FINISHING THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Nicholas and I got together again to finish the gingerbread house that we had built right before Christmas. We colored some of the icing blue, and then spread it on the roof and sides of the house.

 

Then - after licking the spatula - it was time to add the gumdrops and little candy beads that Nicholas called foosballs.

The finished product was a masterpiece!

THE DAY AFTER

Monday, December 27, is the anniversary of Heather & Dudley's first wedding. Since we were planning to drive Tara and Chris to Pulaski that day to see the house on Frog Level Court, we babysat Sunday night so that H & D could celebrate a day early. Ken was sick, so he sat it out. Tara, Chris, and I had a great time playing games and reading Nicholas' favorite new book, Walter, the Farting Dog. Tara and Nicholas painted their faces, too, with the set Andy gave Nicholas for Christmas.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Nicholas and I got together for an afternoon to build a gingerbread house. He helped me add water to the confectioner's sugar to make icing...




and then he beat the mixture. We didn't have time to finish the decorating, so that we'll have to save that for another afternoon. Then we'll get to eat the house!

He demonstrated one of his moves for me before leaving for Tae Kwon Do. He can also count to 10 in Korean! And, of course, he can also do it in Spanish and English.

THE TRIANGLE IN LIGHTS

Heather, Dudley, and Nicholas came over on Sunday for dinner (pizza!) to see the Christmas lights in Reston Town Center and to check out the skating rink. The third shot below shows them with the tree and the almost-full moon just barely visible in the upper right. Nicholas loved the ice rink and was ready to strap on skates.

ICE ON THE LAKE

Saturday morning, December 18, and there's ice on the lake.

The pansies finally gave up the ghost, after hanging in through earlier freezes. The thermometer in the back registers 30 degrees, although in a different spot it showed just 22.

FIRST SNOW!!

The first snow came even earlier this year: 2-3 inches on December 17. Last year it came on December 19th, but brought us about 20 inches. 2-3 is definitely better. It was great to watch and enjoy it without worrying about fighting rush hour traffic!

A CHANCE TO BABYSIT

Heather and Dudley had a formal military Christmas party on the 11th. It was hosted by the artillery division and was a traditional celebration of the feast of St. Barbara. Ken and I had a chance to babysit, which we hadn't done since before Thanksgiving. Nicholas hadn't been feeling well that day, so we kept the evening low-key. We took a break from watching the "Metal Monsters" video - who knew I would ever be watching a video about how machines operate at a scrap metal plant! - to take this photo of the boys in their Santa caps.

Heather and Dudley looked splendid in their formal attire. I'm very proud of my beautiful daughter and her handsome officer and gentleman. My other beautiful daughter will be home for Christmas, so I'll be able to post photos of both of them very shortly.