So much fun at daddy's work

Today Noah came along to Shawn's work "to do exercises" as Noah says. He loves it there as the studio is filled with equipment that a child easily can associate to a playground like balls, climbing things and swings. In the end Noah asked Shawn: "Daddy, is this really your work?". I guess Noah thinks this is what Shawn does all day:

"Morfar tomten"

Earlier this year we were watching a video of Christmas Eve from 2010. We were watching when Santa came to visit us and hand out the Christmas gifts. Everyone was in the video except morfar however Noah could hear morfar's voice on the video (...) and asked "where is morfar?". We replied that he was probably just in the kitchen which couldn't be seen in the video clip. Quite funny..

So this year..; Santa was really nicely dressed up for the event and had such big beard it covered almost the entire face. Such big beard that when we asked Noah to give Santa a kiss before he was going to leave, he just stated that Santa didn't have a mouth, just a beard. Later we watched the video clip of Santa visiting and afterwards we discussed Santa, the elves and the North pole etc. We asked Noah who he thinks Santa is and after a couple of seconds of thinking, he answered: "maybe morfar tomten". Ops.... ;-)

Christmas Eve

Starting the day with an early breakfast we saw the sun rise and were surprised that Christmas Eve would offer an absolutely stunning day with clear blue sky and sunshine. So we got dressed and went for a long walk and popped by the shop to pick up some last bits for the Christmas lunch. It was a very stress free morning and by the time the clock struck 1PM we were all sitting down to enjoy the traditional foods of Swedish Christmas.

At 3PM, as per usual..Donald Duck. In Sweden all Christmas Eve activities stop at 3 in the afternoon when the Donald Duck Classics comes on TV and everybody, absolutely everybody sits down to watch this that has become as much part of the Christmas celebrations as anything else.

By the time the show was over, the sun had set and it was time to await Tomten (Santa). And yes, he did indeed make it to our house this year again. All thanks to Noah for eating his veggies during the year ;-).
After opening all the pressies, it was playtime with all the new things. We ate some more later on in the evening, enjoyed a glass of glögg and just relaxed. Noah kept his spirits up all day - no tears, no nagging - just pure joy all day! I believe that the best gifts for this year was the kick bike and the family game that we managed to play X amounts of times before Noah crashed in bed at 10PM :-). Below are some shots from the day.

X-mas at Liseberg

With nearly 5.000.000 Christmas lights at the yearly Christmas market at the amusement park Liseberg, you can’t expect anything less than a brilliant visit! The park is closed during winter time but opens in December to hold a design and crafts market in the spirit of Christmas. Here you will find a variety of of goods from well-known designers and local artists and craftsmen. You can also taste and purchase Swedish traditional Christmas foods. Of course the rides are also open so you can enjoy the park the usual way if you wish.

Tonight on December 23rd, when the sun had set (around 4PM) we went to the park together with mormor and morfar that will be in Gothenburg over Christmas. It was perfect weather, around 8 degrees so not too cold and no rain. Since it is the evening before "julafton", Christmas eve which is the day we celebrate here in Sweden, the park wasn't overcrowded and we could really enjoy the market and what the park had to offer. Noah was of course not too interested in the stalls, he mainly wanted to drink his hot chocolate that we had brought in a thermos for him and then hit the rides. So we strolled the park, bought some goodies and Noah went for the rides while we drank glögg to stay warm. All in all, a very cosy and great start to the Christmas holidays!

A weekend of sniffles

A weekend that was dedicated for x-mas preparations, glögg party with friends and some baby prepping duties, ended being a weekend in bed instead. We have caught some kind of bug and there is fever, sniffles and eye infection in between the three of us. As so often, the little ones manage to keep up their energy levels quite well whilst the adults just fall..flat.. So today mormor and morfar came to the rescue and came to pick up Noah for a few days. As daycare won't accept that he drops in with an eye infection anyway and we, the parents are sick (but still have to go to work this week), Noah is better off with some country air and pampering by his grandparents.

