Boy's Weekend

Two weeks ago, Eva had her 'Girl's Weekend' with some of her childhood friends. She got a weekend in a hotel and spa. She got to gossip, chat, have great meals, chat some more, shop, and even make some time for some spa treatments. Good for her. She deserved the weekend away from her husband and son.
Lucky for me, I got to have another long weekend of quality time with my son. Unlike last year, the weather was significantly colder, so it was much more difficult to have easy outdoor activities to tire the little guy out with.

Nonetheless, I started out strong. After picking up Quinn from daycare, we went home, changed, and went straight to the playground. He played in the sand forever. Then, without warning, he started walking away from the playground saying 'Bretzel' (Pretzel). No problem, I thought, the backery isn't far away (and this was the direction Quinn was running anyway).

But wait, I didn't bring my wallet...and I had no change. So, I had to explain to Quinn, under the duress of a hungry child (who was beginning to cry), the concept of money. Without it, there would be no pretzels.
He screamed the whole bloody way home, despite my promises of just going home to get some MONEY. We made it home, and I got out a few coins and showed him the MONEY. We went to the bakery, and he got his pretzel. Thinking I was being a cool Papa, I asked him what he wanted for dinner. He would get whatever he wanted. I was expecting him to say hot dogs. No, he said pizza. No problem, I thought. I had my cell phone, I would call our local pizza joint (I had MONEY) and pick it up right away.

Then I thought, how would I get the pizza home. I was on my bike, and Quinn was in his Chariot (a little buggy that I pull with my bike). I would have to put the pizza on Quinn's lap. I'm not the smartest Papa in the world, but I knew this would spell disaster: Quinn would try to eat the hot pizza, burn the roof of his mouth with the hot cheese, scream all the way home, and repeat until the pizza was torn to shreds.

So, across the street from the bakery is our grocery store. Yes, I admit it, I bought frozen pizzas (pictured below)...and hot dogs for Saturday's dinner.
On Saturday, we went back to the playground. I brought MONEY this time. When he was tired of playing, he wanted a pretzel. So, being the smart Papa that I was (with MONEY), we went to the bakery. Which was closed. No worries, the grocery store is across the street. We got a pretzel, which we started eating in the parking lot.

...then I got to carry Quinn, his sand toys, and his Bobby Car (pictured above) home. Quinn was on my shoulders, eating his pretzel. Needless to say, we got lots of looks on the way home.

Right before we got home, Quinn took a sudden right turn to another playground...he wanted to play on the swing. So (after all, it was our weekend), we played some more. It was already getting cold and dark. I was frozen and hungry when I finally pulled the 'look, the street lights are on...that means that all the kids have to go home' line. I nuked the hot dogs (and baked the fries), and the little man was in bed almost 2 hours later than normal...at 815pm.

Despite some shopping difficulties, it was another great weekend of quality time with Quinn. It was also very nice to have Eva home. Having a weekend of such focused quality and quantity time with Quinn is a very special thing...and I recommend every parent to have such a weekend with their children ... alone.

If all goes well, in a few years, maybe Quinn and I will go hiking and camping for our Men's Weekend.

Modern Technology

Without trying to date myself, I feel that my generation is the one that has witnessed most of the modern computer generation from the beginning. While we were a bit too young for punchcards, we were around for Atari, Pong, Apple IIc/e. I took BASIC in high school and learned Pascal and Fortran long before C++ or Visual Basic was even around.

The Internet was born when we were in high school and became useful when we were in college.

We've suffered through dial up modems and are now disappointed when we can't easily find a HotSpot.

One would think that nothing would amaze me when it comes to technology...but I'm absolutely amazed how cool it is to 'call' someone via the web and a webcam.

My dad and I are now set up with web cams. Armed with our Google account and a small GoogleApp, we can now web conference 'free' - only having to pay for the cost of our flat rate, high speed internet.

Wow!

The audio is much better than I expected, and the video is good.

Even better, it gives my folks a better chance to 'see' Quinn. Quinn loves it. He now asks for Grandpa more often. So, instead of saying that Grandpa lives a long way away, we just set up a webcall. We chat for a while, Quinn waves into the camera, and my folks can see their grandchild.

Very, very cool. I love the Google Video Chat.

Let me know if you're interested. I'll send you an invite to Googlemail (for those of you in Europe) or Gmail...log in, buy a web cam, and then have fun.

The Joy of a Child

It is hard for Eva and I to believe that Quinn turned 2 today. It seems like yesterday that he was born, and here we are celebrating his second birthday.

With Eva's parents and Nina flying 'up' to our place to celebrate Quinn's birthday, we had high hopes for good weather and a great time. The forecast was almost positive. We've had a long, grey winter, and we have been looking forward to spring for quite a while.

Unfortunately, we had the same crappy weather as we've had for what seems like October: grey skies, snow/rain mix, and temps just above freezing.
But, as I learned from Eva when I moved to Germany: there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes. So, we got all bundled up and headed to a very cool zoo in the area.

Nina and Quinn had stump jumping.

Of course, the big day was today: number 2! Quinn had fun 'blowing' out his candles. Let's just say that it was more like 'spitting out' the candles than blowing them out. He was also much better at opening up his gifts.

Quinn got a 'walking bike' (Laufrad). No pedals, but it helps the kids to balance. Quinn has been eyeing the other kids with such a 'bike', and Eva did a great job haggling with a family at a bazaar to get one in great shape. He is still a bit too small for it, but could balance it by himself for a while. Eva or I had to mostly hold him upright from behind. Let's just say that my back will not function properly when I wake up tomorrow.

As you have seen in other posts, Quinn really likes to 'cook'. When we cook or bake, he pushes up his chair to 'help' us. He's had a play cookware and dishes set for a while - stocked with wooden 'food'. He plays with these toys as much as his favorites (books).

In the spirit of encouraging his likes, he got a toy kitchen for his cookware set, and he was up and running cooking in no time. I have to admit, I was a bit 'unsure' of the kitchen. The alpha male in me said that he would be better off with a toy workbench or something. After all, the box had only little girls on it. But, reason prevailed. It certainly can't hurt him to gain a passion, or at least a respect, for cooking. After all, I love cooking, and without my mashed potatoes, Eva might not have been as interested in me, so long ago...Since kids emulate their parents, this 'good' habit has to be OK...

All in all, it was a great day and weekend. When it was all said and done, when Eva's parents and Nina were on their way to the airport and when Quinn was in bed, Eva and I took a few minutes to reflect on the weekend. What a great weekend...

...I still find it amazing how many people, near and far, truly love this child - not just with 'things' (which are greatly appreciated), but with 'themselves'. Whether it is my parents flying from Texas, Eva's parents driving to our place, or our friends just stopping by, they love him with their hearts and they give him their 'time'.

For me, it is even more amazing how much sunshine this small child brings to the hearts of those around him. Probably something that every parent thinks, but just thinking about this little guy smile brings warmth in my heart.

The weather may have been really crappy, but it was such a wonderful birthday. Happy Birthday, Quinn.