The Simple Things in Life

Yes...it has been a while since the last post, but this is not because we haven't been busy. Along with trying to enjoy the nice weather and preparing for the new kids' room, we have taken the time to enjoy some family time.

Since it has been a while, I'll post the newest pics first.

Thursday was a holiday in Germany (Ascention Day), so in the afternoon we headed to a small village that had a small festival with homemade bread and pizza from a wood fired stove. Yum.
Since the village was in the sticks, there were plenty of farm animals for Quinn to look at...and some bales of hay that the kids were jumping off of. Quinn saw the kids, saw them jumping on the hay, looked at us to see if it was OK, and then started at it...and had a blast. Sometimes, the simplest toys are the most fun. He definitely is not allergic to hay.

The place was packed. The food was great, and the band playing traditional German music got your toes tapping. Quinn clapped along. Plus, there was beer for Papa! Yumm! My productivity after two beers for the rest of the afternoon was not very good...

Before Quinn took his nap, we 'bribed' him with the afternoon's event, saying: when you wake up, we'll go eat some pizza. When he woke up, his first words were 'Pizza essen' (eat pizza). The kid doesn't miss anthing when it comes to food.

As I mentioned, we are getting ready for the second child, which means that we are moving our office into the entry way. The whole act started last week with a trip to IKEA on a Friday night, which turned out to be the right move. We were exhausted, but it was finished. We even had dinner there: schnitzel & fries. Not very healthy, but very kid friendly.

If you've built IKEA shelving, you know it should be simple, but can eat up weekends in a hurry. We learned the hard way that Quinn doesn't like it when I use the big drill to drill holes.

He does, however, like it when the computer is much more accessible to him. Even though it was unplugged, he couldn't help from typing...

Quinn's other pasttime: taking my good pots and pans out of the drawer and putting them back. The kid loves to clean, sweep, and vaccuum. He DOES NOT get this from me.

Finally...in reverse order, is our trip to the zoo 2 weeks ago with our friends Tanja and Rene, which was their birthday gift to Quinn that we finally took them up upon (Thank You!). We had a good time, and the boys had fun as well.

Kids just love animals!

Oh...what I would give sometimes to know what was going on in Quinn's mind.

At the end of the day, especially after a great day today, where we got a lot done, and had a blast with Quinn outside (including a trip in the city for ice cream). We ran and rolled in the yard, played 'touchdown', and laughed. It was such fun. It makes it all worth it.

It is not all fun and games. Even though today was as close to a perfect day as one could have, Quinn has his days, and has been more difficult. We have heard that this is a phase, where the kids try to test their boundaries and where everything is 'mine'. It is not that Quinn is all that bad. He has, after all, spoiled us a bit...since he is generally a great child.

We have heard that this phase is normal, and that it is replaced by the 'why' phase. I can say that I'm really looking forward to this. Like any other parent, I have my days as well, and I was at my wits end last weekend. I had no idea how we could be good parents for our one child...let alone a second one.

I called my mom. We chatted for about 2 hours. It was nice to just vent a bit...and to hear that Quinn and I were 'normal'. As a parent, many times, all I want to hear is that my feelings as well as the actions of my child are 'normal'.

My mom also told me a great story from the time when I was Quinn's age...maybe I'll share this another time. But, after chatting with my mom, poking my head in Quinn's room and seeing him sleep so peacefully, I realized why children are so very cute when they sleep:

It's a self defense thing: so that the prehistoric men would not eat their children when they hit their 'terrible twos' and to give the 'modern man' a reminder of their love for their child, to remember that it really isn't all that bad, and that tomorrow will be yet an even better day.

Touchdown

So I'm reading the paper while having breakfast with Quinn this morning. I know it is better to actually focus on Quinn, but I cannot resist the headlines and the sports page.

As I get to the sports page, there is the usual soccer stuff, and of course, a few pics of soccer players.

Quinn looks at the paper, points at the picture, and says:

TOUCHDOWN!

Then he said 'Helm auf'...as if were odd that the soccer players weren't wearing their football helmets.

I guess he still has some American in him...

When 3 turns into 4

Outnumbered
First of all, the good news: Eva is pregnant.

Eva has been a bit worried that the readers may start thinking that she's getting fat for no reason other than via lack of exercise and excess ice cream. While Eva has been as active as normal (albeit a bit slower), she is carrying our second child. While the pregnancy has been more difficult than with Quinn, Eva is doing great, and the baby is healthy.

The due date is in late September, and we do not know the gender yet...

Nature (and Family) Weekend
Our friends from Erlangen gave us a gift certificate to a family hotel in the Bavarian Forest. While it took us a while to plan the weekend to use this great gift, we finally headed out on Wednesday afternoon for a 3 night stay in a 'Family' hotel. I got huge points by heading out of work by 2pm so we could hit the road early. It is only a 2 hour drive the Bavarian forest, but we wanted to get there with enough time to check the place out before dinner.

