sievkins

Castles and Such

2012-02-20T21:07:00.000-05:00

The kids went on a quite a creative streak the other day. They both had show-offable constructions....

Linus set ups this elaborate scene with his Playmobil toys all by himself. We had no idea he was doing it until he came downstairs and proclaimed that we HAD to see what he made. I'm not quite sure what all these people are supposed to be doing, but it seems to make sense to Linus, so I'm cool with it.

Later, Greta worked with Annette to make this Duplo castle. I didn't even get a good picture of the other side, which included a petting zoo and a motorcycle garage. Unlike her brother when he was her age, Greta did not seem compelled to completely destroy her castle within seconds of completing it.

Valentines

2012-02-19T20:50:00.000-05:00

The kids got quite a few Valentines cards from their classmates this year. Tattoos seemed to be the major theme (we gave those too), but really the kids didn't care as long as cartoon characters were involved. Candy was a definite plus.

Linus (with yet another exceptional cowlick) sorts through his pile o' Valentines.

Annette and Greta pass judgment on yet another horrible Valentine pun.

This picture has virtually nothing to do with Valentine's Day, but it is some art from Greta that arrived at the same time as her Valentines. In case you can't read it, her teachers helpfully added the following caption: "My tree's name 'Steve'". Because of course it is.

Stay-on-the-Stick S'mores

2012-02-16T21:00:00.002-05:00

On Valentine's Day, my work was having a food-on-a-stick contest. I wanted to participate, but I honestly didn't want to try very hard. We have some real over-achievers at work when it comes to food contests, so I knew I wasn't really a contender. BUT, for the first time, I entered something I came up with on my own--no internet recipes. With some trial and error and some help from Annette and the kids, I created s'mores that you never have to take off the stick! For Germans who are unfamiliar with s'mores, these are usually marshmallows that have been toasted over a campfire then squished between two graham crackers and some Hershey chocolate. Our marshmallows were untoasted, the chocolate was higher quality Ghirardelli, and the graham crackers were traded for Teddy Grahams, but they actually came out tasting pretty s'moresy!

The kids' main job was to put the marshmallows on the sticks. They were surprisingly adept at this task and I didn't have to fix a single one.

Still, I'm not sure jabbing soft things with sharp sticks is a skill I necessarily want the kids to have.

At this point, Annette and I had to work quickly to cover the marshmallows with chocolate before it cooled, so Linus took over the photography. This was the closest I got to getting into any of the pictures.

Linus provides photographic evidence that I got flowers for Annette for Valentine's Day.

In this shot, Linus tries to illustrate the plight of a lone Teddy Graham that has fallen out of the bowl and become isolated from his clan.

OK, I'm back behind the camera now, taking a picture of the finished products. As expected, I didn't win, but considering this entire project took about 15 minutes and I was able to involve the whole family, I have not regrets.

Polka-dot Princess

2012-02-15T21:41:00.000-05:00

What's better than a polka-dot shirt? A polka-dot shirt AND polka-dot pants, that's what!

I'm sure we have polka-dot socks around somewhere, but Greta never keeps socks on her feet longer than 2 minutes at home.

Plaster Fun Time

2012-02-13T22:21:00.000-05:00

Linus went to his friend Sophia's birthday party this past weekend and a plaster painting good time was had by all!

There was a whole wall of plaster sculptors the kids could choose from, so of course Linus chose by far the most difficult to paint. Here he is priming his dragon with Sophia and Avery.

There's so much to paint that he resorts to using two brushes at once. Talented!

As you can see in this picture, there were a lot of colors to choose from. Linus had to get a little of each color on his dragon.

Eventually, I had to help him finish up, so this was the last picture of the painting.

Paint smocks and brushes were then traded for napkins and forks as the kids dug into the birthday cake. Yum!

The Dinosaurlick

2012-02-10T22:01:00.000-05:00

Some kids get cowlicks (there might not be a good translation of this word into German...Haarwirbel maybe?). Linus gets dinosaurlicks:

He's had this all night. It's been hard to take him seriously.

I mean look at it. People pay good money to get their hair moussed up like that. What body his hair must have!

Maybe I'm just jealous. I wish I had enough hair to maintain that level of cowlickishness.

Super Bowl Sunday

2012-02-08T23:36:00.000-05:00

Though it pains me to think about Super Bowl Sunday a bit now that I know the outcome of the game, we did have a fun day. For those of you in Germany who have no idea what I'm talking about, the New England Patriots (our team) were in the national championship football game this past weekend. They lost. BUT, we had a good time getting ready for the game, going to the Y for a pre-game party.

Now that I think about, the bouncy house is a great simulation for an actual football game, minus the protective head gear. Hey kids! If you bounce into each other enough, you could experience brain trauma, just like the pros!

Greta got her face painted. If only she got "Go Pats!" painted on her face, maybe they would have one. We'll never know!

We didn't get such a great picture of this, but Greta also ran a little obstacle course and "caught" a football as she dived onto this mat. Considering the quality of some of the receiving in the game that night, it was once again, just like the pros! (I'm not bitter or anything)

I don't know what bracelet making has to do with football, but the kids enjoyed it. And Annette made a pretty cool "Go Pats" bracelet!

Later, Greta got all prettied up for the Super Bowl party we went to. Also notice the bag of Doritos. I only by Doritos once a year, on this weekend. They're kind of a comfort food from my childhood, but as an adult I can only take so much orange food coloring consumption.

The Tooth Brusher

2012-02-06T22:35:00.000-05:00

Lately, Greta has been a pain in but when it comes to brushing her teeth. Basically, I have to come up with some clever new way to do it every night or she won't open her mouth. My approach a few nights ago was: don't do it at all. Let the big bro take care of things. Worked like a charm!

Look how wide she's opening her mouth! She never does that for me!

Then again, Linus's tooth brushing technique isn't exactly top notch. I supposed I'll go back to brushing her teeth to the Indian Jones theme and see how that goes.

Bath Buds

2012-02-04T22:24:00.000-05:00

The time that these two can still take a bath together is probably coming to a close soon--they're just getting too big. Linus is officially longer than the bathtub, so I'm not sure he'll be taking baths that much longer at all. A few more pictures then, while I can still think of both the kids as "little". And to think that we used to bathe these two in a bucket!

Greta pretty much practices her laps in the tub. No small feat with Linus filling up most of the "lane".

If it looks like Greta's singing, that's because she is. They both are, actually. They love to hear the sound of their own voices when their ears are underwater. Aqua opera, if you will.

First "Report Card"

2012-02-02T22:31:00.000-05:00

Linus got his first report card from the German Saturday School this past weekend, and it was great! He's too young for "real" grades, but his teacher had nothing but good things to say about him. I won't transcribe the whole thing, but the last line is "Er steckt uns Alle mit seiner Lebensfreude an!" Loosely translated, that means he shares his love of life with everyone! We're very proud of him, so he got a special treat...

Chocolate cake! If anything motivates him to continue to do well in school (you know, besides wanting to learn and speak German with his relatives), it'll be chocolate cake.

And here's Greta with her I-did-nothing-to-deserve-this-treat-but-that-won't-keep-me-from-enjoying-it face. Though I will say, Greta probably speaks as much if not a little more German than Linus did at her age. She always says "Gute Nacht" and she says "nein" a lot. Really a lot.

A Weekend of New Playgrounds

2012-01-31T21:56:00.000-05:00

As yet another winter weekend went by with no snow, we have been forced to get a little creative with the outside entertainment. The kids have been to pretty much every playground we know of within a kilometer or so of our home, so we ventured out a little further to find some "new" playgrounds. I didn't have the camera at the first on Saturday (it wasn't all that exciting anyway), but I did bring the camera when Linus met a German school friend at the playground of one of Belmont's other elementary schools. It was one of the more elaborate playgrounds I'd seen for a while--these pictures don't really do it justice.

The playground was essentially an enormous wooden castle, filled with little hidden nooks and secret passageways. It was pretty easy to lose Greta in there if you didn't watch her closely.

That's Linus in the back coming over a bridge. This picture only encompasses a fraction of the playground.

Plenty of room to run and jump. I got tired just watching the kids run around this place. OK, part of the reason I didn't take many pictures is because I was also running around and crawling through the castle. It was fun!

Greta, who was already tired when we arrived at the playground, wasn't quite as active as her brother. But she did enjoy this swing! About 20 minutes after I took this video, she was pretty much catatonic with exhaustion.

The Time Keeper and Super Specs

2012-01-30T20:22:00.000-05:00

These are just a few random pictures I took the other night as Linus ran around with my watch and Greta had the binoculars. The super hero names are mine, but I think the kids would appreciate them.

The Time Keeper's superpower is the amazing ability to tell you what time it is. Please note that Linus cannot actually read the time yet, but he can show you the time with the watch.

Meanwhile, Super Specs will blind you with her grin and then look at you really hard.

Sticker Trunk

2012-01-29T22:22:00.000-05:00

I've been a bit slow post the last few days--it's been a busy week! Since several people expressed concern, I wanted to mention that Greta's finger is all better. I suspect that some of the drama around that finger may have been extended due to the sympathy chocolate she was getting. Smart girl. Anyway, on to tonight's topic:

Linus and Greta get a lot of stickers, but we don't want stickers all over our walls, floors, and furniture. Hence, the Sticker Trunk. You've seen it in pictures before, but I thought I would take this opportunity to explain it. This is (or at least was) my trunk. I put a lot of stickers on it myself over the years. When the kids needed a place to put stickers, it was a natural choice.

You can still see a few of my stickers on there, but the top is thoroughly shellacked with the kids' stickers now. I used this trunk for college. If Linus ever takes it to college, he could do an archeological dig through the many layers of stickers and revisit various points during his childhood.

Big Boo-Boo

2012-01-25T22:23:00.000-05:00

Tonight, while Annette was picking the kids up from daycare, she accidentally caught Greta's little finger in a door. I received a call while I was coming home, telling me that I needed to go to the grocery story when I got off the train and pick up something chocolate. Chocolate cures all.

Her pinky was actually pretty swollen and she wasn't moving it--every time we tried to touch it, she screamed. We debated going to the emergency room, and I called the doctor, who said they wouldn't be able to do much for her anyway, other than stabilize the finger until tomorrow. Not anxious to spend 5 hours in the ER, we settled for this:

Nurse Mommy taped the injured pinky to the ring finger with some tissue and gave the bandage some pretty decorations. It turns out that bandage must have had a little magic in it, because about half an hour later, Greta tore it off and declared that she was fine. Wiggled the injured finger and everything. It's a Wednesday Miracle!

