the post-christmas afterglow

2009-01-01
We finished out a lovely visit with Nana and Cappy (and Aunt Carol and Mart), and then celebrated 2009 with 3/4 of the Zembrodts. Chris risked life, limb, and overall personal warmth by taking David ice skating at the Fairgrounds, and we continue to wallow in the happiness of all this time off... Happy New Year to all!
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The cat discovered some new real estate. His lap may be smaller than whet she's accustomed to, but the lot has a certain charm and character. And as long as it doesn't move, she can sit on it
David makes all the ladies craaaaazy!
As a special treat, David got one of the pizelle Nana left behind. Chris calls them "the little waffles that couldn't"
We drove through downtown on Tuesday night on our way to the zoo, and saw some of the carnage left behind by the implosion of the RCA Dome. The Colts now play at the looming and enormous Lucas Oil Stadium in the background
Our first stop was at the White River Gardens for the annual train show. Emily and David spent several minutes watching the trains go around. And around. And around
They have a pretty elaborate layout. One set of tracks took up half of the Conservatory floor
Of course we had to ride the train, even though it was cold and windy and a long walk to get there. It may have also been the first time we ever had to <i>pay</i>for something at the zoo. Imagine the insult!
David demonstrates use of his new chopsticks. While his technique may need some refinement, he did manage to actually eat the chicken nuggets, rice, and okra
Why is everyone always either sitting on me, being smelly near me, or getting hair on me (or all three of those things)?
David got mad because Gus kept trying to sit on the same step as he was sitting on. Why they can't just <i>share</i> is beyond me
This first attempt at riding the Big Boy Bike lasted about two minutes, but he'll get the hang of it
Seeing this childhood rite of passage just makes me smile
Every once in a while, he remembers that he has a train set and decides to construct a track. This usually happens after we go somewhere like Conner Prairie, and he plays with the train set there
Ahoy, mate! Two stinkers dead ahead!
There was a lot of this on New Year's Eve when Sara brought Jake and Toby over for dinner. Much wrestling ensued
There is apparently not enough room for two in a basket
Gus endured a <i>lot</i> of attention, especially from Toby. I'm pretty sure he loved every second of it, though
David demonstrates proper pre-dinner handwashing techniques
Thursday we went to the Pepsi Coliseum (at the Fairgrounds) and Chris took David ice skating. First stop: looking at the Zamboni. Are you surprised?
They started out trying to push the cone along for balance, but that appraoch didn't last too long
Totally improper cone technique
They spent a lot of time hugging the wall, but they did pretty well for David's first time out on the ice
There was the occasional slip, but he still had a smile on his face
They only went twice around the rink (with a Zamboni break in the middle), but each lap took about 15 minutes at the rate they were going. But his form got much better during that time, so we're expecting to see some triple axels and jumps next time we go
He didn't mind falling that much, probably because he didn't have very far to fall
Smaller cone, better luck
I was warned that I'd better include a photo of the Zamboni, or else
This was about as far as he could go without Chris's help
This looks like it could get painful
I didn't think he would enjoy ice skating this much, but he had a really fun time with it. I am perfectly content to let this remain a father/son activity