Personally, I hate when it snows (and it is snowing right now! Ugh!) but Sam has been talking about snow all winter! We didn’t get any until Thursday morning. When I woke up and saw the coating of white stuff, I knew Sam would be thrilled. I decided to catch his reaction on tape. Sorry, it is kind of hard to hear.

I haven’t bought any snow stuff for the kids–I guess I was kind of hoping I wouldn’t need to–so we weren’t really prepared to go play outside. But miraculously, a snowsuit that I bought a little big for Sam TWO YEARS AGO still kind of fit (if you don’t mind high-waters!). And I put Campbell in her warmest outfit, though it wasn’t waterproof. We headed outside and Sam’s friend Beatrice joined us too. All the kids had fun exploring in the snow.

I love Sam’s curly hair, but the other day I looked over at him, and realized it was time for a trim. I was worried that if I took him somewhere they would cut it really short, which I didn’t want, plus I wanted it done right then and didn’t want to wait a day or two for an appointment. So I set up a little home hair salon. I think it turned out pretty cute. Definitely not perfect and I am sure a professional could give me some pointers, but the curls hide a lot. And most importantly, the client was happy!

BEFORE

AFTER

SIDE VIEW

In my hurry to post Campbell’s 11 month post, I forgot to include this cute little video. She has recently been trying to put things back together (like a cracker she just broke or a ripped piece of paper). And here she is trying to put a fallen ornament back on the tree. She was doing this for like 5 minutes!

I love New Year’s resolutions. I love setting goals and making lists all year long, and the idea of a fresh start just makes it all perfect! I thought I would put my resolutions down here for all to see, in hopes that it helps me stick with them. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Run. My goal is to run for 35 minutes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning. I was going to train for a half marathon but Ben basically forbade that knowing that this semester is going to be a busy one for me with school and his new job. But I am still going to go running. I bought some fun new stroller accessories so I can keep the kids warm and dry in their stroller. And both my mom and dad got me cute jogging clothes for Christmas so I am ready!

2. Lose 15 pounds. Ben and I are planning on heading to the beach this spring (sans kiddos) and I would like to lose about 15 lbs to feel better and look good in my bathing suit! I’m using the My Fitness Pal app on my phone to count calories. It is awesome. Basically, I am eating normal food, but I am sticking to an actual portion size and not going back for seconds!!

3. Organize the toys. I am almost done with this one! My main priority was to pack up all of Sam’s toys that contain small parts and only leave toys that were safe for both kids to play without direct supervision. I moved a lot of stuff around and now Sam has games, art supplies, and toys that require more parental assistance in a big closed basket on the main floor. It has been really nice to be able to start fun projects together and have all the supplies readily available. And it has also been really nice to cook dinner and let the kids play in the living room without worrying that Campbell might pick up a small toy of Sam’s and try to swallow it.

4. Organize my sewing/crafts area. This area takes up way too much room in our basement and is a mess. I am determined to figure out how to organize it all to be more accessible and also look a little prettier. Don’t really have any ideas yet!

5. Buy clothes for me. Ok, this one may sound a little weird. But I am determined to buy more clothes for myself. Ever since Sam was born, and especially since Campbell was born, I tend to spend all of my clothing budget on adorable things for them. That is fun, but it does feel good to have a few new and stylish items for myself too!

6. Be better about blogging! It is hard to find time to blog, but this blog is basically my baby book for my kids, so I really want to try to do a better job of updating it regularly. My goal is to write a post every week plus an additional two each month. Fingers crossed that I can stick to that goal.

So there it is! Here’s to a wonderful 2013!

This year, I did a Christmas Countdown with Sam and Campbell (click here for Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3).

Here are activities 19-25.

Day 19: Make Christmas Play-doh

This was fun! We added some peppermint extract to make the play-doh smell extra Christmas-y, but we didn’t add enough I guess because the scent dissipated quickly!

Day 20: Watch Video from Santa

Santa created a special video just for Sam to watch. It was so cute to watch, completely in awe. The video was very personlized and even had some pictures of Sam! If anyone wants to request their own special video from Sam, go here.)

Day 21: Christmas Tree Art

Sam LOVES any project that involves glue and is actually pretty good at it–he uses a very sensible amount each time. We made this lovely Christmas Tree and then wrote a little note on it and gave it to our neighbor, Ms. Tanya, as a thank-you for all the special treats she brought Sam in December (raisins, goldfish, cookies!).

Day 22: Drink Hot Cocoa

This is the day we drove all day to get down to Georgia. I thought “drink hot cocoa” would be an easy thing to incorporate into our travels, but by the time we finally got there, we were so exhausted we all forgot about it. Oops.

Day 23: See Christmas Lights

This was a really fun activity but I forgot to take pictures! After dinner and just before bed, we loaded all the kids up in my sister’s minivan and went to see some Christmas lights in a nearby neighborhood. The neighborhood we visited really does it right–picture the Griswold’s house!

Day 24: Talent Show

After our Christmas Eve dinner, my sister organized a talent show. Everyone performed something and it was very entertaining. The Miller Family Band sang Feliz Navidad with Ben on the uke, Campbell and I doing the bells, and Sam on the rhythm sticks. The pic above is right after the talent show but before present-opening time. The kids were ready to get to those presents!!

Day 25: Merry Christmas!

I didn’t really have an activity for this day, because I figured I didn’t need to add anything to Christmas Day! But aren’t the cousins all so cute in their Christmas PJs??

This year, I did a Christmas Countdown with Sam and Campbell (click here for Part 1 and Part 2).

Here are activities 13-18. Stay tuned for part 4 for the rest of our Christmas Calendar activities!

Day 13: Make a Hanukkah Star

This was just a cute little craft I saw on Pinterest. Nothing fancy, but Sam had fun painting, gluing, and glittering!

Day 14: Make Christmas Cookies

These were some delicious cookies! My friend Nicole had dropped off a jar filled with the dry ingredients as a little Christmas treat. So Sam and I just added the butter and eggs, mixed, formed into little balls, baked, and pigged out. Yum!

Day 15: Visit a Winter Wonderland (aka National Harbor)

The Gaylord Hotel at National Harbor puts on quite the Christmas show. We decided to take the kids down there for the light show, tree lighting, and indoor snow. It was pretty fun but SOOO crowded. It would have been a lot more fun with about 50% fewer people. Not sure if we will go back.

Day 16: Go See the White House Christmas Tree

This was a big fat fail! As we were driving downtown on Sunday night, it started raining. It didn’t seem that bad so we decided to just keep going, especially since we’d been talking it up all day. We miraculously found a pretty decent parking spot, got out of the car, and started walking to the tree. Well then it REALLY started pouring. By the time we got back to the car, we were all cold and miserable. But at least we can say we saw the White House tree!

Day 17: Make a Gingerbread House

I got this gingerbread kit from Trader Joe’s. It was very easy to put together and Sam found it to be very tasty!

Day 18: Make Snow

This was another Pinterest find. Just mix cornstarch and shaving cream. Makes a big mess but it was totally worth it. Sam loved it!