Christmas 2011

This Christmas we spent alone in Malmö. It was planned that way but it became that way. At first we were really nervous that it was just going to feel like a "regular" day but it actually turned out quite nice. It was nice to do our own thing and not think about what other people might want to do or when they may want to do it. We had our own schedule. I went most of the day in pjs and didn't get dressed until around 2pm or so.

However, I did, of course, wish I was with my family and celebrating like everyone else. Going to family. The boys playing with my/their cousins and such. Nothing beats that really. We'll see what we'll do next year.

Enzo left cookies, milk and a note to Santa. Santa came while they were sleeping this year instead of delivering them while they were awake.

Our sad Christmas tree. I couldn't wait for Christmas to be over so I could toss it out...it's droopy limbs were driving me nuts!

Aleksander had no idea what was going on and wasn't too interested in opening presents. I think this is the only one he opened and then Enzo opened the rest.

Enzo was Santa and handed out the gifts to each person. He was quite eager to get through his gifts. At first we didn't really know why and then we figured out that he was looking for a specific gift, that he late in the month decided he wanted. He was hoping to get Finn McMissile from the Cars 2 movie. He didn't get that gift so he was quite disappointed. But we reminded him of all the wonderful gifts he did get and that he also has a birthday coming shortly. He quickly got over it and began to play with one of his toys.

Christmas Dinner...

Aleksander is 18 Months!

This boy is something else! He really is a joy to have around, most of the time. He does all the typical 18mo things which we didn't really experience with Enzo. Throwing fits, literally throwing himself onto the floor and rolling around. Screaming. Deliberately throwing food, utensils, you name it on the floor when he no longer wants it. I find myself mostly laughing at his tantrums and then asking him "are you done yet?"

He hasn't had his 18mo check up yet so no weight or length to update.

His vocabulary is growing, he is really eager to learn new words. He can say, "mamma", "pappa", "Ohrto" (his version of Enzo) "ca" (car), "peas" (please), "moh" (more), "bil" (car in swedish), trac-towr (tractor), "daw" (down). Plus he can sign, thank you, eat, please and more.

He loves playing with Enzo and trying to be a big boy just like Enzo. And Enzo loves having him around just as much.

Aleksander has always had a tendency to try and squeeze himself into too tight of a space. He usually gets stuck or has a major fit yet he continues to do it. Not sure what the deal is with that.

He loves reading books. He can sit there for minutes on end looking through just about every book on the shelf and of course leaving a big mess after himself.

He loves smiling and waving at people...he does it with a twinkle in his eyes.

I am almost embarassed to say this, he still nurses but this will be ending as the new year comes in. He usually just nurses once in the morning or midday. I think it's his way of taking a moment to be just with me.

There is much, much more wit this guy. But to some it up, he is a ball fun.

Ooooh...K Turns 33!

Yep, I turned the big 33! I don't know about these 30's. I swear I have been in a constant (more or less) crisis since I turned 30. It's like I need to find out who I really am. Can you really be going through an identity crisis at 30?!?!?

Anywho, my family near and far was great and celebrated me. My boys sang to me in the morning and family called and sang to me too. The boys brought me breakfast in bed. Yum! I got some great gifts. What more can a girl ask for...well, since I am asking, laser eye surgery wouldn't be shabby ;-)

Seriously though, it was a nice day and I am genuinely thankful to see another year! Cheers to being 33, hope it's filled with love, happiness, success and prosperity!

The red velvet cake I baked for myself.

My happy birthday guests. Aleksander was also in attendance however we managed to only get blurry pics of him.

A Walk Around The City Center

We went into town one day to enjoy the lights, decorations and the Christmas market. They also had iceskating for the kids. We eventually encouraged Enzo to put on a pair of ice skates and give it a try. It started out really good until I wanted to videotape it...he didn't like being on display. He then had a fit and quit. But I think he'll do it again before this winter is over.

Tivoli Copenhagen

This post is coming late, but like they say it's better late than never.

Mid December Enzo and I went out on a couple of "dates". The first weekend we went to see a movie, Arthurs Christmas. It was soo cute! I l iked it and I think he did too.

