On the way back, we got a few library books. Jacob has made great progress with his reading; he regularly spells out words to us instead of speaking them, and he will read words that he previously would have no clue how to decipher. This morning, though, he didn't feel like going inside, so he instead climbed a tree and waited for us:
Sunday afternoon, we took the boys downtown for the annual Gingerbread Village. After some driving around looking for parking, we made our way to the Sheraton, and after a wait in line, we got to check out the amazing gingerbread houses built in support of Type I Diabetes research:
There also was a carousel at Westlake Park that we rode:
Both my boys wanted me to ride with them. In fact, that was pretty much the theme of our Sunday for both of them: two cute boys wanting to to hang out with Daddy.
After the carousel, we grabbed dinner at P.F. Chang's then walked back to our car. At Westlake Square, they ran around on the pulsing lights in the concrete:
While we did spend a bit of money for the carousel donation and a pretty decent chunk on dinner for four, our evening was a very positive experience that could have cost us about $15 in all.
Last night, Andrea and I discussed how our traditions are in flux now that we're in Seattle and don't have the decorations we used to have. I remember, for example, when my family would bundle up, grab a sled and a saw and walk through my parents' ten acres. We'd find a tree we liked, cut it down, and drag it home, set it up and decorate it. My parents still get a freshly cut tree, and they now wait for us to fly back to Minnesota before getting it.
While we might not be continuing many of those traditions we grew up with, Andrea told me that before we got on the carousel, Jacob excitedly reported to her that he remembers riding it with her and Reed last year. Perhaps this will become one of our winter traditions.
