Mindless Lemmings

I am now like a mindless lemming, aimlessly following my fellow lemmings off the cliff to my impending disaster. Following the crowd. Doing the popular thing. Letting others influence my behavior. I am now a part of the Matrix...

...I have bought an iPod...

(Eva schrieks in horror in the background, as she learns via the blog that I have purchased yet another gadget).

I didn't want to do it. I have often zigged when the others zagged. I wear Adidas when others wear Nike. Long hair vs. short (ok...now it is falling out). I didn't purchase an iPod previously because others loved them.

I loved their marketing. It was amazing how iTunes brought the music industry to its knees and made it easy for people to actually 'buy' music. But, I just couldn't bring myself to follow the masses.

I admit it, I'm weak, but there were just too many positives. So, yesterday, I bought an 8GB Nano. 200 Bucks. Done. I have to admit, my first impression is good - especially the packaging. Yes, even the box is super cool. I feel 10 years younger.

While I'm still a loyal of Yahoo!Music - especially of their ability to listen to any of their 2 million songs anytime as well as their 160+ internet radio stations, I think that I'll like my little iPod. I'm already downloading about 4GB to the drive as well as 8 PodCasts. I think I'll really like the PodCasts. Looking forward to getting a stand for my iPod that doubles as a stereo.

I'm a lemming...but at least I'll look good jamming out to my favorite tunes as I fall off the cliff.

Remote Misuse

As I mentioned in the last post, I'm yet again a tech laggard to the MacLeans, and their numerous YouTube posts to their blog has encouraged me to try it out. The quality was great on their posts, and they said it was easy...

...but was it easy enough for me. So, armed with my glass of wine, I set off to upload a vid to YouTube and post on our website. What do you think?



This is a video of Quin in September 07...for some strange reason we were encouraging him to crawl. I used a remote (still one of his favorite toys) to bribe him to move. Oh, the good old days when you could just lay him down and not expect him to move.

Now, he crawls all over the place, grabbing remote controls and pulling on the toilet paper.

A Golden Era of Diplomacy

I've been 'reading' quite a bit lately - both 'normal' books and audiobooks. While I'm still procrastinating on my New Year's resolutions, I will read much more in German this year, and I'm starting with some light reading and listening about Dr. Konrad Adenauer's years as the first Chancellor of (West) Germany.

With the audio CD, there are some pretty powerful audioclips.

I don't mean to get nostalgic for a part of American history that I did not experience; nor do I wish to pretend to be an expert of this very difficult part of Germany's history, but with the elections in the US approaching and the primaries underway, one gets a different perspective on the state of politics and politicians when one listens to Kennedy's 1963 highly charged 'Ich bin ein Berliner' speech in Berlin or President Charles de Gaulle's address in Germany during a historic post war trip to Germany (reciprocating Adenauer's trip to France and extending the French-German Relationship).

Both are passionate addresses that are very seldom, if ever, replicated by today's politicians. Unfortunately, I couldn't find video of the de Gaulle address, but I did find a clip of Kennedy's historic speech in Berlin on YouTube.

Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was civis romanus sum [I am a Roman citizen]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is 'Ich bin ein Berliner'… All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words 'Ich bin ein Berliner!'

P.S. Thanks to the MacLeans: they've figured out how to embed their own YouTube vids on their blog, and it has encouraged me to figure it out myself. Thanks to their help, I should be able to post Gould YouTube posts soon.

Don't Mess with Feeding Time

Quinn has about as much patience as I do when he is hungry. We do a pretty good job keeping him all filled up, but sometimes we wish he would just understand that the water needs to boil or that the food needs to cool down.
He especially likes eating bananas. We can't eat the things anymore without him begging. He acts like we never feed him when a banana is around. I'm especially lazy in the mornings when it comes to his eating style. Eva cuts the bananas in a bowl and lets him grab them and stuff them in his mouth...which is great for Quinn, but bad for everything else - because the area gets a layer of banana smeared all over.

