While Mika was in school, Tobin accompanied me to a business meeting with our dear friend Sarah. He got a little bright side out of it though: a visit of Union Square’s brand new, extra fancy playground and an introduction to a fantastic new “fast food” hot spot…

Henry’s mom initiated a trip to the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre in Central Park. It was Tobin’s first puppet theater visit ever and he was as captivated as Henry by the quality production. The two were among the youngest audience members, but sat with unobstructed view in front of two classes of Kindergarteners. They did great and focused their attention on the stage throughout the whole play – for well over an hour! After a brief playground lunch in Central Park, Tobin fell into a nap coma all the way home and didn’t wake until pickup time at PS 29…

Federal Holidays (no school!) are a great opportunity for us to spend time with Mika’s oldest friends. Today was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and we met up with Gaang at the NY Aquarium in Coney Island. It’s been an old favorite of ours and we were excited to check in on the sharks, jellyfish, penguins and sea lions. Nobody expected the weather to play along though: we enjoyed an almost spring-like beach day. The kids happily ditched their mittens and played for hours in the sand. The temperatures even allowed for a brief potty session on the beach…

Today was Tobin’s first out-of-the-house play date since the start of potty training one week ago. I am not counting his half day of pre-school, or two full days out with his nanny which he all mastered without accidents. Being at Bruno’s house, he felt so at home that he took over his friend’s potty for a solid two hours (!!) … Would. Not. Get. Off.

At first, Bruno was intrigued and checked out the brand new underwear, but soon the novelty wore off and he was getting bored and frustrated with the turn their morning had taken. Luckily, i was able to peel Tobin off his throne in time for lunch and the boys enjoyed a bit of play time before we had to leave.

The second Monday of German school went really well for both kids. In the morning, Tobin met his friends at the “Bärengruppe” for 2 1/2 hours of playtime fun. Much to my surprise, he had no problems sending me home and even managed to stay accident free all morning without diapers. Look at the second picture (unfortunately completely out of focus) to get an idea how much he liked to be left playing there – that was his “see you later alligator” face…

In the late afternoon, Mika attended the beginner’s reading and writing class which had officially started in September. It was her second time ever, but since the first months were spent on basic letter- and sound recognition, she seems to have joined not too late. Today, the children sounded out words and wrote them down for the very first time on their own. As the German readers can see, she did great! The method is called “invented spelling” and it’s the core of her early writing workshops at PS 29 as well. Fueled by the positive experience, she finished her homework already tonight: all kids got a small stack of Post-It notes and have to label items around the house with their beginning sounds/letters.

Tobin was too excited to nap (yet again!) and powered through the day like a madman. In the late afternoon, barely able to hold his eyes open, he had 3 accidents back-to-back while waiting for Mika to finish her class. Finally i got to use all those extra pants and socks i’ve been carrying around for days ;-)

Mika, Gaang, and Olivia – still best friends from Choo Choo Train – brought their families together in Flushing for a Korean BBQ outing. We tried this place once before with Olivia’s family and it has some of the best Kalbi in town. The baby brothers just keep adding to the group: last winter, it was Tobin alone. This year, it’s Tobin and Sahn … and soon we’ll have one little brother to show for each big kid.

No diapers – and no accidents – today! Yay!!

We even made it to a Korean BBQ brunch in Queens and didn’t just hover around the potty all day. “Big boy” has a solid support system though: constant awareness (and gentle reminders) from me, cheer leading and entertainment from Mika (those are her brand new, kid-safe, low volume headphones), plenty of high fives from Sung, and of course … cho-co-late!

So far, so good. Or great. Still, i am expecting plenty of ups and downs in the coming weeks. Let’s see how he gets through the morning at German school tomorrow…

For the past weeks Tobin has been consistently using the toilet for his big business and shown various signs that he is ready to be potty trained. Encouraged by the success of Matthias‘ mom, i decided to take the plunge and start “one week of no diapers – no exceptions”. Apparently, that’s all it needs … and of course a whole bunch of pants, mop rags, and a healthy dose of good humor.

Tobin was very enthusiastic about it – especially since each of his big efforts has recently been rewarded by one of these. He tried to get smart though and … well … i had to introduce a smaller reward for smaller efforts. Overall balance of day one: 25+ successful trips to the potty. 5 accidents. So far, so good … wish us luck!

Tobin’s friend Matthias finally came over for an after school play date with his big sister Olivia. The girls instantly bonded … and closed the door on their little brothers! The boys had a good time playing on their own anyway. Eventually, they all connected over Tobin’s garage. Lots of cars were stuffed up pant legs and down shirts. We’ll see each other soon again … at German school!

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

At their first play date of 2010, Henry got Tobin to join his rock band for good. Tobin still needs to brush up his English sing-a-long repertoire, but he put in huge enthusiasm nonetheless. The biggest hit of their performance was “Bye Bye Toys!”, an impromptu creation after being asked to start end-of-play-date cleanup…

Today, Oliver brought his parents over for brunch. Mika kept the boys busy with dime size stickers, the boys kept Luna busy (“goooood kitty!”), and everybody had a great time. In the evening, we said farewell to our tree and packed up the Xmas ornaments. Tomorrow, Mika will go back to PS 29 and Tobin will start his first Monday morning at our local German preschool with Bruno, Matteo, and Matthias.

Our New Year’s get together with Bruno and his parents also doubled as a very belated chance to give him his birthday present. The boys (and Mika) took a close look at the past two years of their lives, then proceeded by turning Bru’s playroom upside down. Thanks for the lovely evening, great food, and great company! xoxo