Snow, snow...AND MORE SNOW!

Susannah and her beloved "Nozu" (this is how she says "snowman") looking out the living room window into our very white front yard and street

We awoke the morning of December 19, 2009, to find just what the weather forecasters had promised: HEAPS AND HEAPS OF SNOW! The southern Shenandoah Valley (that's us!) seemed to get the brunt of this storm, as evidenced by the nearly 30 inches that had fallen by Saturday evening. WHAT FUN! This was the first day of Harry's two-week Christmas Break, which meant that we could have all sorts of quality family time without having to leave our front door. Such a welcome gift from God was this blizzard!

Dada had to shovel for more than THREE HOURS just to get our cars semi-cleared! Susannah and I bundled up and ventured outside after her nap, just before the sun went down and the real chill of night set in. Fortunately, on Friday before the blizzard started, I was able to get the last pair of boots in her size from an obnoxiously-crowded Wal-Mart.

Susannah peeking out from behind the wall of snow that resulted from street plows and shoveling!







Watching the snow continue to fall as evening drew near

The next day, Sunday December 20, we headed outside into our street for some sledding with Judah, her best buddy who lives up the street from us. Melissa and Seth (Judah's parents) pulled the babies up the hill after each rode down with a grown-up. Rylie chased us, as always, and great fun was had by all (until little cheeks were red and even warmly gloved hands cold beneath their fleece!).

Back inside our house, Judah, Melissa, Susannah, and I warmed up by coloring on the new table Grammy and Grandpa gave Susannah for Christmas!



A Look Back to Early December...

At the beginning of December, we got about six inches of snow. We spent the weekend snuggled together under our warm roof at 516 Guilford Avenue, savoring extra time to complete our Christmas tree decoration, setting up our Nativity scene on the mantle, and making sugar cookies.

Waving "HI!" with rosebud mitten hands before going out in the snow with Daddy in the morning. Had to go in sneakers this round, as I hadn't though to get her some snowboots yet.

Starting to build a snowman with Dada! This snow was perfect for packing into snowballs that got thrown at porch-bound, pajamed Mama and snow-loving Rylie the Wonder Dog!

Helping Dada to put the second ball of snow onto their snowman base, patting all the while just like she saw him doing.

Bundled up and snuggling later in the afternoon before doing a bit of sledding in our backyard

Christmas Cookie FUN!!!

Making sure the measuring cup is empty after adding the milk to the dough

On a Sunday evening a few weeks before Christmas, we decided to make my family's traditional sugar cookies as a family. What an awesome experience this was with our 18-month-old! Not only was it filled with tremendous "help" from attentive eyes and fingers, it was also rife with hilarity from her innocent comments.

Susannah currently has an exceptional amount of both spoken and sign language, and regularly combines her words and signs to form simple sentences. She switches back and forth between American Sign Language and spoken English with ease, and in doing so, regularly CRACKS US UP! Several humorous moments in our cookie-making expedition include:

• Her wide-eyed excitement upon hearing that it was time to add "vanilla" to the mixer. She looked up and signed with a combination of awe and a hint of worry, GORILLA!

• When Daddy told her it was time to add "flour," she looked around the counter at the ingredients and signed, FLOWER.

• She imitated the whirrrrr of the mixer, dug her fingers into every ingredient in order to "Taste pease!," and became incredibly excited (gasping with astonishment, as a matter of fact!) when a shape emerged from beneath a metal cookie cutter outline!

Adding "flower" to the dough

Gesturing along with the mixer's round-and-round movement

Such focus while watching Dada roll out the dough onto the counter (as in all things, Susannah's "focus quotient" is intensely high for a toddler)

Making snowmen in two different shapes!

Sweet chubby fingers...

Time to roll and cut a second batch (note the flour on hers and Daddy's cheeks!)

With the final scrap of dough, I cut several cookies into the shape of a "crescent moon." (Yes, in case you were wondering, she DOES distinguish between a "crescent moon" and a "full circle moon." Still working on "waxing gibbous"!!! :) I have a feeling it won't be long until our heavily-linguistic, moon-centric Strawberry recognizes all of the moon's phases!)

For three days in a row after lunch she would ask longingly for a "Moon cookie, pease!" and then eat the entire thing without stopping! She consumed more sugar in those three days than she had in her entire life up until that point!

This is just one of the many Christmas traditions we did as a family this year. What magic this season held for us with new life in our home!