Mormor reported back over the phone that when they had been driving from Gothenburg to Lundbrunn this afternoon, Noah asked them: "what did this car cost you?". When he got the answer, then he replied back: "So what did the camper cost you then?". Hilarious!

When I grow up...

Sitting on the tram today we saw an ad for a DVD about the NASA Space Station. Noah being fascinated of everything that has do to with space was quick to comment on the DVD cover and that he too wanted to go on a space shuttle when he grows up. I answered that it is possible if keeps up with his maths etc. and study hard when he goes to school. He asked if you need to buy a ticket to go out in space. Of course, he was very pleased to hear that if your job is being an astronaut, you actually get paid money to leave earth and go out and explore :). After a few seconds, he then commented: "It is a little scary so you should come along mummy". Ahh sweet thought!

Share even

As the oldest child in the family, you should be considerate towards the younger and as the oldest you also often are expected to be the wisest. And siblings are to share even, right? I believe that what most children are taught by adults across the world. So far we haven't talked about the whole "share even" thing with Noah as it lays quite far into next year before he will need to start to share his toys with the baby. So guess my surprise when he this morning, when I'm getting dressed, looks at my breasts and says: "One for the baby and one for me"! It puzzles me a bit that this is one of the future scenarios that he has been contemplating in regards to getting a sibling - especially since he went on solids, by own preference at the age of only 4 months. I don't know what to say..boys will always be boys ;-)?

Time for school photos again

This is 2o11's school photo from November of Preschool 2 at the International Preschool in Biskopsgården.

"The Tractor"

The last few days Noah has been complaining about headache and tension in his neck. That along with that he sleeps poorly normally tells us that it is time to make an appointment with the chiropractor again. So we promised Noah over the weekend that we would make an appointment as soon as possible. Shawn made the call first thing this morning and we got an appointment for this Thursday. In the evening, when Shawn was at work, Noah and I were laying in the bed talking about the day's events. Noah then says "I want to go to the tractor". I was asking where the tractor was and which tractor he was talking about. "The one in the city - where daddy takes me" he answered. I had to think really hard there for a while until I realised that he was talking about the chiropractor!! When we had cleared that out and he then got to complain a bit that he never was taken there today (as we had "promised" over the weekend!), I gave him a little massage. Afterwards he curled up next to me and as usual, the baby belly got a cuddle as well. Lovely end to a Monday night I must say.

Advent 1st

By the time December comes round, Sweden has very few hours of daylight. The sun drops out of sight in the afternoon. The first Sunday of Advent comes as an eagerly awaited sign that Christmas is approaching. This year Advent came early, the last weekend of November. On the first Advent Sunday, people light the first candle in the Advent candlestick. This is always a special event, eagerly awaited. Each Sunday until Christmas, a candle is lit (and blown out after a while), until all four candles are alight. The children’s expectations grow with every candle. On TV, there is a special Christmas calendar show for the young with 24 episodes, commencing December 1st. It, too, serves as a countdown to the big day. In towns and cities, Christmas fairs selling handicrafts and decorations are a common sight, while at home people start baking in preparation for the holiday. Which we of course did this weekend. We made gingerbread dough, lots of cookies and a gingerbread house as well as saffron buns. Shawn also attempted to make chocolate truffles, not bad!!

December is one of the most hectic months for Swedish families. The burden of work is always heavy at this time of year. There is much to be done in a short space of time before everyone can sit back and relax. Also, for me this year I'm training the girl that will be covering for me while I'm on maternity leave. For the children, meanwhile, December involves numerous end-of-term ceremonies, shows and activities. Next week, Noah's preschool will hold its annual Winter Concert which we know they have been practicing lots for - can't wait to watch it! The longed-for peace and quiet comes later, when all the preparations have been completed and Christmas can begin in earnest. On the first Sunday in Advent, many Swedes get together to drink glögg — I'm sure I've mentioned it before, a hot, spicy mulled wine with blanched almonds and raisins and ginger snaps to accompany it. This Sunday we got together with Annelie, Tony and little Elias. The kids were very proud of their hard work baking out the gingerbread cookies, however to be honest, I think they mostly ate the dough...

