Let it Rain, Let it Sleet, Let it Snow!

Greetings from the frozen tundra of Knoxville, and a still pajama-clad family! (You know, it's really not a bad day when you take off one pair of pjs to put on a clean pair of pjs before bed.) The weather that swept through West and Middle Tennessee apparently got a little confused when it crossed the plateau, as we've had a conglomeration of wet, white, frozen stuff. Did we brave the elements to check it out? Of course we did!!

Here is our official report ... the iciness factor makes this great sledding and snowman making weather. Samantha mostly seemed to enjoy digging, with a few occasional nips at the ice. (She proclaimed it "tasty.") She was not so into the sledding, though Steve and I took a few turns down the hill on our converted sled ... the top of a cooler. And, big surprise, when we made her go inside to keep her from freezing solid, she pitched a mighty fit that could only be assuaged by music from Yo Gabba Gabba.

As I type this, I am looking at a lovely, steady snowfall, and appreciating my hot chocolate from the Keuring Single Cup Brewing System (thanks again, Bill!) and my cozy pajamas. Be safe, everyone!

Okay, I'm out here. Now what do I do?

Love the frozen holly bush!

Steve takes a turn on the cooler top.

Samantha's turn!

"Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Splat! Oh no!

Getting a little comfort from Daddy after her epic face plant. Did you notice, though, that Steve took the picture before he went to pick her up? Classic!

Our beautiful, frozen red maple tree.

Helping Mommy with the Samantha snowman.

Another picture of the ice. I think it's so fascinating the way it coats the branches. They look like glass!

Samantha, meet Samantha. (Note to self: Fruit Loop eyeballs do NOT work well with a toddler in the vicinity.)

Samantha with Daddy and our snow family counterparts.

The finished product after Daddy had a little fun!

Bye bye, Little Gym

This post is not for the faint of heart. Read no further if you still operate under the assumption that my child is a perfect angel who does no wrong. She is a perfect angel, no doubt. But as for doing no wrong ... well, that's another story.

We've been going to the Little Gym for some time now. It is a wonderful program, and most kids seem to love it. For the past few months, Samantha has not been like most kids. There has been more than one occasion where we have left the gym early because of her behavior. She doesn't like sharing with the other kids, and she is not really into the group activities. The funny thing is, she does great with our friends kids. She seems to only have the "no share"affliction around kids she doesn't know. Needless to say, we decided not to sign her up for another semester of torture!! (Torture for me, not her.)

Last Thursday was her last official class as a Birdie. It was the showcase class, where daddies and grandparents were welcome to come and see what all the kids have learned. Thankfully, Steve was able to come so I could have an extra set of hands with Samantha. Plus, he wanted to be there for the ribbon ceremony. It was a classic Samantha-day at the Little Gym ....

Starting out pretty good ringing her bell at welcome time on the big red mat.

Oops ... lost her already! While all of the other kids were enjoying the parachute during group time, Samantha decided to watch from afar. That's her on the bars in the back!

A happy little girl playing on the equipment! She obviously has not yet spotted cutie Sebastian lurking in the background.

Oh the horror!! Sebastian wants to share the bars!!

Doing good once again, walking the balance beam with an assist from Mommy. Notice there are no other kids in the vicinity!

Taking a turn with Daddy on the beam.

Ball time was all fun and games until someone tried to take hers away. What a tragedy!

Getting some comfort from Daddy while the other kids play. How dare they all assume she will share?!?

Watching the ribbon ceremony from afar with Mommy, trying to decide if she wants to participate ....

"Okay, I guess I'll go up if it means I'll get a shiny ribbon." With Ms. Asha, her teacher for the semester.

I'M A STAR AT LITTLE GYM! At least sometimes ...

January

I think I must still be suffering a post-Christmas photo hangover, because we have hardly touched the camera at all this month. We've mostly been hunkering down trying to stay warm! Samantha is changing all the time, but its getting hard to capture on film. She is so active and busy, she won't stay still for a photo. Here a few of the random moments we have managed to capture so far in 2010.

Samantha loved the snow. We bundled her up to take her out for a bit. She pitched an absolute fit when we dared to take her back inside! She is definitely an outdoorsy girl, no matter the weather.

