Wednesday, February 10, 2010

what....another snow day?!?

After a 2 hr delay yesterday, we are at home for day #6 after yet another winter storm has blown through! The weathermen really messed up this time. I think they led everyone to believe we were just going to get mostly rain out of this last storm. Thankfully my county made the decision to close before 6 am, because some schools closed while they had kids on buses en route to schools. What a mess! Here is a picture from the dining room window. (I am most impressed because I took this picture on the manual setting of the camera! The auto setting tried focusing on the window panes.)
Bryce has decided that he needs to be in control of feeding himself when a utensil is involved. Unfortunately, he is not coordinated enough to do it, and the food falls off because he turns it upside down. However, I think I have avoided the problem by giving him an extra spoon when he is eating. He doesn't have to know he's not really putting any food in his mouth, ha!

Our little baseball player. I remember when I told the girls at work what we were going to name Bryce.....one of the teachers said it sounded like a baseball player, ha! Bryce smiled on command for this picture.

We are working on hitting the ball off the tee.

Monday, February 8, 2010

yet another snow day

I was surprised we didn't have school today because all the roads around us are clear. I realize there are very rural parts of our county that have not been cleared and that got more snow than we did, but I just can't believe I'm on snow day #5. I'm seeing on Facebook that there are still some school parking lots that have not been touched. However, it is only 2:30. I guess more plowing can be done in 3 more hours?!

After taking Bryce to Inflatable Palace a few weeks ago, I knew I wanted to get him some kind of inflatable toy for his birthday that we could fill with balls and recreate the adventure. After hunting online, I found one that I liked (see below), but it was sold out everywhere. Once I did more researching, I realized the product was cheap and not worth the money. So I had the genius idea of just buying the balls and filling Bryce's inflatable pool with them. We need to clean the pool up some, but in the mean time, Bryce is happy playing in the balls on the Florida room floor, ha!
The reviews said that the barn didn't inflate well and it didn't stay up. They also said that they don't hold air because they get holes or pop very easily.
I corralled all the balls into one place on the floor and Bryce was very satisfied.

Oh, to be a kid again!

I didn't have the good camera with me and the sun coming in didn't provide great lighting, but I still think he looks like the cutest baby in the world!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

another snowy saturday

I know you are probably tired of seeing pictures of Bryce sitting in piles of tissues or toilet paper and wondering why we let him waste them, but this was the last box of tissues and we baby proofed the bathroom cabinet today so he will not be getting any more toilet paper, ha! Since we are snowed in for the second Saturday in a row, we have found that a happy baby makes for happy parents so what's the harm in a box of tissues, right?!?
Each day Bryce is getting better at standing on his own. For some reason, he tends to bend over in this position before standing up. I personally think it's the cutest thing I have ever seen!


Then he gets into a squatting position.

And he's up! Then we say YAY and he claps because we are excited.

Then he's down.

We actually have church tomorrow so at least we will get out of the house for a bit. And it won't be so bad because the snow has finally stopped falling! The view from our front door makes me think we could possibly go back to school on Monday. However, a lot of other teachers and people who live on the other end of the county are predicting Thursday. With the cold temperatures and the prediction for snow mid-week, we may never go back to school. I like snow and a break from school, but I LOVE summer and a big break from school. Too many more days missed and they will be cutting into my summer vacation.



Friday, February 5, 2010

snow day # 4

*****Updated*****
While Bryce was napping and I was blogging, Jason was building. Jason fought the elements and the weight of balled up snow and created this master piece. We took Bryce out to see the snowman when he woke up from his nap. He was very fascinated by it.
Jason's goal was to make the snowman taller than him. He succeeded!

Snow storm number 3 is upon us and I'm at home for the fourth day this week! We went to school 2 hours late yesterday and then they cancelled school today before it even started snowing. However, when the weather forecast calls for 6-8 inches of snow, what do you do?! At times, I thought we probably would have been alright to go to school today, but I'm not complaining about being home with BOTH my boys today. We started the day off at Krispy Kreme. I saw mini donuts the last time we were there and I couldn't wait until Bryce was big enough to eat real food so we could get him one (or two)!

Bryce did not complain that the mini donuts had to be purchased in twos. How excited does he look about eating a donut?! Keep in mind he has never had one (well at least not that we know of).
First bite

The first bite was so good that he decided to shove the whole thing in his mouth, ha!

He liked it so much that he wanted to get his hands on the second one so we wouldn't take it. I had only planned on him having one, but I was having too much fun watching him enjoy it to say no.

Donut anyone?

His face was a sticky mess when he was done!



go red for women

In honor of the American Heart Association's "go red for women" campaign, Bryce and I wore red today.
This is "us" last year wearing red for the same occasion.

I had forgotten how big I really was. W.O.W.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

back to reality

Back to work tomorrow! Bryce and I sure have had fun this week. Bryce even gets to have his daddy home with him on Friday. Poor little guy probably misses Chase and is wondering why he has to keep playing with his mommy and daddy, ha! He got to spend a few hours with Chase today while I went shopping. Snow day # 3 was not as picture filled as the past few days.
Bryce enjoys following me into the bathroom in the morning while I'm getting ready. You would think he could entertain himself with all his book and toys, but nope, he just wants to crawl around in filth in the bathroom. Not that our bathroom is all that dirty, but it IS a bathroom. Here he is getting caught unraveling an ENTIRE roll of toilet paper. Not that I'm encouraging this behavior, but it did keep him occupied while I got ready this morning.