The drive went well, until the last curvy portion. Eva doesn't like how I was taking the curves (always too fast). She said that Quinn didn't like them either...I promptly disagreed. How could she know, after all. She could have just told me to slow down instead of using Quinn as her 'excuse' to criticise my driving ;-)

Quinn started screaming. We were practically there. As we were pulling into the parking lot, he puked all over the place. I got the 'I told you so look'.
Then, Quinn, in true Quinn fashion, saw the playground, the huge sandbox, and a car made from a tree trunk. As I was trying to clean the puke off of him (he's screaming), he tries to work his way to the back floorboard to grab his sand toys. He gets the sand toys, and heads straight for the car.

I feel only slightly relieved, but he's having a ball with the car (which he spent a lot of time on those few days).
The place was definitely a family oriented hotel. There were playgrounds and play rooms all over the place. It wasn't extravagant (e.g. there was a 'room' above the barn (with original animal odors) with really old Bobby Cars for the kids to ride...which Quinn really loved), but functional and fun for kids.
The sandbox was even fun for Papa. Quinn really loves tractors and dump trucks, so he, of course, loved this sandbox version. And, since the hotel was in the sticks (am A... der Welt), there were plenty of real tractors and farm implements for Quinn to see.
They even had a pony ride for the kiddos on Friday evening. This was a first for Quinn...the only thing that was missing was his Lederhosen. Oh, the clash of two (similar) cultures: Texas and Bavaria.

We also know how to REALLY tire Quinn out. We head to the pool. The little guy had a blast, and he is getting more comfortable in the water. He also is beginning to 'respect' the water, so he's not doing as many things that stress me out (which allows me to enjoy the moment a bit more and not worry about 'the next accident').
The weather wasn't exactly what we were hoping for. Shortly after this pic, it snowed / hailed really hard for about 20 minutes. Try packing a kid and stroller in a car while getting snowed/hailed on. I couldn't do it...and Eva saved the day!

Of course, we packed our fleeces and rain gear just in case, like we always do for these sorts of vacations. Since we were going to hike, we also had our hiking pants and shoes. So, we were prepared for suboptimal weather.

Quinn, however, forgot to bring his rain coat and hiking shoes, so he had to wear his fleece and sandals all weekend. We used extra socks for his gloves. Note to self, don't forget normal shoes for the kid ;-) Quinn and I were the only folks on the playground in sandals. Cold feet do not seem to bother him, and I guess he gets that from me...

No Gould vacation would be vacation without a hike, which we did each day. Even though the weather was suboptimal, we made the best of it. I think it is amazing how Eva gets the energy to hike while being 4+ months pregnant, but we hope that #2 picks up an appreciation for the outdoors (and a certain amount of activeness) from this like Quinn did.
On our second hike, we made it to the Pröller Peak, a bit over a 1000m above sea level. As is normal in Bavaria, there was a cross at the peak.

There were some cool tree statues along the way.

The obligatory family pic at the peak.

We let Quinn out of his backpack to let him climb on (and jump from) the rocks. It's got to be fun for him as well...

The weather finally picked up on Friday and Saturday. Saturday, our last day, was perfect. Not a cloud in the sky. We celebrated the weather by heading outside for a hike...Quinn celebrated with a nap during the hike. He doesn't look comfy, does he?

Before we went back home, we headed to the outdoor, summer toboggan course (Sommerrodelbahn). They had two different paths. Eva LOVES these toboggan courses, but chose to not ride. I got 'stuck' riding with Quinn. He was a bit skeptical at first, but seemed to have a good time. As soon as we got off, he jumped off and wanted to ride again (noch mehr!).
You get going a bit fast, and there doesn't seem to be much to protect you. You are low to the ground, can brake (or not break if you want to go faster), but are designed to not have accidents.

Nevertheless, we still topped 30km/h (about 18 mph), which is really fast on the tight curves).

Quinn was not happy to go...we could have stayed another few days, but it was time to go. It was a great long, family weekend. And, we still had Saturday and Sunday at home to do some of the 'normal' things.

We really love the Bavarian forest...it really fits our personalities and some of the things we love best in life. We always come back refreshed, and can't wait for the next trip!

1000 Dank @ die Erlangen Gang für ein schönes Geschenk. Wir haben das Wochenende sehr, sehr genossen!

English Garden

As mentioned, coming back from the Bavarian forest allowed us to get a few things done at home, and for us, that meant 'working' in the yard. Almost all of the flowers are in bloom, and we really enjoy these few weeks in Spring when our yard is so colorful.

The tulips still remind me of the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder in April, which brings back many, many warm memories.

Eva and I are like a little old couple in the mornings on the weekends, as we look at each tree and bush to see how things have grown the previous week.

I, of course, really love working on my grass. I have always wanted a perfect lawn, and I put way more work than most (e.g. I aerate by hand). But, when I walk barefoot through the yard in the morning, it is all worth it. I still have a long way to go (the weeds are coming back), but the work in nature with Mother Nature is extremely rejuvenating and relaxing.

Quinn, like his Papa, likes walking outside without shoes as well...

Finally, a pic of Quinn with his Bayern München 'jersey'...for his Oma (who HATES Bayern München). Kocka, wir denken oft an Dich!!!

Thank You Easter Bunny!