Lazy weekends

We love spending our weekends in the kitchen together, cooking, baking and doing some arts and crafts. After a busy afternoon, there is nothing better than a cuddle in bed.

Ultrasound in November

Most Swedes would agree on that November is the most boring month of the year when it comes to the weather. In the south part of Sweden it is often rainy, foggy and cold and in general what we would call s***t weather. However, this year November has been lovely with sunny days, hardly no rain and warm temperatures. With that type of weather time flies and the weeks just pass by so quickly. We have been quite focused on getting everything ready for the new addition to the family. We set ourselves a deadline for December 1st so that December can be spent relaxing and enjoying the holiday season - and I actually think we will meet the deadline! Also, you never know if the baby decides to pop out early. The due date is January 14th which is just two days after Noah's birthday - I wish they don't end up sharing birthday :-)!

Attached is a ultrasound picture from week 30. It was then also determined that we are expecting a little girl!

The Annual Dress up Party at Preschool

To choose what to wear at a dress up party is difficult - so many choices! We finally went for the fire man outfit.

The joys of Saturdays; eating chocolate cake and sing alongs

Today on the tram...

Noah: "Man sitting on the toilet."

Shawn: "Thats a man in a wheelchair."
Noah: "He's not sitting on a chair, he's sitting on the toilet!"

The funny this is that Noah met my friend at work today that is in a wheelchair and he was very interested in it. Now I wonder what he thought she was doing, sitting on that thing in her office ;-).

Don´t get used to it :)

When I picked up Noah from dagis this afternoon, the first thing he asked me was: "Mummy, where is the taxi?". Oh yeah, I can totally see him getting used to luxuries in the future hehe..

Above is an image from Saturday - getting colder as you can see

What a feast

I'm back in Gothenburg after a short and highly productive visit in Italy. We arrived around lunchtime in Milan and were quickly out walking the streets. Milan is a fashion city and I would love to dress up accordingly for the shopping and browsing the streets but being pregnant you have to realise your limits and I wore sneakers for the whole stay. Due to the comfy shoes, I was able to do 9 hours of walking on our first day in the city - and that is after getting up at 4AM and sitting on two flights and struggling with ligament softening! So not a pretty shoe choice but a smart one! And we had fun!

What I love most about Italy is that everywhere you go, there is delicious food and divine coffee. So we ate, walked and talked and ate some more. Unfortunately, having to avoid unpasteurised cheeses I couldn't enjoy all the fantastic cheese dishes but luckily there is plenty of other things to eat. To make the most of our really one and only day off work, we hopped on one of those red sightseeing buses that takes you around the city in about 2 hours. This gave a good idea of what Milan is about and what it can offer on the next visit.

Thursday went to do some actual work - student recruitment is fun and very intensive. When we wrapped up and left the fair in the evening, we were exhausted and definitely ready for..some more hearty Italian food.
Then Friday came along and it was time to go back home. It had been great to stay the rest of the weekend and see and eat some more. But to be completely honest, I missed my boys so much and couldn't wait to get off that plane, inhale some fresh Scandinavian autumn air and put my arms around the family. I actually took the taxi from the airport straight to Noah's daycare and surprised him. He was thrilled to see me - or maybe it was just the fact that there was a taxi waiting for him outside. You can never tell, boys being boys ;-).

Pack your bags!

Short notice indeed - yesterday I found out that I'm going to a student recruitment fair - in Milan, Italy! Who would say no to that? Not me, especially when the rain is pouring down and we are getting close to zero degrees. Some sun, good Italian coffee and pasta will do me and the bub just good. So two days of hard work but also a chance to get some "me time". But of course, being a mum and pregnant with hormones almost coming out of the ears, I already long for my two boys at home (even if I haven't left yet)! Especially the little boy, that is no longer so little. Looked at some old pictures tonight and I can't believe that he has grown so much. Where have those little chubby arms and legs gone? Luckily, he is still as cuddly - can't wait for the next cuddle when I get home again ;-).

