Off we go

A couple random pictures here, and then there are more to get off our phones and the nice camera after we get home...

We head back to Sweden tomorrow! A month is gone already. We've had a great time and we will miss it here. We'll miss the sun, the warmth, the sea (though we do have one of those at home, too), and our friends, the other family from our town in Sweden who winters here. I can't believe we don't have pictures with them -- we spent so much time together.

I'm looking forward to being home again, and to getting back into our routines. Leif will start at dagis next week, James and I will plug back into work, and every day will be a little bit lighter and longer. It feels so good to be excited about going home, especially after a vacation as lovely as this has been.

He's really nailed how to put on glasses:

Getting closer....

More from Quinta da Regaleira

I found more photos from our trip to Quinta da Regaleira, which I posted about last week, on James's phone.

I love little August running up the steps to the victory tower!

Mosteiro dos Jeronimos

We went to a beautiful monastery last week, and I'm only now getting to post pictures. This is another UNESCO world heritage site. We loved it - it was so calm and peaceful.

The pinwheel boy

About a week ago, August saw a boy carrying a pinwheel and asked us what it was. We told him it was a pinwheel, and ever since then, he's been asking for one of his own. We looked at all the stores around us and couldn't find one -- until yesterday.

And this one is my absolute favorite:

Train rides and mama naps

We've been riding the train quite a lot here, and I think that August has gotten quite comfortable with it:

On the way home later that day:

Lisbon's Electricity Musem

August and I had an outing to the Museu da Electricidade yesterday. It's been rainy the past few days and we're all going a little stir crazy, so it was good to get out. I thought the machinery was beautiful, and August loved all the levers and latches and things.

I think this looks a bit like a face:

Leif napping on me

I haven't posted a video in forever! This is definitely not an exciting one -- it's Leif sleeping on my chest. That's it. But I think it's so, so cute. His little hand on my neck.... Oh, this is one of the best feelings in the world.

August and his creations

August loves building things. And he loves airplanes. So he's been building a lot of airplanes lately. Any kind of blocks he finds, he can make an airplane out of. It's sweet and wonderful to see him focus, to try again and again to get the right shape, to take his airplanes flying around the house. He's been watching the Pixar movie Planes a lot (I mean, a lot), and his two grandfathers and two paternal great-grandfathers were all pilots -- so the kid's got flying in his blood. (Leif, too, who stops to shout and point at every passing airplane!)

Here are some of his recent creations. Not pictured - a genius rocketship built by facing the Lego blocks sideways, and the runway made from MagnaTiles.

Note: my phone is almost completely destroyed, and James's has some weird technical glitch that makes it very difficult for me to send photos to the blog or to my email, so posts might be even rarer than normal until we can sort out the situation...If anyone has an old iPhone lying around, please let us know!

He learned to build these all by himself, with no help at all from us. In fact, he's always correcting me and telling me that I'm doing it wrong!

Two separate aircraft:

And us fooling around while Papa surfed!

Quinta da Regaleira

We went to Sintra today, a town thirty minutes north of Monte Estoril (where we're staying), and a UNESCO world heritage site. There are about half a dozen castles and estates worth visiting there, but we went to just one, Quinta da Regaleira. We spent the afternoon wandering around the gardens and exploring the grottoes and tunnels. The boys had a great time running and exploring, too. 

From the bottom of the initiation well:

At the bottom of the well:

Proclaiming victory at the top of the tower:

More beachy beaches

So I have to admit to something now: our last three weeks have been pretty much an endless procession of beaches, cafes, beachside cafes, and historical sites. While there have been rough moments, I've got to say that its not a bad way to spend winter.