Sledding (Finally!)

2012-01-23T22:57:00.000-05:00

We finally got just enough snow (about 5 cm) on Saturday to go sledding. It was a long time coming, and the snow is already gone now, but it was enough for one nice afternoon. It was, in my opinion, the best day of the winter so far.

As usual, we had a number of people ask about our "old-fashioned" sled. I think the were surprised that the German sled went further than nearly anything else on the hill.

Of course, the plastic sled has its advantages. I'm still not sure how Greta ended up on top of Linus here, but it probably would have hurt a lot more if this had happened with the German sled.

The sledding was usually much faster than this particular run, but the kids weren't too picky about the quality. They were just happy to finally get a chance to play in the snow.

I was happy about it, too! I think I took more runs down the hill than everyone else in the family combined!

The Common in Winter

2012-01-20T00:00:00.000-05:00

This past three day weekend, we were a little museumed and aquariumed out, but we really needed to get out of the house. The snow has been less than cooperative this year, so sledding has not been an option. It has been cold, however, so we headed over to the Common to check out the ice (and some very chilly ducks).

If you're able to discern Greta's facial expression in this picture, you'll see that she is less than pleased about walking in the cold.

But that's because she hadn't made it to the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture yet! Linus claims his spot on Mrs. Mallard.

The kids will probably look different by the end of the year, but otherwise this would have been great for next year's holiday card.

The pond in the Boston Public Garden had frozen over pretty well considering it had been in the 50s less than a week earlier. Greta had never really been on ice before, so this was new for her.

Annette got a picture of her in mid slip. Those puffy snow pants can only cushion so much...

...so eventually she opted for walking along the wall instead.

Linus and I shuffled across the ice to the island where Mr. and Mrs. Mallard took their family in the book. In case anyone is worried about the ice, there were dozens of people skating on it, so we figured we were pretty safe.

Greta, sour when we first arrived on the Common, had cheered up considerably by now.

Linus explores a frozen fountain. Visiting these touristy places "off season" was way more enjoyable than I expected. I still don't really consider myself a local by Boston standards, but these kids will be.

Photo Assignment, Pt. 2

2012-01-17T22:59:00.000-05:00

More pictures from guest photographer, Linus.

And now you know why our kids know who Elvis is (though I'm not sure they'd recognize "old' Elvis).

I think Linus might title this one: "All the gross spices Mommy and Daddy put in their food, making it too non-bland for me to eat."

Linus ordered me to say "Cheese!". Otherwise I am not normally this gleeful while doing dishes.

OK, I confess that the pantry could use some straightening up.

I'm sure the dolls were horrified to find the gigantic pair of panties on their front yard.

And finally, we end with our pretty Christmas cactus, which has been blooming steadily for a few weeks now. Thanks for the pictures, Linus! I'm sure we'll have you back for future posts!

Photo Assignment, Pt. 1

2012-01-15T17:53:00.000-05:00

I've been a little lazy about taking picture this past week, so the other night I gave the camera (the old camera) to Linus and told him to take pictures of whatever he wanted for about 10 minutes. Bil Keane, the cartoonist who drew Family Circus, used to let "little Billy" draw the cartoon once in a while. I think it's about time Linus contribute to a post with some picture taking. I'll take care of the captions.

The center of a 4-year-old's existence: his mom.

Toys. Toys are also important to a 4-year-old. Even if Linus is almost 5, they're still important.

Books are also important. Keeping them organized is clearly not important.

The Bobby Car is parked next to the recycling, AKA, The Big Mess in the Corner.

Dishes. I confess, I gave Linus this photo assignment because I was busy doing dishes and I needed something to distract him. Here's my proof!

You might think this picture is pretty boring at first, but there is actually something very out of place here.

The Santa Claus Erin drew for the kids. Linus wants us to save it and incorporate it into our holiday card next year. We'll see....

Marbles, Marbles Everywhere

2012-01-13T22:23:00.000-05:00

Talk about a the toy that keeps on giving. The kids got some new marbles the other day, so of course we had to test them out on the ol' Kugelbahn.

Hmm...that tower doesn't look exactly plum, which is probably my fault. Whatever. As long as the marbles go down the path, right?

One of my friends recently shared her daughter's plumber's crack on her blog, so I figured share and share alike.

So loud. So many marbles everywhere. But still a favorite toy after almost two years, so I'm not complaining.

The Readers

2012-01-10T22:03:00.000-05:00

Nothing warms my heart more than when I see my kids sitting quietly down an reading a pile of books. And when I say pile, I mean pile.

I've read some of these books to Linus so many times that he can practically recite them verbatim to me. Here's hoping that they still want to look at books as much when they actually know how to read!

Happy 2012!!

2012-01-08T21:59:00.000-05:00

I realize it's been the New Year for over a week now, but I'm just getting to our New Year's Eve "celebration". I put that in quotes, because even though we partied with the kids for about half an hour after dinner, I don't think anyone in the house was actually awake at midnight. OK, I guess technically the Boston fireworks woke me up at midnight, but I'd been asleep for a good hour before that. We're a wild bunch.

Even though the poppers I bought said something along the lines of "Welcome to the New Century!" on the side, they still worked. We retro-partied like it was 1999!

Somehow, I bought this horn on purpose. I really need to be chaperoned when I go to the party store.

The kids enjoyed the paper streamers Oma and Opa brought from Germany so much that the next day some of them were rolled back up and re-launched.

The tie-dye Happy New Year hat made the rounds, though Greta did not keep it long (for obvious reasons).

Considering these two barely understand the concept of time--never mind what it means for it to be a New Year--they had not problem celebrating. We could probably do this every month, and as long as they get to make a mess and make noise, it's all good.

Back to the Indoor Playground

2012-01-06T22:50:00.000-05:00

When the weather was cold and damp this past weekend, the indoor playground seemed like the obvious place to go. At least it was obvious to me. Linus and Greta practically had the place to themselves. That meant plenty of running and bouncing and generally tiring them out. Yay!

So many vehicles to choose from. And a lot of them have faces!

The bouncy obstacle course has improved quite a bit since last year. It even appears to be slightly less filthy (for now).

Greta was surprisingly agile on the geodesic dome thing.

Chillaxin' in the ball pit.

Since we had the place practically to ourselves, we could make our own obstacle course to the ball pit. As you can probably guess by this video and the one below, the red cylinder is my favorite part of the course.

If only we could set something like this up in our home, we've never have to worry about tiring the kids out again.

Admit it. You're kind of jealous that you can't run through this thing.

Even though she had essentially the whole warehouse-sized space to run around, Greta still insisted on running on these tread mills every 20 minutes or so. Maybe she's going to be one of those weirdos who actually likes going to the gym.

Pig Balloon

2012-01-05T21:18:00.000-05:00

Before New Year's, Annette sent me to the nearby party store to get some supplies for New Year's Eve. Since I had to take Greta with me, Annette suggested I get her a balloon. I made the mistake of letting Greta pick any balloon she wanted. At a party store.

Of course she picked one of the biggest balloon in the store, a pig bigger than her. At least pigs are sort of associated with New Year's in Germany since they're considered lucky, so it was a somewhat timely choice (and bit more appropriate than the giant champagne bottle balloon that she was also eying). But how does one play with such a huge balloon?

Apparently, when you're two, you can figure out a way to play with anything.

Presents, Sweets, and Fish!

2012-01-03T22:14:00.000-05:00

Kind of a hodge podge of pictures for this first post of the year because a) I have a lot of pictures that don't necessarily all need their own post and b) today was my first day back at work and I'm a bit tired. But here goes!

Present opening in our house was not limited to Christmas morning since we had a few more packages streaming in. These are from Aunt Wendy.

They got Pez dispensers from her, amongst other things. Greta was pretty excited about Piglet. Linus was not quite sure what to think.

Then even more presents from Oma and Opa when they arrived early last week. The Lego fire engine went over very well.

Then, amazingly, the kids were able to eat more from the Bunte Teller. I didn't think Linus would manage it again, but I guess he had to show Oma and Opa what a good German boy he is.

Now on to the fish part of the post! It's been a while since we had some poorly taken pictures from the aquarium, so here you go. At least you can see the sea dragon here (always one of my favorite parts of the aquarium).

I'm all done with flashes at the big ocean tank, so even if you only see Greta's silhouette, at least it's a good shot of the sea turtle. I assume this is Myrtle, the biggest turtle in this tank.

And it's only taken me a five years to figure this out, but I can take reasonably good videos at the aquarium. We watched this shark swim around for a while, and the kids stood at this window for a remarkably long time. I can honestly say that even though I've been to the aquarium a few dozen times since we moved back to New England, it never gets old for me. I hope the kids continue to enjoy it as much as I do!

Christmas 2011, cont.

2011-12-31T21:42:00.000-05:00

And here are some more pictures of Christmas day, to wrap up the year on the Sievkins blog. Happy New Year, everyone!

After playing with the new toys for a while, we went to the park for some fresh air. As you can see, our Christmas was less-than-white.

Linus is wearing a hat he received from Aunt Wendy a few years ago. We didn't think it would fit him until he was 18, but little did we know he'd have such a huge head.

Not that he actually kept the hat on his head. Not that Annette didn't try to keep it on his head.

Greta seemed to really like leaning back like this while swinging. I was getting seasick just watching her.

As Linus wedges himself between the rocks, Greta tries to eat the ice she just picked up from the ground. Mmm...crunchy!

Back at the ranch, the family plays a rousing game of Zingo!, one of our new games. It's like bingo, with a little more zing.

It's one of the few games we received that Greta can actually play, so she's pretty into it.

Later, Linus and Grandpa play Othello. Not a new game. I've had this Othello board since I was not much older than Linus.

Linus looks like he knows Grandpa is about to make a devastating move.

I also played a game. It's like solitaire, but it's a drinking game. I call this game "Drink the Giant Beer!" I won!

2011 Epic Christmas Morning Post

2011-12-29T22:04:00.000-05:00

I think the title of this post pretty much speaks for itself. Rather than split these pictures into a bunch of posts, here's the deluge of photos and videos for your holiday pleasure. I should mention that the kids did give us a present...they let us sleep in on Christmas morning. I thought for sure they'd be up early, but we were in bed past 7. Thanks guys!

