Happy Halloween!

M and his cousin L are best friends.  They dream of experiencing the trivialities of childhood together:  riding in a wagon at the grocery store, traveling in the same car, etc.  So, we planned several months ago that M and I would travel to Boston for some cousin-bonding-cum-trick-or-treating this year.

The kids all had a great time.  L and A gave M an Imaginext Robot Police Headquarters and Deep Sea Robot for his birthday, which was a huge hit with all the kids.  In fact, it was at the heart of our first gender discrimination play (A and M played, L got a little bored and felt left out) which was an interesting dynamic to watch.

Our plans were somewhat disrupted by a freak snowstorm and resultant power failure.   

Grandma tortured the kids to get a photo for her Christmas cards. 

A is crazy for Papa, and at a mere 20 months of age clearly expressed that he wanted Papa to be his grown up at gymnastics.

M joined L at gymnastics and did a great job following directions.The class had a Halloween theme and he's still practicing his Frankenstein walk (his "favorite monster").

A with his favorite grown up.

M and L having fun in the snow.  It's amazing how much they hug each other.

M messing around when the snow began to fall.

L messing around when the snow began to fall.

A also loved the snow.

It was pretty chilly when we woke up to no power.  S, L and A are pretending to be asleep.

And the snow just kept on falling!

Sledding before Halloween!

After 24 hours, record low temps and no heat we gave up and headed to Grandma & Papa's, who had power.

Trick or treating in L's neighborhood would have had more kids (uh, any other kids) but they still made the best of it!

Papa very kindly drove us to the airport.  We were there in plenty of time (no lines or waiting anywhere)  and we conveniently forgot the sandwiches I made, so we had dinner at Legal Seafood and found a new airport playground.

Life returns to (the new) normal...

OK, so the belongings (read:  TOYS) have arrived.  It's much easier to be here now, especially recovered from jet lag and with the promise of school starting on Tuesday.  M will be attending preschool three days per week, although the first day will include shortened days as part of an "induction" period.  Being at home all day is still challenging (especially on rainy days), but we are finding a rhythm.  Definitely better when we get out.

We went bike shopping yesterday.  The advice we received was to purchase a 50 Euro bike and add a 50 Euro lock, but it seems that will be impossible, since used bikes start at 300 Euro.  I suppose we could buy a buy bikes from individuals rather than a used bike store, but that seems like a lot of trouble.  But, a bike is like a car here, so I think it's worth it.  The guy at the bike store explained that the bikes they sell are like BMWs and Mercedes.  I explained that I was thinking more about buying a Toyota. But I suppose we can sell them when we leave.

We interacted quite a bit with locals yesterday:  The bike store, the fish market (where I finally sampled the famous salted herring, which was delicious), and at The Little Gym, which had an open house. I don't think we'll be signing M up for any classes.  It's a schlep from our apartment--15 minutes on the tram, then another 15 minutes of walking at least-- and at almost 400 Euro per semester seems a bit overpriced.  I'm sure I can find another activity for cold, rainy winter days.  It was a really fun day.

Tomorrow there is an open house at M's school.  We can get his uniforms and hopefully some info about his school day, plus he'll be able to meet his teachers and finally see his classroom.