The Joker

Incident from last week's pick up at daycare; the teachers tell me about the lunch hour:
Noah's lunchbox was the kids favorite meal of all times; meatballs and pasta but for some reason, it didn't please his taste buds that day and he was not really eating. So the teachers asked if he please could finish his lunch since mummy had gone through much trouble to prepare him a lovely meal. "Don't you want to make your mummy happy?" they asked him. You won't believe what his answer was!!! "I will make my mummy happy when she makes me pancakes for lunch!" which upon he smiled and cracked up in big laughter. Seriously :-)?

Noah 1, 5 years old - East Perth, WA, Australia

Bilingual learning

Noah loves his own bookshelf which contains a variety of English and Swedish childrens books. We read every day and Noah gets to choose whichs books we should read. He prefers if Shawn sticks with the English books (I don´t blame him) whereas I´m allowed to read in both languages. The favoured books are the ones with less pictures and more text and some evenings I´m so sleepy myself I can hardly stay awake til the end. I mean, 30-40 minutes of reading, laying down in a warm bed with a warm little person on your arm...not easy after a long day at work.

Anyway, currently Noah is in the process of learning to read and he just loves phonetics. He reads the letters out loud and tries to put them together. The other night we were reading a Swedish book and on the last page it said "The End". The Swedish word for this is pronounced " s l u u t" with a "long u". As he is trying to learn the phonetics of two languages at the same time, sometimes mixes the English and Swedish pronounciation of the letters. So...he reads it slowly and then proudly says "SLUT". I tried to be as pedagogical as I could in this moment where I was just cracking up of laughter :-). I explained that the Swedish word "slut" means "the end" in English. "Ohh", he said, "you mean finished mummy?". Yep. Yep, I did :-).

A visit from auntie Sutanya

Since we moved to Europe we have been blessed with several visits from Shawn's cousin Sutanya. Being based here and she "only" over in NY allows for more frequent visits. Last time we saw her was in January, at Noah's birthday party. Now in early October she was in Europe again and decided to pass by Sweden to pay us a visit. Noah loooves Sutanya and he was so happy to have her here! So were we of course :-).

Time to get real

With a new addition to the family, we will soon need more space. Currently, we live quite small but spacious enough for a family of three. Since we got to Sweden, we have felt overwhelmed with the different options regarding where to live. With no preferences, we could live just about anywhere in the city as long as it is good public transport. Which you find most places in Gothenburg.
But we have finally decided and have now put a deposit down a townhouse! We are building from scratch which will be very exciting! It is in an area with lots of new development going on, right now only trees and a lake but it will stand ready in late summer 2o13. We decided to go for "compact living" and not pay for unneccesary squaremeters that look good but do no use. This way we can have more money over for fun and family time! Attached is the floor plan.

Thoughts...

The thoughts about becoming a big brother are on a daily basis. There are lots of questions of talking about the baby.

The other day Noah asked if he is the one that is going to take the baby out of the tummy :-).

He is also totally aware of that the baby won´t eat solids in the beginning and that it will break his train track and try to eat most of his toys.
Since we now talk about the baby as a sister, his sister is included in most conversations. Especially when Noah doesn´t want to do something; "but my sister says that I don´t have to....". Sooo...he has already wrapped his head around that they can team up again us - cheeky little one!

What happend in July, our summer holiday 2011

Yep, again, time flies. We are now getting close to the end of August and winter is soon to come(not really, autumn first). Anyway, the summer memories feel far away amd before I forget, I should get the highlights down on "paper".

