Well, after tonight it is clear where I stand. Spencer was trying to spend the night at a friend's house. It wasn't working out and so we said - Spencer since Shantal has a friend spending the night I thought we could play Playstation together. He said - Oh No!
We then finally thought of another solution - Spencer could invite a friend over to our house to sleep over and play Playstation. He said - Oh Yes!
Same activity: With dad, bad. With friend, good! At least I know where I stand.
I think it was some of the frustration of not getting what he wanted in that moment. Oh, well.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Emma's big plans
I had a fun experience with Emma today. She is just about to turn 4, but going on 14 at least. She strives for independence in all that she does. It is challenging for dad and daughter I believe.
Today I took Emma to Kindergarten (pre-school in English) and on the drive over there I missed the first turn off. We usually take the first turn off in order to avoid waiting at the the traffic light at the 2nd possible turn off point.
She exclaimed "Dad you forgot to turn!" I responded "I was thinking of something else. Thanks for telling me. I was about to take you all the way to work with me!" and smiled.
Emma then went to explain that she did not want to go to work with dad. She needed to be in Kindergarten. Johanna needed Emma so she had someone to play with and the Little Pia needs Emma in case the Little Pia cries (there are two girls named Pia who attend Emma's pre-school). "And besides, dad", she gently reminded me, "I've already been to your work. I need to be in Kindergarten."
What a wonderful experience.
Today I took Emma to Kindergarten (pre-school in English) and on the drive over there I missed the first turn off. We usually take the first turn off in order to avoid waiting at the the traffic light at the 2nd possible turn off point.
She exclaimed "Dad you forgot to turn!" I responded "I was thinking of something else. Thanks for telling me. I was about to take you all the way to work with me!" and smiled.
Emma then went to explain that she did not want to go to work with dad. She needed to be in Kindergarten. Johanna needed Emma so she had someone to play with and the Little Pia needs Emma in case the Little Pia cries (there are two girls named Pia who attend Emma's pre-school). "And besides, dad", she gently reminded me, "I've already been to your work. I need to be in Kindergarten."
What a wonderful experience.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Ian's Big Day
OK, maybe it was dad's big day with Ian, but here goes.
I needed to run an errand today and decided driving would be too stressful, and decided to take the train. I then thought that would be fun for me and Ian together. And, I was right it was fun. We rode the train to the main station in Düsseldorf (Hbf) and then walked about 1500 meters to the computer store.
Ian was excited at two particular times: 1) When our trains tracks made the turn towards Düsseldorf and we were suddenly running parallel with several tracks, and 2) when we were walking in the big city. Both were related to the amount of public transportation we saw. Trains in the first instance and buses and street cars in the second instance. He doesn't say much, but pointed and grunted a lot.
When we got home he brought me some trains from our wonderful wooden train set that Spencer got as a gift from Grandma Wheeler and we played trains together. That was fun. We crashed the trains, let them ride down the little hills. It was a good time.
I needed to run an errand today and decided driving would be too stressful, and decided to take the train. I then thought that would be fun for me and Ian together. And, I was right it was fun. We rode the train to the main station in Düsseldorf (Hbf) and then walked about 1500 meters to the computer store.
Ian was excited at two particular times: 1) When our trains tracks made the turn towards Düsseldorf and we were suddenly running parallel with several tracks, and 2) when we were walking in the big city. Both were related to the amount of public transportation we saw. Trains in the first instance and buses and street cars in the second instance. He doesn't say much, but pointed and grunted a lot.
When we got home he brought me some trains from our wonderful wooden train set that Spencer got as a gift from Grandma Wheeler and we played trains together. That was fun. We crashed the trains, let them ride down the little hills. It was a good time.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Lichtenstein - World Cup Qualifier for Germany
On Saturday Germany played a World Cup qualifying game. Early in the game, with Germany leading 2-0, Mario Gomez, a star for the German team, missed a shot from close range. The commentator noted that Gomez hadn't scored in an international game for the German team in over a year. He then noted that the Lichtenstein team hadn't scored in an international game in over a year. The last goal Lichtenstein scored was in a 1-7 loss against Malta a year ago.
Needless to say, the German team had an easy time beating Lichtenstein 4-0. The led 2-0 in the 10th minute.
Needless to say, the German team had an easy time beating Lichtenstein 4-0. The led 2-0 in the 10th minute.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Hannah's Surprise
On Saturday we planned a surprise for Hannah for her baptism. We did this with help from our former exchange student Adrian. Adrian called on the Monday before the baptism to say he could attend the baptism and suggested that maybe it could be a surprise. Tamara set it up so the other children new about the surprise and Hannah knew that dad, i.e., me, was picking up the surprise on Saturday morning before the baptism. The surprise was arriving at the train station at about 10a.m.
When I arrived back home with "the surprise" Hannah was glued to the TV as she and the kids were playing Playstation 2 (we just got a Playstation after being without one for over a year, so the kids were understandably excited). We called to Hannah. "Dad is here!" "With your surprise." "Turn off the TV!" "Time for Hannah's surprise." But the pull of the Playstation was too strong. By this time Adrian and I were right behind Hannah and the other kids in the living room. All of the other kids had looked, but were silent - very well done I must say.
Hannah, while still looking at the TV said, "Well, is it wrapped." We all burst out laughing and Hannah turned around. She saw Adrian, and just melted in joy. She ran to him and jumped up into his arms. It was one of the sweetest moments of Hannah's baptism day.
When I arrived back home with "the surprise" Hannah was glued to the TV as she and the kids were playing Playstation 2 (we just got a Playstation after being without one for over a year, so the kids were understandably excited). We called to Hannah. "Dad is here!" "With your surprise." "Turn off the TV!" "Time for Hannah's surprise." But the pull of the Playstation was too strong. By this time Adrian and I were right behind Hannah and the other kids in the living room. All of the other kids had looked, but were silent - very well done I must say.
Hannah, while still looking at the TV said, "Well, is it wrapped." We all burst out laughing and Hannah turned around. She saw Adrian, and just melted in joy. She ran to him and jumped up into his arms. It was one of the sweetest moments of Hannah's baptism day.
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