Sunday, November 28, 2010

Heidelberg Weinachtsmarkt 2010

Heidelberg Weinachtsmarkt 2010

It is finally Christmas market season again! Strolling through markets in the freezing cold looking at all the neat goodies for sale and tasting all the delicious food...love it! It was COLD out but we bundled up and went with some friends to wander around. Aside from the cold the weather was great and we even had a little sun peek through a few times. Colin liked the market at first, but then it was too crowded for him to walk around and he was not so enthused about being stuffed in the stroller. He did get to feed the donkeys and ride the carousel, he enjoyed that part. Mostly we just ate our way through the market. Lucky for us one of our friends that went is very pregnant and wanted to eat and taste everything. She'd buy something to eat and then share because she didn't want to fill up on just that one thing and not have room to try anything else. Worked out great for us! lol We had potato pancakes with apple sauce, mushrooms in garlic sauce, bratwurst, currywurst, fries, hot honey wine, beer, Starbucks, steak sandwiches and God knows what else. I Can't wait for next weekend to go hit up some more!

Friday, November 26, 2010

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!


I have been wrestling with what to do about Christmas decorations this year. Usually we go all out, but this year I'm not feeling it. For one, we are leaving for the Alps on Dec 18th and will be gone until just before Christmas. That takes a good week out of "enjoyment time" for the decorations since we won't be here. Then there is this whole deployment thing. I am a little stressed and a lot bummed about him leaving and now that it's coming down to the last few weeks before he has to go I'm just not feeling all that festive. Then there is the work factor, he'll be here to help me drag it all out and set it up, but it is a good possibility that I will be packing it all up and cramming it back into the attic solo. With a two year old glued to my butt trying to "help". Speaking of two year olds...that brings me to reason number 542 why decorating this year is a bad idea. I share my home with a tornado of destruction curious and active little angel who will be certain that each and every ornament on the tree is a plaything for his unending entertainment purposes. Last year you might remember the fortification wall we had to build around the tree to keep Colin out...
From The Way I See It

Yea, as you can see that went over real well. This year he would laugh as he effortlessly sailed right over it. Decisions. Decisions.

So today, when we were in Hornbach (German equivalent to Home Depot) browsing the Christmas section, Colin saw a life-size Santa standing there and ran to it yelling "clown! clown!" At this point it occurred to me that not decorating was not an option as my poor child believes Santa Claus is a clown! I might be cursing my decision later (most likely as I am hauling 6 totes full of Christmas junk up a rickety 1920's wooden ladder to the attic) but I just couldn't do it. Christmas has arrived in the Goetzman house, inside anyway. The tree is up and sparingly decorated with cheap plastic IKEA ornaments and silver bows. It's not overwhelmingly beautiful but it will have to do.

Now I most likely will have the opportunity to teach Colin not only about Santa Claus, but also about the Easter Bunny! As soon as I am not watching I can guarantee the ornaments are coming off the tree and after he tastes it and makes sure it's not food then he's going to start hiding them places. Like in the fish tank, the rabbit cage, his little potty, inside toys with compartments...you know, places all Moms love to find surprises. So we can get a little lesson on the Easter Bunny and hunting stuff down as we gather up the ornaments and then I'll get to explain all about how Santa will be leaving sticks and rocks on Christmas morning if he doesn't stop touching the tree! On second thought, my kid is pretty fond of sticks and rocks, think Santa will still leave me presents if I lie to the boy and tell him Santa will leave him poop instead? Oh wait...we celebrate poop in this house too at the moment. Shit. I guess this Santa thing gives me no bargaining leverage whatsoever this year. Oh joy!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Snow fun


Of course Colin had to try out his new snowsuit today. It has been hanging in his closet for a month just waiting for this day. I'd been procrastinating on the snow boots though and thankfully I finally made it down to the shoe store last week to get him some new sneakers and a pair of snow boots. Just in time!

I spent most of the morning in the kitchen getting stuff ready to go in the oven and keeping the constant rotation of food in the oven moving. I'd cook something then put it in a big cooler too keep it warm while something else cooked. Eventually everything was in the cooler and cooked and then I cycled some of it back through to make sure it was good and hot before serving. I fully intended to get out in the snow and photograph the apples still hanging in the tree, topped with snowcaps. It was beautiful. I attempted mega zoom from the house but wasn't happy with this one...

I saw the snow was starting to melt and fall off the trees some so I asked Shelby to take a couple pictures for me in case I didn't make it out there (or at all, which ended up being the case) and got this...