Greta, who was still a bit baffled by Christmas, was nevertheless very excited about all the goodies in the stockings. She informed everyone that they had presents in their stockings.

See that grin? She was even excited about her toothbrush. Surprisingly, she was a bit more methodical than her brother when it came to opening gifts.

Both kids were so excited about the presents under the tree that it took them a while to register the rather large, unwrapped gift next to the tree near the wall.

This dollhouse was Greta's one big gift from us. It's a true hippie house--solar panel, wind mill, and recycling bins are all included. A bit pretentious perhaps, but fun!

Greta was most impressed by the bushes made of yarn.

Grandpa waits anxiously for someone to give him one his presents.

And Linus plays with his big present--an iPod. Yes, I realize this is an extravagant gift for a kid his age. We had our reasons for getting this for him...some of the reasons are actually pretty good. Still, he now has a nicer iPod than me.

But never fear! Good old fashion books are still a big draw!

Grandpa got Linus this remote control car, which works by shining a laser so the car follows the beam. It's also really, really fast. Its slowest setting is still faster than any other remote control car I've ever had or seen. Truly, we live in the future.

It did not take the kids long to figure out how to disassemble several parts of the dollhouse. Taking the roof off was almost as popular as stuffing every piece of furniture and doll into one room, something they probably fantasize about doing in our own home.

Grandpa turned out to be pretty good at "training" one of the magic squirmy things the kids got in their stockings.

BUT, he was not familiar with Angry Birds. Linus filled him in.

These wooden blocks from the Wilsons were also a hit. They even have German vocabulary and letters on them! Also, let's see you build a tower with your dang iPod gizmo.

And finally, Erin and I sit and decompress after a busy morning. Whew! Good thing the kids had enough energy for the rest of us combined.

Bunte Teller

2011-12-27T09:06:00.000-05:00

Linus kind of scarfed down his dinner on Christmas Eve because he knew Annette was going to put out the Bunte Teller (colorful plates) soon afterward. For the Americans, Bunte Teller are plates of sweets that are put around Christmas time. We decided to let the kids eat as much as they wanted from the plates on Christmas Eve. They had a higher capacity for sweets than I imagined.

When Annette finally showed Linus the plate, he was literally jumping up and down in excitement. Hard to believe that few years ago we had to make this kid his own special savory Bunte Teller because he didn't like chocolate. Those days are long gone.

The kids went for the marzipan first, shoving entire pieces into their mouths. I think they polished that off within about 5 minutes. It was disgusting to watch--I'm not going to lie. And even though Linus claims he's not going to eat the whole plate, it wasn't for a lack of trying.

Still working on the marzipan, Greta looks like she's making sure they each get an equal number of pieces.

As Linus shoves a huge piece of Lebkuchen in his mouth, Erin has to look away. Did our experiment with letting them eat as much as they want work? Sort of. Linus definitely learned his lesson. After gorging for about 15 minutes, he ended up curled in the fetal position on the floor groaning. I tried not to tease him too much--he was definitely punished for his gluttony. Greta on the other hand...I don't know how she ate what she did and not get sick. Her belly was visibly distended, and she didn't complain. Gross. But hey, Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve Dinner 2011

2011-12-26T21:02:00.000-05:00

We stuck with Annette's family tradition of having bread with everyone's favorite "wishes" for Christmas Eve dinner. We had a pretty nice spread!

Look at the greens and reds. Annette and Greta even match the table cloth and San Pellegrino bottles, respectively.

Greta eats string cheese for her wish, a sort of fake cheese that she eats pretty much every day anyway. I guess it doesn't have to be "special", just a favorite.

Linus chose bagels with jelly, and since he was allowed to put as much jelly as he wanted on his bagel, it turned more into jelly with a little bagel on it.

One last picture before we sit down to eat (the kids jumped the gun a bit).

Then Grandpa was kind enough to get me in a picture. See? I'm at these events, too! And I enjoyed my roast beef with drunken goat cheese and horseradish mustard very much, thank you.

Prepping for Christmas

2011-12-26T20:52:00.000-05:00

I'm back! I have not posted for a while because A) I got terrible food poisoning last week and wasn't up for doing much of anything for a few nights and B) I spent my evenings celebrating Christmas with my family. So now I'll do a couple rapid fire posts to show people what we were up to over the past week.

Erin arrived on Friday. We did some dancing to some Christmasy rock n' roll. Greta chose to go without pants for most of the day. I'm hoping she eventually grows out of the dancing with no pants phase.

We also did some crafts. Erin works on a fancy 3-D paper snow flake while the kids do some stamp art. Since this trunk is already covered with stickers, getting some stamp ink on it is not the end of the world.

Stamp art, as you may well imagine, was followed shortly by bath time.

And then the kids stuck some cloves into an orange to give the place a festive scent. Smells like Christmas!

Trimming the Tree

2011-12-21T22:57:00.000-05:00

When we decorated our Christmas tree this past weekend, I decided I was finally going to get myself onto this blog by asking Annette to take pictures (with our new camera). But Annette is ever-so-sneaky. She was sure to take the pictures so poorly that I would never ask her to take pictures again. You got me, dear! I won't ask again!

This was the clearest picture we have of me in it. Which is to say, not very clear. Perhaps I'm just not as camera-friendly as the rest of the family, therefore our new camera refuses to focus on me.

Linus contemplates the French horn thing that we've been hanging on the tree since I was a kid.

Not the greatest picture, but see that branch upon which Linus is hanging an ornament? 75% of our ornaments ended up right there. We had to do a little relocating after the kids went to bed, and that part of the tree is still pretty ornament-heavy.

Not sure how Annette took this picture. Maybe she climbed inside the tree when I wasn't looking?

Greta looks for the perfect spot. Probably about 3 cm away from the last perfect spot she found.

I'm realize as I'm posting this that we never got a picture of the finished product. That's OK. It'll turn up here eventually. It did turn out to be a very pretty tree, thanks to our two little decorators!

Gingerbread Mansions

2011-12-19T22:19:00.000-05:00

I'm calling this year's gingerbread constructions mansions because compared to last year's fiasco, they really were mansions. Or maybe this year we have real gingerbread houses and last year we had gingerbread hovels. This year things worked out a bit better.

This year's kits were a little more basic. They came with the walls and roof and that's it. Annette made the frosting to stick them together and it worked way better than the stuff that came with the kit we had last year. Linus still looks a bit bored as he waits for the construction. He wants to get decorating.

Greta seemed a bit more engaged by the construction process. Or she's just a ham for the camera.

The kids each had favorite decorations. Greta went for an M&M motif...

...while Linus went more for Gummi Bear Rococo.

Greta also had a strict "One M&M for the house, one M&M for me" rule. Tasteful and tasty!

Personally, I like Linus's chocolote-covered pretzel skylight.

I think Greta was preferentially eating the red M&M's, because at this point in the process she pretty looked like a post-dinner vampire.

The finished products, and they're still intact now, a day and a half later! Except for the parts the kids nibbled off. Maybe next year we'll decorate the houses with something healthy so they're less likely to be consumed before Christmas.

Cookie Party!

2011-12-17T23:18:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, Linus had a cookie decorating play date with his friend Faith. It soon became apparent that they weren't so much decorating cookies as placing some cookies underneath some piles of decorations. But whatever, they had fun. Actually we ALL had fun. I decorated my fair share, too.

The kids really did a lot of the work. They cut the shapes and helped make the different colored frosting. This is hard-core cookie production.

Greta looks like she's watching Faith for some frosting-making tips.

In case you're wondering, those are plates of colored sugar. Because sugar cookies covered with the sugar-based frosting could always use another layer of sugar. Did I mention there was some sugar in these cookies?

You can't really see the kids' faces all that well, but trust me when I say they have looks of intense concentration.

Voila! You can tell which ones are mine because they are totally awesome. Just kidding. Everybody did a great job. One of my favorite play dates yet!

First Concert

2011-12-15T22:37:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, we all went to Linus's German Saturday School to watch his class sing "O Tannenbaum" in a school-wide concert. It was actually a pretty big space, and full. Greta and I had to sit up in the balcony and I would say there were over 300 people there altogether. Afterward, Linus said it was "fun to be on the stage, but scary." I was really too far away to take a good video with our little camera, but at least you can hear their angelic little voices. Annette says one of the other parents might put a better video up on YouTube. If that happens, I'll link to it from here.

Getting a still picture proved to be a little too hard, too. My flash definitely didn't reach that far. In case you can't tell which kid is Linus, he's the one picking his nose.

I apologize for the jiggly camera work. I had Greta sitting on my lap, and she was getting antsy. We waited about 45 minutes for this magical moment. And for once, I'm not being sarcastic. It really was pretty fun to watch Linus on the stage and I couldn't have been more proud of him.

Nikolaustag '11

2011-12-13T22:52:00.000-05:00

I'm a bit late with the Nikolaustag this year, but once again, Sankt Nikolaus deemed the kids good enough to get some gifts in their boots. I think Sankt Nikolaus had some blinders on this year.

The kids may have received gifts, but that didn't prevent Sankt Nikolaus from giving them slightly passive aggressive books.

Upon seeing her boot, Greta (aka "Little Miss Stubborn") has a choice between picking up the book, the toy, an orange, or the chocolate. Guess which one she goes for?

Linus (aka "Mr. Slow") is very pleased with his puzzle. Only big boys get 100 piece puzzles.

Greta got a Zhu Zhu pet for her gift, which is basically a robot hamster. Of course, she methodically read the directions before turning it on.

Learning to Count

2011-12-11T10:31:00.003-05:00

Greta is apparently getting a lot of input from various parties on how to count. She learns German from Annette. She's learning to count in Spanish at Daycare. Linus is apparently teaching some sort of pre-school potty talk. My straight up English counting is a non-factor at this point. When she was counting her magnetic letters the other day, this is what we heard: "Eins, zwei, drei, siete, ocho, penis." Hmm...it didn't get any better when I started taking this video.

In fact, it went straight downhill to exclusively potty talk. I think Linus sums it up pretty well. Yuck.

Jelly Time

2011-12-10T22:31:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, I practiced taking pictures with our new camera while the kids made jelly and cookies with Annette. This camera is a bit more complicated than our old one. Eventually, the pictures should look better. Right now they're a little...off.

Linus is looking SUPER pumped about making jelly.

Hmm...apparently jelly making is very serious business.

In case you're wondering why I'm taking pictures instead of helping, I totally bought the raspberries used to make this jelly. See? Helpful!

