Winter Wonderland

It snowed this evening. There was about 0.5" at 7 pm so we took Tani out to play in the snow. It had snowed a couple of weeks before. We actually got caught out on the road coming back from Harrisburg and were very lucky to get home safely only delayed by an hour as the roads were icy. After we got home that time we ate dinner and when out in the snow with Tani. We all walked over to the golf course which is adjacent to our apartment complex and enjoyed the snow. Tani wanted to be carried the rest of the way home. So tonight we decided to have Tani ride in the sled. We pulled him on the path over to the golf course. Tani had a blast, especially when we trotted in the snow pulling him a bit faster than when we just walk. He really enjoyed the ride and Melissa and I enjoyed the beautiful white snow and peaceful evening. I tried singing "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" but couldn't really remember the lyrics and Tani said "No song", which he sometimes says to us when he wants us to stop singing. We turned around at a little bridge which goes over a stream. Melissa noticed the sounds of the water so we stopped to listen. Tani wanted to keep going but Mommy Melissa wisely suggested we turn back. A few minutes later, Tani agreed as his cheeks were getting cold. On the return journey the sled tipped over and Tani turned on his side. He talked about it on the way back - "Tani fell", "sled hurt". Overall quite a fun outing.

Up the tower

A couple of weeks ago Tani had his first cell phone conversation. He likes to open his flip phone that Aunt Lenore gave him - it's a real phone but inactive. He would normally open it and say "Hi" or "Hi Grandma" or "Hi Grandpa" and then close it. But then after "Hi" he said "Up the tower!" and nodded a couple of times before saying "Bye" and closing the phone. "Up the tower" refers to when we were in DC at the Old Post Office Pavillion to see a free concert. Tani enjoyed the concert but noticed an indoor glass elevator and immediately wanted to go on it. Melissa took him up on the elevator which takes one to a tower where one can look out over DC. Apparently he wasn't so interested in the tower but he did ride the elevator at least 10 times with either Melissa or me. When we talked about the elevator that went to the tower at an Am Haskalah potluck, Tani became very excited and started sharing this story with a Mom who herself has two small children. She listened very attentively and acknowledged his fun experience. Then Tani wanted to share this story with everyone but when he does it comes out as "Up the tower!". He still talks about it.

Thanksgiving in DC

Grandma Susan and Grandpa Morris invited us and Mitch, Val, and Max to come to DC for Thanksgiving. Their apartment is small so we stayed in the Le'Enfant Plaza hotel with rooms adjacent to each other with doors that open so the boys could run back and forth. Tani and Max are very different. It's interesting the way they each play with a truck. Tani studies the truck - opens all the doors and anything that moves on the truck, takes the man in and out of the truck. Max puts the truck and the ground and pushes it down the hall. The cousins enjoyed each other and whoever woke up first looked forward to when the door to the hotel room would open so he could run in and visit. On Saturday night Grandma and Grandpa came over to the hotel to babysit. The boys were very excited - they were jumping and running around until they collided. After a moment of crying they were back up and no where near sleeping. Grandma Susan suggested we all leave and let her and Grandpa put them to bed. We agreed and headed out for dinner. Sure enough, when we checked in an hour later the boys were asleep in their cribs in each room. It was nice for Melissa, Val, and I to have some time to visit (Mitch was in Baltimore visiting a friend).

Tani goes to work

Yesterday I came home from work and put my work bag down. Melissa's bag with her computer was nearby and Tani picked it up and announced he was going to work. He really couldn't carry it because it was too heavy so Melissa gave him a smaller bag. He put his cell phone in the bag, got in his little tikes car (which is in the house for the winter), and "drove" off to work.