Just for Fun!

Our Little Recorder Player

For some time now Cole has been mastering his recorder playing skills. Watch...and be amazed! In other news, we've been spending the last week or so packing up boxes of our stuff to ship back to the USA. Some of our furniture is gone, now, too, which makes this move all the more real. We have lots of visitors coming in the next two weeks, and we're even going to Italy! Cole + Pizza = BIG FUN had by all! Stay tuned...



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Happy May Day!

Today is May Day! That translates to Labor Day for Austrians, so everyone is off school and work. We spent the morning downtown. We first stopped at Starbuck's, then walked to the only garden in Vienna where there are peony bushes. I love peony flowers! We found yellow, pink, and white ones, but the yellow ones were the only ones that smelled sweet! We blew bubbles there, too. The peony bushes are right next to the memorial to Mozart, who is the only major composer NOT buried in Vienna. We then walked around some more and found a huge demonstration composed of many different groups demonstrating for and against lots of things including communism, the USA, and more. It was quite a sight! We made it home in time for lunch and a nap.

Wad O' Food

We had pasta for dinner tonight...as you can see! Lately Cole has decided that instead of picking up one piece of food at a time, he'll pick up a wad and just take bites off of it. Tonight's wad was composed of peanut butter sandwich, noodles, and pieces of sausage. As you can also see, with the food wad comes a big mouth!

All Purpose Blanket

One of Cole's latest hobbies is grabbing his green blanket out of his crib and dragging it around the apartment. You can see it in the bottom of the pictures. Up until now, he's only used it when he sleeps or is tired, but now it's become all purpose. This afternoon after our trip to the park we stripped all the dirty clothes and Cole went straight for the couch with his blanket. He can get himself up on the couch now, too, which is fun!

Saturday Fun

Saturday, April 21, 2007

The video links above are from tonight. The first one was taken before our dinner at Der Wiener Deewan with our friends Jeff and Greta Simon. Cole saw a store sign that was a starfish wearing a bathing suit and sunglasses. His new thing is talking constantly and pointing as he talks. It's hilarious! The second video is downtown after dinner. Cole saw another bright white store sign and had to go after it.

So tonight's dinner is also worth mentioning. We ate at Der Wiener Deewan. It's a hole in the wall Pakistani buffet, and the best part is that you PAY AS YOU WISH. You buy a drink if you like from the menu, but the food is just as the sign above the door says. Pay as you wish. So we drank free water and paid 10 Euros total for 2 plates each of amazing food. The buffet consists of 6 dishes, vegetarian and non, salad, and dessert. Yum!

yahoo!

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Cole in Action!

We visited a great park at Alte Donau this morning with some friends. Cole was definitely interested! He tried to play fussball, he tried to climb up the slide, and he picked some flowers. He's walking faster now and more confidently now, too, which is fun!

Our New Favorite Snack

Caramel Popcorn!

Melt together in a medium saucepan until bubbly:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

12 large marshmallows (or a bunch of small ones)

Microwave a large bowl of popcorn and pour hot caramel over the top & mix.

Eat while warm & gooey. YUM!

SEW @ VCS

This week is Spiritual Emphasis Week at Vienna Christian School for the elementary kids. Jerry Jacoby and his wife, Michaella, have come for the week to have fun with the kids and talk to them about faith. Jerry writes silly songs and dresses up as Biblical characters with crazy voices. He also brought his chicken, Elmer, for the 3rd year in a row. He's a puppet! Below you see Jerry leading the kids in a song called Ruby Toobie Tango.
Otherwise, Cole and I have been spending lots of time at Prater, the park close to our apartment building. It's in full bloom now and jam packed with kids, bikers, rollerbladers, walkers, runners, and people lounging at outdoor cafes. Prater also has an amusement park connected to it, and the funniest thing is that Cole has been especially interested in the roller coaster. He'll walk right up to it and just watch. Now that he's walking, it's fun to take him out of the stroller and let him wander around after the things he finds exciting. The other day we sat and picked grass and daisies for about a half hour.
Chris and I have also been training for the Vienna Marathon Relay coming up next weekend. We are on a team of 4, where each person runs one part of the marathon to complete the whole race. So we've definitely been busy!



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Better than Kissing?!?!?!

It's a scientific fact!