After what seemed like a 6 month cold and wet winter, spring finally sprung! Just in time for the long Easter weekend. Both Good Friday and Easter Monday are holidays here, so the perfect weather was very much welcomed for our souls.

After seeing the great, blue skies on Friday, we had a quick breakfast and headed outside. Quinn even seemed to be longing for the outdoors: after waking up and seeing the blue skies, his first word was 'draußen' (outside)...which is very abnormal, as his first word each day is either 'essen' (eat) or 'oatmeal'.
Eva found an article in the paper for an event close to home yet close to some good hiking: the village was showing off their 'Easter Fountain'. It is customary that the fountains and wells get decorated for Easter with flowers and eggs.

The ladies of the village were selling their hand painted (real) eggs. Since the insides are blown out (can't imagine how hard that is to do), the eggs make great decorations that last for a long time - depending on how well you keep the eggs from curious 2 year olds.

Their fountain was nice...we've seen better, but the decorations were only hand painted real (hollowed out) eggs, which is somewhat unique, and has a beauty of its own.

The real bonus of the side trip was the cake: the ladies had an unimaginable amount of cake and pie. So, we bought a few eggs and pieces of cake, and we enjoyed the great weather.

We then headed out for our Easter hike on the edge of the Fränkische Schweiz.
Quinn did a fair amount of walking this time...and we let him do his own exploring and walking on logs. We try our best to make the hikes fun for him in the hopes that he'll learn to love hiking as much as we do.

Great spring weather is not complete with out grilling. We had our friends over, grilled, chatted, and tried to tire the kiddos out. I think I was the only one that got tired...

...don't ask me what I was doing...

After almost a year of trying to convince me that I needed to rip up some of my grass to put in a sandbox for Quinn, I finally broke down, and we ordered a sandbox. I was dreading having to put the thing together.
Of course, Quinn wanted to help Papa. He had no idea what we were building or why...

...but after waking up from his nap, he was stoked that it was a sandbox. Getting the final items for the sandbox (e.g. sand) was a bit of a struggle. It is super convenient to go to Obi (Home Depot) since it is only a few hundred meters from our house, but going to Obi on Easter Saturday during great weather to pick up 300kg of Sand is not fun.

The lines were HUGE and Obi was super crowded (the German readers can fully understand the crowds at stores before a long holiday or on the Saturday between holidays), and it is not exactly easy to push around a cart with 300kg of sand in it. Of course, we walked to Obi, so we had to push the cart all the way home.

Seeing the excitement on Quinn's face made all the effort (and sore muscles) worth it.

Finally, the big day: Easter Sunday. Quinn was a bit too young last year to really understand what was going on, but he knew something was up when he saw his Easter basket on the table.

After he opened up the Easter Egg, he went right to opening the chocolate eggs. Ignoring our parental conscious, we let him eat the first chocolate egg, then the second...and third. Quinn was stoked, and seemed to be running on adrenaline (and sugar) most of the morning

He really loved his stuffed duck, which now has to come to bed with him.
Easter Sunday got away from us a little bit. We were at a local biergarten with some friends a lot longer than planned (the kiddos were playing in the biergarten's sandbox), and didn't get home until almost 9pm. So, we had to do our Easter Egg hunt on Easter Monday...
All in all, it was a simply amazing weekend. A nice, long weekend with great weather, family, and friends was much needed for all of us. You don't realize how much the cold, rainy weather wears you down until you have a weekend like we had: warm sun and blue skies.

After tanking up on some sunshine, we headed to work for a short work week. We are entering the very 'worker friendly' time of year in Germany, where we have tons of holidays and long weekends.

Hope every one had a great Easter!

Thank you Easter Bunny!

Nina's 30th Birthday

No...this is not an Easter post. That will come soon enough.

Last weekend, we went up to Eva's hometown to celebrate Nina's 30th birthday party. Needless to say, Nina was surprised by her gifts!
Quinn loves birthdays. He hasn't quite yet figured out yet that just because there are presents and candles on a table, it doesn't mean that they are automatically for him...

Nonetheless, Quinn must have sang Happy Birthday for 3 days straight.

Quinn even figured out how to blow into those paper trumpet things. No idea what they are called.

Then, he threw it into the pond. They don't work all that well when they are wet.

All in all, it was a great birthday weekend. It is always a pleasure to visit my in laws, and now that I'm approaching my mid 30's, it is nice to see more people join the over 30 club.

Happy Birthday Nina!

A few days ago, Spring finally sprung at home. Eva and I have been suffering in the cold these last weeks, getting some of the Spring gardening necessities started. While we really enjoy this work and being together in Nature, it is less fun when it is cold outside.

I aerate my lawn by hand...which is tons of work (about 10 hours total), but I think the results are better. The advantage of the rainy, cold Winter is that it is easier to aerate, and I've been doing it bit by bit.

Above you see Eva raking the old lawn after I finished the last piece of yard. Quinn gets his little rake out and helps as well.

Finally, with the sun coming out, my newly planted flowers finally came up. I planted about 400 bulbs in the Fall, and everything has come up with the exception of the 125 tulips, which will be coming shortly.

With the temps finally warming up and the days getting longer, it is finally time for Spring...and Easter!