Bowlin Beige

Ainsley comes to wake us up on Wednesday morning and excitedly tells us we have to follow her upstairs to see what she did. 'Ta-da!!' as she shows us the bathroom floor covered in dixie cups. She spelled her  name with them. 'Bowlin' on top (because she ran out of room) and 'Ainsley' underneath. This is what occupies my daughter's mind in the middle of the night.

Just as the Farmer's Almanac predicted, we are in for a rough winter. I've already had 3 snow days and a late opening - more than I'd had total in 8 years at the University of Richmond. I could really get used to this K-12 thing!  Ainsley was thrilled with the snow and couldn't wait to spend time outside. Parker loved to stand at the door and yell 'NO! NO!' He can't quite get the 'SN' part of the word out. Overall our past two weeks of snow have been fun and exciting. I sure am glad that I invested in snow pants and boots for them this year! Making snow angels on the deck. Not too bad!  Sledding!

Grandma Camilla made the flight from Alabama last weekend to come for a visit. She hasn't seen Parker since he was 4 months old, and what a big change! We are so glad she could spend some time with us. Saturday was cold and rainy but we decided to take the opportunity to visit the new dinosaur exhibit at the Science Museum of Virginia. We'd never taken the kids before and they had a fabulous time. We didn't even get to half of the museum, but they were thrilled with the trains, snakes, and dinosaurs.  Parker almost had a heart attack when he looked outside and saw 4 train cars lined up.  'CHOO CHOO!!! CHOO CHOO!!' Ainsley's first time petting a snake. She was so brave! Then she saw stuffed snakes in the gift shop when we left and HAD to have one. Parker got one too. Sabrina (pink snake) and Sammy (blue snake) have now joined our family.  Sunday we all got dressed up for church, and even managed to get a few pictures with the kids. We also ...

The weekend after Christmas we packed up the car and headed to my in-laws home in North Carolina. My brother-and sister-in-law and nieces and nephew met us out there, so we had the whole Bowlin/Williams clan together. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and spending some quality time with Grandma and Grandaddy. They made Christmas door hangers and Grandaddy even put on a magic show! Family craft project Cousin Maddy (the oldest) reading to Parker (the youngest)  Carolina and Ainsley playing games My two handsome men

Christmas Eve we went to church for the children's service. After we got home it was time to put out the reindeer food (oats mixed with glitter), which meant sprinkling bags of this stuff all over the front yard. Ainsley made some at school and also at the sitter's house, so we had plenty for both kids. Then we put out cookies and milk for Santa by the fireplace. After reading some Christmas stories, both kids were a little wound up at bedtime.  Ready to be a 'wise man' at church.  Sprinkling reindeer food Christmas morning was a special surprise for everyone. Ainsley got a new bike, Parker got a tractor and trailer, they each got a flashlight friend, some books, and other stocking stuffers. We had a great time watching the kids open their presents, and they had fun tearing the wrapping paper off everyone else's gifts. What a special day! Parker was pretty obsessed with this truck book. He would carry it around to different people ...

There are many things that I enjoy more as a parent, especially when it comes to Christmas. Listening to my daughter sing Christmas carols and watching Parker stare in awe at every light display remind me that Christmas is truly a magical time for children.  We did 'Elf on the Shelf' this year and every morning Ainsley races downstairs to find where 'Sarah the Elf' has decided to perch herself after an overnight visit to Santa.They never get tired of reading The Night Before Christmas every night for the month of December.  Last week Ainsley's class had a Christmas party. They decorated cookies, played Christmas tree bingo, made reindeer food, and had a coloring book exchange. I know in a few years she won't get excited about making gingerbread houses with her best friend Owen, so I'm enjoying these small magical moments as much as I can.  We made a semi-conscious decision not to visit Santa this year. It's not that we avoided it, but after la...

Last week Parker got a hold of my phone and had the camera turned around on himself. Amazing the things that happen when an almost-two-year-old gets to watch himself on a screen.