Play Ball!

Today Jay played baseball for the first time. Well, he participated in a group activity called baseball. Okay, he somewhat participated.... Nils seemed to like it, even though you have to be three to sign up! Jay wasn't that into playing baseball, he was happier running through some sprinklers or playing soccer with Michael. But we finally convinced him to give it a go. He seemed to enjoy batting the most, didn't really stick with fielding (second base), and didn't even bother to do base running. Maybe next week we'll have an easier time!

Funny Tidbit

Wednesday, when I asked Nils if he wanted a snack, he said "ssss." I think he thought I said snake. Maybe we're drilling the animal sounds too much!

Various Oma Visit Photos

Here is Nils watching one of the many clocks do its half-hourly (one every 15 minutes! chiming. Kurt collects art and there are amazing paintings all over the walls that the kids love to look at as well.

Left: Nils climbing up Kurt. Jay still loves to do this. Nils just learned this weekend- Kurt had the honor of being the first!

To the right are Jay and Kurt at the market. This particular farmer's market (it was amazing!) also sells chickens and bunnies, so Jay was pretty fascinated. He rode in on the back of Kurt's bike while we walked there and later met them.

Last photo: Jay on a handcarved rocking chair from an artisan in the US. He had fun playing on it, I have a video that I might post (it's sideways- oops!)

Weekend at Oma's

We spent the weekend at Oma's house. We left Friday at bedtime so the kids could sleep on the way. Jay drifted in and out of sleep the entire way and Nils slept almost the entire time. About 45 minutes before we arrived (it's a 2.5 hour drive) they woke and just sat quietly. We were pretty surprised too. We arrived at 10:00 and the kids were wide awake and played with Oma until we went to bed at 11:00. Michael and I were dead tired and, unfortunately, the kids were back to their usual schedule the next morning.

We also visited Michael's aunt and uncle, as well as their son Andre (Jay's godfather) and his wife Anja. Then we went on to visit other friends and the kids went back home with Oma and Kurt. They took care of them that night while Michael and I stayed on in his hometown for a friend's party. It was nice without the kids but, of course, we missed them the next day!

Our Zoo goes to the Zoo

Today we went to the zoo. Since we had so many house-related errands this past week, we rewarded the boys with a Kids Day. We did all of our normal Saturday errands yesterday and today we went to the zoo.

I don't have a whole lot to say about our visit. It was you usual zoo trip with a 3YO and a 16MO. They were astonished, excited, fidgety, hot, hungry and curious. No meltdowns though, we were lucky.

Enjoy the photos! My favorite? The giraffes. Nils was so mesmerized by their tongues and chewing that he started imitating them. Okay, he always sticks out his tongue and plays with it, but it was still pretty funny.

Nilsa's turn!

Poor Nils, he always gets sloppy seconds. He didn't get a photo posted after his first haircut. Shoot, we never even took a photo during the cut. His name wasn't on our answering machine until he was eleven months old. And he didn't get a photo on the wall until he was one year old. So this entry is for him.

Nils has really taken a huge leap in understanding and speaking lately. Well, he still speaks mainly Nilsish, but more and more actual words are making their way in there. Of course he knows the usual toddler favorites- Ta-da! and Uh-oh. He says words like thank you (da doo), bitte (itte- German for please or here you go), mama, papa, Jay, and banana (nana). He also knows how to respond to yes/no questions. A no gets a shake of the head and a yes gets mama mama mama! If we ask if he needs a new daiper (believe me, we know it already- stinky!), he'll go to the stairs and wait (he said poo poo for the first time today). He'll also go there and wait of we say pyjamas or Kinderzimmer. But there is a dark side too- he also knows the word television.

I've still been trying to get a video of his animal sounds. His current favorites are the elephant and panda, but after today's zoo visit, it could be the giraffe. But giraffes don't make a sound, or at least we didn't hear any during the long, long time we spent staring at them chewing. He still loves books, especially Dr. Seuss and his German construction site book. He will even bring a specific book to you when you ask for it. But watch out, that means you have to read it to him!

So, Nilsa, this is for you. You are our special Nilsa, the one we always said had a hard act to follow. And you're doing a great job, even better than I could have ever imagined. There is no comparing you to Jay, you are apples and oranges. And we love fruit salad!

If Dr. Seuss were a Dane...

... and built his fantasies with Legos, his imagination would come to life like these photos. At least the train part of it. While I watched a train go across the tall bridge, its tracks leaning dangerously (along with the train) to one side, I can almost hear "I would not, could not on a train! I could not, would not in the rain! Not with a goat! Not in a tree! Not on a boat, Sam, let me be! I do not like green eggs and ham!"

Yes, this is the best track yet. And we build them twice a week. Michael worked on this one, I am not too sure how much Jay input there was. But I do know that Jay helped build some of the track. Yes, that is Jay laying (lying? I never remember which is correct) under a blanket on the floor, watching the trains go by.

On another note, the kids got their hair cut today. Nils mainly because his was starting to look scraggly. He was not too cooperative, to say the least. But his hair is shorter, straight, and he is not blind, so the barber is pretty good with those scissors! Jay got his mohawk, like Maddox Jolie-Pitt. One ear sticks out, it's kid of cute. I'm his mom, I have to think that... Poor Nils, he really gets the second-child shaft. No photo of him with his first haircut.

