Alden Holiday Series 1

Original artwork gifts from Alden. He did this series of things that he likes/ is interested in. 

 A monster with a gold stick.

 Cat with stripes and butterflies behind clouds.

Cheese robot with wheels floating down to cheese moon holding some cheese.

 Alden and Elliott taking a bath.

  Butterfly sun and snake.

 Fish from the fish tank.

 Orange cat and grey cat playing with balls and ribbons.

 Cage above three mice with cheese.

Candy.

Nature Hike

Here are some pictures from a nature hike we did just before the end of our vacation.

 

Egg Hunt

After we returned home we had a day of fun outdoor chores (no kidding it was lovely that day) and then Karen's prepared an easter egg hunt at her house. 

Elliott stayed in his carrier for this round, but Alden had a great time seeking out the plastic eggs full of chocolate and real eggs painted like bunnies. 

After Alden found all the prizes he took them inside and carefully examined what he had gained.

Elliott had a great time playing with Zoe the cat and his new stuffed bear.

We all sat down for a lovely family meal in the evening, but had to go home early after because Alden started to come down with a cold of some kind.

At The National Zoo

We took a trip to the National Zoo with the kids and family. It was the most engaging zoo trip we've taken to date. Most of the animals were really active when we stopped by their pens and many were being fed when we arrived so we got to witness some remarkable behavior.

Elliott liked the colorful animals, especially the marine invertebrates. However, he slept for a good portion of the trip and missed a lot of the really charismatic animals, like the komodo dragon below. We got to see this chap being fed. The keeper basically opened the door a crack and stuck a fish on a stick through the opening. It may not be obvious from this image, but the komodo dragons are huge - about 5 or 6 feet long, and they're really smart. This one clearly was aware that freedom awaited it behind the door, so rather than go for the fish, it crept around the back side of the door (the zookeeper's blindspot) and made a beeline for the opening rather than for the fish on the stick. The caretaker slammed the door shut just in time, leaving the fish behind, where it was swallowed with one nonchalant gulp. The lizard then paced around the viewing window for a good while afterward, sniffing after us with its enormous yellow forked tongue.

Alden had a great time both looking at the animals and in the rest of the zoo environment What's a trip to the zoo if you don't get to climb the aardvark statue?

Alden gravitated toward the stranger animals. He was fascinated by the naked mole rats and also really liked the hissing cockroaches and giant spiders. At the hissing cockroach display, the zoo solicited poems from the viewing public about the cockroaches. Alden came up with this poem on the spot and we loved it so much that we wrote it down and submitted it for him.

The day was cool, but not cold and the sun was bright and cheerful. 

Here are some other animals we liked. 

A lions-eye view of Alden watching from behind the glass. 

One neat thing at the zoo is the zip line that runs from the monkey house to the animal learning center. We were able to watch some Orangutans make the trip from their main house to the "Think Tank" where they get to play puzzles with researchers. 

Elliott and Herb

Here's a really cute little video that my Uncle Sam shot of Elliott meeting my Grandfather.

Passover 2013

With our car situation still in flux when it came time to make our holiday travel plans, we decided to fly to Maryland for Passover this year. Alden's new ear tubes seemed to help with his airsickness. We had a handful of barf bags at the ready, but didn't use a one of them on either flight. We were very proud of Alden but I think he was the most excited of all. The only drama on the way down was a freak snowstorm that blanketed much of the mid Atlantic region. Our flight was delayed by an hour, but we were able to make it down just fine when the weather warmed slightly by midday. There was about 2 inches of snow on the ground in Baltimore when we arrived in mid afternoon and by the next day, it had rained and all the snow was gone. Still, this is the first time in my memory that the seder was marked with a snow storm. Usually the holiday falls when spring is well underway down there.

Alden received some wonderful gifts from Auntie Kay, several of which were wrapped in pokkadot ribbon. Kerstin, quick on his toes, fashioned a tie out of this ribbon for Alden for the seder, since we were unable to find him a proper tie in the kids clothing stores. Alden was really excited about it.

Geoff joined us for the first night of Pesach.

Alden still hasn't learned how to sit still or listen quietly during the seder itself, but he loves to entertain us with funny faces and still can't help banging the silverware together or reducing the tablecloth to moist shreds.

Elliott slept through most of the first seder, but he was awake for the second and sat in his car seat for a good portion of it. He got to meet my grandfather on Monday night and the two of them really hit it off.

The dinner always runs late and by the time we finish all the courses and find the afikomen, it's usually way past bedtime for the kids. Despite being cranky and tired, Alden got to stay up to open the door for Elijah this year.

It was Elliott's first time meeting Rob and Kay and he really took a liking to them. He especially liked the Mayan calendar on the wall of Kay's kitchen. It quickly became our go-to object to avert meltdowns.

Kay made amazing meals, as she always does, with several courses, and decadent desserts. We ate our fill and then some because there were so many tempting options.

Alden wanted to take his own pictures of the seder as well. We forgot to pack his camera so he borrowed ours. He took this picture above, which is a surprisingly well-composed and focused image of his gefilte fish plate. He loves gefilte fish. But most of the pictures he took were nasal numbers like this one of my mom.

Happy Purim!

According to the Book of Esther, in the Hebrew Bible, Haman, royal vizier to King Ahasuerus (presumed to be Xerxes I of Persia), planned to kill all the Jews in the empire, but his plans were foiled by Mordecai and his adopted daughter Queen Esther. The day of deliverance became a day of feasting and rejoicing; Purim, celebrated the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Adar.

In our house Purim is the holiday marked by surprise cookies that arrive in the mail from aunt Kay and the subsequent exclamation, "Dang, is it purim already?" Ilana has some context and feels bad that she forgot. I have no context and honestly believe that if Kay sent us hamantaschen  three times a year, I would think it was Purim every time.

The new narrative for Purim that I have developed is that it is a holiday where cookies get sent to the kids to remind them of their heritage. The arrival of the cookies is a complete surprise and prompts the telling of the story of Esther. Then the cookies magically disappear as everyone in the house sneaks cookies at any opportunity for the next couple of days.

Thanks aunt Kay!

Ready for Halloween

I don't think anyone 'got' our costumes, but we knew and we had fun at the downtown Gardiner Trick or Treat event today.

Wallace and Gromit if you didn't get it by now!