The new jelly was used right away for the cookies that I also didn't help make.

Greta was very, very generous with her jelly dollops.

Guess which plate Annette did and guess which plate the kids are doing.

Belmont Festivities

2011-12-07T22:57:00.000-05:00

This past week was Belmont's tree lighting down in the center of town. I didn't get a lot of pictures because Greta was on my shoulders most of the time (that's also why we don't really have any pictures of Greta). She's still on the fence about Santa. I think Santa Claus kind of freaks her out a bit, but she was intrigued when he came riding in on top of a fire truck. Fire trucks are cool, so maybe this Santa guy is OK. Anyway, on to the pics...

A quaint picture of Linus gazing into the candy store window. I hope he enjoyed it, because that's as close to that candy as he was going to get.

He and his sister did get to have some hot cocoa, however.

Linus runs up to give Rudolph a hug. How many kids ran over from that Fried Dough stand in the background to give Rudolph a hug? That costume must be filthy!

Advent Calendar - 2011

2011-12-05T21:58:00.001-05:00

We got fancy new Advent calendars from Oma this year, so no more individually wrapping 48 little gifts. Thank you, Jutta!

Greta barely understands what's going on, but she's pretty sure she likes it.

Linus's calendar is placed very strategically. He can't open his until he's finished his milk. On a normal day, it takes him about half an hour to drink one cup of milk (not an exaggeration). With the calendar there as motivation, it goes much, much faster.

Greta gets a little help from me to get her gift.

What could it be??!!

I think you can listen to my voice-over narration, which is a perfectly fine audio caption for this video.

Annette Turns 30-Something!

2011-12-03T21:29:00.000-05:00

Annette's birthday was last Friday! We celebrated in our usual manner: chocolate cake from Russo's and some terrible off-key singing.

Not sure why Linus opted out of singing. Maybe he's too cool to sing happy birthday now. At least we got a nice "Herzlichen Glueckwunsch!" out of him (sorta).

You can tell that Greta is almost quivering with anticipation for this cake. As is Annette.

Linus dives in. Please note that we ate this fairly early in the afternoon. There is enough chocolate in this cake to keep the kids revved up for hours, so it's definitely not an after-dinner treat.

Greta's eyes may have been bigger than her stomach. She looks like she's about to keel over from a major case of Cake Gluttony.

Linus, on the other hand, is a bottomless pit. He probably would have taken another piece if we'd let him. Yeah, you're gonna be brushing your teeth for about 10 minutes tonight, buddy.

Thanksgiving 2011: The Main Event

2011-12-01T21:31:00.000-05:00

Guest for Thanksgiving this year included Grandpa, Erin, the Holmes family, and the Schubert family. This will likely be the last time we see the Schuberts for a while. They move to London in a few weeks! We also had a new addition to the festivities this year: the Kids' Table!

Greta is all like, "Boys are so immature!"

I realize you can't see any faces here, but this is more about the food. We spend hours preparing our feast, but mere minutes preparing dinosaur chicken nuggets for the kids. Hence, the Kids' Table.

Now that's more like it!

Greta was a big fan of the chocolate dessert that Angela brought. She's still asking for them--"sprinkley Angelas"--a week later.

Casey was a little shy of the kids' table at first, but she eventually had to try it out.

Baby Ellie says, "All the grown-ups have cameras! Enough with the flashes!"

In true Sievkins fashion, Greta says goodbye to Elias by throwing a moose at him. That's one way to leave an impression.

Thanksgiving 2011: Pre-Game Show

2011-11-29T22:17:00.000-05:00

We had a fun Thanksgiving with lots of guests and LOTS of eating, but before I show you those pictures, here's the (relative) calm before the storm.

Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving parade on my laptop. OK, sometimes I have to admit that I kinda wish we had a real TV.

Erin really got into "helping" Linus play a new game on the iPad. Even when Linus got bored and walked off, she kept on helping him!

Greta had quite a fancy outfit on. Very festive, and she almost went two hours without getting any food on it!

And here's the turkey before carving. My Aunt Wendy told me that she knows adults quite a bit older than me who have never tried cooking a turkey before, so I'm kind of proud that we've been doing this for 6 or 7 years straight now.

Pals

2011-11-27T20:30:00.000-05:00

Linus recently that to put a little photo album together as part of his "homework" for daycare. He had to find pictures of his family, and also pictures of a pal. He chose Greta as his pal, which I thought was pretty cool. They really are pretty good pals though. That might not last forever (or at least it will probably take a hiatus during their teen years), so we're going to enjoy it while we have it.

A pal will drag you around the house in a diaper box...

...with the understanding that you get a ride in the diaper box, too.

OK, kids. That's pretty smiley, but I think you can smile harder!

There you go!!

What Autumn's All About

2011-11-25T20:26:00.000-05:00

The first time we raked leaves, it was too wet to really play in them. We had to make up for that with the last round of leaf raking...

We had a pretty big pile of leaves going. Eventually it would fill up three big barrels.

At first the jumping was a little tame. I mean, anybody can jump into the leaves...

...but jumping out of the leaves is also pretty fun.

No matter how many times Linus did this, Greta was always delighted. She expresses delight be shrieking piercingly, in case you hadn't noticed.

Eventually, I decided the kids were having too much fun....

...so I decided to join them. Parents, it might be too late this year, but please consider jumping in the leaves with your kids next year. When I did a flip into the leaves, I became their hero for the rest of the day.

Luxury

2011-11-25T20:03:00.000-05:00

I'm glad I have pictures like this of the kids, so one day I can show them just how easy they've had it...

Beverages in bed? Check. Nice warm comforter? Check. Movie on the laptop? Check. What you can't see is Annette under that comforter giving them foot massages. Yes, our kids are spoiled.

Workin' that Puzzle

2011-11-21T21:57:00.000-05:00

Greta loves puzzles. She put almost all of this puzzle together herself, though I never managed to capture getting a piece to fit on video (as you can imagine, every correct piece is cause for celebration). Still, it's fun to watch her talk her way through it.

You can imagine that at this pace, a puzzle this big will take a while. And it does. Hey, if she wants to spend 30 minutes or so assembling a puzzle on a Saturday morning, I'm not going to argue with her.

Wagonride to the Park

2011-11-19T14:25:00.000-05:00

Besides raking leaves on our day off, the kids and I took a wagon ride to a playground several blocks away for a change of scenery. Our trip started out sunny, but by the time we go there it was chilly and windy. That didn't slow the kids down too much though.

Linus was being stubborn and refused to go on the airplane with Greta. She didn't seem to mind too much.

Later, Greta drove the fire truck while Linus climbed around precariously in the "engine".

I stole this picture from our fellow Belmontian, Angela. She and her daughters met us at the park and I gave Greta and Casey a ride in the wagon.

Greta was happy to finally get a flying partner.

I got tired of pulling the wagon on the way home, so Greta took over pulling her lazy brother. Actually, Linus dutifully pulled the wagon 70% of the way home. I just didn't happen to get a picture of that.

Fall is Finally Here

2011-11-16T21:41:00.000-05:00

After a brief bout of winter a few weeks ago, we were wondering if we'd actually get any fall. It seemed like the leaves would never change color. But this past weekend we finally had enough leaves in our yard to start raking. It was just me and the kids on Friday (a holiday) because Annette had to work, so I made sure to put the kids to work...

At first, Greta was far more interested in raking leaves back out of the barrel and into the yard. Not helpful.

Linus, on the other hand, went to town. I should emphasize that the raking was not all that easy. The leaves and the grass were very wet, but that didn't deter him.

Greta finally settled on a more supervisory role.

That's a pretty full barrel, and it was followed by two more very full barrels. We were very productive.

Unfortunately, since everything was so wet, there wasn't a lot of jumping in the leaves, which is obviously the fun part. There are still plenty of leaves to fall, however. The jumping will come.

The Real Party

2011-11-14T21:45:00.000-05:00

If the kids looked antsy in those birthday pictures, that's because they were anxious to get back into the indoor playground where the party was being held. You'll notice there aren't too many pictures of Linus here. That's because he was usually moving too fast for me to take his picture. He ran and ran for about 3 hours straight. Greta did her share of running and bouncing, but once in a while she slowed down.

The kids make their way through a play structure/obstacle course. Sometimes Greta would disappear into this thing for 10 minutes at a time and I couldn't see her. I'm glad she could eventually find her way out because squeezing my body in there would have been tough.

Doing a little grocery shopping. For some reason, one whole shelf of this play grocery store was loaded with Weight Watchers and other diet meals. Is this a not-so-subtle hint to fat parents?

Greta and Sofi were most just carb-loading, and apparently getting several whole chickens.

This room was built entirely to bang on the walls and make noise. In other words: Toddler Paradise.

Greta is into polka dots these days, so naturally she chose to ride the dinosaur with spots.

One of the rare pictures of Linus, and even this one's not so good. He even grocery shopped too fast to take a picture.

Sofi's 3rd

2011-11-12T21:05:00.000-05:00

Our friend Sofi turned 3 last weekend! Here are some pics from the party...

If we had known it would be a pink and yellow motif, we would have made sure our kids matched the decorations!

As usual, Kristina's home made cake put us and everyone else we know to shame. And it tasted good, too!

Sofi, who was also dressed in a Minnie Mouse dress, seemed pretty happy about the cake, too.

Nothing too special about this picture except hey! I'm in it!

Despite the looks of boredom on the faces of the kids, I think they were actually having a pretty good time.

Greta's New Do

2011-11-11T20:32:00.000-05:00

Though it was a long time coming, we decided it was finally time for Greta to get a haircut. Her bangs were over her eyes, and since she's constantly twirling her hair, things were getting a bit snarly in the back. So, off to Snip-Its we went!

Even with cartoons to watch, me blowing bubbles, and the promise of a lollipop, she was a little unsure what was happening.

Greta keeps her eyes on the prize. That pink basket is full of lollies.

Though we got some frowns, she never cried, and she got to pick the color bow she received in the end. And hey! That bow lasted in her hair for minutes and minutes!

Laterne

2011-11-08T21:34:00.001-05:00

Linus's Deutsche Sonnabendschule (German Saturday school) had its lantern parade for Martinstag this past weekend. It's a bit early--St. Martin's Day isn't until the 11th--but that's OK. Greta and I went into the city to see it, which was our first visit to the school. Linus started there almost two months ago and his German is already improving! I think he already understands more German than I do, though he's still a bit reluctant to speak it. But it will come! This school goes to the 11th grade, so if he sticks with it, he'll be able to communicate with the German relatives better before too long. Anyway, on with the parade!