Summer was hectic. Lots of visitors, much fun and appreciated. Weather could have been better but that is just a part of living in the Nordic region that you have to deal with. Knowing how it can be, we had been smart enough to plan two out of the four weeks of holiday in the more sunny regions of Europe. So the first two weeks of July, we were practicing the skill of doing nothing - we checked in at an All Inclusive hotel in Turkey. We stayed in a small village called Yashi beach, located on the Turkish coast in Bodrum bay, about 20 minutes ferry ride from Greece.
The Turkish July is hot. Australia hot. It was just lovely lying on the beach or next to the ppol in the shade and do nothing more than spending time with each other. Shawn and I were just astonished with the fact that we both experienced the heat as: unbearable. After living in Sweden for only 1,5 year we have already gotten used to the lower temperatures and we both struggled a bit with the extreme heat. "How did we manage to work and live in this heat - with clothes on all day?!" we wondered for ourselves. How did people cope before Air Condition?!

Turkish food: yummy. That we already knew. Noah was also really good at trying the local food and liked it (the chefs´weren´t too talented at cooking up Western food anyway, also why should the be).
Shopping: great - lots to buy! However, as the Bodrum area is the Turks´riveria it wasn´t as cheap as expected and we kept the shopping to a minimum in the end. Of course, you always get a few fake brands T-shirts etc. and some local food items to bring home.

When you practice the skill of doing nothing, normally time goes really slow the first few days and then suddenly, two weeks have passed. This was no exception! But we managed to get a lot done anyway; a few trips into Bodrum city, an excursion over to Greece and little island Kos and of course, the unavoidable trip to the medical clinic with gastro. Both Shawn and Noah managed to get a couple of days of vomiting. Noah was the worst out of the two (being little and all) but he took it with stride, he was a real man and was soon back on his feet and back in the pool. All in all, it was two great weeks and the money was well spent!

The other two weeks we spent in Sweden. Most of that time, it was raining and Shawn had a few clients. So Noah and I hopped on the bus and went to visit mormor and morfar and later on, Shawn caught up with us in Lundsbrunn. Both Shawn and Noah got to practice their golf skills a bit and according to Shawn, Noah has a better swing than I do even though he is only three. Shawn is probably right :-).

Other than that, we enjoyed some good company of friends in Gothenburg, a few BBQ´s and walks in the forest. Shawn was thrilled over the fact that 30 meters outside our house, we picked a big bucket of blueberries and wild rapsberries. Don´t get his started about the wild mushrooms...
The holiday was wrapped up with a long day at Noah´s favorite place; the amusement park Liseberg. We were there for 9 hours straight and he was still not satisfied when we dragged him home late at night :-). A great end to a great month of family time.

When three become four

Yep, you read the heading correct - Noah is going to be a big brother!
As we are in week 18 and today we got the heads up at the ultrasound, it is time to announce that we are expecting a new family member. Finally!

Noah is the most excited of us, as he has longed for a sibling. As Shawn works late at night and we don´t see each other that much during the weeks, Noah was even my companion when I took the preganancy test and he got so happy when the result came out positive. Since that day, he speaks to the baby every day. He loves to cuddle the tummy and most of the time he even wants to hug the tummy before giving me a hug! The conversations with the baby is anything from "Hello baby, my name is Noah. I love you!" to what he has been up to during the day.
Noah strongly believes that it is going to be a little brother. He also has decided on a name; Abdul George. Well, we´ll see about that one :-).
Due to this strong belief that it is a boy, we decided to find out the sex of the baby today. However, we got stuck on the bridge in the tram due to bridge opening so we came in a little late and the doctor didn´t have too much time looking around. She could confirm that all looked well, which is the most important anyway and she gave us a qualified guess on the sex. She belived that it may be a girl :-). So no Abdul George in that case..
As I have a low placenta this time around again, I´ll do another scan in week 30 and then they will have a look one more time to try to find out the sex. That still allows for 10 weeks planning and shopping of possible pink :-).

New jobs

Totally have forgotten to write about our job situations. Both Shawn and I have new jobs since after the summer holiday!
I´m still with the same employer, University of Gothenburg but have moved to the city campus into a permanent position. This is great in all sort of ways but especially since it is in an international environment and the team spirit there is great. Also, I work very close to where Shawn is located, only five minutes walk which allows for lunch dates :-).

