Tel père tel fils

Strong penetration of the ipad in the family. 

Papa Noël delivered upon wishes

This morning we found out that Papa Noël came and brought everything that was wished for and beyond.

In minutes the living room was transformed in a giant playground. 

Thank you Papa Noël and Merry Christmas to everyone. 

Breakfast in Germany

Family trip to the Mercedes museum

We wanted to do something special with the kids but with the cold weather it was limiting our options. There is no way any of us can spend a few hours outside without risking to get sick. Our bodies are simply not used to the cold anymore. So we settled on the Mercedes museum which is indoor and has lots of cars. 

Museum was nearly empty on a weekday which was great for us. 

Thomas enjoyed at the beginning then got tired. The horse at the very beginning was a big success.  It's great to see him running around. 

Oskar was frustrated that he couldn't sit in all the cars. Luckily he could go into the garbage truck where he spent a good 15mim to our desperation. He is really fascinated by garbage truck somehow. 

Only Germans could do this :)

Thanks Wolfram for this Christmas salami 

They grow so fast

Another year has past and we are back in Europe. As I look at the two little ones I cannot help thinking how fast they grow. It's both great and scary. Soon enough Thomas will outgrow completely his baby face and there will be two little boys running in the house.

It's fascinating to see how much they learn and progress. Oskar can now sings songs he learnt at school and count until 10. Thomas is more interested in the toys of his brother than the baby toys. Before I know it they will leave for university...  

Better enjoy every moment until then. 

Day and night compare to last year

Same as last year, this year I called Air France many times to confirm our seats and the request for a bassinet before our trip to Stuttgart. Like last year they told me it was all good, subject to the number of infants in board of course. Unlike last year I did not trust them. 

I packed bags assuming we would be separated, each if us with a kid. We prepared ourselves for a bad trip so it would be easier on us, relatively speaking.

This year no maternity leave, so I took one day off to pack and in all fairness it took me a day to get everything sorted out. I'm glad I did it the day before the trip so I wouldn't be exhausted at the start of the trip.

We had early dinner, Aggie cooked noodles. Surprisingly Oskar finished in 15min instead of the 30-40 minutes he took lately for his meals. This lead us to early shower for everyone and at 7pm everybody was ready to go. Except taxi was only booked for 8pm. We had decided to go extra early to the airport this year.

Unlike last year, we were checked in in 15min, with bassinet confirmed. Wolfram even looked on the screen.

After that we killed time until the flight and were super delighted to get to our seats: 40C, 40E and 40F. The row with the bassinet. We were also very sorry for the family we saw standing in the aisle as they found out that they were not traveling together nor getting a bassinet. Basically us last year. Let's say this year we got lucky. Next year we will have to book four seats, so a full row just for us.

Flight went quite well. Kids slept at least half of it and were quite easy to entertain. Last couple of hours were a bit harder but overall much better than last year.  We arrived in Paris much more relaxed and ready to start the rest of the trip. 

Did I mention how cold it is?

Lettre au père Noël

On Monday I told Oskar he should write his letter to Santa Claus. He told me he did it already. I asked Wolfram whether they did it while I was in Japan but he said no. 

This remained a mystery until I checked the school booklet in which the teacher writes what they do each week. It turned out that Oskar did write a letter to Santa Claus at school. 

On Friday he brought it home so we can mail it. Of course we had a look at what was inside. 

Oskar would like a garbage truck which is no surprise as he has been asking for one this summer. He would also like a plane which is also not too surprising as the one Wolfram gave him last year broke. 

There was a third item on the list: the around the world set from Duplo. The funny thing is that the night before I showed Wolfram two ideas for Christmas, the Playmobile garbage truck and the around the world Duplo set. What a coincidence:)

Now we need to find out what is on Thomas' list

December 5th

Waiting for Saint Nicolas...

Sometimes I miss fall