It’s Beginning To Feel Like Christmas!

 

It Is Beginning To Feel Like Christmas! …well, we have felt like Christmas for a few months now, but the rest of the world is catching up! Woohoo!

We had a party with our congregation and it was fun to eat and spend time with everyone. The best part of the night was the Christmas program put on by the children. Now, normally there is a Christmas program at these types of events. But this was different than the regular run of the mill Luke 2 reading. This was a full on musical with original music and storyline! The kids did great!  One of my favorite parts was when an ‘angel’ (pun intended) decided to bounce out of character and did some break dancing as the scene ended and the curtains were closing! Who says angels can’t dance?

Tonight we had a few free hours (not a common occurrence the last few weeks) so we went to see the lights at the LDS Temple in Kensington, MD. The DC area has several places to enjoy lights and Christmas concerts. But none of them are free—except the LDS Temple. Every day there are lights to enjoy—thousands of them in every color. At 1900h every night there is a different concert. You can see a list here of upcoming concerts.

The lights were gorgeous and the trees in the Visitor Center has decorated trees with decorations from all the embassies in Washington, DC. We made sure we searched until we found the Filipino doll (that looked suspiciously like Imelda, but decided it couldn’t be because it was shoeless) and the Turkish doll.

Next was the Crèche exhibit from all over the world. There were hundreds of them. We took some photos, but for the whole collection, you will have to go check it out! I liked this because I told Lady I wanted one from all the countries we live in. There are some amazing artists out there. So if you are in the area and want to have a quality Christmas experience on a budget, check out the LDS Temple Festival of Lights.  

Our Lucky Dragon

It has been awhile since I wrote a blog about Tau’aho. He makes appearances in other blogs of course because our lives completely revolve around him, but I thought it was time for an update.

This little guy is just over four months old and at his last doctor’s appointment he weighed in at a whopping 17lbs! He is getting longer and longer. We have to dress him in 6 and 9 month clothes because he is so tall we cannot button the onesies under him. Both Lady Hiva and I are so glad he is growing well and developing. The doctor recommended trying out some solid foods because he has all the signs he is ready for it. He is not sure he understands yet. Most of the time he rolls it around with his tongue and then it dribbles out of the corners of his mouth and down his chin. It becomes quite a comical affair.

He would rather watch the camera than eat (talk about remembering your Filipino roots haha)

Trying to figure out how to chew

I don't want any more! Just give me my bottle

The joy that Lucky brings into our lives is unmeasurable. Along with getting bigger physically his little personality is beginning to show. He is a calm and happy guy. He is mastering his hand movements so we have to watch where we walk or what he is sitting next to because he will reach out and grab it. And of course, he is in that slobber-put-everything-in-my-mouth-and-initiate-it-with-slime phase so sometimes we are greeted with a wet hand on our face or a wet hem of clothes.

He smiles all the time and laughs out loud when we play with him. Sometimes he laughs so hard he gags himself. My favorite part is his new love of being chatty—yes, you can say that he received that trait from his dad. He talks when he is waiting for his diaper to be changed, he talks as he sits in his seat waiting to eat and as he does his tummy time. Today in church I had to walk out at the end of the Priesthood lesson because he decided, after watching the teacher, that he too wanted to talk. He chattered animatedly for a while so I went to take him in the hall and have a “chat.”

He also seems to love to sing. This week he woke up all smiles at 0200h and soon we were both singing at the top of our lungs. His favorites are “I’m a little teapot” and “Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam.” Today we were listening to some Christmas music and soon we heard him over in his seat singing loudly. It is more like a happy screeching squeal but it is a sound we love to hear in our home.

The only time he cries is when he is hungry or when he is ready for someone to rescue him from his crib after sleeping. We started to call him our Lucky Dragon because when he cries in the crib he lifts his head up and points his legs like he is an angry flying dragon.

Lady Hiva and I are so happy to celebrate with our little guy—even over the mundane little things. Like when he eats, or poops, or smiles. We love this guy. And we know there are so many others around the world that do too. We recently were given some shirts from the Philippines for him to wear and remember his roots. hehe. I guess one of the best parts of being a Foreign Service family is that you have family all over the world whom you love and miss and think about even when you are not there with them at the moment. We have a large family from our time in Manila and we are already beginning to see our Turkish family forming. 

The National Christmas Tree

Being here in Washington, DC we never miss a chance to visit the National Christmas Tree when it is set up. This year we decided to go the day after the lighting ceremony. HOWEVER, in 2010 we went and both Lady Hiva and I froze. Thankfully they have a big pit of fire there to warm you up. We didn’t want to take Tau’aho down there with it being that cold so we went during the day.

Yes, the lights are not as spectacular in day, but at least we didn’t freeze! HEHE. If you go during December they have a small “Santa’s Workshop” set up for you to see. Around the National Christmas Tree are small trees to represent all 50 states and the U.S. Territories. The ornaments are decorated by school children from that state. There are also several train sets circling the tree. I counted at least 7 trains clacking by  as we stood there.

The tradition of the President of the United States having a Christmas tree out in front of the White House started in 1923!~ WOW! A long standing tradition. What I didn’t realize is that there is also a “Capital Tree” up at the Capital building that is a tradition too. They have a healthy competition to see which tree is bigger each year. The 2013 National Tree is 65 feet and from California, while Washington State donated an 88 foot tree for the Capital tree that was trucked all the way across the country to be here!

Sadly, because of the concert stage being removed we could only see Hawaii’s tree from afar. (Maybe we will have to go back?_

A Visit to a Nationally Ranked Zoo

Yes, we live in DC and have a nationally ranked (free) zoo less than ten miles away. But hey, why not travel over 200 miles to visit another nationally ranked zoo? The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium may not be free like the Smithsonian zoo, but it makes up in what my good friend calls the customer service ‘wow’ factor. Visitors are greeted with a clean and open space all year round. This time of year the Columbus Zoo does “WildLights” and are completing their 25^th year.

Every tree and bush is decorated and the central lake has an orchestrated light show every half of an hour. It is cold you are right, but the view is worth it. Little kids run around just as excited about the light animals glowing from the bushes as they are the real animals.

Because it is cold, the animals you see are either equipped to be in the cold or live in a large building with viewing windows. One of the aspects that impressed me the most was the educational experience you have as you wander from animals to animal. In the manatee area you can pretend to drive an air boat in Florida with surrounding televisions. Or you can read about projects all over the world that are working to make life better for animals in their respective countries.

 

In the middle of the zoo there is a large antique carousel to ride. So even if it is 200 miles away, I can now say that I have been to two ranking zoos in the country!