Christmas Day and Beyond

While Eva grew up with the Christkind coming on Christmas Eve, ringing a bell to signal the kids that the Christkind has left (and also left behind gifts to open), I grew up with Santa Claus flying through the night on Christmas Eve, going down (nonexistant) chimneys to leave gifts for the kids to open up on Christmas day.
We try our best mixing both of our traditions...above, the kids show a simple one that I grew up with: the one day the year that we could wear our PJ's all day long and eat whatever we wanted was Christmas Day. Quinn loves eating breakfast in his PJ's and eating cookies all day.

Emily, as we have found out, is quite a cookie addict...and she really loved all the cookies she could eat, but was a bit, let's say really, really, really mad when we reduced her cookie intake the next day.

Emily sporting a dress from my Aunt Jessica! We think she looks like she is posing for this shot.

Emily with Tick Tack Opa.

Sometimes, gifts for kids are more like gifts for Papas. I had to fight to get some quality time with Quinn's crane (special thanks to Leah for passing on this great toy).

The day after Christmas, we were all suffering from a bit of jungle fever...so we headed out sledding.

Quinn had a blast with his butt slide. It never ceases to amaze me how a piece of plastic can bring so much joy (and tire the kids out).

Quinn absolutely wanted to hit the bump down the sledding hill. He wanted to go fast and get more air...I was worried about irreversable damage to my back. Eva got a good pic of us getting some air.

Eva and the kids.

Emily in the big chair. She's seemed to have grown a lot these last weeks ... and she definitely likes to get her way. Countdown to Temper Tantrum City: approx 3 months.

Another Christmas Season has come and gone...and it was a great, relaxing few days with family and friends. Having some extra 'quantity' time with the kids is very important for me.

My back, however, is very grateful to be back in the office, where the daily routine is a bit less strenuous.

Christmas 2009

Oh...the spirit of Christmas. Somehow, I had remembered it a bit different as a kid. With Quinn getting a bit older, I thought that this was the year that you would see the glow of Christmas in his eyes.

Looking back, I'm sure this was the case, but an almost 3 year old all worked up on chocolate and cookies the month of December made things a bit tense. I need to learn to relax a bit more.

All things considered - especially with us still getting used to life as a foursome - we had a great time as a family. And, that is the important thing. Oh...that DVD of mine that Quinn broke (Frosty the Snowman) wasn't really all that important. It was super cool, however, to see his excitement watching the super old school 1960's version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer! (I loved that as a child!)

...some assembly required.
Of course, of all the tools with his wooden workbench, Quinn liked the hammer the most.

Eva sporting her Michael Jackson look...

Quinn really got into the unwrapping this year. We had to work a bit harder this year - keeping both the German (Christkind & Weihnachtsmann) and the American (Santa Claus) traditions straight...Quinn will remember next year what we told him...

Quinn checking to make sure Opa's heart is still beating!

We can't believe it, but Emily is already over 3 months old and is growing well. Her length and weight are all normal...but she still screams like a stuck pig before she goes to bed each night...Nonetheless, she is beginning to coo and can sort of grab things now.

In keeping with my family's Christmas Day tradition, we allowed Quinn to stay in his PJ's all day and let him eat (mostly) all the cookies and chocolate he could handle. Since he makes a fuss just about every day about getting dressed, he REALLY loved getting to stay in his PJ's all day. Odd the things that kids like...

Quinn as a lumberjack...

Family picture I. We had to tickle Quinn to get him to smile.

A great one of Quinn and Tick-Tack Opa.

Emily flirting with her Godfather, Kocka.

Family Pic II.

As with every year, December seems to be the fastest month of the year. You look forward to Christmas each year - especially the time with family and friends - and then it is already New Years. Crazy...as a kid, December was the slowest darn month of the year.

Next year, we promise to get out Christmas Cards...(this was the first year in my adult life that I missed sending out cards...). Hope you and your family and friends had a great holiday season!

A few days to go...

Quinn is slowly getting the hang of this Christmas thing. He definitely knows what's up when we ask him if he wants to open a door (to his Advent Calendar, which has a chocolate behind each door).

I think he knows that things are a bit different around the house (he is getting to eat more cookies than normal). The Christmas Tree, for one...which has thankfully survived the daily Hurricane Quinn (so far, so good).

Tonight, Quinn and I headed to the Christmas Market to meet some friends, and we ended the evening with a few rides on the carousel...which he really loved. Of course, as he got in, he had to study the doorknow to see how it worked (is this sort of curiosity normal, or is he going to be an engineer?). He's on a carousel, and the first thing he does when he sits down is looks at the doornob?

Needless to say, he had a blast, but didn't really figure out that he need to wave at Papa each time he went by.

Today is also the shortest day of the year...where the sun rises after 8am and goes down around 4pm...this is one of the things I dislike the most about the German winters: the really short days. But, the long summer days will be here before long.

Hope you have a great last few days before Christmas.

Nürnberg's Christmas Market (Christkindlesmarkt)

On Friday after work, before heading to Hattingen for Christmas Eve, we headed with my parents to the world famous Nürnberg Christmas Market (Chriskindlesmarkt). Tourists come from all corners of the planet to see Nürnberg all decked out in its Christmas Spirit. The Christmas Market of Nürnberg stemmed from the middle ages with Nürnberg acting as a trading center for the region allowing the local woodcrafters and bakers to sell their wares.

One of the advantages of going on Friday evening: the tour buses are gone and there are mostly locals around...which makes it much easier to find food at the food stands, and, more importantly, some hot mulled wine (Glühwein).

Above is the famous fountain of Nürnberg. If you find the ring and turn it once, it will bring you good luck and bring you back to Nürnberg. But, beware, there are two rings on the gates of the fountain. Just a hing: the ring that has a huge line of tourists behind it is not the right ring!

A view of the Christkindlesmarkt with the Frauenkirche in the background.
A view of the markets. Each one of the lighted posts represents a row of small buildings selling Glühwein, foodstuffs, and Christmas goodies.