Snow Day

It started snowing last night around 8 and it hasn't quit. Linus and I were excited to run out to the living room this morning and peek out the window to see how much we got. We had a blast playing in it. The little hill in the front yard is perfect for Linus to sled down. He kept giggling and had me throw snowballs at him while he sledded. I built up a little berm of snow to prevent him from flying into the street. When we went inside his cheeks were rosy, nose was runny, and the smile on his face was huge. Then he ate the half of his lunch he hadn't eaten earlier. We sat on the couch to take a break and he ended up taking an hour and a half long nap next to me. It was delightful to be snuggling with him, sipping tea, stitching on the ornament I'm making for Matthew, and gazing out at the snow coming down. The Christmas tree was lit and holiday music was playing. I guess what I'm saying is that I felt like I was in heaven. It also didn't hurt that we have numerous sweets in the house.

Gingerbread House

We made our first gingerbread house together. Linus helped me make the dough and cut out the pieces. He and Matthew assembled it while I made the royal icing. I made the call the use a hot glue gun and to attach it to a shoe box because I could tell right away that it would be nearly impossible to assemble the uneven walls. I baked them on warped cookie sheets, so none of the walls were level. Of course Linus was very anxious for us to get to the decorating part and was thrilled with all of the candy we bought for it. Tonight I put a battery-operated tea light in it and we admired it with a glow shining through the windows. I had fun making the gingerbread owl, bunnies, and kids for it.

Ballet

The highlight of this week is that we took Linus to see the Colorado Ballet perform The Nutcracker. Leading up to yesterday we read the story and watched a DVD of it. That provided Linus plenty of opportunities to drill me with questions about it before we attended the performance. They provide cushioned booster seats at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, so he was happily perched on the seat between the two of us. Matthew walked him down to look into the orchestra pit before the show and Linus told me the musicians sounded beautiful. What a joy it was for me to look over at his beaming face during the show. He especially like the dresses on the dancers for the Spanish dance. What a treat it was to have him lean over and whisper into my ear, "Their dresses are beautiful!" Some of the teenage performers were in the lobby after the show, holding boxes for donations. Linus was painfully shy about going up to one. He did manage to put the money in the box, but he was frozen in place when the ballerina spoke to him.

At dinner last night Matthew asked what everybody had learned that day. Linus told us he learned some new dance moves. He is still thinking about it today and told me yet again how much fun it was at the ballet.

Here are some things Linus has said recently:
When building a parking structure with blocks he said, "I'm being scientific in how I build this."

While playing with the letter magnets on the fridge: I'm going to spell omnivore." (In case you are wondering, he did not actually spell it.)

Spoken casually over breakfast: "So, when are we going to South America? I want to see all of the animals and pet a toucan."

We were settling in to play farm with the Playmobil and he explained to me that "First the farmers need to plow the fields. And then someone needs to go buy vegetable seeds. A whole lot of seeds because they are planting a lot. Then they plant the seeds. Do you like that agenda?"

I just took the snowy picture. Linus and Matthew are outside playing in the snow. We are all excited to have snow and tonight are going to see the lights at the Gardens. There are so many fun things to do in December with a child.