Zoo Lights!

 We finished early at our CF clinic visit and decided to make a quick trip to the zoo to see their annual light festivities. We have not been able to attend for a number of years because of Toe's health, so it was like the first time for him. For me, it was an amazing example of how quickly kids grow. Last time we went, I had a stroller and a baby carrier with me, and in the time it took to wait in line for the train, the kid cried because he needed to use the bathroom and then fell apart so completely that we had to leave after the train ride.

This year was a breeze. The weather was perfect: mid-40's, no rain. We could see our breath but did not need gloves. We got there early and walked around before the train started going. We didn't get to ride the adorable steam train, but instead rode the regular zoo train. However, it worked out better for us, because there was hardly anyone on it. We had a whole car to ourselves!!

Steam train on left, regular on right. We took the regular one.

After the ride, it was dark enough that we walked through the zoo again and it looked completely different (although much more crowded this time!). The Zoo Lights officially start at 5. We arrived at 4 and left by 5:30 as crowds began pouring in.

The tunnel of lights - my favorite, especially AFTER dark.

The experience is pretty wonderful. Various performing groups were setting up and we could see that one could make a full evening of the experience. However, we needed to get home and left after two "laps" of the zoo and a train ride.

Jason has been swamped with both jobs this holiday season and we have not seen him much. It was nice to have this experience as a family.

See the moon?

This was J's favorite. The photo does not do it justice.

Wall mural

Holiday Festivities

 Since Toe spent last December 15-31 in the hospital last year, we've been trying to celebrate the holidays throughout the month (in the off-chance that the hospital experience is repeated. Toe has been on antibiotics for almost two weeks). We've had some great experiences. We decorated the house (all but the tree - haven't gotten to that one yet...). We pulled out and assembled the Christmas train. Toe played with the Playmobil nativity. Here are some of our celebrations:

The TRAIN:
J's mom got this train for Toe when he was maybe two and we assemble it each year. The coal car's wheels have broken, but the rest of it has held together remarkably well considering the train spends about half the time on the track and half of the time "off-roading." This year, Toe has been much better about keeping the train on the track and enjoys having his figurines take rides to places across the country.

 HOLIDAY CONCERT:
Toe says he thinks this tie looks like a peacock. Last year, he was in the hospital and missed the concert. This year, the second graders sang "Rock the Holly" "While the Miller Sleeps" and then they sang "We Need a Little Christmas" with the first graders. They had hand movements. It was so adorable, I cried through the whole thing. Meanwhile J waved like a madman to get Toe's attention.... and then Toe started waving back. It was a pretty great experience (and we came away with no photos from the event...).

 COOKIES:
We drove over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house, where we baked Iced Sugar Cookies (with a recipe from a neighbor from my childhood) and Esses (The recipe calls for a full pound of butter). We made the dough at our house and took it to Dama's to actually make the cookies.

Toe and Dad add sprinkles to Esses

Sunny was VERY interested in the process

Choosing cutters

Making Esses

 HANUKKAH
We also spent much of the week reading about Hanukkah celebrations and traditions and the Holocaust. We lit the candles with a prayer for loving kindness, understanding, and compassion...

We've also been brushing up on Christmas carols and of course the story of the birth of the baby Jesus!
Up Next: Zoo Lights!

Bread

Toe likes to help me cook but we go through phases. Sometimes he just wants to add ingredients and let me do the mixing, other times he's ready to get in and get messy. Apparently messy is on the agenda right now. We made bread recently and I could barely get him to stop kneading the dough.

Trick or Treat - ish

Toe opted this year (at the very last minute) to dress as a dragon. Fortunately, we had a dragon cape from Uncle Cool in the costume box and some (very old) clown make up.

Our Halloween tradition forgoes the traditional door-to-door approach for a more in-depth, visit a few houses and stop-and-visit approach. This works well for us because Toe doesn't like chocolate, he doesn't need much candy in his life, and it gives us a chance to visit with friends. We have a few routine stops and occasionally we will visit others in the process. Last year, we visited a few friends in north county before heading south to Dama and other friends in south county. This year, we started in south county and made it to a total of four houses (including Dama's, where we prepared his costume).

We spent so much time playing at house number 3 that when we arrived at our last stop for dinner and drinks, our host said, "Well.... are you... a ghoul?" Toe said, "No, I'm a dragon. Can I come in and wash my face?" He walked right in, washed off all of his makeup (spraying water everywhere in the process) and continued to play for our two hour visit. My kind of Halloween.