Love this picture, mostly because it was Daddy who got Samantha all dolled up. Who would've ever thought that Steve would become acquainted with tights and bows? He even remembered to put on her bloomers!!

Doing what she does best - relaxing in her chair with a good magazine.

Watching the Tennessee/Auburn game with Daddy. She loves to watch the "Go Vols" with him!

Yes, this is what it looks like. My beautiful child is eating cheese off of the floor. Don't ask, because I have no answer.

The cheese was so good, why not try some Cap'n Crunch? We're hoping it's just a phase. As in a one day phase.

Somedays I allow Bunny to eat lunch with Samantha. She apparently thought Bunny might like ranch dip.

Not really sure how this happened. We just know we don't want it to happen again. Spontaneous shedding of clothing will not be good for Steve's blood pressure.

I found her sitting on the steps this morning. She somehow managed to get the gate open. (By the way, she is also working mightily on doors.) Time to step up our walking-up-the-stairs-like-a-big-girl training!

Two more new things - building "castles" with her blocks (she did most of this one herself), and ponytails!

An East Tennessee Christmas

Get ready for a marathon of pictures! We had an amazing Christmas, and hope that everyone in blogland did as well. Once again, we traversed the state in our quest to see everybody. Between Christmas and New Years, we put 1100 miles on our car! Was it worth it? Absolutely!

Samantha was so much fun. She loved our trees and all of the lights in general. We would be driving down the road and she would exclaim "Look ... lights!" wherever we went. As Christmas day drew nearer, she became fascinated with "pesents", more giving than receiving. She loved to hand them out to whomever was nearby. The name on the tag meant nothing to her. She just thought everyone needed a "pesent." I think next year her wheels will be turning even more, but she really enjoyed this year.

We started our journey in East Tennessee on Christmas Eve. After breakfast in Gatlinburg with Steve's Grandma (who just turned 90!), we came back to Knoxville for our annual Christmas Eve chili. Uncle Johnny celebrated with us this year, which thrilled Samantha. We woke up at our house on Christmas Day, then set out for West Tennessee around naptime. Here are some highlights of our East Tennessee activities.

I'm not entirely sure what Wawa and Samantha are doing, I just think this is a funny picture!

Something only Samantha can do ... make all 3 of the Noland men dance to a singing puppy.

Hugging her favorite Uncle "Yonny."

Dancing with the dog.

On her new Radio Flyer tricycle, complete with a Hello Kitty helmet, gifts from Uncle Johnny.

With Wawa and Papaw before dinner.

Closing her eyes to make a wish for Jesus as she blows out the candle on his birthday cake.

Daddy's girl!

Handing out "pesents."

In her new customized (formerly Barbie) jeep.

Santa came!

Samantha helping Daddy put together the table and chairs she got from great-Grandma.

Enjoying a rare treat ... a Kit-Kat before breakfast!

With Wawa and Papaw before we hit the road.

A West Tennessee Christmas

More Christmas pictures, this time from our visit to West Tennessee. Samantha loves going to Big Guy and Grammy's house, especially when she knows she can play with Anna Grace and Garner. She did great to be so off schedule. We even managed to get her down for a few naps!

Unfortunately for sweet Garner, of the 3 grandkids, he has the best bow hair! Between his sister and cousin Samantha, he probably should get used to it!

Anna Grace discovers the chips. Nothing was safe from the kids this year!

Family photo ... I'm amazed that one of these actually turned out!

Uh-oh, more candy. Discovering the joy of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup after opening the stocking Santa left at Memaw's.

Just cute!

Samantha with her beautiful Aunt Elise. After 20 months of taking photos, I love how people in the pictures pitch in to make Samantha smile. It's made for some entertaining shots!

My sweet Memaw with all her grandkids and great-grandkids.

I think Caroline about wore herself out playing horsey with Samantha.

A little too comfortable in high heels for Daddy's liking.

With cousin Will, in an outfit that was Caroline's.

Relaxing with a good touch-n-feel book after a long day of partying.

Samantha at her Gran and Grandaddy's house.

Love this!! Giving Gran a kiss.

Grandaddy's turn.

Singing karaoke at my Aunt Teddie's house. Steve and I were a bit taken aback that she knew all the words to Flirtin' With Disaster.

Hanging out with Aunt Teddie.