From start to finish, Bella built this snowman all by herself.
Isn't it cute!
The next one was a group effort.
Ta da!
I love a good snow day.
Snack time!
Delicious!
Graydon wanted some too!
He also approves.
When the snow started to taper, the real work began: shoveling. Andy practically had to shovel himself out our back door. There are normally two steps leading to the ground right there.
And, notice the mountain of snow behind him.
He jumped off the fence and landed in the mountain. I don't think this photo really gives justice to the actual amount of snow out there.
Maybe this one does a little better. . .
Andy and I watched (most of) the documentary, FOOD, Inc. and it has really affected what we buy and what we eat. The main purpose is to shed light on the processes our food goes through before reaching our grocery bag. I definitely recommend it because I think it's info we all have the right to know.
She's becoming quite the pro.
All finished! I think we had a few minutes to lay down on the couch before Graydon woke up from his nap.
Christmas Eve!
After the church service, we got the kids changed into their jammies. Poor Bella started to break out into hives that evening. I'm pretty sure these are the result of the cold virus that we just can't seem to shake around here. Thankfully I haven't seen any on Graydon for a couple of days.
Since Bella was not feeling so well, we had Graydon finish his bottle on the floor. He's starting to get whole milk once in a while. We're still working on a sippy cup with him. When the stopper is in, he won't drink from it. When it's out, there's a huge mess. The bottle is just right. And, I have to mention his shirt. It says, "All Mommy wants for Christmas is a silent night." I bought this over a month ago and it was very true at the time as Graydon was not sleeping well at night. Turns out it was even more true now as our house has been overcome with the sickies and no one is sleeping well.
On Christmas Eve they can open one present. Bella was so impatient. The anticipation was about to do her in.
After the kids were in bed, we put the presents under the tree. There are quite a few there. We only get three gifts for each of the kids, and then a gift for each other. If it were just us, then there'd only be eight gifts under that tree. But, the kids get spoiled from church friends and that's what makes up the remainder of the presents.
Christmas morning! Bella's first reaction when coming down the stairs and looking at the tree.
First, each of them checked out their stockings. They were filled with snacks for our road trip to Wisconsin in a couple of days. 
Before opening any presents, we lit our Advent wreath.
Graydon beginning to open a gift. I think the most he did was rip it a little. It was probably a waste of time and paper to wrap his gifts. Oh well.
Bella was more than happy to help him out.
Our two kiddos. I was going to try to get a better picture of the two of them, but then I decided not to bother. Both were feeling kind of sick and this was just our reality this Christmas.
Helping Daddy open up his present from me. I got him some snacks for our road trip as well and his big gift was a new robe. He got me the Peanuts DVD set that contained the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas specials. I love those movies!
Graydon liked the boxes.
Baby's first Christmas.
Playing with Daddy (all snug in his robe).
And a close-up of that smile because we just haven't seen much of it during this past week of illness.
Once the presents were all unwrapped, Andy made some pancakes for breakfast. While Graydon napped, the rest of us watched 'Snow White,' one of Bella's presents. Andy and I pretty much fell asleep at that point as well. Eventually, we all got dressed and headed outside to play in the snow.
Here's the beginning of our snowman!
One of the gifts for the kids was this snowman kit. Very cool!
Bella put the face on all by herself.
The hat was the final touch.
All finished!

With the snowman complete, we moved on to sledding. There's a little hill just off the church parking lot that is the perfect size for Bella. We tried to get her a sled, but every store was sold out. Some friends from church let us borrow theirs for a little while. 

Even Graydon took a turn.
