Merry Christmas!

What could be more fun than being spoiled rotten by grandparents, aunts and uncles, and friends? The Weinberg Three had a blast playing with new toys today.

Because of the rainy weather we did not end up taking a hike in the woods as previously planned. Instead we took a long walk around our neighborhood, which ended up being just as much fun.

Finally, the boys capped off the day watching a video about volcanoes. Hot molten lava baby!

Happy Hanukkah!

It has a busy week here with the Weinberg Three. Thus far we've spent our winter break decorating sugar cookies, playing at EdVenture, catching the flick "Bolt" at the movies with our friend and neighbor Carroll, and hanging out at Leapin' Lizards with our friends Jack and Alex.

And, since Sunday night, we've been lighting the menorah to celebrate Hanukkah. The boys have been taking turns lighting the candles and have been speculating whether Zola will be old enough to have a turn next year.

Third Annual Cookie Decorating Party

Today we held our third annual cookie decorating party. It was a blast. That is, it was wonderful those few moments when not one of the eleven children in my house was crying. Those moments were fleeting and most of the crying emanated from my children. Anyhoo, at least a general hush fell over the crowd of children when they first started decorating/eating the cookies.

As in the past, the night before our party I baked dozens of sugar cookies in various shapes and sizes, and prepared royal icing in various colors. The children were then left to the creative part of the enterprise: icing and sprinkling the cookies with various decorations.

It's always interesting to see which children are into the decorating and which are into the eating of the cookies. In every picture of Calder from the decorating part of the party, he is eating. Not decorating, but eating the cookies or the candy that was to be used for decorating the cookies. He's a funny guy that Calder.

In contrast Milo, like his friend Gracen, was very focused on decorating cookies. Nary a word except "pass those sprinkles" or "I'd like the orange icing" exited Milo's mouth during the half hour or more that he sat decorating cookies.

In all we had a lot of fun. The grown-ups got to decorate cookies too, which is always a nice creative outlet. And Zola got to hang out with her friend Chloe, which brought smiles to both of their cute little faces. More pictures from the afternoon of cookie madness are here.

Eleven Months Old

Wow, time flies. This past Wednesday Zola turned eleven months old. Our little princess is so much fun. At eleven months old she is a social butterfly. Zola loves to crawl around during "Mother Goose" storytime at the library, visiting with the librarian up close, as well as with the other babies. Zola also loves her playgroup, especially crawling around en masse with her buddies Chloe, Quentin, Cooper, and Blyth, and generally getting into mischief. Now that Zola is a pro at crawling and pulling up, we've even seen her standing without holding on a couple of times. Walking's probably just around the corner. And Zola's on to new adventures.

Nuttycrackers

The tree decorators take a break and re-enact a classic ballet:

A Happy and A Merry Christmakah To You III!

Today, in keeping with our tradition since we've lived in Columbia, we drove out to Sumter to the newly renamed Old Congaree Run Tree Farm to chop down a tree to decorate for the holidays. Although it wasn't the 70 degree weather we had last year, it was still a lovely day for a hayride and a walk in the field with the family. The boys had a grand time choosing our tree and helping Daddy use the saw to chop down the tree.



Later in the day the boys decorated the tree. Milo was very dedicated to this process, using a step stool to reach different parts of the tree and spending quite a bit of time arranging all the ornaments. We placed our two menorahs on a table next to the tree. Calder, unlike his brother, was less interested in the decorating and more interested in playing with our nutcrackers. After we finished decorating the tree, the boys danced to the "Nutcracker Suite," pretending to be the Nutcracker and the toy soldiers fighting the Rat King (i.e., Mommy) and his henchmen. Oh what fun, especially when they vanquished the Rat King and dissolved into giggles.

Winter Fun

Tonight my (three) boys assembled a gingerbread train, complete with frosting and candy. They had a lot of fun eating and decorating. Thank you Target for placing these things at a child's eye level. Calder drove a hard bargain in order to get that item home. Another shopper who overheard our conversation concerning the gingerbread project noted with a big smile: "He's going to grow up to be a lawyer someday!" Ha ha. That just warms my heart.

And for a couple days earlier in the week (when it was not almost 70 degrees--yes, you Northern readers, weep) we had a fire lit. The boys love to eat before the fireplace and cozy up to some books there too. Zola thankfully did not get too close to the fireplace. She generally preferred to play with the log detritus strewn about the hearth (our log toting boys are messy), because if you're not risking a splinter, you're not having fun.

And The Boys Played Hookie

Today Zola stayed with a babysitter for the first time during her waking hours. She didn't cry until I returned and she realized I'd been gone. Funny, huh?



Meanwhile, the boys played hookie from school for a little holiday treat. My friend Lauren and I took Milo and Calder and their buddy Jack to see "The Nutcracker" performed by the Columbia Classical Ballet. It was a sweet performance that the three sweet little boys seemed to enjoy.

"I'm Getting Into Buttons"

Said Milo the other night as he donned his pajamas: "When I outgrow my size 5 pajammies can I get more pajammies with buttons? 'Cause I'm getting into buttons. And after buttons, I'll probably get into snaps, and then maybe zippers." Ha ha ha ha. I'm getting into buttons. I wonder what style trend will be next with the five-year old set.