On Thursday, the kids woke up to a special treat, Nick's birthday cereal. This year he tried something that was new in the grocery store in Germany. Basically it was Cookie Crisp cereal, but we had never seen anything like it over here before. Of course, they loved it and are trying to convince the next birthday kid (that would be Chris) that he should pick it for his birthday. Hah!
I meant to bake brownies the night before, but ran out of time. So I baked them in the morning and brought them up to school during "grosse Pause" or big recess. I had especially brought extras for all the kids, and so I made sure Nick passed them out to his siblings and not just his classmates. He was having trouble finding everyone from class, though. In fact, he had looked so long that he kind of gave up and gave away a brownie to Rico, a little second grader that had been following him around the entire recess, gazing longingly at the Tupperware container full of brownies. :) Finally, Nick got the inspiration to go look over on the soccer field, and that is where everyone was. But since he had shown pity on little Rico, there weren't enough brownies for all his friends. Fortunately, one of the brownies happened to be a bit on the large side, so two boys just broke that in half and shared it.
I love this Swiss tradition of bringing treats in to share on your birthday. I know I used to do it growing up in America, as well. But I keep reading about how home baked goods are not allowed in the schools, only store bought, chemical filled junk, and that just isn't as much fun in my opinion. Even Chris brings treats to work on his birthday! Alexandra loved hanging out with everyone during break, and all the attention she got from the kids' friends. Very few have younger siblings at home, so she is really something exciting to those kids.
My little Nicholas is becoming quite the cheese buff. He loves trying out different kinds, and definitely likes the smelliest cheeses the best. "The smellier, the tastier." He also loves potatoes. So we ate cheese and potatoes for lunch and dinner in varying forms. For lunch I made potato cheese soup from Ruby Tuesday restaurant. I realized my efforts were worth it when he proceeded to eat 3-4 full bowls of it! And yes, he is growing. I have to buy him new shoes every couple months, he outgrows them that fast.
After lunch the birthday boy headed back to school. I used the free afternoon to bake his requested birthday cake, oatmeal with no frosting. I also wrapped his presents, and cleaned up a little. For dinner, he wanted raclette. You know, melted cheese over boiled potatoes. ay yi yi, but he was so happy. It reminded me of the year my brother wanted nothing but potatoes for dinner. I think we had hash browns, fried sliced potatoes and mashed potatoes, if I am not mistaken. At least fried and mashed, I know. Too funny. It is such a simple way to make the birthday kid feel special, I am so glad my mom came up with the idea in our family.
After dinner we opened presents. Nick received several new books and a gift certificate for a watch of his choice, up to a certain limit. Still haven't made it to the store to pick one out with him, though. Must make that a priority this weekend. Happy birthday, Pookie Bear! You are such a good, big boy.