I just shove the banana in his mouth. He likes that. And...it is cleaner. No hands or table to clean.
With his morning breakfast, he gets his bananas, bread, milk, and fennel tea. Given a choice, the bananas always win...milk is a close second. But when there is not bananas around, he shoves as many pieces of bread as possible in his mouth. The then throws some bread on the ground ... so that he can 'find' for later and eat off the floor (we outsmart him by sweeping up after him...thank God for hardwood floors).
Quinn with one of his new books. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Texas!
This is usually the look we get when we catch him doing something he knows he shouldn't. We came back from the city last Saturday, and Quinn sniffed out a Laugenbrötchen (pretzel roll) in one of the shopping bags, ripped open the bag that it was in, and we found him chowing down on the thing...

The Mom Rule

It is dangerous, unwise, and downright stupid for a husband to even try to compare his wife to his mother. This blogpost is not an attempt to do so.

However, somehow during my childhood, I got instilled with the belief that mothers just don't get sick. My mom was never sick...well, almost never. I think I can remember only one time while I was growing up that she was in bed sick. My dad and I, on the other hand, had our share of illnesses. And, in true 'man' fashion, we were whiners when we were down and out.

...but not my mom...never

I asked her one day why she never got sick. Her answer was simple: Mom's just don't have time to be sick. I was probably 6 at the time. Simple enough. So, it stuck. Mom's just don't have time to be sick. This became my reality, and no biology teacher or doctor could convince me with facts otherwise.

Mom's don't have time to get sick.

This thought was so ingrained in my belief system, that when Eva was pregnant with Quinn, I was starting to think: well, maybe Eva will be sick less often. Simple. It is not that Eva is chronically ill; she just gets colds and the flu like the rest of us. But I was still hoping, and thinking, that the Mom Rule would apply.

Unfortunately, in this case, not. Eva has been under the weather these last few days. Thankfully, Quinn is still in good shape. Even though the Mom Rule seemed to be out to lunch this week, Eva is taking a very difficult situation like a champ. If I were home all day with a toddler and had a raging cold, I'd be whining to anyone that would listen. I'd be begging for this or that and hoping that someone would take care of me.

Not Eva. It is just not in her.

Maybe there is another Mom Rule in the making - one that Quinn will one day learn:
Quinn: "Mom, why don't you whine and complain like Daddy does?"
Eva: "Because Moms don't have time to complain. They have more important stuff to do"

Hang in there Eva and get well. I'll be home from work soon.

My Knees Hurt

As Quinn ages, he is (obviously) able to do more. In the first few months, one can do little with the child...and 'playing' with the child is a bit more like 'entertaining' the child.

Now that Quinn can crawl (really fast), stand up, grab things, and has more control over his hand movements, we can actually play. Which means a lot of time on my hands and knees - not exactly easy on hardwood floors and tile.

His favorite games are 1) knocking down the blocks, 2) 'ramming' heads (we line up on opposite sides of the room and charge each other like two rams), and 3) going into drawers or places he shouldn't and letting me pick him up and take him to a 'safe' place.

Needless to say, it is much more fun as a father to be able to be a bit more active with the little guy. I'm going to go running now to give my knees a break ...

By the way, I think he had another 'first' today: he stood on his own for a few seconds (then scared himself with the feat and fell on the ground).

Ah Oh! Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Another year has ended ... and yet another has begun. I'll probably post a bit of a 'year in review' in a day or two and spare you my endless rambling and sentimental look back at a great year.

Despite not being in the office for the last week and a half, I've been a bit delinquent with the blog posts, so here's a few pics of our 'goings on' during the Christmas season. Unfortunately, some of the pics are a bit out of order, and I can't get blogger to reorganize.

One other quick point: Quinn reached another milestone yesterday: he said his first 'word'. He's been rambling for a while (like his dad), but it is all relatively random. Now, he can clearly enunciate 'Ah Oh'...which were the 'words' that he woke us up with this morning. Now if he would only learn to change his own diapers. More on this when a real word gets spoken.Quinn and his friend Henrik on Henrik's new sled! We didn't have any snow, so Rene and I pulled them around the floor of our condo. They had a blast. Below is another pre Christmas pic: Quinn loves taking baths, and he gets so excited when we start filling up the tub...and he just looks so cute there with his little legs and butt...

