Friday, August 28, 2015
Quick family photo
SO much has been going on around here - my mom came out to visit for a week and she left yesterday. I don't think I sat still the entire time she was here! Of course that's due as much to the boys as to running around doing things with her, but it does mean I haven't even thought about sitting down to post.
Here's a photo Uncle Robert took when he visited for a few days last week.
Here's a photo Uncle Robert took when he visited for a few days last week.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Grandma and Leif
Grandma is visiting and we've been having lots of fun. Today we went to a 4-H farm to see some animals and enjoy these last summer days.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
My boy August
I haven't updated you on August in so long that I don't even know where to start.
I think the most exciting thing about August these days is his language. He's talking, talking, talking. He's building complex sentences, reasoning, ordering us around, and picking up new words all the time. We noticed a huge language explosion - in which his sentences became more complex, he started working with prounouns (instead of always calling himself August, he started to say "I" and "me" and calling me "you" instead of Mama) - about ten days into our summer. Maybe it was just that time for him developmentally, but I have a theory that it was precisely because he was out of school, where the primary language is Swedish, that he was able to start listening to, learning, and repeating more complex English sentences. Either way, he's talking all the time.
His favorite verb is "need". As in, "I need chocolate", "I need to watch a movie", "I need my bozer (bulldozer)". He likes to tell us who went somewhere or did something - "I got on an airplane, Dai-dai got on an airplane, Mama got on an airplane, Papa got on an airplane!" He calls James papa, like his Swedish schoolmates do, instead of baba, and it sometimes morphs into bapa.
He counts one, two, six, seven in English, but in Swedish he gets it right. He can count backwards from ten to one in English with no problem (I count down to him every night at bedtime). Just in the past few days he's started to spend time really studying books, looking at everything in the pictures and telling us about them. His favorite books now are the Dr. Seuss classics and the books about a boy by Oliver Jeffers.
When I sing he often says, "Stop it! Stop hurting my ears Mama!" When he doesn't want us to go somewhere or do something he waves his hands and says, "Locked you in the gate, Mama." He wants me to "eat my worms and think they're icky", which means to munch on his toes and act like they're gross (not a big stretch).
He loves to build. He uses his Legos and magnetic Tegu blocks to make masterpieces - big castles, cars, bridges, towers. He loves to scoop things: "Coming to scoop you!" He loves to give hugs, saying "hugging you!" "Watch me roar you in the big bedroom Mama!", and then he roars and I jump up and run into the big bedroom.
He seems to feel very conflicted about Leif still. Sometimes he's sweet and caring and delights in making Dai-dai laugh; other times, it's all pushes and shoves and bodyslams.
This summer we've had a fun time hunting for snails and slugs and picking wild blueberries (as the pictures attest) and now wild raspberries. When we go to the beach, he'll find a stick and throw it in the water and run in after it, throwing it a tiny but farther each time. One of the beaches we visit has a rope swing, and that seems to be his absolute favorite thing, swinging to and fro.
There are a million little things I'm forgetting, and I'll try to update this post as I remember, to have it all in one place.
He's our cheeky little monkey, and he's such a joy.
I think the most exciting thing about August these days is his language. He's talking, talking, talking. He's building complex sentences, reasoning, ordering us around, and picking up new words all the time. We noticed a huge language explosion - in which his sentences became more complex, he started working with prounouns (instead of always calling himself August, he started to say "I" and "me" and calling me "you" instead of Mama) - about ten days into our summer. Maybe it was just that time for him developmentally, but I have a theory that it was precisely because he was out of school, where the primary language is Swedish, that he was able to start listening to, learning, and repeating more complex English sentences. Either way, he's talking all the time.
His favorite verb is "need". As in, "I need chocolate", "I need to watch a movie", "I need my bozer (bulldozer)". He likes to tell us who went somewhere or did something - "I got on an airplane, Dai-dai got on an airplane, Mama got on an airplane, Papa got on an airplane!" He calls James papa, like his Swedish schoolmates do, instead of baba, and it sometimes morphs into bapa.
He counts one, two, six, seven in English, but in Swedish he gets it right. He can count backwards from ten to one in English with no problem (I count down to him every night at bedtime). Just in the past few days he's started to spend time really studying books, looking at everything in the pictures and telling us about them. His favorite books now are the Dr. Seuss classics and the books about a boy by Oliver Jeffers.
When I sing he often says, "Stop it! Stop hurting my ears Mama!" When he doesn't want us to go somewhere or do something he waves his hands and says, "Locked you in the gate, Mama." He wants me to "eat my worms and think they're icky", which means to munch on his toes and act like they're gross (not a big stretch).
He loves to build. He uses his Legos and magnetic Tegu blocks to make masterpieces - big castles, cars, bridges, towers. He loves to scoop things: "Coming to scoop you!" He loves to give hugs, saying "hugging you!" "Watch me roar you in the big bedroom Mama!", and then he roars and I jump up and run into the big bedroom.
He seems to feel very conflicted about Leif still. Sometimes he's sweet and caring and delights in making Dai-dai laugh; other times, it's all pushes and shoves and bodyslams.
