December 26

We did all kinds of cold things today, and had lots of fun doing them! This morning, we took Caleb ice skating for the first time. (I use the term "we" loosely - Chris took Caleb out on the ice, while Daisy and I sat in the bleachers, took pictures, and shivered.)

We only attempted the endeavor because:

1. I found a great Groupon deal for it.

2. Chris is an experienced ice skater.

3. Caleb had expressed some interest in it.

4. The kid slept in super-late this morning, meaning we could push naptime back a bit.

Still, I was a little bit leery; Caleb's a pretty cautious kid, and I was worried the whole experience would be too much for him.

He was a little bit nervous at first, but he wanted so badly to skate that he overcame his fears. What a big boy he's becoming!

Daisy was not at all entertained by the whole "waiting in the cold" thing.

Caleb started out slowly, and asked Chris to hold him (while skating!) several times, but eventually he got the hang of it. He progressed from being pushed along to walking on the ice to almost skating on his own. A few times, he even skated without holding on to Chris' hand!

This was near the end. I wish I had captured  better how proud Caleb was of himself. It was the highlight of the whole experience for me. 

Skating with just a little bit of support! Yay, Caleb!

(However, I am a bit concerned: Caleb likes to ice skate, he's pretty good at handling a hockey stick and shooting the puck... There is no way I'm letting this boy be a hockey player! His sweet little face! His teeth! His injury-free brain! His meager college fund!)

After naps, we met up with Grandmother, Grace, and Sally and headed out to the zoo for their Christmas light display. It was cold (around 30 degrees), but we were all bundled and had a lot of fun!

We even splurged and rode the carousel. Grace was so excited to ride her zebra!

Daisy was initially excited about the carousel, but lost interest quickly. She held onto that pole the whole time! Her glowing necklace was a timely gift from our neighbor - she brought it over right before we left for the zoo.

Caleb, posing with his Grandmother and aunties on some sort of beetle sculpture. 

Even the sea lions were frozen!

A happy little elf (literally; a girl in an elf costume!) took this picture for us. This was right before we left, when we were all nearly frozen solid.

Daisy with her aunties!

Before we left, Caleb stopped to give the sea lion a pat on the head. Funny boy!