The kids went through several hallways and stairs, and though the lanterns weren't "real" in the sense that they did not actually light up, the spirit of the event was there.

Linus made a purple lantern and marched with great purpose. Purple and purposeful.

I tried to take a video of the singing--and Linus does know at least one Laterne song quite well--but the acoustics weren't really good enough for the microphone on my camera, so it sounded pretty terrible. You'll just have to imagine the harmonious choir of angel-like singers.

What To Do With a Bonus Day

2011-11-06T21:45:00.000-05:00

Our daycare lost power in the snow storm last weekend (as did about 2 million other people in New England), so Annette and I split our Monday and Tuesday between home and work. Since the kids were getting restless, I took them to the Museum of Science on Tuesday morning to burn some energy. Oh, and I guess learn some stuff, too.

On a weekend--especially a weekend of bad weather--this hallway can be full of people waiting to get into the museum. On a random Tuesday morning, we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves, with the exception of a few school groups.

These virtual fish tanks were a new exhibit I hadn't seen before. The kids spent a while designing their own fish and "releasing" them into the tank to swim around. I'm 35 and I was kind of blown away by this. They did and will just take technology like this for granted.

That said, it was comforting to see that this exhibit--which has been at the museum since I was a kid--also fascinates them. Just take some wires bent into interesting shapes and dip them into soapy water and voila! Crazy bubbles. No advanced computational algorithms required.

And let's not forget that the physics of levers can also be fun!

Snack break in the atrium! Learning about physics requires apple juice to solidify the newly gained knowledge.

Or a sandwich. Sandwiches help, too.

Best Fort Yet

2011-11-04T22:01:00.000-05:00

Annette helped the kids build one of their best forts yet. Dark, cozy, and very fort-like. I think I understand why Erin wants to live in the cabin this winter. It's kind of like an elaborate fort for grown-ups.

Greta enters the kids' new secret headquarters for the evening.

I'm allowed a glimpse into HQ, where they have half the toys they own and a big pile of books. But this picture is a little misleading since I used a flash.

This is what it really looked like in there. This might also be my favorite picture of the week.

Trick-or-Treating 2011

2011-11-02T21:06:00.000-05:00

The kids and I ventured to new corners of the neighborhood this year for trick-or-treating, ringing doorbells of nearby homes that had Halloween decorations and basically looked they might have candy. This experience was as new for me as it was for the kids. Where I grew up, we knew everyone in town. There was no such thing as ringing a stranger's doorbell. But this is the suburbs, and I guess we do as the suburbanites do. Other than a few scary dogs, it was pretty fun!

It was hand-me-down costumes this year. The Iron Man costume is from one of Annette's co-workers and the monkey costume was Linus's. Linus really has no who Iron Man is, but that didn't stop him from loving this costume. I think he'll take anything with fake muscles. Greta had a great "Eeh eeh aah aah!" monkey noise she made to go with her costume, but of course I failed to capture that on video. Just trust that it was very cute.

Whenever there was a choice, Greta grabbed lollipops. She had two going at once at dinner (though she definitely never got down to the Tootsie rolls in the center).

Linus shows off his loot. It really wasn't that much candy, but it was enough for a 4-year-old. He was very proud of his haul.

Annette had an interesting theory with the Halloween candy. Let Linus eat as much as he wants and he'll get sick of it. Well, "as much as he wanted" turned out to be pretty much all of it. He ate everything but the lollipops. Gross.

And one last shot of our pumpkins, chilling on the porch. Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving 2011

2011-11-01T20:31:00.000-05:00

Another year, another set of jack-o'-lanterns. We usually do one per family member, but one of the 4 pumpkins I bought turned out to be kind of squishy. Still, three is really enough when I'm the one doing most of the carving. Greta is old enough now to give verbal cues for pumpkin design. She wanted a happy pumpkin with a square nose and squarish teeth. Linus is old enough to draw the face for his jack-o'-lantern, and I have to say, a face drawn by a 4-year-old actually looks pretty creepy when it's carved. I went for the freaky clown motif this year.

Once again I have left the large carving knife within easy reach of the toddler. When will I learn? I don't want Halloween to be that scary.

Greta was fascinated with the tops of the pumpkins. They were like a one piece puzzle that she could do over and over again. Look at her patiently waiting to grab that giant puzzle piece out of Linus's hand.

Linus was pretty unsure about scooping out pumpkin guts at first. Here he is scoping it out...

...and going for the reach-in. My pumpkin was big enough that when his hand was all the way to the bottom, the top went almost to his shoulder.

And the guts! No only was he a good scooper, but he helped me separate all the pumpkin seeds, too. He wouldn't actually dare eat a roasted pumpkin seed (his loss), but he helped get them.

And here they are! But jack-o'-lanterns always look kind of lame in the light.

Much better! My pumpkin may look a bit scarier, but Linus's pumpkin definitely has a distorted, freaky vibe about it. I just want to be friends with Greta's pumpkin.

Bonus Post: October Snow Storm

2011-10-30T22:03:00.000-05:00

Part of the reason we stayed in making cupcakes on Saturday was that the weather was horrible. First it was cold rain, then it was snow. Quite a bit of snow for this time of year. We didn't get as much as some parts of New England, but it was enough that I had to shovel this morning. I hadn't even picked up a rake this year--our leaves haven't changed color yet!

Linus was pretty psyched about the snow. He couldn't wait for me to get his shovel so he could help me out. Now if he can only maintain that attitude for the next 12 years or so...

Greta's reaction was "There's winter on the ground! There's winter on our car! There's winter on our neighbor's house!" It's true. We pretty much skipped autumn and went to straight to winter this year, apparently.

Spooky Cupcakes

2011-10-30T21:46:00.000-05:00

Annette pretty much never makes cakes or cupcakes out of a box, but I impulsively bought some "funfetti" Halloween cupcake mix last week and she indulged us all by making them yesterday. I think Greta and I are the only ones who actually like eating them, but everyone enjoyed making them!

I was taking a picture of Linus, but Greta did a quick spin move to make sure her face was in the picture.

Greta contemplates Linus, who is contemplating the frosting on his finger. Very contemplative kids.

Now for the funfetti! Because nothing tops sugary frosted sugar cakes like little bits of colored sugar.

As you can see by the cupcake closest to Greta, she concentrated most of her funfetti in one place. That cupcake was getting little top heavy.

Linus was actually a great help. I feel as though we are in a golden age during which he is both willing and able to help out. Greta is willing and not-so-able.

Puzzling and Tickling

2011-10-27T18:32:00.000-05:00

We really put Grandpa to work this past weekend. He help paint the base boards for our recently redone stairs and it turned out to be quite a job. But it wasn't all work and no play. It was mostly work, and Annette and I thank him very much for that, but the kids were grateful for the play time.

Puzzles have been a bit controversial in our home lately since Greta really likes to take all her puzzles apart and dump them all over bedroom, usually with little to no intention to put them all back together again. That wasn't the case here. The mess was kept to one puzzle, which is a bit more manageable.

The jungle puzzle they're putting together is a favorite. We have a book and a CD with a song to go with it. It's a comprehensive, interactive jungle experience.

Later on, Grandpa and the kids have a tickle party on the couch! OK, I guess this picture doesn't look very tickly...

Oh, that's better! Greta is very patiently waiting her turn for a Grandpa Tickle.

Obstacles

2011-10-25T20:53:00.000-05:00

The highlight of the regatta for Linus was clearly the inflatable obstacle course. Really, I don't think there's anything that can't be improved by an inflatable obstacle course. I enjoy my job, but just imagine how much more fun it would be if I had to go through an inflatable obstacle course to get there!

Linus bursts through some inflatable...things!

He swings over a pit! Sort of!

Deftly weaves through a grid of "lasers"!

And then down the slide to a waiting Annette. All without losing his hat!

Head of the Charles 2011

2011-10-23T20:51:00.000-05:00

Today we were back in Cambridge for what must be our 7th trip to the Head of the Charles Regatta. Grandpa was there, too, for his very first Head of the Charles. We've had better weather and we've had worse weather, but as always, we got lots of free stuff from the sponsors.

Greta seem genuinely amazed that Linus could have become so filthy after only 10 minutes at the race. Free food must be eaten with gusto!

Grandpa contemplates the boats and his burrito.

Meanwhile, Greta looks like she's contemplating what would happen if she pushed her stroller into the Charles.

Someone unwisely decided to throw food to the seagulls, so Annette and the kids (on the left) look like they're about to reenact a scene from The Birds.

Climbing and Sliding

2011-10-20T21:16:00.000-05:00

We had beautiful weather this past Sunday, so the kids and I went to a playground on the other side of Belmont that we don't get to very often. I don't think Annette even knows where it is--I discovered it a few years ago while riding my bike around with Linus. It's got some cool structures, so the kids were able to burn off plenty of energy.

So, I have a great video of the kids climbing on this structure, with Greta very proud of being able to climb the ladder by herself. For some reason I can't seem to add it to the post right now, so maybe that will come later. For now we just have this picture of Greta on the Big Girl Slide.

This weird little fort has one easy way to get up and three difficult ways. I'm kind of proud that neither Linus nor Greta wanted to try the easy way.

This ladder was one of the difficult ways. Linus gave it a shot, but didn't quite make it to the platform. Honestly, it really did look extremely awkward to climb.

I enjoyed watching all of Linus's hair stick straight out every time he went down this slide. Hurray for static electricity!

The Ukulele

2011-10-18T21:23:00.000-05:00

As someone who listens to not-necessarily-the-most-popular bands, I feel as though the ukulele as an instrument has sort of been coming into its own over the past few years. It's not just for luaus and novelty acts anymore. I mean, even Eddie Vedder is into the uke these days. So it surprises me not at all that Erin got a ukulele to help her while away her winter in the woods. She's pretty hip like that.

Also, a ukulele looks like a kid-size guitar, which the kids totally dig.

Classic Erin face. Sorry sis'. It was this or the video, and you yelled at Dad for taking a video.

Linus practices his strumming. He didn't quite build up a callus, but he tried it for more than 6 seconds, which is something.

Greta and Annette give it a shot. Look at Annette actually kind of looking like she knows what she's doing! Thank goodness one of us is musical.

