Baby, it's cold outside...

Gotta love snow days!!  In Loganville, we had between 3-1/2 and 5 inches of snow blanket our yard.  It all began last night around 8 PM, and continued to fall while we slept. 

A picture of the snow falling last night.

The snow was so fluffy looking when we woke up...

This is where out driveway normally is. :)

Sydney was SO excited and she and Stephen went outside to play for about an hour.

Meanwhile, Taylor and I stayed inside in the warmth.  Check out her leg warmers (and her drooled-on onesie). ;)



Our neighbors invited us up to their house to hang out with the neighborhood crew.  We waited until Sydney woke up from her nap to head up there.  They live part-way up this really steep hill, so we drove to the base of the hill and made the trek up.  (A great thigh workout in the snow and ice, let me tell you). 

So, our neighbors had been sledding down the steep hill on sleds... it was such a blast!  The first time I went down I totally busted and slid halfway down the hill on my back!  It didn't hurt too badly... but I guess I'll be a better judge of that tomorrow. :)  Sydney even went down it three times with Stephen! (thank goodness they didn't bust!)  A friendly neighbor-friend would drive you back up to the top of the hill on his 4-wheeler.  There was no way anyone could make it all the way up that hill... it was way too slippery!

Here comes Stephen!

Riding up on the 4-wheeler.

Go Sydney!

Here I come!



We ended up staying at our friends' house until after 10.  Sydney was sleepy but didn't want to go home.  She had too much fun playing with her neighbor-BFF, who is only 6 weeks younger than her. 

 

Plus, everyone had a blast holding Taylor.  And I'm not kidding when I say everyone.  Usually it's the ladies that want to hold the babies... most of the hubbies tonight held her, too. :)  Here are a few shots.

Mommy-to-be, in training!

 

Anyways, it was a great night of friends, poker (I won 2nd place!), chicken and dumplings, conversation, football, snow, laughter, children, and fun.  And the good news is... we get to do it all again tomorrow!

Taylor pics

Here are some recent pics of my sweet almost-6 week old!

Sydney's matching big sister shirt.



Sydney-rella

Meet Sydney-rella, the princess ballerina...

She's Crafty!

I have totally been taking advantage this year of all the after-Christmas sales.  After seeing Stephen's cousin's beautiful home all gorgeously decorated for Christmas, it motivated me to update our Christmas decorations.  I was thinking about it, and this was our 7th Christmas of being homeowners and actually decorating for Christmas, and all of my decorations were cheap, awesomely-discounted things I picked up here and there.  For next year, I thought... out with the old, in with the new!

So, I've been hitting up a lot of stores to pick up some cute decorations... Kohl's, Michael's, Walmart, Target.  I've gotten some ribbon, mailbox bows, cute little statue-type things, stocking holders (I needed one more for this year!), cute decorative accents to go on a shelf, ornaments, etc.  Everything I've gotten has been at least 75% off, so I'm not spending a fortune. :)

Anyways, while I've been doing this shopping, I've realized how many arts and crafts activities are marked down, too!  Most of them are Christmas-related, but many I've come across could be done anytime during the year.  Sydney's getting to the age where she really enjoys doing creative activities besides just coloring on a piece of paper.  So, I've gotten all kinds of things like playdough makers, fingerpaints (washable, of course!), velvety coloring pages, picture frames you can color, and more.  Most of these I've gotten for about $.25 to $.50 each!  (Well, not the playdough maker, but that was 50% off!)  I have also stocked up on stocking stuffers for next year.

So, I thought I'd display a couple of the activities my little artist has done.  Do you see a future in her art career?

Making our gingerbread house.

The finished product.

A masterpiece!

One Month!

I can't believe Taylor is one month old today! 

Her one month accomplishments include:

*getting her days and nights straight (most of the time!).
*sleeping in 4-5 hour spurts during the night.
*drinking 4 ounces of milk per feeding.
*grabbing things- the girl has a grip!
*celebrating her first Christmas.
*sitting in Santa's lap.
*seeing her first snowfall.
*smiling little grins.
*gaining strength in her neck.
*taking her first roadtrip.
*attempting to suck her thumb.
*meeting all of our neighbor friends.
*meeting most of mommy & daddy's good friends.
*looking in the direction of noise.
*staring at the lights.
*being adorable.

