The First Haircut

It was finally time for Quinn to get his first haircut. He still doesn't have enough hair up front to 'really' need a haircut, but with his long, curly locks in the back of his head, he was forming a mullet ...Or maybe looking a bit like Krusty the Clown...Ok...so it wasn't all that bad, but after 17 months, it was time to give the boy his first haircut...

He was a great sport, and he only cried a bit at the end. Of course, I wasn't able to cut every lock of hair perfectly with him squirming all of the place in our back yard, but I think he looks better now.

Look, ma...no more mullet! We went to the playground to celebrate.

Earlier that day, we went to the Hundshaupten Tierpark. Sort of like a zoo, but there are mostly animals that are 'wild' to the area (or used to be wild in the area...e.g. the European Bison). Of course, we bought some food for the animals...

...and I promptly ignored the signs that asked everyone to not feed the animals by hand. Quinn was stoked. There is just something about live animals that kids really love.

As you might have picked up from Eva's last post, I was in the US for 12 days on business for our user conference, the Siemens Automation Summit, where we have a gathering of hundreds of our best customers as well as prospective customers in a Summit atmosphere. Let's just say that it was tough shaking all those hands after my finger injury.

It was held this year at Chicago's Navy Pier. The above picture was the only 'touristy' pic that I got the three day. Thankfully, I was able to see the sunrise each morning as I headed out and ran along Lakeside Drive. Amazing view. You'll just have to believe me.

Our final evening event was at the Museum of Science and Industry. We had a 'cold air balloon' set up in the transportation wing...and I got to help set it up. How many engineers does it take to set up a 'cold air balloon'?

...four...with some difficulty...

Since I was in the States over the weekend, I took the opportunity to visit Sam. We haven't seen each other in a while, and it was really great to spend the time to catch up. We chatted for hours, had some great KC BBQ, and one or two frosty adult beverages.

After college, we made a practice to head out to ball games at least once a year. This weekend, we renewed that tradition and headed to a Royals game. Armed with a full cooler of beer, chips, hummus (we are getting older, you know), and cherries (for a few vitamins), we got to the game 3+ hours early to tailgate.

Life is good...

...we also had a massive rain delay. Nothing like the amazing chain lightning in the midwest.

Mom and Dad shipped a package to my office in the States for me to bring back to Quinn. He's slowly understanding the concept of opening gifts.

So, Quinn now has a few new books to read and some new clothes to wear. Thanks Grandmom and Grandpa Texas! His favorite is the train book that plays songs when you push the button. The battery won't last a few weeks (probably designed that way so the parents don't go batty).

More words...

Quinn starts talking more words that we actually understand! He learned "Oma" (Grandma in German), "Auto" (car in German), "Eis" (for icecream) and "Dan" (for Danke - Thank you) this weekend!
He still gets Papa and Daddy mixed up though. We'll have to work on that one before Rob comes home!

Habits

Quinn has gotten into the habit of always getting a chair when I am working in the kitchen. Whether that is preparing breakfast, doing dishes or cleaning up: Quinn gets the chair and wants to 'help'.

Afterwards, the dishes are clean (!) but the kitchen is under water and both Quinn and I need to change because we got cleaned, too...

It is like that with almost all the housework. I vacuum: Quinn wants to help by turning it on (and off before I am done...), changing the speed/power and pushing the vaccum around the house. I sweep the floors: Quinn gets his broom and helps. I do laundry: Quinn gets it out of the washer- and does not care whether it's actutally clean or I just put it in...

Now the big question is: Who did he get that from???

Sommerfest - Party Time

Last Friday Quinn's day care had a little party for all the kids and their parents, grandparents and friends. Since Rob was in the States, my Mom came down to join us. Quinn had a great time - and so did we!

At the beginning, we all got together and sang a couple of songs. One was "If you're happy and you know it..." - in German. I didn't even know that existed...

After the singing, there were different things for the kids to do. Quinn was really good at throwing the balls at cans. He loved it, too! And he had conviced some 5-year old to always run and get the balls back...


... and then there was icecream. Quinn didn't really know how to eat it though - he normally eats his icecream with a spoon - and so Mom had to finish it...
Another excitement was playing with water. Quinn liked that as well - and so did Oma.

Is he thinking: "How did my pants get wet?" Or rather: " Oh boy, what did you do???"

The afternoon was wonderful and after eating from the wonderful homemade buffet, we went home and enjoyed the warm evening. Quinn was so excited he would not go to bed until 2 hours after his normal bedtime. But, after all: we missed you Daddy!!!

At the pool...and with the pigs

When Eva's sister was here a few weeks ago, we headed out to the local pool (within walking distance from our place) to enjoy the great weather. The kids pool was pretty large and just the right depth for Quinn. The cold water didn't bother him a bit.

It was fun to watch him use his watering can to water...the pool.

This last weekend wasn't nearly as nice, but we headed out anyway.
Saturday was a bit nicer. There was a huge event where our town was trying to win the competition for the most active city in Germany, where the winning city gets 100,000 EUR for the local sports teams. There were all sorts of booths and things to do. We thought that Quinn would like the huge 'bouncy room' (Hüpfburg), but his first experience was as positive as we were hoping. At least he tried.
Later that day at a local park...with a pretzel.
We woke up, or shall I say that Quinn woke up, early. We decided to be a bit spontaneous, pack some breakfast, and head to the some of the local hiking trails for a 2 hour hike. Quinn was chatting for much of the way, but took a power nap the last 30 minutes.
It would be a stretch to say that he is talking now: his vocabulary is limited to Mama, Ja, leer (empty), and DaDa (we don't know if that is a reference to me or anything that he is point to).