Anyway, it was very pretty to see the last few red apples still in the tree all covered in fresh snow.

Shelby got to hang out outside a bit with Colin while he and our guest Grady got the turkey fryer all set up and the oil hot and ready. They attempted to make a snowman, but Colin wasn't too into it. The snow was very wet so it easily rolled up off the grass, too bad Colin didn't want to finish!



The snow fell off and on throughout the day and it was awesome. Being a Florida girl I never quite understood the lyrics to Over the River and Through the Woods, you know, the part about "The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh
through the white and drifted snow." I guess snow on Thanksgiving really is possible!

I'm Dreaming...


of a white Christmas Thanksgiving??? Yep, woke up to at least an inch of snow this morning, looks like closer to two and it's still coming down. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Colin at Two


Colin is 100% toddler right now. He's demanding, opinionated, stubborn, a social butterfly, has a definite sense of humor, learns fast, and is absolutely adorable. He goes back and forth from being the cutest kid on the planet, to making me want to pull my hair out, at least 100 times a day.

Here are a few things I want to remember about Colin at this age...

* He has wonderful manners. He always says thank you and your welcome, he says excuse me after he burps and the instant anyone within earshot coughs or sneezes he tells them "bless you."

* He HATES my singing. If I sing in the car he tells me to stop. When he potties in the potty and I sing the potty song...oh it's priceless. The look of annoyance on his face as he pushes me away saying "stop mommy, stop," it's just great.

* He is smart and imaginative. People often comment that he is smart. The other day right as someone complimented his coordination and skills, saying how smart he was, he then turned the party horn around put the paper part in his mouth and blew in the wrong end. "Yep pure genius!" I replied, LOL.

* He talks. A lot. Most of it is unintelligible because he's usually excited when he talks, the more excited he is the faster he throws words together.

* He's methodical and insistant upon certain things. For example, if a door is left open, he has to close it...regardless of whether or not it was intentionally left open. Open doors bother him, period. He spends quite a bit of time at the BX mall playground closing the door to the playground room when kids leave it open.

* He loves to snuggle with me.

* He still has his beautiful red hair. Though it has lightened up some and we keep it cut short, which makes it seem less red.

* He's obsessed with anything to do with the movie Cars, watching How to Train Your Dragon, everything dinosaur...and possibly, as of last night, "Hoody." Which, after much screaming and stomping in front of the TV last night, we finally discovered meant Woody from Toy Story.

* He loves to cook with me. Though I've recently realized that he thinks cooking means standing on a chair next to me at the counter sticking his fingers in things and licking any utensil in sight.

* He does not love the bath as much as he used to. This is not good for Mommy, or Daddy. Keeping him in the tub has become a chore and an expensive experiment. A new tub toy buys us maybe three nights of 20-30 minute bath times. Once the newness wears off he's climbing out of the tub as fast as you put him in there.

* He doesn't forget a thing. Ever! He remembers all kinds of things that amaze me. I can read him a new book one time and he will ask for it a week later. He stopped going to the old babysitter back in April of last year and hadn't seen her all summer. We went to her house recently to visit and he asked to see her rabbit, and the bird that lives in the house upstairs with her daughter. He remembered the bird and rabbit from when he would stay there before, he was 20 months old when we stopped going there for daycare. Kid is like an elephant!

* He eats. And eats. AND EATS. Seriously, at times I worry about the amount of food the child can put down with ease. He is still tall and not a bit overweight, but man can this kid eat!

* He has a sense of humor and will crack up laughing at himself when he thinks he's being funny. He likes to make people laugh too.

* He loves watching football. He actually asks for us to turn on Gator football, by saying "alligators" when we ask him what he wants to watch.

I know there is more I wanted to share, it just won't come to me right now.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Wordless Wednesday






Who doesn't like winning?

I get entered into this neat little 30 day giveaway by posting this here. You don't want to enter, the prizes are total junk. OK well, I don't exactly know what the prizes are yet (I just like to win!), but I'm sure you don't want them. So what ever you do, don't go over to Ni Hao Y'all and enter this giveaway. It will hurt my chances of winning.
Ni Hao Y'all

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Bedtime Stories

Colin has a few favorite books for bedtime, most of them involve dinosaurs but he also has a book of baby animals that he loves. He knows almost every animal in the book and makes sounds for lots of them too. He has recently started distinguishing between the baby animals and the "big" or adult animals. Tonight we recorded him reading his book and showing off his animal knowledge :)