The Joys of Parenting

So, a few days ago, when Eva went outside to dump some water on our bamboo plant, Quinn closed the door behind her and lifted the handle...locking Eva outside. If you know how German windows/doors work, this wouldn't seem to be a problem with a 2 year old.

...but Quinn locked her out of the house. No keys, no shoes, and wearing only jeans and a t-shirt...in 32F / 0C weather. Eva tried to show Quinn how to open the door. After a while, Quinn figured out that Mama was locked out, and climbed on his high chair. Then, he stood up on the chair (which he is never allowed to do), and he raised his hands above his hands in triumph: Mama, I'm standing on my chair, and there's nothing you can do about it.

Thankfully, our neighbor that had a key was home and could let Eva in.

On a slightly other note...this time in the language department. While Quinn's vocabulary is mostly German (he understands both languages equally well), there are a few words that he uses mostly in English, e.g. Chicken. Another of his favorites is 'Hot Dog'.

A few days ago, I mentioned the word 'Hot Dog'...and Quinn said 'Heißer Hund' back...which is the literal German translation of Hot Dog. Seems kinda cool yet odd...and it did make me chuckle a bit.

...I'll get to the Christmas post soon...

A few days to go...

Quinn is slowly getting the hang of this Christmas thing. He definitely knows what's up when we ask him if he wants to open a door (to his Advent Calendar, which has a chocolate behind each door).

I think he knows that things are a bit different around the house (he is getting to eat more cookies than normal). The Christmas Tree, for one...which has thankfully survived the daily Hurricane Quinn (so far, so good).

Tonight, Quinn and I headed to the Christmas Market to meet some friends, and we ended the evening with a few rides on the carousel...which he really loved. Of course, as he got in, he had to study the doorknow to see how it worked (is this sort of curiosity normal, or is he going to be an engineer?). He's on a carousel, and the first thing he does when he sits down is looks at the doornob?

Needless to say, he had a blast, but didn't really figure out that he need to wave at Papa each time he went by.

Today is also the shortest day of the year...where the sun rises after 8am and goes down around 4pm...this is one of the things I dislike the most about the German winters: the really short days. But, the long summer days will be here before long.

Hope you have a great last few days before Christmas.

Entrepreneurs and businessmen...

"Entrepreneurs and businessmen, on the other hand, can scale as large as the underlying strength of the ideas they can create."
- Ashok Kapur

An interesting article in the Motley Fool. And the quote definitely hit a very soft spot in my heart.

Mark your Calendars

This is how it works in our family: when I need to do something around the house, I tell Eva how long it takes me (estimated duration). Eva's experience tells her that she needs to take this estimate and multiply by at least 3 or 4 to get a better actual time.

Normally my wife is right.

But tonight, as I was working on my bike, I actually needed less time than I thought I'd need. Folks, this doesn't happen often, so please mark your calendars.

Lichterfest, Thanksgiving, and Advent

Shortly after Martinstag (the 11th of November), Quinn's day care had a 'Lichterfest' / Martinszug, where the children made and decorated lanterns. We all met at day care in the late afternoon, the older children had a short play celebrating St. Martin, and we lit the lanterns and walked around the block.Quinn didn't really get the concept of holding the lantern, but he gave it a good try. I ended up carrying the load, trying to keep warm.

Martinstag is an especially important and beloved holiday in Eva's family...as the children (many years ago) all met with their lanterns, and the whole family later met for (what else in a German family) cake, coffee, bread, super huge sweet pretzels, and toppings for the bread.

Then it was finally time: for the annual Thanksgiving feast. While it is not very practical to celebrate Thanksgiving in Germany on Thursday, we had friends and family over for turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes.

Quinn was especially excited that Nina could make the trip this year.

The bird this year was a bit smaller...only about 14 lbs, but it was just enough for dinner and a few leftovers. I used the carcass to make a great turkey white chili soup. Mmmm.

The bird was the best that I'd done, and in traditional Gould fashion, I hardly followed any recipes. Normally, this works, but my bourbon sweet potatoes really bombed. The cook in me loves going to the turkey farm near our home and picking up a freshly slaughtered bird.

All in all, it was a great dinner and event. Our thoughts were, of course, with our friends and family that weren't there, including the Colorado Gang, who were in the making their yearly homage to the mountains for Thanksgiving.

For those that are interested, the menu (and links to the recipies) was:

• Turkey with Herb Butter
• Chestnut and Sausage Dressing
• Rob's mashed potatoes: no recipe here, just lots of butter, milk, and some plain joghurt
• Bourbon Sweet Potatoes
• Steamed Vegetable Medley
• Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Apple Crisp for desert
• White Turkey Chili (making fresh broth and using the turkey bones)

Quinn playing his favorite game, ABC's, with Nina.
...and Quinn baking with Nina. We can barely start cooking, and Quinn pulls up his chair and wants to 'help' us. Hands off the knives !
With the first Sunday of Advent, we got together with Tanja and Rene and made our own advent wreaths....and the Christmas tree. We skipped the tree last year: too much risk with Quinn crawling. We didn't think he could keep his hands off the tree this year, since he is such a curious little guy, but so far he has done well, and no ornaments have broken...

...more holiday pics later...