Oh, the Snow!

Last night at dinnertime it started to snow! And when we woke up this morning there were 10 whole inches of it on the ground! I could hardly wait to get outside, and when I did, I walked in it, rolled in it, sat in it, threw it, ate, whatever I could think of to do! It was great!

Clare wasn't terribly excited about it. It came up to her waist, so there wasn't much she could do. She took a nap with Vati instead.

But have you ever seen so much white stuff?

Christmas with the Bernheisels, Part II

When we left Pop's house we went right to GG and Great Great Grandpa Herb's house. Dinner was waiting when we got there, of course, and then we went right to bed. Sort of. Clare was really sick and stayed up all night in total misery. But it was OK, mostly, because GG and Great Great Grandpa Herb don't sleep much anyway.

The next morning was Christmas! And Mama and Vati rallied enough to feed us and let us open presents.
This is their Christmas tree. Don't worry. That's not all for us.
We let Great Great Grandpa Herb help us with our packages. We got lots of great stuff. Clothes and toys and books! Hooray!

After lunch and a nap we woke up to find more family than we even knew we had. Aunts and uncles and cousins, and even our favorite friend Amanda's family was there! We opened presents for a long time.
In our family, the youngest person in the room has to hand out presents. David's been the youngest for a ridiculously long time. He's happy to give up elf duty. He still helped me read the names, but I passed out the presents.
Then it was time for dinner. This was the biggest Christmas dinner at GG's house yet! There was lots to eat. Vati and I sat at the Cool Kids' Table with my cousins. Mama and Clare had to sit with the adults. I even got to eat GG's homemade custard for dessert from a salt cellar, just like my big cousin Michael used to do when he was my age. Everybody thought that was pretty funny, but it seemed like a good idea to me!

This is getting long, so we'll be back with more later!

Christmas with the Bernheisels, Part I

Here are just a few pictures to help us tell you all about our Christmas!
To start off the season right, all the kids at my playschool had a very special Christmas program. Here I am with all of my teachers. Maybe later Mama and Vati will share the video of me and my special dance moves that became quite the hit during the musical numbers.
A few days later we had a cookie decorating party at my friend Olivia's house. Vati made gingerbread and frosting for me to take and I covered it with all sorts of fun decorations. Then Mama and Vati ate it all of it!
The next Sunday I sat through church with Mama and Vati while Clare stayed in the nursery. I had so much fun that Vati decided to take me back that night for the Service of Lessons and Carols. We even sang some songs that I knew!
We usually make our Christmas cookies on Christmas Eve, but this year we were scheduled to travel on Christmas Eve so we moved our schedule up one day. I had a great time mixing the dough, rolling it out, and decorating. Clare had an equally good time banging the dough with her cookie cutter and sprinkling decorations all over the table. Then she fell out of the chair. Oh well.
On Christmas Eve we went to Pop's house. We stopped in for lunch and gifts on the way to GG and Great Great Grandpa Herb's house. There were lots of fun toys there. Among lots of other stuff, Clare got a dollhouse and I got a train table!

Then we headed to GG's house, but that's another post for another day.

Birthday Boy

I can't believe I haven't shown you pictures of my birthday yet! My how things get away from me in my old age.Anyway, here I am on my real birthday. Vati made banana muffins for me to take to school, so we put a few candles in one so that I could blow them out. I also woke up to a hallway full of balloons and a Happy Birthday banner!

Then, on Saturday we had a real birthday party with my family.
Pop grilled burgers and brats for lunch, and then we ate the pumpkin cake that Vati made for me. I was still pretty excited about Halloween, so I really liked the pumpkin cake. And I was really excited about singing "Happy Birthday." My guests were a little slow starting the song after my candle was lit, so I had to get them started.
Then it was time to open presents! My favorite part! I got a great track suit from GG, and Clare even got some gifts. Here we are playing with the tools I got from Mama and Vati. It was a great birthday.

Biker Babes

Rumor has it that Joshua's been sitting on Mike's motorcycle for years now. This time I decided I'd scream until I got a chance to perch on it, too. What do you think? Is it me?

A Big Trip

The weekend before Thanksgiving Vati and I went to Chicago for a little father/son vacay! No reason, really, just seemed like a good idea.
Our trip started a little inauspiciously as we missed our plane. But we quickly got back on track and arranged to get on the next flight. As you can see, that flight took place during my naptime, so I took advantage of the comfy seat. I fell asleep on the tarmac and didn't wake up until we started making our final descent. It was a good thing I woke up, though, since I was in charge of finding the blue train. Boy, did I love the train!
The night we took a bus to Mama and Vati's old 'hood and had dinner at Joy's Noodles. It was my first Pad Thai, but it won't be my last. The two gentlemen in the back told us they decided to eat at Joy's because I was so cute. Now that's a ringing endorsement! The next morning we went to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum to see the butterflies. The rest of the time was spent eating, sleeping, and seeing old friends. We went to dinner in Greektown, visited my friend Tracy at the Heartland Cafe, ate some sushi, and saw Mama and Vati's pastor Greg.
We also visited Mama and Vati's old condo, where I spent 5 gestational months, although I don't remember that part.
One of the other highlights was going to a Dank Schule, a Saturday morning preschool program where I got to hear and speak German with other kids. Oh, and I didn't hate the part when I went to have dim sum with Uncle Dave.
But maybe may favorite part was staying in a hotel and sleeping in the big bed with lots of pillows. And even though it was the biggest bed I'd ever seen, I still somehow managed to find Vati and snuggle up with him for a good night's rest.

I hope we go back.

Fall

When we went to Gran's house a few weeks before Halloween, she took us to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins! There were plenty of fun things to do like rearrange the pumpkins, dance with gourds, pose for pictures, and pose for pictures the wrong way!