Things she doesn't like to do:

*lay in her pack n' play.  She'd much rather be held.
*get out of the bath tub.  She seems pretty content while she's in it.
*be hungry.  She lets us know when she's ready to eat!

Here are some pictures taken on her one month birthday:

 Ahhhh... bath time....

 Sisters...

 Can't... quite...hold... my head up....

I'm so happy I'm one month old!

Look how far she's come!

Happy 2011!

Happy New Year!!

We rang the new year in at a wedding of a dear friend and former co-worker of mine.  Grandmom and D-Dad came down to stay with the girls, while Stephen and I ventured out on our first official date night since we had Taylor! 

Sydney wanted to go with us... but ended up having a blast with her grandparents.



Of course, knowing my luck... Thursday evening, my eye started swelling and turning red.  At the 4 AM feeding of Taylor's, I couldn't even open it.  Friday morning it was horrible looking.  Luckily, my eye doctor was open for a half-day on Friday, so I went in as soon as I could.  Turns out I have a staph infection in my eye, and possibly strep throat again (he couldn't diagnose, but said most likely I have some infection in my throat which led to the eye being infected).  Huh???  So, he put some gel stuff in my eye, gave me a z-pack, and gave me some eye drops.  Thankfully, the gel stuff really helped my eye out... it was still smaller than my other eye and red for the wedding, but not as swollen.  Of all the days...

Anyways, we left a little early and visited good friends of ours that live in Roswell.  We watched some football and had some appetizers.  Then, around 8 PM, we headed to the wedding, which was in the Roswell Mill area, not too far from my old stomping grounds.  Everything was gorgeous... the bride and groom (of course), the ceremony, reception, the food was delicious... it was a great time!  I got to catch up with old co-workers, we danced, and rang in the new year wearing beads, hats, glasses, glow sticks... it was fun!

 Good ol' friends from CMS.

 Jena and J.W.!

Oh, and some VERY exciting news... I got a call from my BFF from Mexico, where her boyfriend took her on a surprise trip and... proposed!!!!!  I'm so happy for her!! 

When we got home, we discovered how Taylor rang in the new year...

I have a feeling 2011 is going to be a pretty great year...!  Happy New Year, everybody!

The Latest and Greatest

I can't believe we're only 4 days away from not only a new year... but a new decade!!  Where does the time go?

Speaking of time flying by... Taylor will be 4 weeks tomorrow!  She'll be one month on the first!  So crazy...

We've had a really fun last few days.  Sunday, Stephen and Sydney played outside in the snow.  Sydney had a ball- she came back in with her rosy nose and cheeks.  Taylor and I ventured out for a few minutes, only to acknowledge how cold it was and come back in.  I'm definitely a southern girl. ;)  Here are some pics from our adventures.

 Taylor getting ready for her first real snowfall!

 No comment about my hair ;)



We've had a fun week full of friends.  My good friend from high school, Evan, and his wife, Marissa, came over on Monday for a few hours.  I went out to California last November to go to their wedding in Calabasas.  It was beautiful!  Evan and Marissa just moved back to Atlanta, so I'm excited that I'll get to see them more often! 

On my trip to California, I went on a hike and actually hiked right past Kevin Bacon.  I said some silly comment to him, and he spoke to me as I passed him and his hiking buddy (no, not Kyra).  You can't tell from this picture that it's him, but I couldn't be too obvious and snap it walking backwards.  ;)

Anyways, speaking of Kevin Bacon, everytime I see his new commercial, I just die laughing.  Have you seen it?  It cracks me up!



OK, I've definitely gotten off track. :)  Anyways, Erica also came over Monday and spent the day with us!

Today, we got a visit from Sara!  This is my world-traveling friend who currently is in Ann Arbor, Michigan going to grad school.  It was fun to see her.  I burned some CDs from her itunes and am having a great time listening to some awesome tunes as I type this.  Currently, it's Carnival by Natalie Merchant.  Totally takes me back to 9th grade. :)

Oh, and check out this comparison of Sydney and Taylor.  They're actually in the same outfit, and are right about the same age.  What do you think?