Sledders on Surrey Lane

A Surrey Lane tradition - when it snows, all the kids come out to play!  We will surely miss this good family fun.  The next owners of our house are in for a treat!

ps - The photographer who did McCord's newborn photo shoot is having a contest on her blog to vote for the best photo.  Obviously we're a little partial.  If you'd like to vote for (ahem!) PHOTO #12, then click here.  And of course, you'll have our undying gratitude!

My First Christmas

A post by McCord...

My oh my! My parents woke me up in the middle of the night to go to church!  This is a picture of me and my dad at OAPC's midnight service ushering in Christmas day! (in my pjs)

Here I am sitting at the top of the stairs ready to see what Santa brought me - my mom says that I have to take this same picture every year...we are starting Christmas traditions on Surrey Lane

I got lots of gifts from Santa and my parents

...and Santa filled up this special stocking just for me - look it even has my name on it!

Santa brought me lots of goodies - spoons, a baby food maker, and a sippy cup!  How did he know that I'm about to start solid foods?!!! 

After we opened gifts, my daddy and mama took me to eat a Waffle House where they did lots of people watching

And, what a wonderful surprise for my first Christmas...SNOW!

Here I am with my Daddy the day after Christmas standing next to my maple

Look at the branches of my maple gathering snow!





It's been a very special Christmas!

Sledding on Surrey

Saturday I woke up to find a yard full of snow. Bo's out of town on business, so I tried to capture a few shots of the wintry mix to share with him when he returns.


One thing I love about living on Surrey Lane is the birds-eye view we have of the neighborhood. The steep downward slope on Surrey makes for a perfect raceway for the neighborhood Rugrats on bicycle, scooter, golf cart, and sled. Growing up, my best friend and I had a favorite hill where we loved to ride our bikes. Feeling the wind against your face was the closest thing to sprouting wings and flying.



All children should feel such magical powers.


Since Bo and I've lived on Surrey, we've heard many a squeal of delight from kids racing down the hill. Unfortunately, we've also heard many a crash at the bottom. One time I had to rescue the 5 red-headed siblings who live around the corner. It seems the oldest brother thought he could tie his bike to the youngest brother's scooter and pull him all the way down Surrey. Bad idea. A couple of scrapes and a bum tire later, I loaded the two youngest Red Heads in my car with the scooter in the trunk and a bike in the backseat. Three older Red Heads trailed behind us on their bikes. I promised not to tell their mom. She surely would have killed them.


This weekend however, Surrey Lane provided wholesome, family fun. Per neighborhood tradition, children of all ages gather at the top of Surrey Lane when it snows. Here are a few early morning images I caught. The first is called a Double Decker - otherwise known as Bigbrotheronbottom, Littlebrotherontop. Notice the Mom of the Year - she stood out there all day and gave each snow bunny a proper push down Surrey Lane. She cheered, encouraged, and laughed in good company when they belly flopped in the grass. I bet she even made them chocolate chip cookies when they went home.






I fell in love with this little girl - you can tell she's prepared for the snow in her pink ski suit.






And then there's this endearing image:

So here I am, in the middle of the wintry mess, missing my husband, and hanging some Roman blinds in the soon-to-be-nursery (more on those later). As I look out of the window, I see this:

...families making memories on Surrey Lane.


The view from the nursery looks oh-so-hopeful.