The Vote is IN

The vote is in, and we are officially...yes, officially...moving to Bloomington, IN. At least for the next couple of years. We realized that the best decision for Chris is to pursue business school, since the only business experience he has is here at VCS, so we're headed to Indiana University. It just so happens that our home church, ECC, is there, and we have some dear friends there as well. So we're on the search for somewhere to live and Chris is looking for jobs for the next year while he applies to school and takes the GMAT. What an adventure. You never know what's next for the Franks!

Just Because He's So Cute!

Easter Egg Hunt

We had an Easter egg hunt this afternoon in the courtyard of our building with some other families and kids. Cole found 4 eggs, and really enjoyed eating the chocolate inside! See video below, too.

Easter Traditions

I've been reading a great book recently called Treasuring God in Our Traditions, by Noel Piper. The whole book describes how traditions remind us of the important things in our lives. People have traditions for all kinds of things...birthdays, Christmas, Easter, and other special or ordinary events, too. For example, my Great Grandpa Schindler began a tradition in his family to pray Psalm 121 before departing on a vacation. Now, three generations later, everyone in the family knows this short Psalm in the King James version of the Bible, and we say it when we leave on vacation. It reminds us that God is our Protector, and He will take care of us. It's not a Steer Clear of Accidents card, but a reminder of what we believe is important. So this book has been perfect for me now that we are beginning to establish traditions of our own as a little family of three.

So speaking of establishing new traditions, we adopted an Austrian Easter tradition this year. Austrians typically buy pussy willow branches and hang hand painted hollowed out eggs on them. They believe that if you receive a blessing with a pussy willow, your fields will be blessed in the coming year. Normally a blessing is given with palm branches on Palm Sunday, but since palms are not native in Austria, the pussy willow does the trick. So this year we went to an Easter market and bought our own set of eggs and willows for our own Easter tree.

One other thing we do on Easter Sunday morning is bake Empty Tomb Rolls. What are these? You take a large marshmallow (Jesus's body) and dip it in melted butter and then a mixture of cinnamon & sugar. Then, you wrap refrigerator roll dough (tomb) around the marshmallow and pinch it together so nothing leaks out. After that, you place it in a muffin tin along with the others, and bake. As the rolls bake, the marshmallow melts and disappears! So when you eat the rolls, there is only a hollow hole inside the roll...hence...the empty tomb! It's a fun and tasty reminder that Easter is really about Jesus being resurrected from the dead...what a huge gift!

Happy Easter!!!

Cole and a few other kids had an Easter egg hunt in our courtyard today.


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I'm gonna git you

This is something I say to Cole a lot. It's a game that's developed between me and him since he learned to crawl pretty well. I used to use lots of voice inflection to make it really clear to him that I was going to crawl and "chase" him. Then he'd crawl away a little as I slowly followed him on my hands and knees. It'd last a couple seconds, and then he would sit up and look at me.

Now we've picked it up a notch. I pretty much just say "Cole" and look at him, and he gets it. Other times I say "Cole, I'm gonna get you" in a very normal, almost monotone voice. He starts to laugh and crawl away. He's getting fast and I have to work hard to catch him (if I'm crawling too). We've even played this a couple times now, with him walking, but he's still a little faster at crawling than walking.

Paris...

The Arc de Triomph
A world map with cocoa bean markers showing where cocoa trees are grown...Chris visited 6 chocolate shops and 1 chocolate factory on this trip! Heaven....yes.
One of our favorite Van Gogh paintings from the Musee d'Orsay. The blue color is amazing.
The Eiffel Tower by night. Add a tasty crepe and it's perfect!

Happy 1st Birthday to Cole!

Cole turned one yesterday! We celebrated Sunday night with pizza & cupcakes, and Cole was not shy to dig in!

Birthday Tent

Chris and I gave Cole a bright red tent for his birthday. Even though his birthday is tomorrow, he's been playing with his tent for a while. He's 1...he doesn't know the difference yet, and I couldn't wait! I need to control this before he becomes more aware of gifts! Ohhh....

Ostermarkt

Today we visited a traditional Viennese Easter market downtown Vienna. It was perfect weather to enjoy the amazing displays of handpainted eggs. I decided this year to invest in my own Easter eggs and make an Easter tree. Traditionally, people buy pussy willows and hang Easter eggs on them. I'll post a photo of our tree soon. The other picture is of me, my mom, and Cole on our way to the playground this afternoon.

Folks, We Have a Walker!

YES! Cole started walking yesterday with Chris in our living room. Today on our trip to the park, he bee lined straight to the swing and I captured it on video. The best part is that Omi, Aunt Jane, and Grandma Jean are all here to witness it!



