The Yankee Clipper

We had a wonderful Christmas here in Winston-Salem. When we arrived on Dec. 23 there was still snow on the ground! It wasn't long before Baikal was interested in her first solo sledding ride. My parents have a sled, but not just any sled. Legend goes that this sled was left by the previous owners of the house they purchased back in 1976. It's name: The Yankee Clipper. One thing is for certain, this sled was made during a time when there were no child safty laws. Made of wooden slats and metal rails, the Yankee Clipper claims to have "power steering" by way of pulling on a flimsy rope, but I believe this to be an advertising gimic only. What it does have it the ability to put any first time parent into a nervous state when they see their first born go flying down an icy hill on nothing more than mere wooden slats and metal rails. And what if they head towards a tree? Will the power steering prevent a head-on collision? Not likely. It was with both fear and excitement that I watched Baikal go on her first solo sled ride down the steep hill in my parents back yard. Her first words after... "Can I do it again?"

Baikal turns 4

We went to see the musical Cinderella for Baikal's birthday. After the show, she got to meet Cinderella and was given her own Cinderella dress. What a great time!

Nativity during quiet time

We have been reading a lot about Jesus' birth story around here. This Sunday is the annual no rehearsal Christmas pagent at the church. I asked the kids what they wanted to be this year. Baikal said she wanted to be a sheep and Rybolt agreed. When we arrived at the craft store, their minds had changed to angels. After quiet time, I went to get Baikal out from her room. She had created her own version of the nativity and wanted me to take her picture. I did move the moose a bit closer to get it in the shot, but she had set up all the rest. Notice how serious she is in the pictures!

Birthday celebration at preschool

Baikal and Rybolt both had birthday celebrations at their preschool recently. The celebrations are so sweet that I thought I would share. During the usual storytime, the teacher tells the story of how the child was in the heavens and wanted to visit earth so they were sent to a kind mother and father. Before leaving the heavens the child was given special gifts. Then, they have the child walk around a candle (representing the sun) for every year they are old. During this time, the parents list out the fun things that happened during these years. At the end we all sing happy birthday and the child blows out the candle. It is such a wonderful reminder of the journey that we are all taking together as a family. We all are sick today, so I used the time to make the kids little posters of their birthday celebrations to put in their rooms.

Around the house

Meeting Santa

Baikal and Rybolt told Santa what they wanted for Christmas this year. Baikal wants pink and purple princess rollerskates (her secret desire ever since eyeing Esther Burlington's pair from a 4 year old birthday party back in March). Rybolt wants a train, or what he calls a "choo choo." Matt and I would like Santa to give us one morning where our children sleep until 10am. Cheers!

Happy Birthday Rybolt!

Today is Rybolt's 2nd birthday. We celebrated by inviting a few friends to the nearby tennis courts for some ball games. Then it was back home for hot chocolate and cupcakes.











Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to Rybolt!
Happy Birthday to you!

Laptop is back

Our home computer went to sleep and did not wake up. After driving it around to various repair shops, we sent it off to HP. It is now back! It will take me a few days to upload pics and set up email, but I plan to be back to posting before the new year! Yeah!