Cutting Edge Entertainment

Who needs toys with blinking lights and (annoying) music when you've got tupperware in the house?



When given the choice between a toy from the toy box or a piece of tupperware, Penelope always opts for the food storage container.



We like to think that she prefers to exercise her creativity and invent her own playthings.



Hopefully she will continue to resist the toy company marketing ploys and always appreciate the simpler things in life.

Flying Objects

It's a bird...

It's a plane...

No, it's...



SUPER 'P'

to the rescue!!!

Christmas Card Rejects

too much attitude



no toys allowed in the picture (and now you know what was really making her smile--not an overflow of christmas cheer, but a plastic doll)



sorry kid, you've got to stay within the green backdrop, none of that standing up stuff!


no silly, the camera is over here



trying to eat the camera does not count as smiling for the camera

daddy must be experimenting with the camera again

hey squinty eyes, you're going to laugh yourself right off that couch!

entirely too goofy for a proper christmas card, but love those spirit fingers!

we're getting warmer....

Mannheim Christmas Market

'Tis the season of Christmas Markets! And there's no better way to get into the Christmas spirit than to visit one. Last weekend we went to Mannheim's Christmas Market with some friends. There were lots of items to buy: nativity scenes, candles, wool slippers, homemade jams, jewelry, wooden toys, and scarves, to name a few. And even more food and sweets to sample: roasted chestnuts, Lebkuchen (like gingerbread cookies), bratwurst, crepes, potato pancakes, cotton candy, potato dumplings.... But the real star of the show was the Gluewein--mulled wine. There is nothing better than drinking a warm mug of Gluewein on a chilly winter evening and visiting with friends!


Gluewein stall next to the old Water Tower



Antique double-decker carousel

Bratwurst anyone?

Cooking up a pot of Gluewein



Ruth and I sipping Gluewein




Penelope wants a taste

Ruth's son, Owen, after a close encounter with a zipper


Cheese!



More Gluewein...



Frohes Fest! Happy Holidays!

Scrunchy Face

Penelope has recently started to try out a new facial expression. We have affectionately named it the "Scrunchy Face."



She scrunches her nose, squints her eyes, and breathes loudly through her nose. We're not quite sure what message she is trying to send when she makes the Scrunchy Face. Perhaps she's complaining about some awful smell in the house. Or perhaps she's disgusted with how her parents are acting. Or maybe she's just trying to get attention.



Penelope's other faces are much easier to interpret.

There's the Surprised Face.




The Grrr Face (usually directed at her larger toys)



The Inquisitive Face (as in, "what are you doing with that camera of yours?")



The Annoyed Face

The Help Me Face

Don't forget the ever popular Happy Face

Or the Mischievious Face

And the No Face

The Naughty Seat

Most people use a car seat to keep their child safe when traveling in the car.

We, however, have a car seat but no car.

Therefore, we have found a new use for our car seat.

Allow me to introduce you to the Naughty Seat.



When your little one has an unbrearably rebellious moment, just strap her into the naughty seat, give her a few minutes to cool down and contemplate her wrongdoing, then unstrap her and she emerges renewed and ready to obey.

The Naughty Seat. Coming soon to a store near you!

Young Love

This little girl has a little secret...

She has a new friend...a new boy friend...!

Meet Owen.

Penelope is a couple of months older, and she seems to enjoy having the upper hand when it comes to relationships. So Owen was a bit unsure of himself early on.

But after a few encouraging nudges,

Owen's timidity wore off, and he soon threw himself at Penelope with reckless abandon.

Oh, Owen, you're such a tease!

Turkey Task Master

Here is the Turkey (a.k.a. Pute):




And here is the Turkey Task Master (a.k.a. Pute Meister):



She keeps a close eye on the cook.




And carries a wooden spoon for extra motivation, when necessary.



"Pick up the pace! We've got a deadline to make!"

And thanks to the Pute Meister's relentless prodding, the turkey was stuffed, trussed, and put in the oven just in time

to make its appearance at the Thanksgiving feast.

Hope you and yours enjoyed your turkey and all the fixin's just as much as we did here in Heidelberg!

The Glass Ceiling

Glass Ceiling: invisible but real barrier through which the next stage or level of advancement can be seen, but cannot be reached.

These days, Penelope's 'glass ceiling' is a real one. As in really, there is a piece of glass over her head that, despite her efforts, she cannot break through.



The little one is currently obsessed with our glass table. And once underneath the table, she becomes even more obsessed with the things on top of the table.



But for her this is a problem. Though she doesn't quite understand it as such.

Again and again she tries to reach through the glass, not understanding that it is actually there.

Again and again she bangs her head and her paws against the bottom of the table, which to her must be some mysterious divide between her will and the rotating objects of her desire.

We can only hope that this sort of glass ceiling is the only kind she encounters in her life.