Who's that?

I shaved off my beard and we wondered what Finn would think. He whistled. Well no. But he made a face like he was whistling. After about 10 seconds, there was no reaction at all. It's nice to know that there is more to our bond and recogniton is based on more than facial hair.

Flying Pig Marathon

In the beginning of May Cincinnati hosted the Flying Pig Marathon. Sarah and I were too lazy to do anything about it. Our friends weren't as lazy and had decided to run the half-marathon. We watched Elena and met them down at the finish line.

Finn was excited to wake up and see a beautiful girl in his house. They rode the rocking horse together and then ate french toast sticks.

Maybe some year we'll plan far enough out to train for and run the marathon and not just wake up to the sounds of footsteps and cheering from the street below. Probably not.

Nabbed

Another laundry basket shot. He was finally caught, but didn't seem to mind. Next we'll have to teach him how to do the laundry. To date, he just starts the dryer when it's empty. That's not too useful.

It's hot

Summer's here. It's hot. And humid.

Music Video of the Week: Hot Fun in the Summertime by Sly and the Family Stone.

Earning his keep

We've decided that it is about time that Finn earns his keep around here. He clearly is old enough to help out and tall enough to work a broom, yet young enough to not know that cleaning isn't fun. Right now, whatever we do is his favorite thing.

After a little time of Sarah showing him how to use the mop, he was off. He took the broom and went around the house moving dust. Of course, he hadn't the strategery to move it all into a pile for easy collection so it was all for nothing.

Eventually he got through the whole house.


I think that getting him to enjoy cleaning is a short-term success that will fail in the long-run. Still, you take the gains you can. I suppose something is bound to stick, and we'll take that.

The Sounds of Downtown

As I settle in for a quiet evening of reading (starting at 10:30), I realize that quiet may not be in the cards tonight. I hear:

Fireworks - I can't see them but they're near. And big. On a Thursday night?

Jackhammers - Apparently the Vine Street project is behind schedule. Don't they know people live around here?

Sirens - These are normal and taken alone, I wouldn't pay much attention, but tonight they are just adding to the din.

Clip-clopping horses - These are probably mounted police, and the one sound that I wouldn't mind more of.

Finn sleeps on. One advantage to raising a kid downtown - it breeds heavy sleepers.

How We Spent Our Monday

Finn and I miss our Beach so much we have been trying to fill our days with fun so the time will go by faster. Yesterday was particularly fun-filled. Here's a photo recap.

First a visit to the aquarium where Finn (wearing his fashionable new backpack/baby leash) played in the "Dino Dig" sand table. Don't ask me what this has to do with sea life. Speaking of sea life, Finn can now say both "fish" and "turtle". Finn defines turtle as anything living in the water that isn't a fish. Makes perfect sense to me!

When we were leaving the aquarium, we came across the newest thing at Newport on the Levee - a kiosk that sells hermit crabs with painted shells. Brilliant! Too bad I didn't come up with that business idea or surely we'd be rich in no time.

Next, lunch with Doc, a friend from my FGW days, at Putz's Creamy Whip. Nothing beats the heat better than a vanilla malt hand mixed by a guy named Putz.

After a nap and dinner, it was outside to the rooftop patio to hang out with Elena and try some gender role-reversal.

We both slept well last night!

It's a Big Day

Beach's younger brother Lanny (right) graduates from high school today. When I met Beach, Lanny was a cute little kid - 7 years old - and now he's all grown up. Does this mean Beach and I are old? Probably.

Lanny's an amazing artist and was awarded a scholarship by his high school's art department. He'll be futher honing his skills when he starts classes at the University of Wisconsin at Stout this fall. (Go Blue Devils!) Thinking about college makes me nostalgic for the days when there was a world of opportunity in front of me and I had no responsibility to anyone but myself. Words of advice, Lanny, make it last as long as you can.

Congratulations, Lanny. We're there with you in spirit!

German experience

Knute and I went to the classic German Saturday afternoon activity: American football. The local team, the Kaiserslautern Pikes, have a junior team (think high school) who played the Weinheim team. The pikes won 49-6.

The surprising part was that neither team ever tried an extra point, choosing only for the two-point conversion. However, the Pikes got a field goal, so clearly the kicking game exists. I figured that the one position that would be well-stocked would be the kicker.

While watching the game we had bratwursts and beer. The Germans around us ate hamburgers and drank Coke. It seems that people want to try new things or get what they don't always have. That's good to see.

Knute asked his German friend if the people of Hamburg are offended at the hamburger. He said no, because a hamburger is not dissimilar to a Hamburger. I asked about the people of Cheeseburg.

Auf Deutschland

I'm back in Deutschland again; this time for a business trip for only a week. I figured it was time to change the song of the week, so I am going back to a popular group from Germany. Die Fantastischen Vier released an album last year and were on the radio and MTV all the time, so I chose their song "Einfach sein" as homage to our time out here last year.



It was difficult to say goodbye to Sarah and Finn at the airport. Finn obviously didn't understand why I would get out of the car and he had to stay inside. He looked very unsettled even on the way there.



I miss them already and can't wait to get back and I'm not even over my jet lag yet.

Lounging

It seemed for a while that lounging wouldn't happen again, and it is admittedly a rarity still, but we have begun to settle down a bit. Playing on the floor can lead to laziness if you aren't prepared against it. I clearly lead the lazy way, but Finn follows right in my footsteps and copies me.

Our cat, Mr. Pibb, has always been at the forefront of laziness. He has always used our couch as a nesting pace for this frequent naps. Unfortunately that led to huge amounts of cat hair accumulating on our furniture.

To fix that problem we decided to get him his own bed. Our first purchase, a nice fluffy, high-walled, cat bed failed miserably. It seems that he is too big for a cat bed. We took it back and exchanged it for a dog bed that he fits into perfectly. Notice the bone embroidered on the front panel of his bed.

I see this more as a chastisement of the popularity of "dogs" that are smaller than Mr. Pibb rather than a statement that our cat is too big. A dog should be a dog: big and friendly. If people would abide by that rule, Finn wouldn't be as confused and call those "dogs" either cats or mice.

But now in our house, we can all lounge comfortably whereever we like.