It's like he's saying, "uh, this isn't good"! He was waiting for a reprimand, but he didn't get one. I mean really, look at that cuteness!

I got out and did a little shopping for me today and boy did it feel good! I'm lucky that MeMaw gets the same snow days as I do and she is available for some Bryce time when I need some me time! NY&Co was having a great deal on pants. I got two pair of pants for the price of one. I found one pair of pants I really liked, but I had trouble finding a second. I got really frustrated and almost left with nothing because it would be silly to pay for one pair of pants and just get one pair of pants. I know that sounds silly, but I wanted the deal. I finally found the same pants in a different color. Don't be surprised if you don't get daily updates on the B-man as life gets back to normal and I actually have to work, ha!


Tuesday, February 2, 2010

do you see any resemblance?



Every time we put Bryce in this hat I think he looks like a Teletubby. This picture isn't the best representation since the hat is crooked, but it's all I could get him to sit still for. If you see him in person, you would really get a good visual! I think it's the combination of his round face and the shape of the hat. Too cute!


snow day #2

I'm enjoying this snow day more than I did yesterday! Crossing my fingers for just one more. Bryce and Macy had a ton of fun today. I tried to wear him out so he would take a good afternoon nap since he barely slept an hour this morning. I'll let you know how that goes.

I think Bryce would chase Macy around the coffee table for hours on end. She is a little too fast for him. I always had to get the toy for him.
He gets to giggling so hard when Macy pulls the toy from him.
Who needs a sibling when you have a dog? These two could play tug of war for hours. Speaking of dog, that is Bryce's favorite word these days. Every time he sees Macy he points at her and says, dog!

Bryce wore down a lot faster than Macy. He had to move a lot faster than she did.

Bryce enjoyed lunch time today. He is a very picky eater and I can never get him to eat anything that I think a kid should like. I have given him macaroni and cheese before, but he has never really liked it. Well, today he loved it. He gasped every time he opened his mouth to put a piece in. It may have also just been out of excitement that he finally picked up one of those squirmy little noodles!

YUM-O!

He was very excited when he was done eating and realized about half of the meal had fallen into his bib. It was a like a second lunch!

Dressed and ready to play in the snow.

Last time it snowed Bryce just kind of sat in the snow. I don't know if it was because he had never seen it before or if he wasn't as mobile a month ago, but he loved it today. He crawled around in it for a while. He managed to leave his mittens on for a while, but they didn't last long.
Why not taste the snow?

It was a little too cold for his liking!

The weather forecast is calling for a little wintry mix tonight and then another big storm this weekend. This is so NOT typical for Richmond! I love it and I hope this trend continues as Bryce gets older so he can enjoy it. We went quite a few years that the kids in the area didn't even know what snow was. Well Bryce is still sleeping so I'm off to grade writings that I've been putting off since the snow began. At least dinner is in the crock pot and I don't have to cook tonight!

Monday, February 1, 2010

snow day #1

Bryce and I enjoyed our first snow day. Of course Saturday and Sunday were a snow day, but today really counts because school was closed! I love knowing the night before that we don't have school. I can rest easy again tonight because they have already cancelled tomorrow!
Jason had the yard stick out to measure the snow this weekend and Bryce has fallen in love with it. He dragged it around the house with him all morning. I was worried he was going to kill Macy with it, but we all survived. I did much better once I learned not to try and carry Bryce and the yard stick and put him down with it. It stabbed me in the neck and about killed me too! We got a little bored being snowed in this weekend, so we went ahead and gave Bryce his birthday present (the ABC mat he is sitting on). He loves it and he has already figured out how to get the letters out.


Bryce loves to climb and explore. He got under the exersaucer today to get some of the extra pieces of his mat that won't fit because our house it TOO small. He had fun under there, but he is definitely getting to big to do it much longer.

Here he is on the way out. Can you see his two cute little teeth? Bryce tried taking a few more steps today. He is willing to try and walk once I get him balanced on his feet, but he is very stubborn and just wants to sit. Stay tuned tomorrow for an update on snow day #2. YAY!



boots

I think I have only owned snow boots twice in my life. I had boots as a child because it actually snowed in Virginia when I was a child and I had boots when I went to college at Virginia Tech. However, my adult snow boots were just not cute. I realize snow boots are for function and not fashion, but I need fashion. Since we have had 3 snow storms (2 in the last month) since Bryce was born, I decided I needed some better snow attire.


A teacher friend of mine got some really cute leopard rain boots from Walmart before the first snow storm and I had planned on getting some. Of course life got in the way and I forgot about a silly snow boot and really didn't think I would need them. Well............I need them. I tried to buy the boots at Walmart and they were sold out so I ended up finding some polka dot boots at Target for the same price. Maybe they will get here before all the snow melts because you know it won't snow anymore now that I have them! But technically since they are rain boots, I should be able to get my money's worth. Can you tell it's a snow day and I'm taking advantage of Bryce's nap time?!