I've been practicing the vowels with him when I change diapers: AAAAAAAAAAAAA, EEEEEEEEEEEE, IIIIIIIIIIII, OOOOOOOOO, UUUUUUUUUUU. He seemed to get out a few oooo's today. And, I swear he pointed to a picture of Eva's Mom and said Oma. As the new words come in, we'll keep you updated.

Visiting the wild pigs on the tail end of the hike. Quinn seems to like the little ones (you can see one near his right hand), and he is a bit scared of the big ones...
This is what happens to bananas that are lying within Quinn's reach. They have no chance.
Well...another weekend has ended...off to work.

Wear Sunscreen

I remember when this text came through all of the email servers at CU. Back then, I don't even think Spam was a commonly used word yet. The Urban Legend was that this was Kurt Vonnegut's commencement speach to MIT. In reality, it was from Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich.

Lots of good advice along with some new cliches in this video version. Amazing how an old memory can be reignited after a few quick searches on YouTube.

...always wear sunscreen...

Texans in Germany

It is hard to believe that my folks landed in Germany almost a month ago for their 11 day trip through Germany. As with any trip, the time seemed to fly by...but thankfully we have some great memories, pictures, and video of the trip.

My folks did great after landing in Frankfurt. After picking them up around 8am, we got back in the car for another ~4 Hour drive + 1 hour ferry ride to meet up with Eva's parents and sister on the North Sea island of Borkum. They napped for an horu or so in the car, but once we caught up with Eva and Quinn at the dock, they were full of energy...definitely required to keep up with the little man. The weather ont he North Sea can be sketchy, but we had unbelievable warm temps and blue skies. Notice on the pic with Quinn and both sets of grandparents the gradual decline in height as you move to the left (Gould) side of the pic.
Three generations of Robert Goulds...barefoot on the beach.
Borkum was known as a whaling comminity, and the 'fence' below is of whale teeth and bones - a few hundred years old.
Quinn is slowly starting to dig ice cream, and we finally let him eat the ice cream on his own. It got a bit messy, but he figured it out.Oh...the North Sea! One big sandbox for Quinn.A few family pics before heading to dinner.After our 2 days in Borkum, we headed back home (a 700 km trip) to head to work, which left my folks home alone with Quinn (the real reason for their visit ;-) Quinn having fun as Eva is blowing bubbles.
Another great advantage of their trip was that the European soccer championship was in full swing...and my dad did a great job rooting for Germany, I have to admit, it was a lot of fun during the world cup going out to the Biergartens or Restaurants/Bars to watch the games, but it is a bit more difficult to work around the bedtime of a 1 year old. This European was definitely exciting...and Germany finished second. Now the (soccer) focus turns to the upcoming soccer season and the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
Quinn opening his first Duplo's. He had a ball with the bag (of course), but got into the swing of stacking the blocks. Thanks Jessica, Charles, and Landon! We've been playing with these a lot, and I've also built some interesting sculptures...one was especially funny, but it didn't pass the censor (aka Mommy) and I couldn't post the pic of the anatomically correct Legoman.Day at the zoo! Nürnberg's zoo is one of the best in Germany, and it received a new addition this winger: ababy polar bear that was born in the zoo: Flocke. She doesn't seem much like a baby anymore...I had a hard time deciding which of the two pics below to post...so I took the easy way out and posted both. This first one is a great view of both my mom and Quinn looking very interested (at something).But, this one of Quinn hamming it up for the camera is precious as well.Another good one of Quinn and my Mom.My dad took great care of Quinn at the playground (at the zoo and near our place). He noticed that Quinn is pretty much fearless, which will change once he busts his head a few more times.My Dad tought Quinn how to slide by himself, which still seems crazy dangerous, but Quinn loves sliding by himself. Here is a pic of one of the practice runs.After a relatively calm week at home, we headed to the other side of Germany to head to the Bavarian Forest to do some hiking and to catch some of the mountain air. A pre hike family pic and another three generation picture below.
Mom and Dad took care of Quinn for a few hours so that we could rest a bit, and Quinn loved hiding in the drawer. A family pic outside our hotel. We've been staying with Familie Brandl for a number of years at their Landgasthof Postwirt. The family run B&B is very well kept, they are extremely friendly, treat us exceptionally well...and the food is simple but amazing! If you are in the area, you can't go wrong staying here. Tell them that crazy German/American couple sent you.
A short walk before heading home.
Before heading home, Mom and Dad did some laundry...and my dad took Quinn on a few airplane rides in the laundry basket. We had a great time with my parents, and most importantly, Quinn got to spend more time with his Grandparents from Texas. My folks were super with Quinn and were very active playing with him. We think he had a blast as well...

We are already looking forward to the next visit from Grandma and Grandpa Texas...and Quinn is as well.

Big Word of the Day

I haven't posted one of these in a while, but I came across a good big (German) word of the day:

RV-Altersgrenzenanpassungsgesetz

But, it gets worse...this is really one of those sneaky German tricks to make a word seem smaller, since RV is an abbreviation for Rentenversicherung. So the full word is:

Rentenversicherung-Altersgrenzenanpassungsgesetz

47 letters and one dash. What does it mean? Roughly translated: this is the law that sets the retirement age for the German Social Security system.

Who said German is a tough language to learn? It is certainly more efficient than the english equivalent that needs 11 spaces and 60 letters ;-)

A real post with pictures will soon follow...