Cabin Fever

We've all had a bit of cabin fever around here for the past two weeks. Here is a picture of the snow accumulating on the back deck - we estimate about 8 inches was the grand total. That wouldn't be so bad except for the freezing weather made the roads something fierce and we didn't get out much.

So, what do you do when you can't leave the house. Well, you can sit around the uncomfortable family room floor (near the couch, no less) and watch a Thomas the Train video....

Or you can amuse yourself by putting hats on the baby and take pictures of the funny faces she makes...

Or you can color on the fireplace hearth...

Or try to choose between daddy's new Rainbox 6 video game or a more appropriate kid's video to watch...

When provisions run low, you can either turn to the canned goods or your digger shirt...

We made it to Christmas day!! It was actually snowing outside again as we unwrapped presents. After a yummy breakfast of homemade doughnuts, Camden finally got to unwrap his gifts and play with some new toys. He got some cool new train cars from Uncle Neil - these make cow and chicken noises so Camden got up close to hear them.

Here, Shelby is playing with the canon from Camden's Hot Wheels Pirate track (if she knew any better, she'd hide it so he wouldn't shoot the thing in her face all the time).

Shelby enjoyed a pop up toy from Grandma and Grandpa Lee.

This neat toy came with its very own screwdriver to undo the parts to the airplane and helicopter. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Lee!

Matt got some new sweatpants from Tara's parents. As you can see, he can easily wear them and gorge himself on holiday pie (and no longer flash the company with the holes in his other sweatpants!)

Some comfy new clothes and a new book from Grandma and Grandpa Cochran. This book goes with the Leapfrog pen they also got him - what a cool gadget that is, seriously - it's amazing.

Shelby inspected the toy from Uncle Neil - it is labeled to help babies get motivated to crawl. She thought about it and then continued to just scooch around on her bottom instead.

Yay! New shoes and clothes from Grandma and Grandpa Cochran. Shelby doesn't have to wear Camden's old froggy shoes anymore!

The Hot Wheels Pirate Land.....Grandma Cochran would like this toy - it neatly folds itself back up into a carrying case. You'll be seeing it on our next visit, for sure.

Thanks to everyone for the gifts and while we certainly enjoyed our Christmas Day spent as just our little family, we missed you all too. Can't have it both ways, I guess.

Snowbird

This has been an interesting week. School was delayed 2 hours on Monday and Tuesday due to icy roads from weekend snow and then school was canceled on Wednesday because the forecasters were predicting WINTER BLAST STORM CALAMITY ICE SURGE 2008. The snow hit elsewhere, but the roads cleared and even melted around our house....then overnight we got 2ish inches and we have another snow day. Today Camden and daddy got to shovel the driveway and then get creative with the snow shovel.

Big House

Today we took a trip up to Seattle to the Seattle Sheraton's gingerbread house display. I've never been before and didn't know what to expect, but I certainly hoped it would be the coolest thing ever! It was neat but not really worth the effort involved in getting there, finding parking, maneuvering the streets with a stroller, etc. However, we met Camden's friend Grant and it was fun to see it with them. Here are some pictures. These are done by architectural firms and the theme was superheroes.

Afterwards we all headed back to our house (after missing the freeway onramp and getting a little lost in Seattle - Grandma Cochran knows how that feels!). Grant and Camden had a lot of fun playing together and we all worked on a gingerbread house of our own. It was demolished and devoured shortly after this picture.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

You'd think the pictures would appear in the order in which you chose them. Argh. So, here in another backwards blog....*end vent*

Today, after the Christmas program at preschool, Camden saw a pair of Shelby's pants and decided to try them on. They will be good shorts for him this summer.
After the program, we posed for a picture.

Camden and the boy on the other end both stood quite well serving as immobile bookends to the group in the middle who danced and sang their way through the program. Very cute bookends, that's for sure. We are very proud of Camden who went up and stood in front of everyone, without an adult nearby to cling to. That's a big step for our little guy!

Shelby enjoyed the music and dancing too. She even said "bye" to the teachers as we were leaving.

Here's a little taste of the entertainment....