to show her. And the Santa hats are just icing on the cake. I picture this being the photo that we pull out when they are in high school and when we want to embarrass them in front of their friends.


Putting Him to Work

We figured that he's big enough now to start helping out around the house. So I got to exercise the ultimate parental privilege - I found the job that I hate the most, and made him do it. It took him all day, but he managed to clear the whole driveway. And the good news is that he only lost two toes to frostbite.


T minus Seven Days

For those who hadn't heard yet, we finally found a new place to live. It's a cute little house in Newton, NH. We close on Friday, and move in next Saturday. It's a little smaller than we would have liked, but it does have one quality that instantly sold me on it - it's on 8.14 acres. A few days ago I bought the AMC's book on trail building, and I'm excited to build some short trails out there. My brain has been going non-stop lately, with ideas for a little campsite for the kids and I to have fun campouts, a picnic shelter, and eventually a sweet-ass treehouse out in the middle somewhere. How cool would that be? I'm still not convinced whether it will be more for Sean, or for me. :) Stay tuned for more news and pictures as we begin to move in.