Kai and Baby Sango came over for a sunny Sunday afternoon. It’s been more than a month since we last saw each other because of the Holidays and the fact that Kai doesn’t attend Mika’s school anymore. They’re still best friends though and it’s nice to see that they don’t miss a beat when given a chance to play together.
Winter break is winding down and we used this fine Saturday to take Mika ice skating for the first time. We went to The Pond at Bryant Park and managed to beat the lines arriving at a moderate 10:00 a.m. (they open at 8:00 a.m., but afternoons and nights are notorious for lines around the block … because it’s free admission). At first, Mika really liked being on skates but when she figured out that she wouldn’t be able to master them by the end of her first session, she was ready to call it quits and move her aching feet back into more comfortable shoes.
We continued the day with a visit to MoMA, so Tobin and i could finally see Pipilotti Rist’s video installation. For Mika and Sung it was the second visit, and this time Mika wasn’t as terrified anymore. Tobin – just like his friend Bruno – enjoyed the visuals and toddler friendly lounge-scape quite a bit.
Mika hasn’t stopped playing with her beloved Baby Violet yet, but the doll has gotten some stiff competition ever since her brother was born. Especially on a day like today, where she involved Tobin in her pretend play at exactly the right moment (belly full and mere minutes before he passed out for his naptime … i swear, he was not sedated!)
To Mika and Tobin, New Year’s Eve is not about dropping balls or fireworks yet, but they sure enjoyed their (knockoff) novelty glasses and noisemakers. We tucked them in at their regular bedtime and now the real New Year’s Eve can begin. Ha!
Today we zipped over to Jersey City for a family play date with Roman and his folks. We got treated to Roman’s Nona’s secret Pasta with Meatballs recipe. Tobin turned out to be a huge fan of authentic Italian cuisine – i have never seen him eat this fast or this much. Ever. Thank you for a perfectly relaxed and cozy afternoon!
MiNiToSu and the Litt-Coles hit the Bronx today to visit the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden. Thanks to a rental truck that had wedged itself under one of the buildings that overhang the FDR, northbound traffic was a nightmare. We arrived at the Garden 45 minutes late for our ticketed time, but got in without further problems. The show was magical and well worth the trouble – Tobin was especially mesmerized by the miniature world unfolding in late afternoon twilight.
Mika and Tobin were thrilled this morning to see that Santa did come to our house – he ate Mika’s cookie too! A few, handmade presents were not from Santa though, notably the two beautiful scarfs Sung’s grandmother knitted for the kids, and the nesting dolls Mika made for Sung. It’s the whole family: Daddy, Mami, Mika, Tobin, and Luna (not pictured/in Tobin’s hand).
Bruno and his family joined us for a semi-German Christmas Eve. We didn’t have real candles on the tree like back in Germany, but we ate home made apple cake and potato salad following my family’s tradition. Also, we let Mika and Tobin open the gifts that had arrived from Omi and Opa (the German Santa arrives on Christmas Eve).
Bruno and Tobin took a bath together while Mika made sure the American Santa gets treated well at our house and leaves gifts for the next morning.
할머니 and 할아버지 came by for a quick visit before the Holidays. They got to see Mika’s school at pickup and had a great afternoon playing with the kids. Thank you for bringing such delicious food, too!
I grew up in a city with less-than-perfect weather, but was expected to “get some fresh air” every day, rain or shine. This morning, Tobin got to unleash his inner North-German by accompanying me outside … at near-zero degree windchill (-16°C). He got bundled up with extra blankets, fake fur cap, mittens, then further protected by extreme weather face balm. He seemed to like the crisp experience, especially from his cozy point of view … to the point that he fell asleep in the stroller for almost 3 hours!
There’s nothing like a great Korean BBQ on a cold winter day. Come to think of it, it is the first official day of Winter and we do have some snow to show for it. Mika and her friend Olivia (who is half Korean as well) enjoyed the food and our joint family shopping trip to the Han Ah Reum supermarket. Tobin had his first taste of Kalbi and loved it!
We finally got deeper into the Holiday spirit by baking a few sets of cookies and making our second annual gingerbread house. Thanks to Ikea’s pre-baked kit, we could focus just on assembly and decoration … which pretty much maxes out the attention span of any four year old (even if she’s an avid kitchen helper).