Rowan's first summer vacation

Hey all! We're back in the U.S. enjoying some time with family. Our flight back was, thankfully, uneventful. Rowan slept most of the trip and stayed fairly quiet when awake. We're flying to Florida later this week to hang out with our friends Dan and Whitney (and to lay on a beach), and we're hoping that Rowan will do just as well on that flight as he did on the last one.

Brenda's concert in Austria on Wednesday went well. I didn't get to hear it in person because Rowan and I were back in the hotel room getting ready for bed, but the Schubertiade was kind enough to provide Brenda with a recording. Our friends the Schuberts were there for Brenda's performance, and we got to spend some time with them the next morning when we all had breakfast.

Rowan had a lot of fun with Monika and Michael.

I've been patting myself on the back recently because of how well Brenda and I managed to navigate the unavoidable paper storm that comes with having a baby in Germany. We got Rowan a German birth certificate, a German tax number, a U.S. consular report of birth abroad, a U.S. social security number, a U.S. passport, Kindergeld (child money), Elterngeld (parent money), and we registered him with the Standesamt (civil registry office). Bam! We discovered recently that we overlooked one little thing, however. As we were going through German border control on Saturday, the agent told us that Rowan should have a residence permit like we do otherwise he would only be able to return to Germany as a tourist. We protested and explained that he was registered with the city and that we were permanent residents, but apparently that is irrelevant. Brenda and I can stay in Germany as long as we want, but our four-month-old son (who was born in Germany and has spent almost his entire life there) is a tourist. This is, of course, entirely my fault, and I have no doubt that U.S. immigration laws are equally (if not more) unfriendly. The only thing we can do at this point is fly back to Germany in September and hope they let Rowan into the country. After that we'll head over to the oh-so-charming foreigner's office and get this kid a residence permit. Hopefully that works out.

I'm not going to worry about that now, however. Instead, I'm going to go hang out with my family and think about lying on a beach. I hope you all get a chance to relax this summer, too! Until next time, have a great week!

let the traveling begin

Hey all! Greetings from Austria! Brenda, Rowan, and I took a longer-than-expected train trip to Austria today for Brenda's upcoming concert at the Schubertiade. We were supposed to arrive in time for a rehearsal at 4:30, but our train was cancelled so we had to take a later one. Rowan did quite well on his first trip outside of Frankfurt. There were a few loud moments, but, you know, he's a baby. It'll be interesting to see how he likes his first transatlantic flight this weekend. I think I already know how the people sitting around us are going to feel about it.

Last week the three of us made our way up to the Frankfurt city forest to enjoy a little time in nature. Brenda and I used to jog up there fairly regularly when we lived in our previous apartment, but it's a little too far away from our new place to be convenient. Brenda carried Rowan in a baby carrier for most of the walk. (We're trying to get him used to it because we plan on using the carrier a lot during our upcoming travels.) Rowan seemed to like his first foray into nature. He must be a treehugger like his parents.

Our lunch spot in the woods.

On the train today.

It's time to call it a night. I hope you all have a great week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday!

back at it

Hey all! Rowan just went down for a nap which means I should have about half an hour to write to you. When he used to nap in the baby wrap a couple weeks ago, he could sleep for two hours or more. Since making the switch to crib napping, however, his naps are shorter and more frequent. Having him sleep on his own certainly makes it easier to get things done around the apartment, but now and then I miss having an adorable baby sleeping on me. 

As you may remember from our previous blog posts, Brenda and I spent a lot of time on the road over the past several years. The more she gigged around, the more traveling we did. The past seven months or so have been out of the ordinary because, with the exception of a few weeks in Berlin in January, we've been in one place. It's been really nice to be settled while navigating the first few months of parentdom, but it's time to get back on the road. As I mentioned last week, Brenda has her first post-pregnancy gig in Austria next week. Shortly thereafter we fly to the U.S. to show off introduce Rowan to friends and family, and then Brenda's 16/17 season begins. We're still figuring out how we're going to do all of this with a baby in tow (e.g. Do we take the stroller or just carry Rowan everywhere? How many outfits will Rowan need? Do I get to take clothes, too?), but I'm confident that we'll figure it out. If we forget something, there's always Target.

My wonderful wife gave me a very thoughtful present last Christmas, and I finally got the chance to use it last week. Much to my chagrin, I don't sing much these days because I don't want to annoy our neighbors with opera arias (it's not a quiet art form). Brenda had the great idea to rent some time at a music studio for me, and last Wednesday I made my way over there. I had a lot of fun even though my voice was worn out after only twenty minutes. That didn't stop me from practicing for a full hour and a half, however. I'm looking forward to going again later this week.

After my practice session, Brenda and I met up and enjoyed some time outside. A little singer tip: pretzels and Radler help the voice recover. Or at least they don't hurt.

Rowan is awake so I need to get going. I hope you all have a great week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday (or very likely Wednesday)!

mozart, monkeys, and misdemeanors

Hey all! I'm a day late again this week. What is up with me lately? Oh yeah, we have a baby. Not that it's his fault of course. It's just that I usually write the blog at the end of the day, and these days that's when Brenda and I put Rowan to bed, make dinner, and watch the fourth season of Orange is the New Black. But enough excuses! I'll try to be back on schedule next week.