Quinn with TicTack Oma. Eva gets a bit sentimental with this pic because it is one of the first where Quinn looks much more like a 'toddler' than a 'baby'. He certainly has grown up this last month. Despite the distance, Santa Claus visited Quinn as well, and dropped off one gift: this stack of blocks. Kind of a simple game: I stack the blocks, and Quinn knocks them down. You should hear him giggle when he starts crawling to knock them down! The famous Bügeleisenhaus in Hattingen, all dressed up for Christmas. During December, the house is a big advent calendar, and they 'open' up a different window at 7pm each evening, and someone at the windowsill will sing or tell stories for the onlookers.
A really cute pic of Emma!
The Gould family Christmas picture: new and improved this year: with Quinn!Quinn all decked out in his Christmas overalls (Thanks: Jessica, Charles, and Landon) on his first vehicle: his very own Bobby Car. Yes, that is the name of the thing...a Bobby Car. Every child has one, and the kids in the neighborhood put miles on the things. Quinn's legs are a bit short for the thing, but he had a blast when we pushed him around on it (Thanks: Oma und Opa). Eva's Dad even let me help him put it together.
I love Quinn in this sweater...it makes him look so cute! This is also the look he gives us when he is in a drawer he shouldn't be in. As all of you parents know, there are some clothes that you become somewhat attached to, and are kinda sad when they don't fit anymore...and this sweater will go in that category. Thankfully, it still fits. Oh my God! How am I going to get this to fit in our wagon? After sacrificing a few sheep to the Packing Gods, I got it all to fit...wait! Who forgot the kid ?!?
Quinn in his cowboy look.

Quinn and I playing a bit at his great Aunt and Uncle Göttgens' place. They had a remote controlled car that Quinn had a blast chasing...
Here's another pic of Quinn looking more like a 'boy' than a 'baby'. How time flies... Quinn playing with Emma. He still doesn't have tons of control over his hand and finger motions, so sometimes he pats her a bit too hard, but he's learning...and the two had a great time together. I still find it amazing how babies and toddlers are fascinated with other children their ages. I guess they're 'stuck' in a world where the people are huge, and they are even more amazed when the find other 'little people'.
Eva celebrated yet another birthday. Silly birthdays just seem to keep coming around. Happy birthday Eva!
Nina sporting her new hairdo with Quinn in hand.
Finally...the last pic of 2007. We had a few folks over for New Years. Everyone brought over snack food, and I made a potato soup...we laughed, chatted, ate, played Cranium...and even had a few drinks. Somehow, it was quickly 3am, and it was time to go to bed and to say goodnight to good friends and goodbye to 2007.
Promptly at 6am, we woke up to Quinn and his one 'word' vocabulary: Ah Oh!

Ah Oh! was right. Child, why can't you sleep in a bit longer? I guess Quinn is an early riser like his folks, and he was ready for action. It was time to check out 2008.

Thankfully, I took care of Quinn the previous two mornings, so it was Eva's turn!

We hope that you all had a great and healthy 2007, and we wish you all a great 2008. May all of your hopes and dreams come true.

Christmas Spirit

I always find it amazing how much cool stuff there is to buy for kids...and I think the hats are particularly creative. This one is one of my favorites. It just looks sooooo cute. I think Quinn would like it less if he knew how he looket in it...after all, it has bear ears on it.
Last week, I played the role of 'Der Nikolaus' / 'Der Weihnachtsmann' at the local day care. I was scared to death. I knew how Santa Claus would act, but I didn't know if there were any differences between Santa and Nikolaus. After a short briefing from Eva and our neighbor, I gave it a shot.
I guess I did OK...I think I only made 3 kids cry. One little girl ran to the corner of the room as I approached.
Not too sure if Quinn knew if I was under the robe (which was really hot, by the way). When I left the room, a few kids left with me, so I had to leave the building and walk around to find a spot to change out of my robe. Kids are really curious. All in all, I had a great time, and I hope that I added a bit of joy to the kids' day.
Quinn is helping Eva out with the vacuuming.