After minutes and minutes of practicing, Linus took us through his rendition of Tiny Tim's "Tiptoe Through the Tulips", Greta on vocals. Sorry, no video. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Walkin' in the Woods

2011-10-16T21:30:00.001-05:00

Though throwing rocks was a big highlight for the kids at Grandpa and Erin's, there was also plenty of good old fashioned walking in the forest. I spent my entire childhood walking in the woods around my home, so it's important for me that my kids get to do that, too. They might not be able to do it as frequently as I did, but they'll still get to do it.

Walking down the very steep driveway that leads up to the cabin. How the kids managed to run down this without falling on their faces is beyond me.

Greta is very much like her Tante Erin when it comes to just wanting to do her own thing. Linus generally sticks by us, but Greta tends to hang back and has no qualms about us being out of sight.

And speaking of Erin, here's a picture of her doing something that may knees have not really allowed me to do for a long time.

The kids discovered that old logs like this are great for picking apart and finding bugs. Apparently the memory of the wasps' nest we agitated doing this over a year ago has finally faded from Linus's mind.

Eventually, we kind of wandered off the trail altogether and Greta needed a little help. The underbrush for her is still overbrush.

Erin found a little garter snake and Linus demonstrated how brave he was by touching it. I'm not being sarcastic. I'm really glad the kids aren't squeamish about bugs and reptiles and such.

Not one to be shown up by her big bro', Greta does a little snake charming herself. I have no idea why Linus has a rock, but at any given moment he did usually have either a rock or a stick in his hand.

The Rock Tossers

2011-10-15T21:44:00.001-05:00

The kids had a clear favorite pastime while they were at Grandpa's last week: throwing rocks into water. They did it on Sunday after the fair and then Linus was begging to do it again on Monday before we left. I've rarely seen either kids so focused. If anyone knows of a career that involves throwing rocks into bodies of water, please let me know. I've got two naturals on my hands.

This small gravel area has a perfect little "pond" for stone throwing. And there's certainly isn't a lack of stones.

Now play this video over and over again for 30-40 minutes and you'll get an idea of what we watched. After two days of this, most of the water in the big puddle had been displaced by rocks.

The second day of rock tossing. They tended to start further away and work closer and closer until they started getting themselves wet. They also went for progressively heavier rocks.

Linus in mid-throw. Maybe he won't be able to find a job doing this, but is the shot put in his future?

Sandwich Fair

2011-10-12T20:51:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, we attended the Sandwich Fair, a classic New England fall fair I used to go growing up. I don't think I'd been to it in nearly 20 years, but it really hadn't changed that much (which is nice). Despite what the pictures below show, there is just as much agricultural stuff as rides at this fair, but somehow I didn't get too many pictures of the kids looking at oxen and pigs. That part of the fair was always my favorite, but the kids were really into the rides. It was brutally hot for mid-October, so we didn't get to watch as many events as we normally would have, but all in all it was an enjoyable visit.

The first ride of the day, drivin' the big rig. No-Doze and satellite radio not included.

This was absolutely the saddest roller coaster ride I have ever witnessed. Linus was the only kid on there (the fair had just opened) and he had a scowl on his face most of the time. I think the coaster at Canobie Lake Park may have ruined this one for him.

Funny thing about this ride. A few cars (or 'copters...whatever) behind my kids was another little kid I recognized. He was the son of one of my high school friends, and though I'd never met him, I recognized his picture from her blog. Unfortunately, my friend wasn't there, but I think I freaked out her mother-in-law by knowing who her grandson was. Sorry I didn't get a picture of all the kids together, Michelle!

No idea who this guy is, but Linus seems to have had a good time on the obstacle course and the slide at the end.

The carousel is always a classic. Linus no longer stares into the center while it's running anymore, so I guess he's finally warmed up to them.

The kids and I enjoy the Ferris wheel and get a good view of the fair. You might spot the area where they were giving helicopter rides. Some day...

Linus has a very awkward trip down the Super Slide. The next time he went down, I went with him (after he climbed all the way to the top only to have his sliding blanket go down without him...bummer).

And here's the only picture I have of the kids with any form of livestock. Those are ducks in the background, in case you can't tell. Too bad I didn't have a video of them in the pig barn, where we discussed where the bacon they'd eaten that morning at Grandpa's house came from.

The Knotty Castle

2011-10-10T21:21:00.000-05:00

We spent this past weekend up in Madison visiting with Grandpa and Erin. It had been a long time since I'd been up there, and it was nice to see the project the two of them have been working on these pasty few months. The cabin, AKA The Knotty Castle, is looking great. Erin is just now moving in, and maybe the next time we get up there we'll be able to crash in the cabin ourselves!

Linus and Erin stand on the porch, with the very ornate front door behind them. If I'd stepped back a bit to take this picture, you could see that this place is really in the forest. Like, really really in the forest.

The kids explore the Squirrel's Nest, which are the little sleeping nooks in the underbelly of the cabin. As an adult, I thought these little sleeping areas were pretty neat. As kids, Linus and Greta pretty much think this spot is the coolest thing EVER.

Cavorting in Erin's sleeping loft. Linus had wanted to spend a night in the cabin, but I think we'll wait until next time. There's no potty yet, and he's only so-so about peeing in the woods during broad daylight, never mind during the night.

When we first visited the cabin, this chair was the only piece of furniture in it (a couch has since entered the picture). But the kids really only need one piece of furniture for jumping and climbing purposes.

New Bedrooms!

2011-10-07T20:31:00.001-05:00

One of the main reasons we wanted to redo the floors was because we were finally moving someone up to the underused second floor, and that person was Linus. After sharing a room with this sister for nearly two years, we all mutually decided it was time for him to have his own room upstairs. He was and is very excited about it.

The front bedroom before, with all the wood piled up in for the floors-to-be. Seriously, that carpet? So gross.

And now with the new floors and lots of new IKEA furniture. A rug will arrive soon, and I think it's safe to assume that there will be posters and stickers and such. Basically, this moment right now is the cleanest this room will ever be. Ever.

I thought Linus was going to be a little freaked out about sleeping in a big bed by himself upstairs, but I underestimated our Big Boy. He loves his new room. I didn't get a picture, but his bookshelf is up there, too, and every night he has a pile of books next to his bed to look at before he goes to sleep. Nice to see that some of our good habits are rubbing off on him.

Greta has not been completely banned from the room (yet), but she usually heads right for The Nook. She sensed immediately that it was the hardest place for us to reach her.

And though Greta's bedroom is not technically "new", she does get a Big Girl bed now, along with some very girly new sheets. She is also very excited, in case you couldn't tell from the ginormous grin on her face.

New Floors!

2011-10-06T20:31:00.000-05:00

Part of our Mystery Project is the replacement of the carpet on our second floor with hard wood. We've never really liked the carpet up there--it wasn't installed very well and the front bedroom was especially gross because the carpet was white and it had become very grimy even before we bought the place. So replacing that was our first big project. Here are some before and after shots...

The stairs at the front of the house before...

...and after. OK, I didn't really do a great job of replicating pictures, considering the first shot was from the bottom of the stairs and this one is from the top, but you get it.

"The Nook" before...

...and after. You'll see more of this room in the next post.

The hallway before...

...and after. Yup, even the closets got new flooring. It would have looked weird otherwise. You also now know why we have no pictures from the inside of our condo from the last few weeks. Everything upstairs had to be moved downstairs, so it looked like we lived in the warehouse from the end of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" for a while.

The back bedroom (formerly called "The Blue Room") before...

...and after. We did not wait very long to start moving stuff back upstairs, so I didn't get a picture before the beds were moved back in.

The back stairs before...

...and after. This wood is not actually new, nor is it really hard. Our floor people found this original pine beneath the carpet and we opted to just have it refinished. It was much less expensive and I think it looks fine.

I didn't get before and after shots of our stairs from the front door, but that was done, too. We already had the original hard wood floor under the carpet there, so it just needed to be refinished. All in all, we're very pleased with the results!

Mystery Project

2011-10-04T20:28:00.000-05:00

We don't have many pictures from this past weekend because we spent the majority of Saturday at IKEA. Why did we have to go to IKEA? You'll see soon. For now, here is a picture of Linus helping Annette assemble something. Better them than me. I'll just stand here and take pictures, thank you.

I should say that I did help Annette assemble some of the furniture, but as soon as Linus offered to lend a hand (and he was really helping--I'm not being sarcastic), I let him go with it. I felt a bit like Tom Sawyer tricking someone into whitewashing a fence, except Linus really did like whitewashing the fence. He was highly motivated to help with our Mystery Project.

Singin' in the Fort

2011-10-03T21:34:00.000-05:00

The kids made of fort (of sorts) out of Greta's bed and Linus's gross old mattress. And then they sang some songs. Hence, "Singin' in the Fort."

As great as it is for making forts, that mattress is going away very soon. I'd say it suffered through at least three bloody noses too many.

Check out the bilingualism! They merge from "Baa Baa Blacksheep" into "Alle Meine Entchen" with the relative ease. Linus's German is coming along pretty well with his new Saturday German school--he's not just mumbling the final words of the song anymore.

Apple Picking at Tougas Family Farm

2011-09-30T21:32:00.000-05:00

For our annual apple picking adventure, we went with the Feigins to a new orchard (for us). The Tougas Family Farm had a large variety of apples, a wagon ride, a playground, tasty apple cider doughnuts, and goats. I don't really understand why all the orchards seem to have goats, but it seems to be some kind of rule.

Greta parks herself to eat an apple. Apple clearly taste best if eaten within 40 seconds of picking them (or at least long enough to give them a bit of a wash).

The orchard had tons of visitors, but we managed to find some rows of trees completely laden with apples that nobody else had discovered. Linus attempted to pick the entire row by himself, but stopped after about 3 apples.

Most of the trees were grown in such a way that most of the apples were pretty low. But if you bring a ladder, the kids will climb...

...and climb...

...and climb. So I'm sorry that half the pictures of the kids on this ladder, but we actually spent quite bit of time here. In my mind, the number of pictures is proportional to the amount of time we spent watching the kids go up and down this ladder.

And as promised, here are some goats. I wonder if the goats get to eat all the rotten apples that fall from the trees. The apples are tasty, but I bet these goats would be delicious!

Dancing Puppet Guy Thing

2011-09-28T21:12:00.007-05:00

I'm really phoning it in for this post. I direct your attention to a recent post on Erin's blog, which features the Sievkins!

Whew! Easiest post ever!

