Merry Christmas and Farewell 2007

Well this about wraps up 2007! December was a busy month, as you can see in our December photos.

The Chanukah show at Milo's school was as cute as ever; this year Milo's class performed only in Hebrew. Milo seemed a little distracted by us during the show, but he made up for it by having his photo featured on the front page of "The State," the local newspaper, as he lit the menorah during a Chanukah celebration at school.

We also were able to watch Milo's dance class on parent observation day -- the last day of classes before the winter break. He seems to have fun, and a crush on one of the teaching assistants (she's 17).

Christmas was a lovely day. After opening presents and eating breakfast, we headed to Harbison State Forest for a short hike and a picnic lunch. At bedtime we asked the boys what was their favorite part of the day. Milo said "opening all the presents" (Gramma, Grandpa, Auntie Alli and Uncle Dave get a little carried away). Calder blurted, "Doll house!" When asked if he was happy, Calder giggled loudly. I guess it was a good day for all.

Of course, the rest of the month was busy with building forts out of the family room furniture, hugging one's brother, fighting with one's brother, whining, and trying to convince Daddy to keep the pick-up-truck on loan from the mechanic when his car was in for repairs.

Cookie Craziness

Just in time for Christmas, we held a cookie decorating party, inviting some of Milo's and Calder's friends to decorate sugar cookies. The boys had fun, but quickly lost interest in the project, preferring instead to scarf down some cookies and play with their friends. Interestingly, the girls at the party sat at the table much longer, decorating many more cookies than the boys, including their hosts, Milo and Calder. And, most amazingly, there was not much mess at all to clean up. Poor Beacon (our dog), however, ended up with a little pink frosting on her head.

Food vs. Love

We recently received a pretty good indication of the differences between our two boys, though, of course, some of this is attributable to age. Below are two recent conversations about the upcoming arrival of Milo's and Calder's baby sister.

Conversation #1:

Milo: Mommy, when the baby is not crying, will you lay her down in my bed so I can share my star blankie with her?
Me: Of course, Milo.
Milo: Then I'll give her kisses and snuggle her.
Me (tears welling up in eyes, reaching over to hug him): Milo, that is really sweet.

Conversation #2:

Calder: Mommy, I want the baby to come out.
Me: Soon honey, soon, but not yet.
Calder: I'll feed her animal crackers!
Me (secretly thinking, Oh no! Not another snack food junkie!): That's so nice of you to share your favorite food with her!

A Happy and A Merry Christmakah To You II!

It's that time of the year again, when the Weinberg family lights its menorah and chops down a tree to bring home and decorate. This year we got a beautiful new menorah, courtesy of Milo, who made it at preschool. Milo and Calder have been taking turns lighting the menorah each night of Chanukah.

Today we drove to Sumter, took a hayride, and picked out our Christmas tree in 70 degree weather! As you can see, the boys chose a very tall tree and both boys helped Daddy chop it down. Afterwards we took a trip to the ice cream parlor. Yum!

New Underwear

One of Calder's recent Chanukah presents from Grammy and Oom-Poppa is big boy underwear. As Calder's not yet fully potty-trained we keep reminding him that he cannot actually wear his big boy underwear until he uses the potty consistently. Calder, as you may notice, decided otherwise. Big boy underwear works well over clothes and on one's head too, you see.

Fun With Auntie Alli

Auntie Alli visited us this past week, bringing smiles, giggles, and many goodies to our home. Auntie Alli especially enjoyed goofing around with the boys at the Snowville exhibit at EdVenture.

Getting Into the Holiday Spirit

This past Friday we took the boys to see “The Nutcracker” for the first time. Milo is an old pro at attending dance performances and was enchanted throughout the show. His favorite part was the fight scene between the Nutcracker and the rats, including the cannon shot. Amazingly, Calder, who as most of you know, generally is a perpetual motion machine, sat quietly through all but the last ten minutes of the performance. We were thrilled, albeit shocked. Afterwards we went out for lunch with the guys, where we had another first. Both boys ate pizza happily, without complaining about our choice of food!

The following link is to November photos for the Weinberg Boys. Included are some fun Thanksgiving shots, as well as some photos from before and after (during lunch) our recent trip to the ballet.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We’ve finally just recovered from Thanksgiving. All of Milo’s and Calder’s grandparents visited for the holiday, traveling from New York and Pennsylvania, respectively. The boys had so much fun with their grandparents: playing with play-doh, making a “trash-can robot,” watching Star Wars Episode IV (Milo only), staying up late, visiting various playgrounds, making chalk outlines of one another, playing at Leapin’ Lizards and EdVenture, and generally goofing around. Oh yeah, and we had a great big feast with far too much food too. The boys’ favorite Thanksgiving food was the chocolate cake we enjoyed for dessert. No surprise there. The sweetest Thanksgiving treat, however, was Milo's response to his teacher's question about what he's thankful for. Milo said, "My brother Calder because I love playing with him."