Green Christmas

Wow, Christmas seems like it was only a month ago, but it was actually almost 6 weeks ago. Who knew. Anyway, as early as October people started asking Silas the question, "Who will be coming to your house on Christmas?" He found this a bit baffling at first, until he figured out the answer: Mimi!

Eventually he learned about the man from the North Pole, but we are trying to balance his sense of wonder with our not wanting to lie to him about imaginary beings. When he asked Christine, while falling asleep on Christmas Eve, "Will you help me pretend that Santa Claus is coming?", we figured we'd hit the sweet spot.

Here we are out at lunch in the city with big Cousin Scott and little Cousin Palmer.


Yes, Silas, it is fragile.


Silas got to do some gardening with Mimi. Here he is picking sorrel from the vegetable patch.

And here he is showing how to use his new gardening tools from Grandpa and Nana.
The four of us went to see the ZooLights at the Oakland Zoo, and rode the Zootrain at night. (2009 will be our second year as Zoo members, thanks Grandma Jane and Grandpa Tom!)

This pigtailed boy is wearing new pajamas from Mimi. He calls them his Reddies, and I'm amazed (and pleased) that he's willing to wear them, despite the notable absence of trains, trucks, machines, or animals to decorate them.

Okay, we're not always completely honest with him. The first Wednesday of January saw the start of a new holiday legend: the Christmas Tree bus comes to take all the Christmas trees away for vacation, not to return until the following Christmas. "Why don't they want to be with children?" Silas asked tearily, but he was eventually satisfied that the tree would be much happier on vacation (and no, it certainly wouldn't be recycled or composted, as we had first told him. Our mistake!)

Passing through town

We recently enjoyed a visit from Chris (aka Unca Chis) and Lynette (aka Yanette). We did all the most important things to do in Berkeley while they were here (Cole Coffee, Grove Park playground, hot tub in a 5 gallon bucket... well, some of us did that)


(Doesn't Silas look cute in his Irish sweater from Nicole's mom Maureen?)



North Carolina is a lot farther away than Seattle... sniff...

Sunshine

Silas has learned a lot about performing at school, although he was a little shy about getting on stage at the holiday party. Here are a few videos that Christine captured of Si singing "You Are My Sunshine" with his "string bass" - she says that he sang it once through, unprompted, before she got the video camera out, of course.

Note his current practice of walking around the house in his underpants (and Owl shirt from Nana).