Company Picnic - 2011

2011-09-27T21:10:00.000-05:00

Greta got a fever just hours before my annual company picnic last weekend, so she and Annette had to miss out this year. Too bad! The non-profit I work for has nearly doubled in size since last year and there were lots of people who wanted to meet my family. Still, Linus has a pretty big personality, so they weren't really disappointed too much.

Linus is wearing our company T-shirt, the front of which says "Nice genes". Get it? Cuz we're a DNA repository? Aren't we scientists hilarious?

If the organization I work for has an official game, it's corn toss. Corn toss is simple, yet highly addictive. You toss bags of corn and try to get them in a hole. Holding a beer probably helps, but this was an alcohol-free park.

Linus comes very close to the edge of a very dirty pond. He lives dangerously.

The kids and some no-longer-kids spent a while batting around beach balls that looked like animals. Better than beating real elephants, lions, and giraffes, I suppose.

Unfortunately, we forgot to take a group picture this year, which would have been impressive since with friends and family we were around 40 people. So instead you'll have to settle for yet another picture of the kids with animal-shape beach balls.

Return to the Ecotarium

2011-09-25T21:38:00.000-05:00

A week or so ago we headed to the Ecotarium in Worcester with the Feigins. The kids and I went once last year, but this was Annette's first trip!

What are the chances of taking a picture of four kids and not getting the face of a single one of them? Apparently, pretty good.

All this time, I thought PVC pipe was just for plumbing. Boy was I wrong!

Who needs piano or violin lessons when you can make beautiful music with a flip flop and a plastic pipe?

One of the local malls has one of these "hurricane machines", but it costs about $3 to use it. Not at the Ecotarium! The wind speed gets up to about 78 mph (about 125km/hour, for our German readers).

Oh, Annette. There are easier ways to go for the wind blown look.

The bubble section was a temporary exhibit at the Ecotarium, but it was one of my favorite parts.

I mean, of course it was my favorite part, because I am wicked good at blowing bubbles. Look at this monster!

And another. All these years of bubble blowing for the kids has finally paid off.

This trampoline is not as cool as it looks. It was barely bouncy at all, but that didn't keep the kids from trying.

A quiet moment at the pond. Well, sort of. Other than the kids throwing anything they could at the plentiful fish, it was pretty quiet.

The stegosaurus has definitely seen better days, but a dinosaur is a dinosaur, regardless of the number of boo-boos.

A good view of the otters.

A great view of the otters. I could have watched these guys swimming around all afternoon. Kristina actually treated some of these otters when she was doing her vet school residency. Cool!

Double Bagged

2011-09-23T21:42:00.001-05:00

These are pull-up diapers. Question: How man pull-ups can Greta pull up? Answer: More than enough.

If you ruin those expensive diapers just to practice your penguin impression, it's coming out of your future allowance!

Roman and Teresa Get Married

2011-09-22T21:42:00.000-05:00

A week or so ago, my friend Roman got married. He an Teresa have popped up on the blog before, but they're the stars of this post! Well, sort of. They're in some of the pictures anyway. I was the best man and got to wear a tux, but you'll just have to take my word for it since no one bothered to take a picture of me (actually, the official wedding photographers took about 400 pictures of me, but I don't have any of those to post).

Annette and the kids hit the dance floor. When Linus "dances", he tends to throw his body on the floor and flail around, so we asked him to tone it down a bit for the reception.

The reception dinner actually had kids' meals, but Linus pretty much stuck to the rolls.

Greta manages a smile, even though she was pretty pooped at this point. It was an evening wedding and the reception went pretty late.

Greta was just a little baby when Teresa first met her--in fact, one of my first memories of Teresa was her carrying baby Greta in our back yard. My how everyone has changed! Teresa was definitely not wearing a wedding gown back then.

I love Jewish weddings! Or at least half Jewish weddings.

Happy Birfday to Me!

2011-09-20T21:39:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 35. Many thanks to those who called and wrote and gave gifts. You know I appreciate them. But my very favorite thing about my birthday is right here:

I try not to get too sentimental on this blog. I try to keep it light, ya know? But the truth is, if the only thing I received for my birthday was this song sung by my beautiful family (and some chocolate cake!), that would have been more than OK. As it is, I got that and a lot more, and I consider myself very fortunate.

I'm sure there was a point in my life when 35 sounded really old. And maybe I am a little bit old. But Annette and our children are constantly bringing smiles and laughter into my life, and that keeps me young. Thanks, guys. Love you so much.

...And the Rest

2011-09-17T20:37:00.000-05:00

And here, finally, are the last pictures I plan to post from our vacation! It only took a month and a half. I couldn't really fit these into any one category, so they're kind of a grab bag of pictures (several of which were taken by Hendrik). It was a great trip, and I'm sure we'll be back before too long.

Pictures of Annette and I together are pretty rare, so this one's a keeper!

The kids get to watch more TV on vacation than they do at home, and even Greta zones out in front of some shows. Opa was usually their TV-watching buddy.

Greta, chillin' on the patio with her daddy-o.

Have you ever eaten waffles naked? Apparently it's the thing to do.

Squishing Mommy is fun!

Doll's Hat + Big Girl = Cute

He is not eating a waffle naked or wearing a silly hat, but he's still cute.

And finally, the giant bathing lady in the Alster. We saw in the Hamburg paper that this sculpture was going to be floating in the Alster for about a week, so how lucky were we that it coincided with our trip to Hamburg? And since I happened to be reading Roald Dahl's The BFG (Big Friendly Giant) to Linus during this trip, he was quite impressed that he got to see a real giant. Well, sort of real.

Last Visit With the Cousins

2011-09-15T21:34:00.000-05:00

The kids got to see Hanna and Noni one more time before we left Germany. This would be our last visit to this apartment. The next time we see Hendrik and Pindi, they'll be in their new house!

Erin commented on an earlier post that Noni and Greta look a lot alike. Put your fingers over their hair in this picture and I think you'll have to agree. I'm sure as they get older and their cheeks are less chubby, they won't look quite as similar, but they're quite the little doppelgangers now.

These two had a great time playing with each other. They're at the perfect age when talking just isn't that important yet. I think Greta carried out her transaction at Noni's grocery store quite well.

Hendrik and Pindi also have a trampoline in their backyard, so Hanna was able to show off some of her moves.

Greta and Noni set up some chairs to observe and critique their older siblings who were further back in the yard.

Linus and Hanna are old enough that talking is a little more important, but they still sort of got along despite not always understanding each other. Now that Linus has started his German Saturday school, they might be able to communicate a bit better on their next visit.

Rocket Ship Slide!

2011-09-13T21:38:00.001-05:00

At the same park we saw in the last post, there was a very impressive slide. Linus called it the rocket ship slide, for obvious reasons.

The first time Linus scrambled up the 4 little ladders to get to the top of this slide, it took him a while and he was a bit freaked out. Just the first time though. 20 climbs later I had to drag him away.

He's in there somewhere.

I went up a number of times myself, so I could get pictures like this...

...and a video like this. Actually, I don't even want to say how many times I squeezed up those tiny ladders before I finally got a usable video of the slide down, but I assure you there were several failed attempts. You better appreciate this 12 second thrill ride!

Willkomm-Höft

2011-09-11T21:16:00.000-05:00

Peter, the kids, and I spent an afternoon in Wedel at the park where container ships are welcomed to and bid farewell from the Hamburg port. We spent some time on the river, but the highlight for the kids was another amazing playground.

The kids enjoyed pumping water through this intricate aqueduct system. Wait, did someone sneak something educational into this playground?

I never really figured out how one was supposed to play on this structure, and since Greta did not want to get down from the middle, I guess she didn't either.

The beach along the Elbe wasn't exactly suitable for swimming, but as long as there were rocks to throw into the water, the kids were happy.

They grew progressively more ambitious until they were basically lugging boulders into the water.

One more good throw before we move on.

Of course, the ships were one the main reasons we went, but we didn't see too many. We didn't really need to since Linus insisted that this was already the Biggest Ship in the World.

I won't add this one to the danger=fun category since I don't think it's that dangerous. Definitely fun, though.

Greta looks a little lonely on this boat by herself. But at least she has a nice yellow slicker on, which is as good a sailor outfit as any.

Into the web. What a great place to trap your kids!

Stuck like flies. Sorry I didn't get a video of myself saving them from the giant robot spider. I'm sure everyone would have been very impressed.

Bubbles in the Backyard

2011-09-09T20:23:00.001-05:00

Jutta got some Pustefix on sale one day and the kids went crazy with their new bubble toys!

Apparently, blowing through a wiggly straw also makes wiggly bubbles. Amazing!

Greta's turning into quite the little bubble blower in her own right.

A toy that blows bubbles and makes a high pitched whistling sound? It's a kid's dream and a dog's nightmare.

Look, Ma! No hands!

At Judy and Ron's

2011-09-07T20:48:00.000-05:00

Most of our time in NH was spent at Aunt Judy's house. We lucked out with the weather considering we were hours away from the arrival of a hurricane. It was too bad we didn't get to camp out like we usually do, but we still managed to squeeze a lot of fun into the afternoon.

Linus is slightly less shy of Baroo than he used to be.

The kids check out Grandpa's camper. Of course they want to live there now. Maybe we could swing it if Greta agrees to sleep in the sink.

The big lawn means we have plenty of room to play fetch. I kick the ball as far as I can, and the kids run to it and bring it back. Fun!

Don't run too fast! I'm getting tired from all this kicking!

Aunt Judy and Greta flash us our grins.

We had to explain to Greta that this was a less than ideal location to watch the game of horse shoes.

Linus actually took this picture. Not too bad! He barely cut of any of Annette's head!

An action shot. I am not good at horse shoes. At all. But I did get one ringer in each game I played, which nearly made up for my almost complete lack of points otherwise.

Chillin' with the sis. Though this picture might look somewhat candid, Erin is very purposely not looking at the camera. She gets a bad case of The Squints when she looks at the camera.

This photo and the next one are courtesy of Aunt Judy. Judy gets teased about her picture taking a lot, but considering the number of pictures I've taken (and posted) over the past 4+ years, I may be the next Perkins in line to be the Crazy Camera person.

Guess which person in this picture had the longest nap that day? If you guess me, you win a prize! I was out until 2AM at a bachelor party the night before, so I ended up napping longer than Greta. She's still got the bigger smile though (in my defense, she was also not the least bit hungover).

