Sledding

Once we got plowed out, we tried to sled at our usual good sledding spot at the nearby school. It was the ONLY place in all of Tinton Falls that had no snow. The wind had whipped it all off the hill! So we compromised by using a nearby road with a decent incline. We did have to pull the kids down the hill - it wasn't that much of an incline.





Luckily, Andy and Heather had snow clothes.

Buster

Out of nowhere, Lottie turns to me today and says, "Mommy, call me Buster."

Feel It!

Lottie is watching Princess Singalong Songs on TV.

Princess Announcer: "Can you feel it? There's a change coming in the wind."

Lottie: "Hey, wait guys! I want to feel it."

Lottie runs to TV and puts her finger up. "Hey Mommy, I felt it!"

Blizzard of 2010

The kids got to experience a real blizzard while we were in New Jersey. It was snowing when we got back from Mass on Sunday...and it continued to snow until Monday. After my dad blew out the snow from our driveway, we ended up with our own little sledding hill. The kids couldn't wait to get out in the snow, even though it was still blowing around.

Sledding with Grandpa.

Better view of the UNplowed street. We were snowed in until Wednesday.

Buried in snow!

Christmas Morning

The kids slept in, but were still excited to open gifts on Christmas morning.

Jack was happy to watch the madness.

Getting to the serious business.

Modeling a gift.

Santa!

Santa made a special visit to Jenna's house before Christmas. Everyone was surprised!

So happy to see Santa.

Telling Santa what they want for Christmas.

Uncle Andy gave them special flashlights - so fun!

Jack had a good time bouncing.

Charlotte's Web

One of our family Christmas traditions is to see a show. It used to be a Broadway show, but since we have all the little ones, we've been more creative in our thinking. This year we saw a children's play, Charlotte's Web. Adam and Lottie were especially excited since Chris had played Wilbur (the pig) in a play when he was in school. And Lottie was excited because the spider had her name.

Excitement before the show.

Patiently waiting for the show to begin. The kids did great and had a good time. The actors used hand puppets to represent the animals, which was different. They also came out afterwards and answered questions, which was really nice. Maybe the kids will be ready for Broadway next year!

Where Are We Going?

Lottie: Where are we going? To get Adam from school?

Me: No, we're going to the commissary.

Lottie: Are we going to the chapel?

Me: No, we're going to the commissary.

Lottie: Are you sure we're not going to the chapel?

Me: No.

Lottie: Oh.

Once we get to the commisary, Lottie demonstrates that she still doesn't get it.

Lottie: Are we at Zumba?

Cousins

Adam and Lottie love spending time with their cousin Jenna. When we are in New Jersey, they like to spend ALL their time together!

Nuggets

Lottie will not go to bed unless we follow our usual bedtime routine, followed by this conversation.

Me: "I love you, Lottie."

Lottie: "I love you...MOM. Bye bye."

or the variation: "I love you...MOM. Get off me."

One night she mixed it up.

Me: "I love you, Lottie."

Lottie: "I wish you a merry Christmas."

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Adam is NOT a morning person. He never wants to get up to go to school. He offers various reasons for why today is not a good day to go to school, but today's reason was especially funny.

"My legs. They are crazy. They want to go in all directions. And at school, they want you to have behaving legs. And my legs are crazy. I can't go to school."

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Lottie: "Mom, pull up my pants! I'm too naked."