We kicked off our day today by attending a “Birthday Party for Jesus” at Westover. Miss Lorrie and Savanah, who are not members of our church, came along for the celebration, which made it all the more special. It was a lovely way to spend the morning and to really appreciate the true spirit of the season.

Zeke & Houston use Crayola 3-D glasses to critique their sidewalk-chalk art (and each other).

Of course, the 3 Amigos don’t need much encouragement on getting aflutter over the holidays — religious, secular or otherwise. They are way into Christmas carols and know most, if not all, of the words to the classics, as well as some of the more obscure ditties.

Being the sons of an admitted carol junkie like myself, that’s not surprising, but it’s just so delightful to hear their wonderment expressed so purely through song. Not much can beat the sounds of happy children’s voices echoing through the home.

Admittedly, it’s not always joyful sounds that can be heard here around the zoo. Nighttime has been especially rough recently, since Zeke has been waking in the wee hours of the morning, usually due to falling out of bed or being drenched from a full diaper. And once he’s up, watch out: he whines and cries (seemingly) uncontrollably and is inconsolable for up to an hour or more.

Houston “milks” a cow @ Homeland Creamery back in October.

But the random things that spark Zeke’s episodes are nothing special. It may be that his cowboy hat has gone missing or the bedroom door is closed or his blankets are getting on his nerves, etc. Considering the bizarre nature of the sources of Zeke’s angst — not to mention the fact that he is barely audible during these irrational meltdowns — my guess is that he’s still partially asleep.

Still, Stephen decided that our new course of action is that Gabriel and Houston (who are almost always awakened by Zeke’s loud outbursts) will be rescued from the insanity and rewarded with getting to sleep in Mommy and Daddy’s bed, while Zeke remains in the kids’ room. Fortunately, there were no semi-slumbering tantrums last night, but I think this tactic will work, if necessary.

Hopefully, we won’t have to resort to it, though. You see, I have been pushing this whole “Boys who listen and obey are happy, and boy who act naughty are sad” angle for a few days. It has been fairly effective around the house, as well as on outings. In fact, the 3 Amigos were so calm and well-behaved at the Y on Wednesday that the Child Watch gals joked that they thought the boys had left.

Zeke, Gabriel & Houston are “udderly” cute!

Some miscellaneous stuff:

• On Monday, the twins had their final visit with our old pediatrician. We are in the process of getting all their medical records transferred to a new practice, which has been a long-standing goal of mine.
• I’ve had an annoying dry cough for weeks now. After many failed medicinal attempts at curing my persistent throat problems, I think the Tussin DM Stephen bought me is finally clearing things up.
• Last Sunday was the first day of not giving Zeke his Prevacid. We attempted this trial (under the supervision of his gastrointestinal doc) earlier in the year, but his puking reemerged. I pray that Z-bird has outgrown his reflux and can get off this daily Rx.
• Gabriel is now consistently spitting toothpaste into the sink during his oral-hygiene regimen. He’s so proud of finally mastering the technique. Keep it up, G-man!

Gabriel is quite happy taunting this turkey at the dairy farm.

• Stanley and Gabriel are best friends. Houston and Zeke aren’t at odds with the cat or anything, it’s just that Gabe and Stan have a particularly sweet and special bond. I suppose if Gabe’s turns out not to be a sensitive artist, he may opt to be a compassionate vet instead.
• The dudes earned their 30th picture on their Chuck E. Cheese reward chart. Sure, it took them a couple months to accrue the meager amount of marks for decent mealtime behavior and manners, but it’s still a job well done. Congrats!
• Our decrepit hand-me-down dryer — which required a pair of pliers to set the dry cycle — finally kicked the bucket. Thank goodness for “Cyber Monday” deals and a savings account.

Click the top pic to view the October gallery and the above photo to check out shots from our trip to Homeland Creamery.