Vacation: three's company

Part 1: Preamble

Early on the 9th of November, we were off to the US for our first transcontinental vacation together. We weren't too sure how Quinn would handle the flight, and we were prepared for the worst. We just kept telling ourselves to stay cool and calm.

Needless to say, Quinn was excited. We left pretty early for the airport to make sure we had plenty of time. Along the way, the autobahn was shut down to an accident. Autobahn closures can last forever, and we were a bit stressed...but we thankfully made it to the airport on time.

After having to go through security twice and at least one dirty diaper, Quinn was finally in his seat on the airplane!

Part 2: the New York area

Surprisingly, Quinn did great on the flight. He didn't cry at all...but didn't sleep either. We just had to keep him busy during the flight when he wasn't flirting with all of the flight attendants. After arriving at the hotel, I got lost trying to find pizza, and we had a great night's sleep to power up for the next day.

We spent the first weekend in the New York area, and we met up with Jo, a good friend of ours from Canada. On Saturday, we hit the outlet malls and did a bit of touring, and visited Ft. Nonsense - one of the 'forts' of the Revolutionary War.

It wasn't much of a fort...and this stone is all that is left. Above, Jo and Eva.

We also took a stop at one of Washington's Quarters. We just missed a tour, but it didn't seem like there was really much going on.

On Sunday, we headed to Princeton to look at the campus. I've been there a few times before, and I thought that it would be a great place to just have an easy day. We also met up with our friend Michael from Atlanta. When we arrived, there were boat races going on - I guess the real term is sculling, but I'm not cultured enough to call it anything other than boat racing with rich people. They tried to do it right and had lots of tents with tailgaiting going on...but they didn't even have any beer (at 10am) available.
On the Princeton campus...so what do you see in this picture?

Saw tons of Japanese tourists on campus taking a picture of a squirrel. I guess they don't have many squirrels in Japan.Part 3: Texas (my hometown)

So, a few folks have requested pics from my home town: well here it is. These pics were taken about 2 miles from the house I grew up in. As you can tell, there aren't many trees in West Texas. Those trees in the distance are also called telephone poles by 'city folk'.
Same spot, different direction.

At home with my folks. My parents borrowed this little horse for Quinn. When you squeezed his ears, he would make different sounds or sing. Quinn had a ball on the horse...unfortunately, the video we took is a lot better than this pic...
Mom and Quinn at the City Park.
Dad helping out with the feedings. It was AWESOME to have mom and dad around. The did a lot to help out with Quinn - even volunteering to change diapers - which helped us to get to enjoy the vacation a bit more and to relax. Thanks mom and dad!
This is one of my favorite pictures of Quinn.

Downtown on Main Street with the old Morley Theater in the background.
Santa Claus showed up in his limousine to get the kid's wish lists. Quinn wasn't really sure what to do...but he at least didn't pull at Santa's beard.
We bought a jogger for Quinn (and dad), and we spent a lot of time together - with me pushing the whole way. Quinn tends to sleep the whole time, so I guess he likes it. We also hit the city (about 55 miles away) to go shopping at the mall, and you could rent these really cool strollers for the kids. Quinn had a blast...and was in charge the whole time.
Another pics of the hands: this time three generations of Robert Gould's.

Another 3 Gen pic...during Thanksgiving.
For those critics that say I don't blog enough of Eva. Another Thanksgiving family picture. I'm in a bit of danger posting this pic (my mom thinks she looks funny with her open mouth), but my mom looks great as usual...and it is one of those rare pictures of my dad smiling for the camera. Obviously a trait that didn't pass on to Quinn.
Dad carving up the turkey. As usual, my mom cooked up a storm, and there was way more food than we could eat...which is great for leftovers.Quinn was looking forward to his Thanksgiving meal of...oatmeal.
Part 4: Breckenridge Colorado

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, we took an early flight to Breckenridge to meet up with a bunch of my friends from college. The gang has been heading up to the mountains after Thanksgiving for 10 years. The event has changed a lot over the years. First came the girlfriends, then the wives (still the same group of ladies as the 'girlfriend' group), then the children came.