Brenda, Rowan, and I had a fantastic time with Uncle Drew last week. His trip was too short as always, though. (His stay would only be long enough if he actually moved to Germany.) We may have packed on a pound or two while he was here (it'd be rude not to help him eat all that German chocolate), but we don't mind. We've been trying to be more active since he left. Brenda even went out for her first jog since giving birth, and she said it felt great. We want to get as fit as possible before flying back to the U.S. because the scale tends to move the wrong direction when we're back home visiting friends and family. 

A few days before we begin our summer vacation, Brenda has a concert in Austria. She's been singing regularly to get ready for the performance, and she noticed during her last practice session that she unintentionally brought one of Rowan's friends with her...

After Brenda sent me this picture I told her to quit monkeying around and get back to work. (This blog definitely needs more puns.)

When Brenda and I started this blog almost eight years ago (wait what?!?), we thought it would be a good way for people to follow what we were up to and for us to share the occasional funny story about living in a different country. Since that time Brenda and I have become accustomed to much of German culture (or at least the parts of it that we're regularly exposed to), and what once struck us as odd behavior now seems normal. That said, we occasionally still experience something out of the ordinary like we did on one of Drew's last days in town. 

Drew and I were sitting on the couch early one evening when he noticed something outside of the window in Rowan's room. I turned to look and was surprised to see a woman staring back at me. It was a surprise because we live on the third floor of our building. The woman had climbed the pine tree behind our building and was now close enough to our apartment that she could touch the window. I waved at her (because it seemed like the polite thing to do), but she didn't wave back. Shortly thereafter she started making her way back down the tree, and Drew and I decided to get off the couch to take a closer look. That's when we discovered that the woman was not wearing any clothes.

Now having never been a peeping Tom I am certainly no expert, but common sense seems to suggest that there is no reason for the peeper to be naked, especially when she is climbing a pine tree. We don't really know why this woman decided to climb our tree, but we did find out that she is, or at least was, a friend of our neighbor downstairs. He has since told me that she will be leaving the country (I'm assuming for non-tree-related reasons), and that our building is safe. As far as I'm aware, naked tree climbing is not actually normal behavior in Germany, but I'll let you know if any of our German readers disagree.

Brenda went to the opera tonight and left me in charge of Rowan. He's fed, has a clean diaper, and is asleep. This parenting thing is a piece of cake...sometimes. I hope you all have a great week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday!

Say Uncle

Hey all! We've been having a great time with Uncle Drew this week. Rowan has changed a lot since Drew's last visit in April, and I think Drew is enjoying seeing what his three-month-old nephew can do. He also seems to enjoy holding Rowan, which he wasn't able to do much on his last trip because Drew was fighting a cold at the time. He's healthy this time around, though, and he's had lots of cuddle time with our little guy. In fact, Rowan has even taken a couple of naps on his uncle in the baby wrap.

I hope you'll forgive me for keeping this post shorter than usual. Drew is here for less than a week and we want to enjoy as much time with him as we can. Until next time, have a great week!

in case of emergency

Hey all! Brenda's parents flew back home on Saturday after spending a lot of quality time with Rowan. They took him for several walks, introduced him to some classical music, read to him, and made him smile a whole bunch. We were sad to see them go but are really looking forward to seeing them again next month when we're back in the U.S.

On Saturday Brenda and I went to a five and a half hour first aid class for new parents. The class covered a wide variety of topics, but it seemed to boil down to learning exactly when to call 911 (actually it's 112 in Germany). At the end of the class the teacher said something to the effect of "I hope your baby doesn't have any of the problems we discussed today." We're hoping that too.

Our little guy has been starting to sleep on his own a little more lately. The last few nights we've been able to put him to bed a few hours before we turn in, which has allowed us to enjoy a little alone time. He's also been making some sleeping progress during the day. Normally he naps in the baby wrap, on Brenda's lap, or in the stroller, but yesterday Brenda got him to sleep on his own. It was an exciting development because it meant that we could get other things done like take a shower or write a few emails. I don't want to get my hopes up too high, but I may even get to clean the bathroom one of these days.

It's time to call it a night. I hope you all have a great week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday!

sunshine and strollers

Hey all! 'Tis I, the loving wife and mother! Rowan unexpectedly fell asleep in my arms tonight, so I'm typing this one-handed. I view it as a good way to work on my patience, which I hear parents need a lot of. 

This past week has been full of more grandparent fun, as my own parents arrived in Frankfurt last Wednesday. I think they've been enjoying seeing the changes in Rowan since their last visit. He is much more alert and loves to smile at their silly antics! They've even taken him out for some solo stroller walks to enjoy the beautiful weather we've been having. Of course, Rowan isn't the only one benefitting from the grandparents being in town. We've been enjoying some of their delicious cooking, and in true grandparent fashion, they agreed to babysit so that Chad and I could go on a date and prove to ourselves that we still like each other. Well, when I say they agreed to babysit, I actually mean they practically kicked us out of the apartment so they could have Rowan all to themselves. :-) He's got them wrapped around his little finger! I can't blame them - we're all smitten! 

Another fun part of this past week is that a family friend of ours came up from Bavaria to visit us with her boyfriend. We realized on this trip that we met her almost 17 years ago, when she stayed with us during a foreign exchange trip. It's been a joy to stay in touch all these years, and we were so happy to meet her boyfriend (especially since he brought an enormous bottle of beer from their local brewery!). Rowan seemed to like them a lot too, and was so well-behaved that we all got to enjoy lunch out at a restaurant! 

That's about it for now! My parents are here until Saturday, and then they'll have to wait to see Rowan again until this summer when we come to visit. We can't wait! Have a great week!