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BREAKTHROUGH!

Cole was so sad that he cried when Chris left for work this morning.

You may remember Chris's sad blog post a few months ago...so this is BIG!

Fun with Omi & Grandbob

Omi and Grandbob came for a visit last week. While they were here, Chris and I spent a weekend in Paris! Cole had a great time with my parents. They gave him a new train for his birthday, which is coming on the 26th, and taught him some new words. They went all around downtown Vienna together, and Omi and Grandbob braved going out to dinner with Cole. Wow! He now knows where to find the star, drum, car, light, and Elmo. It's really fun to watch him learn. He's pointing at things, too. Yesterday he was so fascinated with some flowers in the kitchen that he didn't touch his snack. Oh well!

dinner with friends

Our friends, Ares and Katharina Kaftalli, came over for dinner this past weekend. We hadn't seen them since before Cole was born! It was great to catch up and hang out.

Cole can KICK!

Cole learned a new skill tonight when some friends were over for dinner. He kicked a ball across the living room! If only he could walk by himself...soon! He's pretty good at walking just holding my one hand, but often gets frustrated and wants both hands so he can motor along, like he's doing in this video.


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Stuff It!

The other night we had pizza for dinner. Cole had already eaten, yet didn't skip a chance to grab for Chris's plate. Chris gave him a few bites, which only left Cole wanting more!

In other news, we are pretty sure Cole understands a couple words now: ball and water. He and Chris have been practicing. Fun!

Stair Climber

Yes, Cole can now climb stairs. Unfortunately, it's probably only safe (and time efficient) for him to climb a few at a time, which means I still need to carry him up when we get home. But at school today, he and Chris practiced while I was at chapel, and I was lucky to get a picture!

Let's Sing!

Each Thursday, as you know, I go to VCS and speak at elementary chapel. It's a perfect way for me to stay involved at school at still take care of Cole at home. Chapel is a weekly thing where kids grades K-5 come together to sing, watch drama, and hear about practical ways to grow in their faith. So this semester we've been learing about the fruit of the Spirit, and today's fruit was goodness. I tried to capture a moment of singing from the back before it was my turn to speak. The big screen in the front of the room is an overhead with words, and the fifth graders lead the songs and motions up front each week. Enjoy!


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The Cat in the Hat

Book Month is upon us at VCS! Each year during the month of March, the VCS library hosts a bunch of events for readers of all ages. Kids play charades with favorite book titles, read books for a Battle of the Books competition, and have a reading race among other fun things. This year's reading race for lower elementary kids is a race to help the Cat find his Hat. And who is the Cat in the Hat this year? Our own VCS Business Manager...Chris Frank! He made his debut today at elementary chapel with a poem. He even had an accent. What fun!

P.S. Sorry for the bluriness of the photo...I didn't use a flash. The flash made the picture too dark!

4th grade Geometry Fair

If you were a patron of our blog a year ago, you may remember that the fourth grade classes, one of which I taught up until Cole's birth, put on the first annual VCS Geometry Fair.

Well, Cole and I had the chance to visit this year's second annual 4th grade Geometry Fair today. Cole learned about circles, triangles, rectangles, and squares! There were lots of new activities, and the kids were really excited about the crowds of people who attended. Above you see Amina (Nigeria) and Anna Maih (Philippines) teaching some kids about geometric word puzzles.

Avocado Patience

When we returned to Vienna in August, Chris decided to plant an avocado pit. He saw that our friends the Griffices had done that when we visited them in San Antonio. Now, for those of you who don't know, Chris is the best plant care taker that I know. He loves plants, waters them multiple times per day, and does everything short of talking to them in order to keep them thriving on our window sill. He even dunked one of our plants in our full bathtub once to revive it. It worked! So Chris first suspended this avocado pit with 3 toothpicks in a glass jar full of water. He made sure the water levels remained just so for months and months and months. Nothing happened. Until just recently! As soon as Chris noticed a sprout from his avocado seed, he transfered the pit lovingly to a real pot with soil. Now the thing is growing like crazy! Ta da!

