My Little Scientist

So, today at lunch Max asked me, "Can we put water in a cup and see what would happen if we put it in the freezer?" I was surprised and delighted by this unexpected show of scientific interest. Before you knew it, we had water turning into ice in the freezer and ice melting into water in the cat's dish. Max would check on both "experiments" every few minutes and report back on the progress. Having determined that water turns into ice, Max next asked to see what would happen with milk and with juice. The whole family enjoyed discussing the difference between liquids and solids, though I decided to leave discussions of water vapor for another day after I caught Scott showing a mystified Max diagrams he had drawn of hydrogen and oxygen and their chemical bonds. The kid is only three, Scott. Let's take it slow...

Happy New Year!

If anyone ever needed a brand new start, it's the Gerber family, so we toasted the new year with sparkling cider and then consumed copious amounts of chocolate cake. A sweet start, indeed!

Here's to brighter days ahead in 2010...

Good Times in Southern California

LaLone/Gruber/Landberg/Goldsmith Christmas

Henry -- The Rose among Thorns

The Men

The Women

Christmas Eve at Dodie's House (Is Max possessed?!)

Cousin Haley

Archetypal Christmas Photo (with two Jewish boys)

Mimi with her grandchildren and great grandchildren

To Sea World with Grandma Rhona and Dodie!

Dolphins

More Dolphins

Waiting for Shamu

Shamu and his Buddies

Tired after a Long Day

Lunch at the Beach in Del Mar

"Look at that wave, Mom!"

Collecting Rocks

Yes, they all got wet. Good job Uncle David and Daddy!

Throwing Rocks

Pillow Fort

Hanukkah: Part 2

Celebrating with friends

Mmmmmm....latkes....healthy goodness!

Playing Dreidel

Celebrating with Papa and Nana

More Dreidel

Spoiled boys!

Aunt Arie and Uncle Bruce

Hanukkah: Part 1

I never thought I'd be that parent. You know -- the "newbie" who pulls the veteran teacher aside to talk to her about her curriculum. The problem parent. The one to throw a wrench in the plans. The one that all of the teachers talk about behind her back. I was a teacher myself for years. I know how it goes.

And yet, as Hanukkah approached, I was afraid that my Jewish child would be stuck learning about Santa and making construction paper Christmas trees every day of the month of December in his low-key Park and Rec. preschool. My brain conjured up nightmare images of my sweet little boy feeling like an outsider and an outcast in his own class. I remembered Scott's stories of being forced to make a blue "Hanukkah Sock" (?!) out of felt while the rest of his classmates made Christmas stockings.

So, putting aside my natural tendency to go with the flow and stay out of the way, I sucumbed to parental paranoia and mustered up my courage and my most ingratiating tone of voice. I cornered the head teacher one day after school and asked her point blank if the kids would be studying other holidays in class besides Christmas. I was ready to fight. I had my arguments rehearsed and ready. I needn't have worried. Ms. V had clearly been down this road before. She gave me a somewhat patronizing smile ("What the hell, crazy mom?! This is the Bay Area, after all!") and explained that they would be covering a number of different holidays in class. Furthermore, she encouraged me to bring in books and project ideas of my own regarding Hanukkah. Whoah! Project ideas? I'm the least crafty person on the face of the Earth! I muttered my thanks and feeling both relieved and flustered, I backed out of the classroom.

A few weeks later, Max came home with a reindeer headdress, a menorah made out of his own handprints and a woven Kwanzaa picture. Here's to multiculturalism! I didn't offer up any project ideas of my own; the preschool clearly already has that covered, but I did send in a couple books and some Hanukkah gelt for everyone.

Max seems to be making it through this holiday season with his Jewish identity intact ("We are Jewish and we celebrate Hanukkah. But other people like Dodie and Hayley celebrate Christmas.") He's asking all the right questions ("What is a miracle?") and he's getting the traditions straight, ("When can we light the candles so I can get another present?").

I have a lot to learn about being part of a minority group in America, including the lesson that sometimes it's a lot easier than you think it is going to be.

Max and Dada wearing silly Hanukkah glasses from Grandma Rhona

Hanukkah Cookies

The boys playing with the new train (Thanks, Grandma!)

Eating pizza and latkes at the synagogue Hanukkah party (pizza and latkes???!!!)

Scott's masterpiece track setup (he was devastated when I took it apart to vacuum)

The boys opening Hanukkah presents

Our menorah on the third night

Let the Holiday Season Begin!

Last night we all enjoyed an annual Alameda holiday tradition -- the lighted boat parade. The parade took place in the estuary between Alameda and Oakland and we watched all sorts of beautiful boats cruise past. Every time a new boat came around the corner, Henry would shout, "Mommy! Mommy!" and point excitedly.

My East-coast friends will laugh to see the gear the boys were dressed in. It was only 50 degrees, but that seemed frigid to us. It's amazing how quickly your body adjusts to a different climate.

In any case, we were all happy to kick off the holiday season, and we look forward to a weekend full of Hanukkah activities next week.

Boys Gone Wild