One Tough Snow Bunny

Jessica is a tough little girl. She can take her fair share of tumbles, bumps and bangs and still keeps on rocking. We are always very impressed by how much she can take before a tear drops.
Today was a great example of that.
We got about 4 inches of snow last night and before lunch we bundled up to head out for some wintery fun. After my last ordeal trying to get the kids bundled for snow play, I learned the best way and the best clothes to use. Ristow grabbed the sled (which was NOT locked in the shed this time) and we headed out.

Ristow and Jessica piled onto the sled to make their inital run down our little hill. They slid down the hill and right into a snow covered bush at the bottom of the hill. Poor Jess was in the front and ended up with a faceful of snow and branches. Surprisingly she didn't cry a bit, though her face was all scrunched up waiting for me to brush all of the snow off. It filled up parts of her hood too. I couldn't help but chuckle a little at the situation.
Lots of fun sledding and snowball fighting ensued. Then our neighbor invited us to sled with them down their driveway which is much steeper than our little hill. Ristow was very excited. His first run down the hill, he runs right into and under the front of their van (which had been moved to the side so no one would hit it) Normally he would get really upset but I think he must have been taking his cues from Jess. I went down with Jessica and everything was great.
While we were waiting at the top of the drive, Jessica stood up and due to the crazy amount of clothing she was layered in, lost her balance and landed face first into a big puddle of slush on the side of the road. I couldn't help but laugh! Man, that poor girl. Her face was covered in slushy snow. It was packed in her hair, her nose, her pacifier was even packed with slush. She was not happy. After I cleaned her up though, she was ready to ride again. I pulled the kids home on the sled and we went down our little hill a few more times and headed inside.
All in all, I would say it was a successful day of winter fun! Looks like we will get another chance tomorrow and Jessica will, I'm sure, be a champ again!

Capri Sun is Yum Yum

Jessica has been coveting Ristow's Capri Suns for a while. Each time he drinks one she tries to take it and if she finds an empty one that he forgot to throw away she tries desperately to get a drop out of it. At first I thought she just liked the packaging, then yesterday I had one in the afternoon and let her have a sip. Her eyes got big and she wanted more. Then she reached over grabbed it out of my hand and took off toddling as fast as she could across the living room, guzzling the drink like a desert wanderer who had just found an oasis. By the time I chased after her she had actually drank almost all of it! I think I may have created a monster! She keeps going to the refrigerator and saying "more, more, more". That girl keeps me busy and keeps me laughing!

Santa the Spy

For Christmas Ristow had asked Santa for a pair of Spy Gear Night Vision Goggles.
He couldn't wait for Christmas morning to see if he got them. We spent Christmas with Christopher's family in Ohio so Ristow made sure we sent Santa an email to let him know to bring his goggles there.
Christmas morning Ristow runs down to see his stocking and presents and sure enough there is the box of night goggles. He eagerly opens them up and the box is EMPTY! I could not believe it. We were all very upset, especially me. We told Ristow that the elves probably just forgot to put them in the box. Luckily there were plenty of other presents to distract him.

So yesterday morning Ristow woke up and found this letter from Santa by our fireplace.

So Santa was the Spy! Ristow was so excited to get his Night Goggles, he wore them almost all day long! Better be sure to leave a light on for Santa next time!

Ice Skating

Today I took Ristow ice skating for the first time. It was great. He bounced in his seat with excitement the whole way there. We waited in a huge long line to get into the rink and then another line to get skates. It was all worth it to see his face when he stepped onto the ice. He absolutely loved it! He wasn't too bad at it either. We managed 3 laps and only 3 falls and he even passed some first time adults creeping along the wall. I would call it a success seeing as how he wants to go back tomorrw and do it again ;) though one of his favorite parts was oogling over all the hockey gear in the skate shop.

Snow Day Fun

We had our first snow of the season this past weekend and Monday was Ristow's first snow day of the year! So we bundled up, which seemed to take an eternity, and headed out the door. Well kind of. First, I had to find warm clothes that fit for both kids, Jessica was in boots two sizes too big for her and luckily Ristow had just gotten a bag of warm clothes the next size up from a friend. Then I headed to the shed to get the sled out, but the lock on the shed was frozen solid. Back inside for a cup of warm water. I finally get the sled out and go to get both kids out the door. Jessica, of course, now has a dirty diaper. Undress the bundle, change, bundle back up.
Are we ready?
Jessica is beside herself with excitement as we go out into the white wonder, though she seemed to have difficulty smiling due to the fact that her new winter coat was squishing her face ;)
Ristow got on the sled first and Jessica fought to get out of my arms and onto to sled with Ristow. After the first time down our tiny hill. Jessica was crying, not because she didn't LOVE it but because I was making her get off so I could take the sled back up! She and Ris went down the hill about 10 times and every time they got to the bottom Jess would want more. She has become my little adventurer. The kids had fun and now we await the next snowfall because of course the snow was all melted by this morning. That's Tennessee for you.

Here is also a picture of Jessica "helping" string the lights for the Christmas tree!

Family Pictures

Over Thanksgiving weekend when Jimmy and his family were visiting, Mom arranged for a wonderful photographer to come and do family photos. Unfortunately it was the same weekend as the OSU Vs. Michigan game that Christopher had planned on going to for months. So needless to say my family was missing a key element in the pictures. Bri was wonderful enough to give us a separate time when we could all be together for pictures. That time was today, between when Ristow got off school and Christopher had his next client, a 30 minute window in 30 degree weather. Freezing cold! We all dressed for pictures and we figured we could whip off all our coats for a two minute period and see if we got anything. Well Bri managed to get some fabulous pictures!
I still can't believe how great they turned out and before all of our noses turned red from the cold.
Thanks Bri!

Party Central

December is a busy and joyous month in the McClintock household. We have the privilege of celebrating both of my beautiful children's birthday in one weekend!
Ristow turned 6yrs old this past Thursday and he had a LEGO party here at the house on Saturday. It was lots of fun! I had made Lego invitations, Lego Cake, Lego party favors, the kids played Lego games and of course he got lots of Lego presents! It was a big success and most important, Ristow loved it!
Sunday we celebrated Jessica's 1st birthday! I was thankful to be able to use most of the same decorations since everything was primary colors and made a #1 cake for Jess. She did pretty well opening presents. She got a pink shopping cart which she pushed all over the house! She did not care for her cake but she sure loved the strawberry ice cream that came along with it ;)It was a ton of work and hopefully I figure out how to make it a bit easier with practice. We have got lots more years of double birthdays ahead of us! I was glad to have the McClintocks here visiting to help with the kids and party stuff.
We also managed to squeeze in this past weekend: Seeing The Rocketts perform, Breakfast with Santa, Seeing lights at the Opryland Hotel and putting up the rest of the outdoor Christmas decorations. It was quite a weekend.