Last word- thoughts and cheers to my friend Marja who will have her baby girl tomorrow! We're thinking of you, Kirk, and your little girl (whatever her mystery name turns out to be!)

Holy Man Jay

I've mentioned many times that Jay is freakishly good, and he really is. Of course, he has his usual preschooler-like spells of whining, crying, insisting on TV NOW!, but for the most part he takes what we say pretty well. He gave up his pacifiers on his own ("I don't need it anymore"), was potty trained within days, was fine with no treats or ice cream on Good Friday. Oh, and he didn't want any of his Halloween candy, even right after he was done trick-or-treating! (He's also forgotten about the candy the Easter Bunny brought just yesterday- lucky me!)

It makes me wonder if we have waited too long with certain things. I know we waited too long to take away the pacifier, but we had no real problem with it since it was really just a sleep thing. But still, could we have taken it away sooner? How bad would one or two tough nights be if he was done with it a few months earlier?/>

Jay, like every preschooler, had a big why? phase. I say had because he got out of it after a month or so. I was trying to answer every question patiently and to the best of my ability since he has also had a hard time spitting his sentences out lately. This is common at his age, especially with bilingual children. But the best way to get over it is to give your child your complete attention and make him feel as if what he has to say is very important. And never interrupt. Of course, why? is pretty easy to spit out...

After about a month or so, it got really tiring. And creative answers were more and more difficult to find, especially ones that would put an end to the why?s without "I told you so!" or "because." Until Michael one day just told him that constantly asking why? is a bad habit and he doesn't want to have a bad habit like that. Voila! No more why?s. It does make me a bit jealous that Michael could end it with just one sentence. Maybe he is a super parent and Jay really isn't the freakish kid.

Happy Easter! I'll be posting again later or tomorrow with some amazing train photos. :)d

A Good Friday

We're trying to be good and teach our kids manners, good behavior, values... you know, the stuff that all sounds good. So since it's Good Friday, we don't just give up meat. We also give up alcohol, sweets, treats, and so on. We started Jay on it this year as well, explaining that "Jesus had a very bad day today, so we're letting him know that we feel bad for him too." (Just saying "no meat today" means nothing to Jay since he's not so into food anyway).

We went to the playground (that's still allowed), but we explained that he couldn't get his usual ice cream. It was a lot easier than I thought. Jay just said he couldn't have it "because Jesus is having a tough day today." So maybe we're doing well raising our kids with values. Or maybe Jay is freakishly good.

Michael washed all the windows, inside and out, today, so he has done his good deed for the day. What's mine? I'm still not sure. Does sharing our day via blog count?

Here's a video of Nils playing with his digger at the playground. Listen carefully for the humming sounds. That's Nils making digger noises!

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2020413889

Musical Morning

Jay is on Easter holiday from school right now. That means I have to keep him busy myself. You don't realize how much time those three school hours a day in take up until you have to entertain your kids yourself, all day long, when the weather is bad and all your kid's friends are either out of town or sick...

This morning we had a little music time before we headed out to the weekly Farmer's Market. Nils and Jay both love music, so we had fun singing songs (the current favorite is the "Alley-Alley-O" song), clapping, and playing instruments. We even had a mini parade with drums and a whistle. The house next door is under construction, so I think the jackhammers and drills drowned out our noise, so no complaints came from the neighbors or passers-by.

I've attached some videos of the two of them during this time. One of the videos, Jay too cool, was Jay refusing to dance for me. But he finally gave in and did his knees dance for me (after a hefty bribe, of course!)

Nilsa on the xylophone: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2019878597

Jay too cool: (sorry, it's sideways!) http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2019878089

Jay and the knees dance: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2019879343

Palm Sunday

Today is Palm Sunday and Germany has a special tradition to celebrate this day. I am used to simply gettting a palm frond at church and tucking it behind the crucifix on the wall for the year. Here, there is a bit more involved. For the 11 am service (Kids' Mass), we met at the imperial ruins (ca. 700 A.D.) and the mass started there. The children were all gathered in the front, each holding a Palmstock, or stick with leaves and crepe paper. Most of the children probably made these sticks themselves, in school or with parents. Since Michael and I are rather irresponsible, we forgot to make one. Luckily Oma was here for the weekend and arrived with a homemade one for Jay to carry.

After the first reading, there was then a procession to the church. First went the childern about to receive their first communion (not today, but in the coming month or so). Then the preschool children (in the church program), then the rest of us. There was also a brass quartet playing as we went along.

Jay and Nils both seemed to like the service, especially the outdoor part. I don't have a photo of the Palmstock that Oma made. Unfortunately, Jay ate the apple on it as soon as Mass was over, so it's not quite the same as before. But, this evening, we got a surprise phone call. Nils' godfather, Andi, and his family made a stick for their daughter Emma and one each for Jay and Nils as well! I've attached photos here of it for you to see, as well as of Jay's "eggman" from last week (see http://stuehrenbergs.blogspot.com/2007/03/family-day.html )