Saying Goodbye to 2010, Without a Coat

The last day of 2010 was mild--perfect for being outside to enjoy toys with wheels!

Here's Will and his new skateboard:

Will had a good time skateboarding with his dad.

A serious, pensive Annie...

Hmmm...faced with a dilemma, drive the car or ride the skateboard?

Once she realized she was being watched and photographed,
her silly self returned and she decided to just stay put!

Trying out the Bike and Trike

Ellen and Annie took their new wheels out for a test drive!

Notice the back wheels...not any normal back wheels, eh? This radio flyer, for our sweet, spunky Annie, has spin out action with back wheel casters. She loves it.

Is Ellen really big enough for this bike?!?! It should last her until she's 12. Twelve?!?!

Ellen did GREAT riding her new bike!! It has gears and hand brakes!

No, no, Santa did not bring us a set of new wheels...the RV in the background is our neighbor's, not ours. It's just in the background of all our pictures taken in the cul-de-sac. I really should cross the street and take pictures from the other side so our own house is in the background. Too cold for that today though, I stepped out on the front step, took the shots, and ran back inside the warm house! Brrrr!

Christmas Morning!

Merry Christmas!!

It was a big year for big gifts!

Ellen's new bike...

Will's first skateboard...

Annie's new trike

Lots of Lego kits...

Lots of American Girl boxes!

When we asked Annie what she wanted Santa to bring her, she said, "Tinkerbell." She was quite happy with her Tinkerbell doll and house, and also with her very own pink box of Lego bricks! (Perhaps this was also a present for Will, since now it means Annie will stay out of his Lego bin, ahhh...that should solve some problems.)


Sam had a great first Christmas!!

We love to give gifts to one another and we're so thankful for the greatest gift given to us, God's son Jesus!

Luke 2:10-11
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Here's the video from Christmas morning:

http://rowefamilyvideos.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-morning.html

Christmas Eve Cookies and PJs!

Christmas Eve, after an early dinner of pizza and lots of fun with our good family friends, we went to our church for the Family Christmas Eve service.
It's a loud, rowdy service with LOTS of kids, and we loved keeping Annie and Sam with us (instead of in the nursery) to listen to the scripture readings, to sing the carols and to rejoice in the birth of Baby Jesus!


Then we returned home to finish the dough for the Christmas morning cinnamon rolls, set-out cookies for Santa, hang stockings and open a present from Mom and Dad--Christmas pajamas!

Everyone is always excited for their new PJs! This year was no different!

Here's all the kids, making sure their stockings are ready!!

And here's the proof that after a fun day, everyone was tired and ready for bed! All were sound asleep long before reindeer hooves and jingle bells could be heard.

Clyde's!

One of our Christmas traditions is to go out to eat at Clyde's Restaurant and to see the gingerbread village in the lobby of a nearby hotel. Clyde's is Ellen's favorite restaurant, so she is always extremely excited for this outing!

Ruby Red Slippers!!

Perhaps I should keep this information to myself...but we discovered that three days before Christmas is an excellent time to visit the Smithsonian Museums. The kids and I went to the American History Museum to see the red slippers from Wizard of Oz, the Muppets puppets, the Abraham Lincoln exhibit and the First Ladies exhibit; but I told the kids it all depended on us finding a good parking spot. When we arrived, we had our choice of many, many parking spots right out front. Yes! So we saw all the things we wanted to see and had a lovely time. Except for Will. He would not say he had a lovely time. He did fine...until we got to the First Ladies exhibit. He took one look inside, saw all the dresses, and declared, "I am NOT going in there." He did, but he didn't much like it.

SNOW!!

Our first snowfall of the winter! About two inches accumulated, resulting in an early dismissal today and a late opening tomorrow. Here are the girls, eager to go play!

Will joined the girls on their second trip out. They all had fun sledding in the backyard! Annie only lasts 15-20 minutes before she's back inside saying, "Hot chocolate, hot chocolate!" Ellen has true staying power...even after dark, with the Christmas lights glowing, there she was, sitting on the sled in the front yard, still playing.

Gingerbread Houses!

We decorated gingerbread houses today! This was Annie's first time participating. Like her sister and brother before her, she spent most of this first time eating, eating, eating, and eating as much candy as she could. There's one shot that proves she stuck at least one piece of candy on her rooftop. Notice, though, that as she is sticking the candy to the roof, her cheeks are certainly stuffed full!

Here's her (Mom's) finished house! She was too busy eating to even put her face in the picture. But her sticky hand made it in!

Here's Will, hard at work:

And the finished project--notice the icicles and the candy cane chimney!

Here's Ellen, ready to get started!


And the finished masterpiece:


Ellen planned out her candy cane heart wreath before we even started. It looks great!

Here's the video documenting the making of the houses:

http://rowefamilyvideos.blogspot.com/2010/12/gingerbread-houses.html

Nine Months Old!

Sam is now 9 months old! He weighs 17 lbs 10 oz and measures 27 inches. (That's four pounds and two inches smaller than Will at the same age! Wonder who will be bigger when they're all grown up!) Along with the 9-month mark came three new teeth on top! So now he's doing things like eating tiny chunks of pear and banana--and tonight he had lasagna, which he seemed to enjoy almost as much as Annie, and certainly more than Ellen and Will who are both in an anti-red-sauce phase. He is crawling everywhere and pulling himself up to his feet. He loves to play with the Mega building blocks and all the nativity sets around the house. He's sweet!