Death by Stairs

Folks, our stairs are killing me. All 79 of them have a plot against me, I'm sure of it! A couple times each day I travel (Yes, travel. It IS a journey.) up and down these stairs with Cole, my 25 pound and ever growing hip attachment. Often, I have a bag or two of groceries in my other hand (THAT is a whole other story) and a backpack containing some life essentials on my back. You know...diapers, wipes, sippy cup, snack, wallet, kleenex, and of course, a couple toys for the ride.
The upside to this is that my leg muscles burn each time I reach my front door and I get my heart rate up to fat burning levels. It's a wonder I get the key in the door. There should be a warning at the bottom of the stairs! You'd think that after 2 and a half years of doing this I'd be in better shape, like those who live at high altitudes.
So let's pretend that Cole & I leave our apartment 2 times each day, which means we return home 2 times each day, too. That's 79 x 2 = 158 stairs per day. Then, that's 158 x 7 days per week = 1106 stairs per week logged on my legs carrying 25 pounds plus each time.
My only hope is that Cole will soon be ready to walk, which means he can start climbing those stairs HIMSELF. Whew!

The Cole Man

The Cole Man

babble and laundry tubs

So today while Cole was eating a snack I decided to record our conversation. The funniest part of our talk was when I said, "Cole, say mamamamaama!" and immediately he says, "dadadadadada." I couldn't get that one on video, though.
We decided to be creative with Cole's laundry tub, too. Instead of buying a little car that Cole can ride on and push around, we figured out that the laundry tub works just as well! Cole stood up today, too, for about 15 seconds all by himself, and we can tell he has the urge to walk. Fun!



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Smiley Boy!

My Chocolate Status

This is exciting!
I read a book called The Chocolate Connoisseur by Chloe Doutre-Roussel recently and loved it. It was light-hearted and very informative and I highly recommend it. So the book taught me a lot about the history of chocolate, various companies, specific tasting methods, a few recipes, health benefits of chocolate, etc.
Anyhow, I got the idea to look at her website recently. She used to be the chocolate buyer for Fortnum and Mason (some kind of top of the line grocery store in London) but now has left to do independent chocolate things. In looking at her website I thought I'd try emailing her a couple questions I had about good places to get chocolate and her recommendations. I was thinking, "I hope some employee of hers actually sends me some kind of response."

But, lo and behold, what did I find in my email inbox after only 2 days? An email from Chloe HERSELF! I guess this isn't impressive to probably any of you, but it was very much so to me. Her email was actually longer than what I wrote her. She gave me ideas and her opinions, specific brands, stores, and even a few links to some companies she was talking about. How great is that?

It makes me think about how much I want to hang out with and ask questions of TRUE chocolate MASTERS like her.

Please add a couple points to my Chocolate Status Card, thank you very much.

Once again, LAUGHTER

It almost sounds like Cole is pain and anguish - but he's really just laughing cause Anne was crawling up to me. The most random things make him laugh. I had to catch it fast on the video so I forgot to turn on the light - but I think you really will just want to hear this one.




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Sledding...Frank Style

This week is Energy Week or Ski Week for most schools in Austria. That means a week off work to enjoy winter, snow, skiing, sledding, and the like. There is no snow here, though, which is a bummer. It's actually been a really mild winter. I've been hearing about all this snow in the midwest and I'm jealous! So Cole & Chris made up their own version of sledding last night. Enjoy the video of Frank style sledding!


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Go Colts and Go Mike!

Check out this link on You Tube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=jVaCqwAnS5M

It's a video with photos from this year's Superbowl. The lyrics and music were written by MY BROTHER, Mike Luginbill. The song is titled Dreaming in Blue. If you're interested in more of his music, check out http://www.myspace.com/mikeluginbill or go to iTunes and type in Michael Luginbill.

Baby Bartels

Our friends Joe & Christiane Bartels had a baby yesterday! Congratulations!

To see Lucy, go to their blog: www.bartelsbeat.blogspot.com.

Lost

I lost my wallet again last night. I went to Billa (our neighborhood grocery store) to pick up a bottle of wine for dinner and some Pepsi for Chris. I thought I dropped my wallet back into my purse before leaving, but I guess I dropped it somewhere else. Ugg! I went back to Billa today to ask if it was there. No, of course.
Last time I lost my wallet a nice policeman came to our door that night with it, so I'm crossing my fingers that a nice policeman will make an appearance again today. If not, I guess it's not the end of the world. I can cancel my credit card and get a new public transportation pass. I guess I'll need a new wallet, too. I love shopping!

Peekaboo!

Cole & I played peekaboo with his blanket yesterday and Chris captured it on film. What a funny boy!

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fort!

Chris and Cole built a fort in our living room this morning!