Shawn got headhunted during the summer by the owner of a upmarket Personal Training studio. This is a great opportunity for Shawn which allows to further build his executive clientel. He can keep his own business but be able to offer the clients the most exclusive environment for training that there is in Gothenburg. Seems as if we both finally found our feet here!

Poor on keeping record

24 hours a day is not enough! Since the beginning of May it has been very hectic both at work and at home. Busy is good, it is fun; lots of events, parties and visitors! However, keeping up to date with people or even writing a few lines on the blog has been proven to be difficult. It is a shame because this is where we keep track of Noah's development and what actually is going on in our lives.

Noah's vocabulary has grown heaps and very fast the last few months. Every day he says something that cracks you up and sometimes even actually is worth considering even for an adult - I guess that is children for you!

Noah, Shawn and I talk a lot about garbage and how to throw waste in the bin and not on the ground. Worth mentioning, here in Sweden we are passionate about our recycling and Noah is totally following the trend; the weekly visit down to the recycling bins is a hit and he knows where to put what. So, we were talking about how the Earth doesn't feel well when we don't look after it and that we have to care for our planet otherwise it will get very sick. "Then we will have to take it to the doctor" Noah said. So adorable and so correct in a 3 year old's mind. I so wish it would be that simple!

Talking about planets, the last year Noah has been intrigued by the universe, everything from spaceships, planets, solar systems and the galaxies. We read books, talk about the universe and do star watching at night. It is to the point now that he has his own App about planets on the Ipad - think it is worth mentioning in the letter to Santa that it is time for a telescope!

That you can't have it all is well and thoroughly introduced and we have given Noah morfar's old piggy bank; an old barrel that takes a fair bit of coins. Noah is currently saving up for his next holiday! He is going to...Australia, to visit his friends Heidi, Chloe, Nathan and Cayla. He now has 9 Swedish krona - so sweet!

The love saga continues

There is nothing like first love.. We been so fortunate to have Frida and Fred's daughters coming to visit Sweden this year and Noah is over the moon that he has been able to spend some quality time with his dear Heidi. We've managed to spend a long weekend together on the country side as well as a city weekend in Gothenburg. The kids have had so much fun but this Saturday will be the final good bye before the Drouin family returns to Australia. Tears and more tears - we will miss you guys!

Question: Which country's flag is this?

Answer: Buzz Lightyear (of course!)

"We don't do like that"

There are things that we don't do eg. pull the tounge out or say bad words. This rule is well known in our family. Of course Noah now has figured out away to "almost" gets around this rule by saying: "bajskorv (poop)" quickly followed by "we don't say like that". Or pulling the tounge out when angry and then quicky saying "we don't do like that". Very cheeky.

On the topic of poop, which by the way is currently a very frequent discussed matter, tonight when going to bed we talked about just..stools. So I asked Noah if he knows where there poop comes from: "Daddy". Well, it seems that daddy spends enough time on the toilet for all three of us!! :-)

Development Talk

Twice a year we have a development talk at dagis about how kids are doing at school. This week Shawn and I met up with the teachers and had a chat. There were no big news and thankfully no naughty stories to tell. We already knew he loves the "letterland", knows his plusses and the clock etc. etc. However, there was one surprise and that is that Noah doesn't use nappies at school - not at all in fact. At home, the weaning of nappies has been a rollercoaster with a nappy free boy all last summer to an "on and off" period over winter. The teachers had asked Noah the other day if he wore nappies at home and he answer was just hilarious: "once in a while".

In the cabinet, there is lots to be found

Now and then Noah ends up on the naughty chair for a few minutes if he's been acting up. The other day, after the time out, I came back to chair to talk about why he ended up on the chair and why we don't do bad things in our family. We always ask if he fully understands the message in the end. This time I got a totally different answer to the usual "yes". Noah looked at me and said "Yes I do mamma, but I have chicken pox..!".
Surprised by his answer, especially since he doesn't have the chicken pox (and never had) and that he figured that good excuses can probably let someone of the hook, I replied: "Ok, Noah I didn't know. Can you show me where you have it?"

