January 1st we were invited to our upstairs neighbors’ third annual “New Year’s Mandoo Making Party” – they’re half Korean as well. The kids are quite professional and determined little mandoo makers already and we had a real feast … rounded out with many side dishes and 떡국, the rice cake soup served at the Korean (Lunar) New Year.
감사합니다, Brian and Jean!

New Year’s Eve started out with a surprise snowfall in the morning, which was already half diminished by the time we arrived at Eric and Jen’s house. Our four kids, ranging 2 to 6 years old stayed up until midnight (!) to count down to the New Year with us – a first. We collaborated on a fantastic meal (smoked trout and other fish appetizers, Lobster Thermidor, and New York cheesecake). The kids played all night long, and even Tobin found some toys in the girls’ room that sparked his interest: Barbie’s car, and the tricycle in particular.

Mika and i went to see ‘The Nutcracker‘ at Lincoln Center, also known as THE Nutcracker. The 2 1/2 hour run time were a bit daunting in the past years, but at 5 years old Mika wasn’t just able to stay awake during the entire performance, she was literally on the edge of her seat the whole time. When asked what she liked best about our the performance, she replied “everything!” … which also extends to the spectacular hallways, the snacks during intermission, the fountain outside, the evening cab ride home, and her very own “Nutcracker” tree ornament to remember the first ballet performance.

Our temporarily extended family teamed up with the Litt-Coles for a Holiday visit to MoMA followed by dinner in K-town. Predictably, MoMA was a complete madhouse (!) but we got to see parts of the permanent collection as well as the current Tim Burton Exhibit. In the latter, the kids were captivated by a quirky-but-not-scary live action video and the adults could take turns marveling at decades worth of pencil sketches, original movie costumes, and lots of tiny animated feature characters in all their beautifully quirky, sometimes gory, glory.

My only aunt, my only cousin, and his lovely fiancee are in town this weekend. After not seeing each other for 5 years, there was a lot to catch up on. Like, another kid (!) … and our “new” place in Brooklyn. The three of them came over for brunch and a relaxed afternoon of tinkering with the kids.

… Good Night!

(By popular demand, another Mika/Luna cuddle picture)

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We had a very merry, very laid-back Christmas Day … just the four of us (plus Luna). The kids only got out of their pajamas because they wanted to try on the Korean inspired clothes they got from 할머니 and 할아버지.  감사합니다!

Btw, Mika made a new Matryoshka doll family for Sung, which shows quite an evolution from last year’s set.

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This is what you get when you ask your kids to sing late in the day … and before dinner. And before opening any of the packages that are waiting under the tree…

In Germany, Xmas is celebrated on the evening of the 24th and children get to unwrap their presents that night as well. In our house, we have a balanced approach: a little (pre-) celebration on Xmas Eve where we open presents from overseas, while ‘Santa Claus’ is still supposed to visit later tonight and the kids are eagerly awaiting tomorrow morning, just as their friends.

Frohe Weihnachten and Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends!

Starting this January, Tobin, Bruno, and Mateo are going to try out the toddler group at Wortspiele, our local German Montessori preschool. Today we stopped by for their annual Advent breakfast, which is open to non-enrolled families as well. We sang some German Xmas carols (O Tannenbaum!), ate yummy sweets, and warmed up for a few hours in-between our snow romps.

Our first snow storm of the season didn’t turn out to be as record breaking as promised, but we got a solid 12+ inches to play with (eastern Long Island got 28 inches!). We didn’t bother heading to Prospect Park yet – just played around the house and on nearby playgrounds all day long.

Luna’s new favorite place for her afternoon nap is the foot end of Mika’s bed. Every day Mika comes home from school, she cuddles with her for awhile before she starts playing anything else. Tobin does the same in the morning, when Luna sleeps on our bed…

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Rosie has been taking care of Tobin one day per week since this past Summer, and she has been the best! She walked many extra miles to take him to his favorite museums, the best playgrounds (DUMBO), nicest book stores, and stopped patiently at every major construction site to watch heavy equipment and men at work. Did i mention she is speaking German? Tobin loves Rosie and so do we!