SNOW in the Texas panhandle!

I can't count the number of times I've heard weather forecasters say to "watch out for snow" and then... nothing. 

This fall there had already been a few of these instances in which I rolled my eyes and didn't count on seeing anything.  During the holiday I hadn't checked the weather so I was plesantly surprised to awake to flurries on Sunday morning.  An hour later GIANT flakes were streaming down, and the peaceful snow kept on coming for several more hours...

Ben, Kaden and I headed back over to Shanny & David's house for a few more family photos with Dorothy's snowman.  It was a lot of fun to see Kaden's reaction to the cold & snow.  There's a FANTASTIC picture of the entire Dow clan, but it was taken on Dorothy's camera.  Stay tuned...

Kaden's first snow!

He clearly seems happy in his oversized Patagonia fleece from aunie D.

The tongue comes out when Kaden is really happy.

Later I curled up to a new book with Kaden drifting in & out of sleep on my lap. In my opinion, he was born at the perfect time- right in time for cold weather. Good thing we both like to cuddle.

New Floor

We started another home-improvement project about a month ago when Ben & I decided to replace carpet in the den (a.k.a. previous garage). For a while it just looked chaotic down there with furniture strewn about a bare concrete floor. I knew I didn't want carpet down there again & talked to several people about putting in tile, but the surface wasn't completely even, and we were a little apprehensive about doing it ourselves... not to mention working this project into our new budget.  Ben finally came up with the idea of Kemiko's concrete stain.

After cleaning, scrubbing, and two coats of spraying stain.

After a few more moppings, Ben had to seal the floor.  It became pretty toxic in here and THIS is when Kaden & I had to leave the house for several hours. 

Schatzi looking depressed.  We told her so many times to "stay away" that she STILL hasn't been on the new floor.

When we were working on the den (two weekends), ALL of the furniture was moved in the living room.  It's amazing at how much bigger our house seems now that everything is back in order.  I'm suddenly less stressed now the house is back to normal.

The NEW floor!

 * For the record, I really only helped move furniture & keep Kaden occupied while Ben did all of the work.  :)

Stages of Milk Drunkenness

Every time Kaden eats "dinner" he completely zones out for a while afterwards and is unresponsive for several minutes.  I've read about "milk drunkenness" but you can decide for yourself.

Immediately after eating

Eyes slowly starting to open & tongue hanging out.

Looking slightly more alert.

Finally back to his happy self.

Long Drive From Missouri

This week mom (a.k.a. grandma Cook) drove all the way from Warrenton, Missouri to Amarillo, Texas to spend a few days with us.  I actually got to run errands and teach my classes without toting Kaden around with me. 

Sleeping while I taught my morning class at the gym.

Hanging out on the couch.

Waving good-bye.