5 Amazing Years

As the saying goes, how time flies. Today, Eva and I celebrate our 5th (Civil Service) Wedding Anniversary. The church anniversary is tomorrow.

Can't believe it has been five years already. It seems like just yesterday when many of our friends from the US came to Germany, road tripped with us for a pre wedding road trip through parts of southern Germany. Standesamt was cold, very cold, but so sunny that you needed shades.

The church wedding was, well, unique: a US Episcopal priest marrying a German Catholic in a Protestant Church. No way this thing can last too long. Crazy. It was warmer, the church was cute and full of friends and family. It rained, but we considered that good luck.

And the reception. All of our friends and family from all over the world with us...for our wedding. We were so very thankful for those that travelled to be there for us. And thankful for those that couldn't make the trip, but whose thoughts were with us.

There were games: Eva and I had a cooking contest, there were dancers (and we felt like a king and queen at court), and even a Bayern München scarf (to my mother in law's great pleasure, I support our local team, 1. FC Nürnberg).

There was the party: the best time of our lives and a night we'll never forget. The US guests were reminded that the beer would flow all night (and that this was a marathon, not a sprint), the German guests were worried that the Americans wouldn't know how to party at a German wedding (Ize, Justin, Joel, and Tom doing YMCA on the catwalk quelched that notion), there were speeches, and there was a complete understanding, despite multiple languages, and there were the traditions (Klotzentanz and 7 Bridges).

And when you boil it all down, there are three very powerful memories that I always relate and connect to my wedding day. Three very powerful memories that bring a very warm sense of happiness to my heart, an intense love for my wife, and a very strong bond for our marriage:

... my grandmother: a woman of incredible strength, knowledge, and uncompromising love for all of God's children and creations

...Eva's Tante Inge: who passed away shortly after our wedding. She was in incredible pain that night and never showed it.
...all of our friends and family, formed in a circle of candles, listening to Bridge over Troubled Water, as the final song of our wedding reception.

Thank you all for a wonderful event that we will always cherish. We are looking forward to making another 5 years of memories with you.

http://thegoulds.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_archive.html

American ?

As Quinn gets older, there are situations or actions that you can absolutely pin on 'Eva's Genes' or 'Rob's Genes': basically, one notices the unique parts that made it to one's child. Some are significant (Quinn got his gender from me), some are funny (he prefers to run around without socks, like me, and Eva tends to always wear socks), and some meaningless, but you just want to test it.

I had my chance for one of these meaningless 'traits' about a week ago: I was in the grocery store with Quinn, and as I walked past the peanut butter, I thought: I've got to try this.

Later that day, I had my first chance to see if Quinn was really an American: does he like peanut butter. I love the stuff and can eat it right out of the jar with a spoon. Eva hates the stuff.

So, I very carefully spread some peanut butter on a piece of bread, and like Mikey (for the German audience, Mikey is a reference to an old cereal commercial), he tried it. And he liked it. He passed the test: he not only ate the peanut butter, he wanted more, and I made his first PB&J! (Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich).

Quinn hit a few more 'firsts' these last two weeks: when asked 'Who is Quinn', he points to himself. He also can say 'Wasser' (Water) but it sounds more like 'Scheiße' (Shit). He did NOT pick that up from me and DEFINITELY not from Eva. Just a coincidence since he really can't make the 'w' sound...

Fantastic Fall 2009

Since Quinn likes to look along when Eva or I cook, I thought that it was time for him to take part in the best part of cooking: trying stuff along the way. Below, he's licking the potato masher after I finished making my 'not so famous' mashed potatoes.
While the weather last weekend wasn't perfect, it was still dry, and we took off on a hike in the area. Quinn loved the scenery so much that he took a nap.

After our hike, there was a pumpkin festival nearby. Being October, we had to check it out.

As 'luck' would have it, Eva and I had exactly 5 EUR cash in our pockets...just enought to buy a few Bratwurst for us to snack on. There were no ATM's (Geldautomat) in the small village. No cash = no pumpkins :-(
The weather was pretty crappy this whole weekend, but around 1pm today, the clouds broke free and we dropped everything to head out on a hike to enjoy the great fall weather.
With all of the leaves changing, Eva had some great chances to use her good camera to capture the scenery.
At first, Quinn never really like ball caps...now he only wears them backwards. Don't know where or from whom he picked that one up.
I could have sat at this overlook for hours enjoying the scenery, weather, and my family.

Our attempt at a family pic. Not a particularly flattering pic of me.
There were tons of little rocks along the path...with Quinn tried to pick up and throw.

The last pic of me with my shades. Shortly after this pic, Quinn took off my hat and shades. Somehow, I didn't see or hear the shades hitting the ground. Now they are lost forever. Another reason to never buy expensives shades.

Sense of Humor?

We are in this phase where we 'read' with Quinn, and one of his favorites is an animal book: lots of colorful pictures and the sort. Like any normal parent, we explain the pictures: 'a dog goes bowwow' and 'a cat goes meow'.

Like the smart kid he is and since he can say 'bowwow' and 'meow' better than 'dog/Hund' or 'cat/Katze', he calls dogs 'bowwows' and cats 'meows'.

So, we're reading his picture book. He sees a dog, points to it and says 'bowwow'. Shortly thereafter, he sees a cat, points to it and says 'meow'.

Then, he sees a gorilla in his picture book, points to it, and says 'Papa'.

?

The joys of parenting.

Super Cool !

So it finally happened. As I was coming home from work approaching the house, I could hear Quinn yelling " papa, Papa, PAPA!!!"

He saw me through the window, and he was excited that I was home (early). When you think or dream of how things would be as a father, you always have this picture in your mind: that your children are visably excited to see you come home. It brings a huge smile that it has happened yesterday for the first time. I hope that I can continue to be the father that Quinn enjoys being with.

So...after coming home, I quickly changed into my running clothes, and I (we) went running for an hour together. Quinn fell asleep in his jogger, as usual, and I got my peaceful jog in the forest.