Selling Manhattan

Fred almost sold Manhattan to the Germans. There was a neighborhood flea market extravaganza with the whole Glockenbach Viertel taking part, turning each and every backyward into some kinda branch of the party. It's every year and the main purpose is of course to get to know the neighborhood and all the inhabitants. Although Fred made about as much in half a day as a factory worker in a week. Karl's charm sure helped to soften up those unsuspecting browsers. Which led directly to mass partying during the European soccer finals. Which Germany lost, but since each and every backyard had been turned into a sports bar with BBQ and beers and all under a bright orange summernight-sky, the mood was only slightly dampened.

Fun in the Sun

We couldn't blog for a bit and the only excuse we have is - we had too much FUN! Welcome to Munich. Sabine and Karl's buddy Bruno were in town from New York City, so there was a whole lot of partying to do. Snacks at the beach (alright, it's a riverbank, but it's mass pebbles near a body of water, so we call it a beach), lounging at the park, strolling through the sun-drenched city of Munich where the European championship is turning the whole town into a soccer-fueled party zone. And now that the Germans are in the semi-finals against Turkey tomorrow... more soon.

Chairman

Mr. Karl got himself a chair now. Fred got him the classic Stokke high chair including cushions decorated with very Smith Street style animals of all sorts. Mr. Karl is very proud that he can now sit at the table like everybody else around here. So yes, he became a chairman today and if you don't like the lame pun, please submit your own baby and chair pun to the section below. Best entry wins a VIP meet and greet with Mr. Karl.

P.S.: There's also photos of Karl seriously hitting the bottle. No pun here, he was really hitting the bottle ferociously. Which is of course unbreakable and perfect for learning how to hold your own while downing large amounts of fluids. Definitely a skill you can use around here.

Cold Steel

While I was trying to find out what I'm going to wear to my father's birthday party tomorrow, Karl found out that the steel bar on the bottom of our wardrobe is superyummy.

Earlier today, in preparation for Bruno's arrival we went to get extra diaper supplies. Obviously Karl wasn't very pleased to share his stroller (not a limousine anymore - he got a sportscar now) with that way-too-happy baby on the package.




In other news: Please check out the Bavarian work ethic during the current European championship. Incredible. And the Germans didn't even win their last game.

Going To The Bathroom

There is still the no-poop-no-fart-stories policy in effect on this blog, but I MUST write about Karl going to the bathroom for the first time, right? I mean, like, crawling to the room which is the bathroom. There's no law that says that you have to go upright... So yesterday all of a sudden he disappeared. I went to look for him and found him in the bathroom, doing his business. Meanwhile he was going through some architecture and interior decoration magazines to get a couple of fresh ideas for his room he's going to move to soon.

Happy Birthday, Opa!

See you this weekend for the first round of celebrations!

Karl's Very Own National Geographic Live Action Channel

Summer in the city sure is not the same in Munich. Today Karl had his very own National Geographic Live Action Channel right at the Englische Garten. With all the drama of Jungle Book and the schmaltz of Bambi.
Fred and Karl walked from the super-friendly daycare center..... where Karl got accepted, which of course is the real news of the day! He got in! Getting your baby into daycare in Munich is something like getting a juvenile delinquent into Harvard. So there was definitely reason to celebrate. All the more, since all that nature action happened right around the corner from the daycare center, where they put the kids into old fashioned pull-carts and take them to the park in the morning, so they can play on the lawns and under the trees and pretend they own the place. Which in a way they do.

So there we went and first there was this very nutty squirrel nosediving into Karl's stroller. Rather unimpressed by our presence it took a quick and very nervous look around before deciding that there are no food items to rob. So it bailed. Luckily Karl was sitting Fred's arm anyway, so we don't have to take him in for rabies shots. He actually found it rather curious to have such a furry guest.

Afterwards we had our Bambi moment, when we ran into a family of swans.
One of the little ones hopped on the dad swan to ride around on the creek. There's also a photo of that scene, but could be too blurry to submit to Cute Overload. Although it'd be a definite contender.

And in closing.... YAY !!!!! Daycare.

Office Space

This is the view from my desk and these pictures were taken only several seconds apart. Then Karl discovered his interest in the floor lamp which is definitelty not child safe or will ever be. I had to come to his safety. What am I doing on my desk anyways, you're going to say, if I'm not posting? Believe me, I'm trying hard to do stuff, like work a little, but our little Mr. Funshine is getting very mobile and needs more and more attention. But that's what's supposed to happen of course. In no time he'll be at school and I'll have all day to clean up the mess.

Quite a few things have happened in Karl's life though: he's sporting two little teeth, he went for his first real dive at the baby swimming class and he's enjoying a new kind of milk cereal in the evening.