"Yes, it is in the cabinet."

Easter on the Country Side

Easter was spent in Lundsbrunn with mormor and morfar. I think most of Sweden had fantastic weather for the long weekend which is quite unusal for both Easter and April over here. Gee, we've longed for shorts and T-shirt!

Swoosh in Slottskogen

Princess for a Day

Thoughts that go missing

Sitting at the dinner table talking about this and that.. I ask Noah a question and when he is about to answer, he goes quiet, looks at me and says "Uhm, I forgot it in my head".

(He later found his answer, in his head ;-). )

Milestone

The milestone birthdays are often celebrated with big orchestra. Today's Shawn's birthday and, by his choice, we celebrated it very low key. Noah and I got up at 5:30 and made blueberry scones and served a big birthday brekkie for daddy before heading to work.

We decided to cancel the booked babysitter and to stay at home, relaxing as a family with a take away dinner. After dinner, the birthday boy showed his true age...by going to bed at 6PM! Did I mention that he turned 30 hehe :-).

Love you lots babe!

Australia theme pics

As mentioned in the last post, at preschool they've recently learnt about Australia. Attached are some pics taken by the teachers. Unfortunately the pictures are quite small but grab your glasses and you may see Noah playing the Didgeridoo as a true little Aussie! The instrument is handcrafted by the little group of 3 year olds.

What they learn at preschool

The last month preschool has focused their teaching on different countries and what is special about them. Last week the kids learnt about Australia...

Yesterday Noah and I, on his request, watched an episode of "In the Night Garden" (the storyline revolves around funny characters that live in the forest). This was Noah's favorite TV-show when we lived in Australia. Since then, he has moved on to more "big boys" stuff like Toy Story etc. so I was a little surprised by the request. I asked if watching the show reminded him of when we lived in Australia. Noah's answer was so typical of how the brain of a little child works and how the connect things that they learn. "Yes, mummy. They live in the bush".

Family Sunday

After a weekend spent mostly outdoors we finish off with a hot bath in the tub.

A great start to a new week

This morning I received a text message from Shawn which has made me smile all day:
"Today Noah grabbed my face and said "I love you daddy" before running off to circle time :-)".

Family Saturday

Sleep over party

Friday night and the house is full of kids. Or at least there is three of them, which by the way is a big increase for us. There is a lucky couple out there tonight - two of Noah's buddies from daycare are staying the night at ours. Funny though, it hasn't been that difficult at all, very smooth actually! Sometimes Noah alone can be really hard work so we figured, that the reason why it has been so easy to look after three tonight, is because two of them aren't ours :-)! Normally when kids are without their parents, they are on their best behaviour and the good behaviour rubs off on Noah too who doesn't whine once!
Noah is always so happy to have friends over so you feel a little sad for him that he doesn't have any siblings. He has started to ask about little sisters and little brothers and pays attention to babies and that they live in the mummy's tummy. He also certainly knows that in any case of a future sibling, he would be "a big brother".

Swenglish

The other week we were practicing the weekdays in both languages. Before it all had set properly, Noah was trying to sort it all out in his head and came up with the following;
"Mondag, Tuesdag, Wednesdag, Thursdag, Fridag, Saturdag, Lördagsgodis *, Sundag".

* Lördagsgodis = Saturday candy, the day of treats

Eat it

Putting on the PJ's after bathtime can sometimes be a difficult one with a strong 3 year old wiggle worm jumping in the bed. Tonight I said: "Please Noah, lets just do this so we can read a story. Mummy is running out of patience." The answer I received made me crack up. "Ok, I give you some patience" Noah said, holding his hand out shaped into a cup. "Eat it mummy."

3 years have passed!

Noah spent his 3rd birthday at daycare. As they don't eat sweets at daycare, Noah brought popcorn with him instead of cake which was a big hit. In the morning, they went outside for a play in the snow. Check out the snow angels!!