Sleep de Jour

The kids were home sick today with some mysterious stomach bug that has yet to hit PB^2. You'll know if it hits PB^2 if a week from now we look about five pounds lighter in photos on Paul's Instagram. We attribute our current body shape 1/2 car-free and 1/2 the stomach bugs we get every few months. 

Anywho, I was reading to Crosby on the couch when a little masked person snuggled up to me on my other side. When I took a break from the book, I found him like this.

Two hangers down the back? check. Wisk in front of shirt? check. Masks? I took off his mask so he could breath better only to find he was actually wearing two. #safetyfirst 

He also recently started wearing his clothes to bed in an effort to make mornings more seamless. He must be a Beckley to be this comfortable sleeping in khaki shorts:

Usually it's Hugo who ends up in the crazy sleeping positions, but this night it was Crosby's turn to have his head in the line of fire.

Crosby is an exceptional big brother to both Hugo and Carmen. He is never too cool to play with them even though he is considerably older. He is also a good sport when one of both of them fall asleep on him:

Crosby sleep sandwhich

Skillfully removed and the littles sleep on...

This day Hugo was particularly tired from Kita. Crosby held him as he fell asleep:

The final snuggle station: Mommy. It doesn't get better than this. 

In an Ideal World: Dudu's Berlin Visit

My dear friend, parenting strategy co-conspirator, and just one of my favorite people on earth - Dustin Tipton-Johnson - turns 40 tomorrow. On his 30th birthday, I held down the the fort in our PDX apartment, ie the apartment he made space for me to move into when this heavyhearted girl made the move to PDX to be closer to my mama, while he made his first trip to Europe to propose to one of my other favorite people of all time. Fast forward 10 years, and here we are, flip-flopped on different continents.

If Dudu was able to visit this summer, as planned, these would be the adventures we would have:

Adventure to the "Bumpy Bumps" at Gleisdreiek 

One of Paul's favorite beers in Berlin is BRLO. On our U-bahn ride to church we noticed the BRLO brewery on the Gleisdreiek stop. Gleisdreiek park was a former railyard, now turned park. This outdoor brewery has delicious food and beer right next to the bumpie bumps ie foam rolling hills that are great for biking or scooting. 

                            

Throwback to a year ago when Tanta Bettina visited and Carmen wasn't mobile.

Outdoor patio

The building is a bunch of old train cars wielded together. 

Gleisdreiek also has a Banksy exhibit going until August 1. 

The Mandatory Walking Tour

The free walking tours of Berlin that start at the Brandenburg gate are a must. For this tour, the little T-Js would stay with the little Biggs and we would all meet-up after at the Ritter Sport Chocolate shop to custom make chocolate bars and otherwise buy more chocolate than we need. To detox we would talk through the Tiergarten to Cafe am Neuen See. 

Adventure to the most epic park ever: Buschkrug

The only time I've been to this park, Paul wasn't with me, which means I have no photos of my own. The photos on the internet just don't do it justice - it's eight different parks all in one. It is a beast to get out to Neukölln neighborhood but this park is worth it.

Rainy Day / Plan B Adventure: Hamburger Bahnhof

We've been waiting for just the right exhibit to go visit this museum - and here it is. A color explosion! 

Double Date at Katz Orange

No visit to Berlin would be complete without leaving the kids with our awesome babysitters for a little adult conversation. Paul and I had our last date before Covid took over the world at this lovely restaurant about a mile / 1.6 Km from our house. The food was as delicious as the setting was beautiful.

There would also be all the classic food adventures - sausage, döner, baked goods, coffee, and food carts. Clearly. There would also be more parks. We have a lot of laughing, and some crying, to catch-up on. Happy Birthday Dudu!

German Father's Day

Ascension Day, the 40 days after Easter, is a public holiday in Germany. You can read here how this day also came to become German Father's Day as well. On principal, I'm not a fan of the evolution of the day, however, the timing is convenient. It's nice to celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day close together. Additionally, Paul enjoys a good adventure, which is the opposite of our no-plan Sabbath Sunday. Finally, Germans don't shift holidays if they fall on a weekend, so it is nice to reliably have a Thursday off.

A week ago, I explored a new restaurant about 1.5 miles away, called Crackbuns, with my friend Robyn.  The only concern was that it would be packed on Father's Day. But lucky for us Pacific Northwesterners; it was raining and Germans don't go out in the rain. 

The kids played at the park across the street while we waited for our food. The park is perfect - not cool enough to be a major food distraction, but enough to entertain while waiting for food. Crackbuns actually hands you a pager, Olive Garden style, to let you know when your food is ready - a first we've seen in Germany.

The park even has a kid's table with chairs. #goodtobepetite

Carmen has been doing a lot of this lately - climbing up on tables to get things she wants or just dance around. 

She's also still in the "putting everything in her mouth phase". We had hamburgers or sand; she went the sand route.

Our Pacific Northwest roots have a limit - we head home after it started pouring down rain. Carmen sang the whole way.

Both Hugo and Carmen proceeded to do this for the following two hours:

One hour in the bike, then one hour on the couch:

Paul, Crosby, and I had a chance to watch a movie. Deluxe.

The littles had more gas in their tanks after their naps so we went across the street for pizza. 

Hugo living his best life = Tails costume over PJs + Orange Fanta (obviously a Dad purchase)

Carmen living her best life = Mommy close-by

Happy Father's Day to my rain-riding, adventure-loving, kid-snuggling, Paul. XO

Third Wave Silver Linings

Kita is opening back-up on Monday. Yahoo! With a few precious babysitting hours left today from Oma Friend, I'm posting a look back on some of the highlights of this third round of Kita closures.

Hugo and I often had some nice mornings together while Carmen took her nap and Crosby was at school half day. 

Seen here doing our preferred snuggle and read combo.

These two knuckleheads had more time for morning shenanigans with school starting at 9 am instead of 8 am:

Hugo got the opportunity to do the occasional nap in more comfortable locations:

Much more comfortable

Slightly less comfortable

The bike nap also still happens about once a week. 

We took full advantage of emotional eating resulting in Carmen honing her ice cream eating skills:

Dancing while eating.

Mobile ice cream.

Carmen and Hugo also had more time to bond:

Waves and Curls 💕

(A note on the water - colored bath fizzies are very popular here. Hugo used the tab to "make graffiti" on the wall. #Berlinkid)

There is talk of outdoor pools opening up sometime soon. We also welcome steps back to "normal".