The end of this week was technically considered Fall, but on Saturday, a streak of warm weather concluded in one more, perfect Summer day: spotless blue sky, high temperatures of 87°F (31°C), with low humidity and a nice, steady breeze. We went to Pier 6 in the afternoon and stayed until sunset. Today, the weather was already 15-20°F cooler and this might have been the last taste of Summer…
Today, we did a trial run to see if the boys would be able to ride their scooters all the way home from school – a first step towards a stroller free life this coming Spring. Mika gladly played the ring leader, and helped remind our rookies of the traffic rules. They did super, all the way home (about 1.8 miles/3 km), with only a couple of pit stops: we said hello to Twitch, the ultra friendly pet store cat, and shared a tasty cinnamon bagel along the way.
Today, Tobin threw a fit because he insisted that he, too, can write his own name. We’ve seen him write the letters T and O before, but nobody believed him when we handed over the pencil and notepad:”yeah, right … why don’t you show us”. Above, you can see that he showed us indeed.
Afterwards, he was on fire and kept writing on the chalkboard (with us showing him the letter N, where he got stuck before). Must’ve been the good influence of Mika (and school?) that taught him the rest.
Mika and Gaang have been missing each other quite a lot over summer break, so they were thrilled to be able to spend today’s (public school) holiday together. They couldn’t stop giggling and chasing each other around the house for at least a full hour. Once they settled down a bit, they were allowed to face paint themselves: meet the Japanese Ninja Warrior and Purple Kitty!
Tobin, Bruno and Henry started their first day of preschool today. I can’t believe the boys are now as “big” as Mika was on her first day of school … three years ago!
The boys did very well because they were familiar with the place and most of the teachers from summer camp. I am trying to post in real time today, since Team Bruno couldn’t attend due to a serious scheduling conflict. Our thoughts go out to them … what an exciting week!
할머니 and 할아버지 came up for a two day visit on Labor Day weekend. We introduced them to our new playground on Pier 6, and spontaneously decided to hop on the ferry to Governors Island. Now that the heat wave has passed, it was the perfect condition for a stroll around the island. We didn’t make it all the way to Picnic Point, but had a lot of fun with the interactive sculptures and taking in the scenic views.
Bruno’s last days as an only child are packed with social events. We were lucky to score a play date after our return from Germany … literally on his sister’s due date. The kids had a lot of fun – especially chasing each other across the rooftop, with Hurricane Earl being a mere breeze of fresh air on an otherwise hot and sticky day.
Even the longest Summer vacations have to come to an end. This year the kids have bonded even more with Omi and Opa, and the good-byes weren’t easy on them. Especially Mika started to miss Opa Addi, Omi Hiltraud, and Omi Hilde right away.
There was one upside though: finally getting back together with Luna, who was delighted to have her entire family back home. Note: i will try to post a few more German entries in the next days, along with current updates. Check back in time to catch them…
Mika had a hard time being away from Luna for more than a month, so she was delighted to meet a neighbor’s cat who stops by my parent’s house almost every morning. Usually, the cat doesn’t come into the house for more than a few steps, but one morning she snuck past us – all the way upstairs – and woke up Mika, who in turn couldn’t tell dream from reality…
The unsteady German weather made it’s way into Mika’s artwork. This is what she drew the other day, when the forecast predicted another 10 days with ‘60% chance of precipitation’ … and no end in sight. Note the sun behind all the rain clouds. The creature on the bottom is a bird, giving a kiss to a worm. Temperatures are very mild though, so the kids could play in the garden almost every day. No sunblock required though ;-)
My old friend Tanja has two kids who are a year older than Mika and Tobin. We’ve met up with Camillo and Emilia in the past, but this year the four kids got along especially well. They played for hours in the garden and taught each other new tricks. Camillo took special care of Tobin and set him up in boy heaven (his room, full of cars). We’ve had three play dates so far, and Mika even got to borrow Camillo’s Tigerenten bike for the month.
