We haven’t quite worked our way through the batch of cookie dough i made a couple of days ago, so all play dates include a little baking session. Downside: still not enough cookies are left behind to pack up as Xmas gifts. Let’s hope for a productive weekend…

First the cold weather arrived, then we brought home our Xmas tree, and now the scent of freshly baked cookies is lingering in our house. The Holidays are approaching with giant steps!

Mika and Tobin decorated a first batch of Xmas cookies after school, but earlier this morning Henry and Tobin already had a little warm-up session using the toaster oven. If only we could bake more than are needed for immediate consumption…

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This is part of my daily workout regimen. If only the weight distribution wasn’t so lopsided!

In 8 days it’s officially Winter, but we’ve already had some nippy weather at the end of the week. Just a few degrees below freezing, but with a substantial windchill that brought out the winter gear. The upside? Now the festive Holiday decorations in our neighborhood don’t seem so out of context anymore …

Sure, they fight like siblings – but for the most part we can see a really deep connection between our children. They truly love each other, watch out for each other, and like to be around each other. The day after Thanksgiving, when Tobin was about to leave the house with his sitter and Mika had the day off from school, she said “i don’t want to stay home with you guys … i want to be with Tobin!” and joined them for the day. This morning, they woke up at 7:00 am and just cracked each other up for half an hour. Once Tobin got out of his crib, they played until almost 9:00 am without even bothering us once.

Coincidentally, Tobin and Henry have been taking the same music class with Brooklyn’s reigning queen of kid rock, Audra Rox. They’ve had a lot of fun, although Tobin needed almost the entire fall session to warm up to the (english language) classroom situation. At home, he would listen to the corresponding CD and dance wildly while belting out some fractions of the lyrics … but at class he was rather shy and clingy. The last two Saturdays we took Audra alumni Mika along, which really helped. Today, Tobin had a great time: he danced, sang, and even got his photo taken with Audra. When she hugged him good-bye, it was him who didn’t want to let go…

For Mika’s 5th Birthday Party, we decided to celebrate out of the house for the first time, at BounceU Brooklyn. We knew the kids would have a blast bouncing their heads off for 90 minutes and eating pizza and cake afterwards – but nobody expected the parents to have so much fun! Everybody was allowed on the gigantic slide, in the bouncy castles and the inflatable boxing ring. At first, it felt a little funny not to host at our home, but it was nice that other people were in charge of all the little details. The only thing we brought from home was the birthday cake, which fit the theme of the party – except we had 20 little monkeys…

Mika woke up this morning in a good mood and informed me she had a great dream. When I asked her what it was about, this was her reply…

Tobin and Henry were so excited to hang out again, that they kept each other entertained all morning. They loaded up the giant dump truck with imaginary garbage, read some books, started a band, ate lunch at the kids’ table, and chased all over the playground together. For most of the time, they forgot that their moms even existed.

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This was Mika’s first birthday as an elementary school student – which meant there was only little time to unpack and play before school. Btw, all of the big boxes came from family members in Hamburg, Baltimore, and Los Angeles. We tried to limit ourselves to the “big girl scooter” she’s been begging for since Summer, and very few little goodies. Still, the sight of the table prompted many ooohs and aaahs. Mika loved the scarves that her 할머니 할머니 (great grandmother) hand knit for her and Tobin and she insisted on dressing Tobin all by herself.

Later in the afternoon, i brought cupcakes to Mika’s school to celebrate with her class. She was literally the last child to turn 5 years old, and some of her class mates are already turning 6 in January (!)  Since Mika doesn’t like (buttercream) frosting, i improvised with lightly sweetened, strawberry flavored whipped cream (adding some German miracle stabilizer), and added fresh fruit on top. Half of the cupcakes were also simply covered with dark chocolate and sprinkles. Happy faces all around…

Our good friend Mark came into town over Thanksgiving weekend again, and we gladly provided the home base for a reunion brunch with his Brooklyn friends. Funny enough, we forgot to take a big group shot so here are just some snaps towards the end with Nara & Co (not from B’klyn).

Today we got a chance to catch up with Kate, who recently moved into our neighborhood. Tobin acted a bit shy during brunch, but when we arrived back at our house she got treated to some of his favorite vehicles (even the model of the turquoise Bronco).