When we got back from Atlanta, I was super excited to go back to school. It was so fun to see everyone in my class, and we had a holiday party. Then I learned the party was over, at least for a couple of weeks, because of winter break. It turned out all right though. Mom and Dad had lots of fun plans for us.
The day we left for Atlanta, Dad moved Hazel's crib into my room. I didn't know what that was all about, but it turns out we get to share a room! The first few nights were rough but we have since settled in. Hazel always wants to be with me now; Mom and Dad say she asks for me when I am not around. I like it too. One night at bedtime, I said, “Hazel doesn't have to sleep in her crib.” Mom and Dad asked me where she would sleep, if not in her crib. I said, “My bed.”
We both have been talking a lot more. I have been making up funny stories and words and I have been thanking people when they make me food. Hazel is putting more words together. She said, “Daddy, good job,” and “Peepa, get it,” when she drops food on the floor.
Last week, Dad went back to Atlanta to spend more time with Papa and Bubbe. Dad flew from the San Antonio airport, and we dropped him off so he could catch his flight. On our way home we made a pit stop at the San Antonio Children's Museum. It was great. We especially liked playing on a life-size airplane, a train, and a room full of bubbles.
When we got home, Mom realized we missed a whole floor of the museum. We wanted to go back with Dad too, so we went back today. We had a great time showing him around, but it was pretty crowded by the time we left. We spent some more time on the airplane and playing with a giant white board with magnetic letters. We also explored the basement, which we missed on our first visit. It was really fun – there were a grocery store and restaurant, where other kids checked us out and waited on us, and a cow we milked. Mom and Dad were pleasantly surprised that we forgot about the messy bubble room. On the way home I announced that I wanted to make dinner and while it was cooking, I would vacuum and watch a little tv. Mom and Dad thought that was awesome, but alas, the plan did not come to fruition. Instead, Hazel and I ran around screaming like banshees.
We also went to the Austin Children's museum a couple of times the past two weeks. Mom and I went one day while Hazel was in school. It was a morning when they are open only for kids three years old and younger, which was nice because it wasn't totally crowded and there weren't many older kids to avoid. The second time, Mom, Hazel and I went. It was the week between Christmas and New Year's, when many grown-ups have vacation, and it was so packed we could barely move. We had fun anyway but will be glad when schedules are back to normal.
We spent a lot of time with my friend Clark and his family last weekend while Dad was gone. We went to his aunt's house for dinner Christmas Eve, then on Christmas went out for a traditional Jewish Christmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant with Clark, his parents, and his other grandparents. We missed Dad but it was lots of fun hanging out with Clark's family so much.
Dad had kind of a hard time coming back from Atlanta. A huge snowstorm on Christmas led to the cancellation and delay of many flights. Then when his plane was about to finally take off, a bag flew into the engine so they had to turn around, get off the airplane, wait for it to be fixed, get back on and wait in a long line again before they could actually leave. We were not sure whether he would end up coming home the day he was supposed to, and Mom explained to me that his plane was broken. I walked around most of the day telling everyone, including a cashier at the grocery store, that Daddy's airplane needed batteries. At one point I told Mom that Daddy broke the airplane. We were all very happy when he finally made it back.
Since my usual school has been closed, I really missed it, so I went to Hazel's school a couple of times. The first time I told Mom I wanted to go and joined right in with my classmates when she dropped me off. The second time I was excited again and when Mom picked me up and asked me if I was ready to go home, I said, “I'm not” and tried to run back to my classroom when we were leaving. Mom and Dad are really proud of how well I did and are glad because I will go to school there when my usual school is closed this summer. Meanwhile, I am excited to go back to my usual classroom this Tuesday.
Since Dad has been home, he had a lighter week than usual at work because of the holidays. We had lots of time on our hands, so we ventured to a mall one day to check out a play area we heard about. It wasn't great, but it was too cold to go to a park that day and it was better than sitting around our house. One thing that we noticed was that a lot of big kids were trying to pick on Hazel. Mom said she is going to send Hazel to her old gym, Bruce's Boxing. We probably won't go back to the mall anytime soon.
Another fun thing we did with Dad this week was celebrate New Year's Eve. We started out with a New Year's wagon ride. We tried to wear our New Year hats but they kept falling off. We also had some curly things to blow on, which were more successful. When we got home, we had a yummy dinner, then had a little party. We listened to Auld Lang Syne, which Hazel and I really liked dancing to, ate blueberries and a cookie, and drank sparkling cranberry cider. It was a blast!
Hazel loved all the attention she got from Zhenya and she showed off by climbing on everything at the zoo. Mom had her hands full with me -- I was in a bit of a grumpy mood at first because I'd fallen asleep in the car and wasn't happy when Mom woke me up when we got to the zoo -- but I cheered up after a while and had a good time.
We got home later than usual but it was worth it. I talked to Mom and asked her funny questions -- like what time Zhenya puts her pajamas on and what time she goes to bed -- the whole way home in the car while Hazel slept. By the time we got home, we were all pretty tired and went to bed easily, especially Mom. 
