Gingerbread Party

Last night we attended our friend's yearly Ginger Bread House building party. Last year we had a blast producing this rather modest ginger bread abode. This year we got a little more creative with the theme and built a ginger bread pirate ship complete with a gummy bear crew, mermaid on the bow, crossed swords on the stern, pretzel stick cannons, chewing gum flags, and a candy cane anchor. The pirate ship was anchored off a desert island with an M&M filled treasure chest. The entire ship was under attack by a hoard of giant gummy octopuses. Constructing the ship was great fun and a bit of an engineering challenge. Of course the greatest engineering feat of the evening was Katharine and Jessie's Gingerbread marble run.

Christmas show

This past week Lillian's daycare put on a their annual Christmas Show. The show featured toddlers singing and dancing and playing with fake snow for a crowd of adoring parents. It also featured a visit form "Ded Moroz" the Russian version of Santa Claus.

San Mateo

This weekend we continued our tour-de-peninsula with a train ride to the city of San Mateo. San Mateo is one of those places that we've never had much reason to explore. However as we found out today the city is loaded with all sorts of fun. Our first stop was Talbots Toyland, a very cool, old-school toy store. Lillian spent nearly an hour playing with their train set and doll house, and we managed to escape with only a few small purchases. Next we went for lunch at a Peruvian restaurant. Then we walked around exploring the downtown checking out some boutiques, where Lillian picked out a new pink sweater for her mommy. Before we knew it our train back to Mountain View was about to arrive and we had to run for our train. It was a good thing Lillian remembered to wear her "fast shoes" for the 4 block jog back to the station.

Putting on a Show.

This afternoon Lillian, Jessie and Alara decided to put on a music and dance show. The results were pretty entertaining. Check out the video bellow.

Lillian ice skating

Last winter Lillian had so much fun ice skating at the Winter Lodge, that we decided to try it again this winter. We've been out on the ice two weeks in a row and Lillian is finally gaining enough confidence to skate all by herself (with a bit of peer pressure from her friend Anya). See the results bellow, hopefully with a little more practice she will be zipping around the rink on her own by the end of the winter.

So Many Hollidays

This is a very festive time of year, and living in California means that we are exposed to all sorts of cultural holiday traditions. This weekend we attended a Hanukkah party where Lillian got to eat some fabulous home made jelly doughnuts and sweet potato latkes, see the lighting of candles and went home with some gelt. Yesterday was St. Nicolas day, so our German friend Britta brought some little chocolate Santa's to the park for all the kids. Yesterday was also the day of our city tree lighting ceremony. Lillian sat mesmerized for nearly an hour listening to school choir groups, Dickensian carolers, and traditional Russian Christmas music.

Todd, under the baby pile at the Hanukkah celebration.

Eric looking festively cute in Lillian's gnome hat at the tree lighting.

Happy Meal

We're not big fans of the golden arches in our house. But every now and then we like to go out for a casual meal that will make the whole family smile. Tonight Eric had a hankering for tacos, so we walked over to our favorite local Taqueria for some tacos, and quesadillas. Everyone left happy and well fed. Afterward Lillian decided she wanted to make her sweatshirt look just like her so she draped it over the back of her chair. Then we needed to find a way to prop its hood up, so we used her guitar. Of course the guitar needed a smile, so we added a post-it with a smile drawn on. You can't have a statue of Lillian without legs and feet, so we finished it off with her rain boots, and a blanket rolled up for legs. She was very proud of her creation.