Winter Wonderland

Nashville has been covered in a thick layer of snow these past few days. We've gone out everyday to play in the snow and Noah just can't get enough! The first day we just played around in the yard, dug up snow to fill Noah's wagon and threw some snowballs. The second day, we went down the street to sled on some gentle hills at the park. Noah had so much fun sledding down the big hill with David and then climbing back up halfway and sledding the bottom half by himself! The last day we were out in our yard again making a snowman and a snow rhinoceros. It's a little hard to make out the rhino in the pictures, but I think we did a pretty good job. And it was big enough for Noah to get on and ride it! You'll see in the pictures, Noah's contribution was filling snow in buckets (like building sand castles) and adding them on top of the snowman and the rhinoceros.











And here are some shots of Elena from this past week. She is becoming more aware of all that is around her, she's smiling and cooing all the time, is desperately trying to sit up and is starting to reach and grab for things. It's so exciting to see her move from the newborn stage to become more of an interactive infant. She is such a blessing!

Music Class

We started a new music class with Noah this week (thanks Nana and Poppy!) and he loved it! We sing, play instruments and dance. I thought it might take him a few weeks to warm up to it, but he really started to participate and enjoy it during this first class. He said his favorite part is dancing. Not sure which parent he gets that from since neither of us are really dancers, but since this class, Noah wants to put in a CD and have a dance party all night! Here he is playing one of the instruments in class ...








And some pictures of our smiley girl...

Snow Day

Nashville actually got a dusting of snow today. They were forecasting two to six inches, but hey, we'll take what we can get!

Noah, Elena and I got out in it this afternoon and Noah tried to fill his wagon full of snow, but I think he ended up with more dirt than anything. He asked if we could make a snowman and it just wouldn't pack (besides there not being nearly enough snow). When he realized a snowman wasn't going to work, he asked if we could build a snow rhinosaurus! In the end, he was happy just scooping it up with his shovel into his wagon.

Sylvester Family Visit

David's family also came to visit for Christmas and we had a great visit with them. We did some shopping (while on the lookout for famous people), had some great meals together, played games and the boys all went to a Vandy basketball game. And as always, Noah makes it clear that Pop Pop is the favorite and he's just humoring the rest of us!

Christmas

It was the first Christmas we have spent here at home and we enjoyed starting our own traditions as a growing family! It was also the first Christmas that Noah really enjoyed getting and opening presents. His favorite gift was his new bike, which he loves to ride. He also liked putting a bow on Elena's head and helping her open presents.

Ross Family Visit

Katie's family all came to Nashville to celebrate Christmas. What a joy to have everyone here! We enjoyed spending the week together at the house as well as getting out to shop and to a few of our favorite restaurants. And of course there was a lot of cooking and eating together!

Noah and Kim ran around and enjoyed playing games like Zingo and Hungry, Hungry Hippo. Noah also had great fun with Emma and her toys. They both definitely wore Noah out!

Here are some pics from the week...

Gingerbread Cookie Decorating

A few weeks before Christmas, David took Noah to a toddler Christmas cookie decorating class. They had a great time! Noah got to roll out gingerbread dough, cut out the cookies, frost and decorate them with mini chocolate chips, currants, dried cranberries, crushed candy canes, and sprinkles. Here are some pics on them at the class and at home with the two he got to bring home. Noah was so proud of them and they were delicious!