Puttin' Around Wolfeboro

2011-09-06T20:05:00.000-05:00

Still not done with all the vacation pictures, but first there are a few posts from our all too brief visit to Wolfeboro last week. Usually we try to hit Wolfeboro during the hospital fair, but we missed it this year since we were in Germany. This past weekend was really our only free chance to visit, and Hurricane Irene cut our trip very short (about 10 hours altogether). We hope to get up again this fall to see some of the people we missed, but we did get to see some people and fulfill some promised treats.

We stopped by to see Bob, who was of course immediately captivated our little charmer here. Bob does not really use the internet, but I assure you that he will get a copy of this picture.

Bob and Annette drag Linus into one of Bob's storage units. You know, for fun! Just kidding...they're just giving him a good swing.

The aforementioned treat for Linus was miniature golf. We played for the first time in St. Peter-Ording, but I have to admit that German mini-golf (at least in SPO) is much, much harder. The "greens" there are solid plastic, so the ball is rolling around everywhere. I was grateful to be playing back on my home turf.

Linus's putting form leaves much to be desired. It's not for lack of trying to teach him, but he's going it his own way for now. He did actually get a legitimate hole-in-one, though, so he was pretty psyched about that.

Greta did not play, but she did try really hard to crawl through this tiny church (you'll have to zoom in a bit to see her).

Judging by the look on my face--not to mention the position of the ball--this putt did not go well. I'm very, very rusty.

You should have seen the speed Greta had to get up to crawl through this loop-de-loop!

Hagenbeck II

2011-09-05T19:53:00.000-05:00

OK, took a little Labor Day weekend break, but back for that Hagenback follow up post...

This tiny merry-go-around was actually broken. It never stopped. We put the kids on while it was moving and took them off while it was still moving. Opa never passes up a freebie.

Goats! Sadly, we did not meet any goats at this zoo named Linus, but we fraternized with them nonetheless.

Case File #4 for danger=fun. This two story slide was very tall and very fast (Linus is the second little boy to shoot out of it, in case you're wondering). It was also not even close to the most dangerous thing at this zoo playground, but I have to draw the line somewhere.

You have to hand it to the playground designers though...slides this tall are an awesome way to tire kids out.

Greta and Noni prepare to slide down the elephant's trunk

About 5 seconds after I took this picture, Linus fell out of the elephant's belly onto his head. Eh, I'd rather have him fall out of the elephant than off of the top of that slide.

The only surefire way to get a picture of all the kids together is to give them treats.

Linus finds a little bit of (Native) Americana in the Hamburg zoo.

Annette feeding the bull elephant. Seriously, that thing is so big. The entire Sievkins family probably weighs less than one of its legs.

We wrapped up the day with a ride through a little troll forest. You can tell Canobie Lake Park has spoiled our kids. At the end of the ride, Hanna was very excited and wanted to go around again. Linus just said, "Is that it?"

Hagenbeck I

2011-09-01T21:05:00.000-05:00

After many years of visiting Hamburg, this past vacation I finally made it to Hagenbeck, the city's famous zoo. I'm the only Sievkins who had never been since the kids went with Peter and Jutta last year. I took so many pictures it will take two posts to show them!

Greta strikes a pose in front of the entrance.

Some kind of little deer. Since most of the signs were in German, I didn't necessarily always know what I was looking at. I know the names of quite a few animals thanks to the kids' German vocabulary books, but I have no idea about the more exotic critters.

This video would have been much more impressive if I had started it 30 seconds earlier. This habitat was empty and the zookeepers were hiding fruit all over the place. Then they opened the door and all these baboons rushed out at once to grab the fruit. It was probably one of the most interesting things I've ever witnessed at a zoo.

Mmm...watermelon. You should have seen this guy (girl?) spit the seeds with amazing accuracy. No, not really, but that would have been awesome.

Greta and Noni got to ride through the zoo in style.

It's the guinea pig village! I hadn't realized the guinea pigs were all Christian converts, but it's nice that they finally got some religion.

Of all the animals we saw at the zoo, Hanna said that the guinea pigs were her favorite. I think they are stinky.

The thing that blew my mind about Hagenbeck is that visitors are actually allowed to feed some of the animals. That's not something you see outside of petting zoos in the US. Feeding the elephants was amazing, and I was proud of Linus for doing it. A lot of kids (including Greta) were kind of freaked out by those big trunks nosing around their fingers.

Did I say the guinea pigs were stinky? They're nothing compared to the flamingos. Sie stinken!

Apparently both Hanna and Linus instinctively know not to twiddle their fingers in front of the geese.

An Afternoon in Othmarschen

2011-08-31T19:57:00.002-05:00

Back to vacation pics for a bit. We spent an afternoon in Othmarschen at Gottfried and Dotti's house. Or rather, in their back yard. There was a trampoline, so the kids had plenty to keep them busy. And Linus remembered where the toys were in the house, so when he got tired of bouncing (yes, that actually happens!), he had plenty of things with which to play.

Don't worry, the kids aren't levitating! That's just a trick of the camera. Don't believe me? OK, here's a video...

Another great example of danger=fun, though I won't count this one in my case file since it's not technically at a playground.

It was a little difficult for Greta to show off her mad jumping skills when Linus was in there with her, so I'm giving her a chance to shine.

Gottfried and Dotti have 6 grandchildren (so far!), so there are plenty of toys to go around.

Here's a picture of the Playmobil circus that Linus and I assembled. When I saw the Playmobil snake charmer, I realized that at some point there will be a Playmobil everything.

Pig n' Pepper

2011-08-30T20:25:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we went to the Pig n' Pepper festival at the ski area where Annette has taken Linus during the winter. We believe it's called the Pig n' Pepper because they roast a pig and there's a pepper decorating contest, but we didn't witness either of these things. It was extremely hot and humid so we didn't last a very long time there, but we still squeezed some fun stuff in.

We got there pretty early, so Linus had this bouncy thing to himself for a while. The purpose of this is to have kids stand on those platforms and use that swinging ball to knock each other off. Linus did a great job of knocking himself over with the ball, so no opponents were required.

Greta looks a bit pensive as she gets her face painted for the first time, but she held very still.

A ladybug for our little lady.

I'm pretty sure this was also Linus's first face painting. He's normally not into it, but he couldn't let his littler sister show him up.

My congratulations to the face painter for getting a nice turtle on a very sweaty canvas (I did mention that it was very hot and humid).

We didn't get a chance to go for pony rides in Germany this year, and I have to say that this ride wasn't quite the same (seeing as it lasted about 2 minutes). But I guess it was better than nothing.

Linus was pretty brave about riding the pony himself (Annette had been helping Greta, though she's not in the picture above).

This bouncy structure involved a little bounce room, and inflatable ladder, and then this slide. The high school kids running it took our tickets and then let kids go through as many times as they wanted. They didn't count on Linus. If you hit play on this video about 25 times, you'll have an idea of what happened here. Several rounds of kids went through and Linus kept going. I finally had to drag him away...I got tired of watching him go through faster than he got tired of actually going down the slide.

Grinnin' with Greta

2011-08-29T20:15:00.001-05:00

I know I just said we have lots more vacation pictures, but I'm taking a brief break from those to do a few posts of stuff that has happened since we got back (we didn't just stop doing fun stuff just because we got back from vacation). These are some random Greta moments from the past few weeks. She becoming quite a ham...

OK, this picture isn't so hammy, but it is a nice picture of Greta with Mrs. Wilson. The Wilsons stopped by for a visit the day after we got back from vacation and of course the kids roped them into reading to them.

Greta is pretty obsessed with shoes and she arranged this nearly perfect show circle all by herself. Something tells me she's pretty proud of herself...what do you think?

She's also pretty proud of the robot "costume" I made for her. Maybe it's a stretch to call it a robot costume. But if I covered that box with tin foil and stapled a few slices of bread to her head, she'd make a very happy toaster.

Hanging Out in Rissen

2011-08-28T20:15:00.000-05:00

Before getting into the regular post, I wanted to assure the family in Germany that we made it through Hurricane Irene with not problems, just in case you saw it on the news and were wondering. The storm had pretty much fizzled out by the time it hit Boston. We've had a little wind and rain, but nothing too serious. The kids even went outside and splashed in the puddles for a while this afternoon.

And back to vacation pictures. There's still a lot more to go, but as this blog is my equivalent of a photo album, I'll keep doing this even if people are getting bored with pics from our vacation. Here are some pictures from a relatively low-key afternoon walking around the village of Rissen.

This playground at the edge of the village is a rare example of restraint when it comes to dangerous play structures. There used to be a huge spinning structure that could really get some speed, but it's been removed since last year. Linus had to settle for this tiny spinning platform.

Still, there's nothing like a classic swing.

Linus looks less than thrilled with this horsey.

Oh no! When you turn a smile upside down, it turns into a frown.

If Greta got anymore comfortable, she'd fall asleep eating her ice cream.

Linus is slightly less reclined, but also very comfortable.

Animals and von Hahns

2011-08-25T20:55:00.000-05:00

We were lucky enough that our trip coincided with a visit to Rissen by Annette's friend Nanne and her family. We spent a very nice afternoon with the von Hahn family at the nearby animal park, which is always a must-visit for us while we're in Hamburg.

The kids spent quite a while trying to feed the deer grass. I suspect the deer were looking for something a little tastier.

I feel like the Wildschweine here are practically old friends by now. Really, no trip to Rissen is complete without visiting them.

Thomas looks up at what appears to be Fort No-Brunettes. Red heads and blonds only! Greta is the only member of the Sievkins family allowed to enter.

Linus is becoming quite the balancer. Unfortunately, I failed to take a video of his triple flip hand spring while balancing on this log. Just use your imagination.

Greta found the von Hahn's double stroller quite luxurious. She and Zeta look very comfortable.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me about Rissen is how green it is. Yes, technically it's still part of the city of Hamburg, but a lot of it looks like this!

Letting Them Eat Cake

2011-08-24T20:48:00.000-05:00

Afternoon tea and coffee (coupled with cake or some other treat) was regularly observed ritual in Hamburg. So much so that weeks later, I'm having a hard time shaking the desire for some caffeinated beverage in the afternoon.

Wow! The kids actually stopped running around for a few minutes. And all it took was some delicious home-made cake.

There's quite a spread for the company, in this case Mikie (did I spell it right this time?), Heidi, Gottfried, and Dotti.

It turns out that food was pretty much the only way we could get all four cousins to sit down next to each other for a picture. I suppose it's better than no pictures at all.