Snow, Snow, and more Snow

I couldn't believe the snow and cold weather Northwest Arkansas got last week. Schools were out the entire week! Too bad that doesn't effect me...Me and Max had the icy commute out to Sonora in the mornings. One morning we never went over 20mph, slid everywhere, and the whole commute took me an hour and a half! Since I had to be at work by 7:30 everyday - or work through lunch and work late - I chose to be at work by 7:30 every morning. This meant me and Max got up 30 mintues early for the snowy commutes...So even though it was a very long week....we loved all of the snowy scenery. I took some pictures of all of the snow - this is last Saturday when we NEVER left the house all weekend except for church because of the weather. One thing you can't see in the pictures? The -2 temperatures it got down too. We ran our water and kept our house hot, so luckily our pipes never froze...unfortunately I can't say the same thing for my parents house - even though the took the same precautions we did (probably even better) they were not as lucky as us and did have their pipes freeze. Luckily everything is back to normal now and once the rain goes away today...we have sunny skies and 50 degree weather!!

Max gets stuck

We made Max's wagon into a little steelers mobile....he loved it...although right when I went to take a video of him he decides to get stuck, it was cute. I thought I'd post it for a laugh

Cheering the Steelers to Victory

So we cheered the Steelers onto victory...but unfortunately they did not make the playoffs, so we will not be having a Steelers Superbowl party this year...but hopefully Grandpa's Colts will make it and we can cheer on them. Luckily some thoughtful Grandpa out there gave Max some Colts apparel for Christmas, just in case. We won't show his Daddy. We did have a lot of fun watching the game. We all three had matching shirts all from Old Navy, we made a steelers mobile, and Max and Daddy played with their matching Steelers Terrible towels I got them for Christmas.

Pancakes for the whole family!!!

I got a griddle for Christmas from mom and dad...Now I can make pancakes for the whole family! You would be amazed at how much quicker you can make pancakes when it's not in 3 little skillets on the stove. The Griddle is the best! We had a lot of fun cooking pancakes for everyone for the first time. I love getting up on Saturday mornings and fixing pancakes for everyone. MAx is a fan too - minus the butter and syrup of course. Also we thought it would be cute to let Max play with the wisk while we got breakfast ready....He ate through it! That kid and his 8 teeth...sometimes it's like we have a lab! haha

Liberty Bowl

We had some friends come over to watch the Liberty bowl Brian and Lindsey came over with Brecken ( 9 months), Jennifer and Matt came over with Rian (7) Elise (2) and Carrter (18 months) also known as The Fox's.....Matt and Russ came over...we all grilled burritos. I made a homemade double kentucky derby pie. Max loved having all of his little friends over. It was a lot of fun, and hey...the hogs even won!

New Years at Nana's

We decided since we were undable to travel down to Russellville in the snow on Christmas Day, that we would travel down the next Thursday night for New Year's Eve to visit my Grandma in Russellville, "Nana". My cousin came over with with his wife and 3 kids, Annie (4), Alec(3), and Allie Grace (1) so with Max being 11 months they sure had a lot of fun!! We just played and ended up staying up until almost midnight! Which I was pretty impressed with. We even got to see the ball drop at 11. The next morning we woke up and Nana had us a big breakfast, my favorite ( as always) and than we played some cards. Nana fixed a big meal and had a lot of family over. Thank you to everyone for coming! It was great to see everyone again. We hope to make another trip down very soon.

New water bottle

Thank you aunt Phyllis for my new water bottle!!! It helps me out with my new years resolution to drink more water!!!
-- Post From Ashley

Max walking with his new Cozy Coupe

Max LOVES the Cozy Coupe, thanks Aunt Phyllis!

He is really getting better at walking with support, he has been practicing every day at Grandma's house.

Mike

Max Learns to Crawl

Max has finally started crawling on all fours instead of scooting!

Ash and I were very proud as you can tell from the audio.

Mike

Intresting article

Is it ever okay to spank?

Kelly Ross, M.D.
Pediatrician at St. Louis Children's Hospital in Missouri, and mother of triplets

Parents who try spanking quickly learn that there are far better ways to teach their children appropriate, safe behavior. In high-stress situations, such as when a child runs into the street or throws a tantrum, even parents who don't routinely use spanking might be tempted to do so. In such situations, though, you're likely to use excessive force and can hurt your child. Remember that if you spank, the child remembers the pain of being spanked and not the lesson you want to teach. A better approach is to crouch down to your child's eye level, lean in close, and issue a very firm "no," followed by a brief description of the behavior that you want your child to use instead

Samantha Maplethorpe, M.D.
Family physician in Issaquah, Washington, and mother of three

Spanking is physical punishment. It teaches children to hit or use painful actions when they're displeased with someone else. There are many ways to teach a child to become a strong, loving, responsible young person. Hitting them isn't one of them. If you're feeling at a loss for strategies for handling your baby, talk with your doctor or join a parenting group for ideas. Head to the local bookstore for a wealth of resource

Leslie Gavin, Ph.D.
Child psychologist in Orlando, Florida, and mother of four

The research on corporal punishment is clear: Hitting children teaches themto hit. It's my experience that when parents spank, they often don't use moderation. They spank when they're fed up and angry, and then they grab and whack. Hitting a child when you're angry is never okay. And it's never appropriate to spank a 10-month-old. A sharp "no" and removal of the child from the situation is sufficient