This year, we had about 13 adults (If you count Joel ;-) and 6 kids - all under 4. The view from Breckenridge is above. Another shot from Breck as we were on our way to go ice skating.
Let's just say that skating with kids is extremely cool...they were having the times of their lives. Thankfully, we had a few extra adults with us to help out. Below, Ize and the twins.
Darin was one of those extra sets of hands. He did a great job with Quinn, and Quinn had a great time with his beard and trying to pull chest hair. Darin was such a natural, that most folks thought that Quinn was his son and asked him things like 'how old is your son'. Taking it all in stride, he just answered 'nine months'...very cool. Thanks Darin!
Stacy and Abby skating.
One afternoon, we took a great hike in the area, and we enjoyed one of the many, many sunny days in Colorado.

Amazing view of the Rockies.
Along the way, there were some donkeys that we looked at for a while...Quinn is still a bit young to appreciate animals.
Justin, Quinn, and Abby playing.
We brought the kids Überraschungseier (surprise egs). It was really, really sweet looking at the kids figure out what they were, as we don't have these in the US. Hunter had a great time figuring out how to put the toy together.
Zoe biting right into the Üeier...like a natural.
Here's a shot of the front of our 'house' for the weekend. The place was huge...and could sleep 20 people pretty easily. It had a jacuzzi and even a theater room (for great football watching).

The kitchen was also huge, which made preparing meals much easier. We took turns cooking the meals (one family per meal), and we ate like royalty for the weekend.
The kids played really well together. Below, Quinn looking up the skirt of one of Abby's Barbie Dolls. I guess he gets that from his dad ;-)When the kids went to bed, the parents stayed up to play games. While playing Guesstures, Anita said that she didn't want us to take pictures of her. So, in true man fashion, we all started taking pics of Anita. We probably had 6 cameras going simultaneously.
I have no idea what I'm doing here.Thanksgiving weekend is the one time of the year that the guys can play Risk. One night, we stayed up till about 4am...
We brought a huge jar of Nutella for the gang, and Deborah showed us how Nutella is best enjoyed: right from the end of the spoon out of the jar (she had already dipped the spoon end of the spoon and didn't want to double dip).

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end...and when they do, we all shuffle for the group picture. CY, Heather, Zac, and Joel are not pictured.

After leaving our 'house', we headed to Frisco for a group breakfast...and the view of Frisco is that of an old mining / mountain town.

Part 5: Boulder and Denver

Unfortunately, shortly after coming down from the mountains, Quinn started running a fever, and we stayed for two days in the house. But, we did make it to Boulder for a few hours to get some fresh air.

It is never to early to introduce Quinn to the best mascot in the world: the University of Colorado Golden Buffaloes. The 'still' version of Ralphie is below.

The most beloved view of the Boulder area: the Flatirons.
Another view of the Rockies from outside of Boulder.
During our stay, we crashed at my Aunt Jessica and Uncle Charles' place, with my cousin Landon. Thanks for letting us stay! We made sure we didn't use much TP (family joke).
On our last night, we visited my sister and her children, my niece Jessica and nephew Michael. They did a really great job with Quinn, and I think that all three of them had a great time.
Then we got up the next day at 430am to begin our 24 hour journey back to Germany. We all had a very great time, and with all good things, this vacation had to come to an end. While it was not as exotic as some of our vacations in the past, it was very relaxing and enjoyable. Plus, with us living so far away from my friends and family in the States, it is especially nice to get to see them every once in a while.

With good friends, time plays no role. Even though it has been over 11 years since we graduated from college, it seems like yesterday when we all get back together. Thanks to all for your love, friendship, and support.

...just let me win at Risk next time ;-) I'm practicing...

But, with all good vacations, despite the great time, it was very nice to be home...