Snow Day… No preschool! Wouldn’t a movie be fun?
Ross and Rayna were happy looking for a movie in Ross’ DVD case… 
Until Rayna remembered she had her own DVD case with her own girly movies…
Then, the unthinkable happened… Ross told her we were not watching her movies…
But, little does Ross know, he actually doesn’t make all of the rules.
Time for a lesson:
Girls pick first. Yes, that means “Sleeping Beauty”.
“Flushed Away” is next.
Popcorn for both movies makes everyone happy.
The word ‘sweet’ just doesn’t do Rayna justice.
She gives Murphy treats first thing each morning.
She reminds me to give her a vitamin each morning and to “watch earring” when I’m changing her clothes.
While Ross sits on the floor crying because he doesn’t want to find and put on his shoes, Rayna will disappear for a minute. She comes back with his shoes in her hand and a smile on her face. She quietly sits down in front of him and he puts his foot in her lap. (Yes… she puts Ross’ shoes on for him!)
As Rayna and I sat outside the barn (at Matthew’s parent’s house) watching all the older kids have a snowball fight, I took my camera out. Once I pointed my camera towards her, these were just a few of her many faces… 
I just love her hands being in her pocket. She looks so grown-up to me…
Since Thanksgiving, Ross’ favorite thing to talk about was Frosty the Snowman. When a stranger passed by us at a restaurant a few weeks ago, Ross interrupted our conversation by standing up in his chair and yelling over our table, “Hey… UMMM… I love your Frosty shirt!!!” Can you imagine how excited he was when we arrived in Arkansas to see Nana and Grandaddy’s pasture and yard covered in snow!?!
After Ross and Matthew finished Frosty, Ross told his Grandaddy, “Today was a great day!”
Each year, we see how many weeks we can spend in NW Arkansas with Matthew’s parents. While most people are packing for the beach, we are loading up the car for a 11-hour road trip. As we talked about our options for Matthew’s extra vacation week this year, the choice was obvious… Pack-up the car!
When we arrived, there was snow on the ground, pecan pies were made and a house-full of super-excited cousins were ready to play in the snow!
We didn’t know why all the horses couldn’t get enough of Rayna. Then, Matthew smelled her hands. She still had pancake syrup on her hands from breakfast!
When is the last you’ve seen a horse stick out his tongue? 
Joseph… Ross’ cousin and best friend 
It’s been a while since my last ‘Decorating with Photos’ post. I have more examples throughout my house to post, but for now… it’s all about Christmas ornaments and stocking holders. (There were a bunch of these stocking holders online, but Target had the best deal.) Naturally, I love anything that uses pictures, but I thought this was a cute idea to represent each person. (As if our stockings aren’t obvious enough!)
Due to Ross’ obsession ‘LOVE’ with Frosty this year, about half of our ornaments are snowmen. However, the little frames of Ross and Rayna are my personal favorites…
Ross thought it was so funny to make crazy-faces in the ornaments. Only a 4-year old boy, right?
Rayna ‘hiding’ under the tree…
I always looked forward to the day when Rayna would get her ears pierced. Although we really considered doing it when she was a baby, we thought it would be fun to wait until she could understand and ask to have it done.
Because I had envisioned taking her when she was 3 or 4 years old, I was very surprised when she woke-up one morning with her mind already made-up. Unlike most mornings where she’s happy staying in her comfortable pajamas, she jumped out of her bed and eagerly started to get herself dressed. By 7:20am, she had her shoes on and was pointing to her ear saying, “Ears Pierced.”
Just a few hours later, eleven people stood in a very small corner at Claire’s watching Rayna’s big moment…
She cried and cried and cried. She also yelled, “Go. Please!” Luckily, the chocolate chip cookie afterwards and her sweet support group made everything better!
The warning signs were there all along. Rayna had been trying to potty-train herself for over a week. When Matthew asked when I was going to teach her, without any thought, I told him that between editing, posting, ordering and playing catch-up, the next 3 weeks were too busy to even consider it.
A few nights later, I went to check on Ross and Rayna playing together. As I walked into Ross’ room and saw Rayna climbing off his bunk-bed WITHOUT a ladder, in panic mode I say, “RAYNA…. SCROLL DOWN!”
That’s when I knew I needed a few weeks off. Luckily for me, the middle of December is a perfect time to take a little break. Family sessions have already been completed in time for holiday cards. Meanwhile, it’s pretty chilly here and everyone’s super-busy around the holidays.
I have about 12 magazines to read…
Gingerbread cookies to decorate…
2 episodes of “The Office” to watch…
An electric blanket that keeps telling me I should enjoy it more than 4 hours each night…
And, most importantly, two little kiddies that would LOVE for us to stay-up extra late to eat snacks and watch Christmas movies together!
I’ll still be blogging. As a matter of fact, I’ll be in catch-up mode for a while. Speaking of old photos, when my niece came into town for Matthew’s surprise 30th party, she brought her homecoming dress where we could take some pictures. (I’ll post them later this week!) As we headed out the door, Rayna decided last-minute she wanted to ride with us.
It wasn’t until she got out of the car that I noticed what she had dressed herself in that day. (This outfit was, officially, her 3rd outfit change of the day.) Anyways, although the session was all about my niece, I wanted to get a few pictures of Rayna… barely two years old… being herself. 
Kitty shirt & Spiderman shirt. 🙂 adorable!
I’ve GOT to get that sweet little girl a cat. She’s just too sweet not to.
Love the pictures, but I don’t think you should get a cat!!
I know… I know! I’ve never wanted to cat. (Still don’t…) But, SERIOUSLY, that’s ALL she talks about.
They are so cute. I love Rayna’s faces and her hair. GET HER A CAT. Cat’s are awesome. I have one on both sides of me right now and they are so warm and soft.
This is by far my favorite post EVER!
[…] years ago, I wrote about TEARS. (Goodness! If you didn’t know Ray back then, you’ve got to see her […]