This summer we've had a fun time hunting for snails and slugs and picking wild blueberries (as the pictures attest) and now wild raspberries. When we go to the beach, he'll find a stick and throw it in the water and run in after it, throwing it a tiny but farther each time. One of the beaches we visit has a rope swing, and that seems to be his absolute favorite thing, swinging to and fro.
There are a million little things I'm forgetting, and I'll try to update this post as I remember, to have it all in one place.
He's our cheeky little monkey, and he's such a joy.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Leif at 10 months
While James has been away, the boys and I have slipped into a lovely rhythm, sleeping late in the mornings, getting August off to school, spending quiet time around the house, and being outdoors after pickup. I've even managed to figure out how to get Leif into the baby carrier on my back all by myself for our evening walks. The bedtime routine has been anything-but-lovely, though, as suddenly this week Leif is having lots of early wakings (but his sleep the rest of the night has been great). I think 9:30 is the earliest I've gotten them both sent off to sleep. It'll be nice to have reinforcements with us tomorrow - James is coming back!
I've been wanting to do individual posts about the boys, but haven't had the mental energy to get them up. Let me try now...
These photos are from a couple weeks ago, when Leif made ten months. At ten months he can stand fairly well without holding on to anything and he's just started cruising on furniture. He babbles with a lot of ma-ma-ma and da-da-da and especially ba-ba-ba. All of our neighbors remark on how happy he is, greeting everyone with a smile. I've been using (very basic) sign language with him, and in the past week it *seems* like he's starting to sign back, things like all done, more, and waving hello and good-bye. (I've added in some other signs like airplane and boat and dog, and August seems to enjoy using those.)
We didn't quite figure out the framing here, did we?
His seventh tooth broke the gums a week or more ago and I think he has another on the way out, so he'll have all eight of his front teeth very soon. He loves to clap and play in the water table. He eats everything, copiously. Often, as soon as I start to set the table for a meal, he'll crawl to his chair and wait - though not so patiently, he usually screams to be fed.
Look at these photos of August at 10 months! Can't you see how cheeky he is?
I've been wanting to do individual posts about the boys, but haven't had the mental energy to get them up. Let me try now...
These photos are from a couple weeks ago, when Leif made ten months. At ten months he can stand fairly well without holding on to anything and he's just started cruising on furniture. He babbles with a lot of ma-ma-ma and da-da-da and especially ba-ba-ba. All of our neighbors remark on how happy he is, greeting everyone with a smile. I've been using (very basic) sign language with him, and in the past week it *seems* like he's starting to sign back, things like all done, more, and waving hello and good-bye. (I've added in some other signs like airplane and boat and dog, and August seems to enjoy using those.)
We didn't quite figure out the framing here, did we?
His seventh tooth broke the gums a week or more ago and I think he has another on the way out, so he'll have all eight of his front teeth very soon. He loves to clap and play in the water table. He eats everything, copiously. Often, as soon as I start to set the table for a meal, he'll crawl to his chair and wait - though not so patiently, he usually screams to be fed.
Look at these photos of August at 10 months! Can't you see how cheeky he is?
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Grinda, again
We took a short trip to Grinda last week, an island in the archipelago where we spent a few nights two years ago. a last trip before our summer holiday ended. We spent way too much money, but we had a great time.
The same beach we went to last time:
This little blueberry eater:
The same beach we went to last time:
This little blueberry eater:
All by himself
Look what Leif can do all by himself.
When I'm by myself with these two for a week - not a good time to start new tricks.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
More pics from our camping excursion
Way back in July, at the beginning of our 5-week family holiday, we went camping on Ljusterö. I'm finally getting the rest of the pictures from that trip posted.
Tomorrow, August goes back to dagis, James catches a flight to Baltimore until Saturday, and Leif and I go back to doing whatever it is that we do all day. Summer's over, just as it's finally getting started weather-wise. I suspect it's going to be a rough transition for all of us in the next few days, especially August. This morning after we read some books in his bedroom, I told him that tomorrow he starts school again, and also that James is going on a trip for a few days. He seemed fine with it, but then he walked into the living room and started crying.
We are so lucky to have had this time together--five weeks of hanging out as a family, going on trips, going to the beach, being at home. It's a part of the Swedish lifestyle that we hope to take with us wherever we go.
Now, back to camping.
Notice the falling carrot!
Tomorrow, August goes back to dagis, James catches a flight to Baltimore until Saturday, and Leif and I go back to doing whatever it is that we do all day. Summer's over, just as it's finally getting started weather-wise. I suspect it's going to be a rough transition for all of us in the next few days, especially August. This morning after we read some books in his bedroom, I told him that tomorrow he starts school again, and also that James is going on a trip for a few days. He seemed fine with it, but then he walked into the living room and started crying.
We are so lucky to have had this time together--five weeks of hanging out as a family, going on trips, going to the beach, being at home. It's a part of the Swedish lifestyle that we hope to take with us wherever we go.
Now, back to camping.
Notice the falling carrot!
Friday, August 7, 2015
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)