Fasching 2012!

Today the kids celebrated German mardi gras (Fasching) in their Kita.

It's not a big thing in Berlin (as opposed to the west of Germany), but it's a big deal for the kids! Oscar's group didn't really plan on dressing up, but he wore Clara's costume from two years ago. Even though he's younger than she was at the time, I guess he's bigger (we should check), because the poncho was too tight on his neck. I assume that the costume lasted all of two minutes at the Kita, but we got some nice pictures while still at home.

Clara got to reuse her pirate costume from her music performance in the fall. She looks dangerous in this picture - I guess the rings under the eyes add to it! Poor Clara almost had to miss Fasching as she was sick with a fever Sunday afternoon until Monday... But she hasn't been talking about anything else for two weeks or more, so Chris and I were really reluctant to keep her home unless she was really physically incapacitated. She felt ok this morning, so she was able to go!

"Oscar, look at Daddy!" - "Huh?"

The following series is very typical of the kids' interactions in our house. Unfortunately, the peace can only be kept if Clara yields her toy(s) immediately and without reservations. She has figured out that most of the time she can get it back within a minute or less because Oscar has already moved on to the next toy, but of course it is annoying to constantly have to give away your things.

The party at Kita must have been fun. Both kids were playing happily with me at a tiny indoor playground nearby (we had a freak blizzard this morning and since the temps were above zero during the day it was all wet and nasty outside) in the afternoon. But in the evening, Oscar completely disintegrated, couldn't stop crying at dinner and couldn't play either. It must be so frustrating to be the little one.