The following weekend, I think it was like Dec. 12th Enzo and I went to Tivoli in Copenhagen. The whole family was supposed to go but then we concluded that it would probably be more enjoyable and save us money if just Enzo and I went. That sounded wrong, but the thing is, Aleksander would more than likely want to walk around and play and stuff and there is a lot of people there and not really the place for him to be running around free. Plus Mattias is not a big fan of amusement time parks and such.

I think we made the right choice by just having the two of us go.

This year they had a Russian Christmas theme. We got there with a couple of light hours before darkness struck and the park was lit up. It was so pretty. Enzo and I had a blast. We arrived there around 1pm and stayed until around 9pm. We did anything and everything he wanted to do. All focus was on him which was nice for him for a change. He surprised me by riding all sorts of rides and a big rollercoaster being his favorite. It wasn't the biggest rollercoaster in the park but definitely not the rollercoaster meant for 4yr olds to ride. But since I rode with him he could ride on almost everything. It was awesome. He had a blast and he went to school that following week eager to tell his friends all about it.

Playing at Rasmus the Bears play area.

Driving our boat. This was a fav for him since he got to feel like he was totally in charge of where we were going.

Christmas Prep...Sankta Lucia...School Pictures

Farmor and Lasse came on Wednesday to do an early Christmas celebration with the boys. I was in school all day so I missed them but when I came home I had some happy boys. Enzo was thrilled over his gifts. Aleksander doesn't really know what was going on but I am quite sure he was thankful nonetheless.

Enzo got a lightsaber! He was thrilled. This was something he was hoping to buy himself once he collected enough stars on his rewards chart. Mattias he could barely control himself when he saw what it was. Wish we would have gotten that on video.

Aleksander got a really cool, Paul Frank/Bell bike helmet...just want his parents wanted for him!

Enzo giving some love. He was so thankful!

I was told that when Enzo was opening this present he had said, "oh, an iron. Thank you Farmor." Mattias said, "Enzo, it's not an iron." E: "Yes it is Pappa." And he was sincerely happy to be getting an iron...but of course it wasn't an iron. It was a Yoda tin box.

It made me really happy to hear how thankful and appreciative he was over his gifts no matter what he may have been. Not many soon-to-be 5 yr olds would have been thrilled if they thought they were getting an iron.

Lucia celebration at Äppelunden Preschool.

Enzo and his buddy Melwin.

Enzo singing with his classmates.

Santa and the gingerbread man who is picking his nose...that's our Aleksander for ya!

Mattias took some funny pics of some lego characters.

Looks like the Evil Dr. Porkchop is up to no good again...now he has put the Christmas village on fire.

Chewbacca meets Santa.

Cuddle time with Pappa.

Aleksander showing interest for trains. Will he be the next train crazy one now that Enzo has left that phase behind him.

Mattias took some pics of our favorite decorations.

This one we received from Auntie Carmen when we were expecting Enzo.

Enzo meeting Santa for the first time at Grandma's old job...BN West CU.

Another fav from Auntie Carmen.

And Mattias favorite...the Seahawks ornament. My mom bought one of these for Mattias and one for my Grandpa. Two diehard fans...Mattias love for the Seahawks started in 2005 when he was first introduced to football and his rules etc and my Grandpas love for the Seahawks runs back as long as I can remember.

Enzo made a gingerbread house with help of his papa. The house was far from success. First off, the gingerbread packages are nothing like the ones you buy in the states. The cookie is rather thin, fragile, you make the frosting/glue yourself and buy the candy separately. The candy I bought was either too heavy or Enzo was pressing a little too hard because the house ended up being called the "The gingerbread ruins". Enzo didn't seem to mind, which was a good thing. We put it out on display for a couple of weeks before retiring it to the trash.

The boys school pictures. They take just group photos, no individuals. I was really happy with the results. Enzo was smiling and Aleksander was at least looking at the camera. I was one happy mama when I saw these pics.

Finally, November...Thanksgiving And A Bit More!

It's obviously been way too long since I blogged last. I can't even seem to upload the pictures right...they are supposed to be in descending chronological order, starting with the most recent events. Didn't quite succeed with that. Oh well, I blogged right? That's better than not blogging at all...gotta lower the bar! And seriously, I have to lower that bar because I have been driving myself crazy this past year or maybe 4 years with the need for everything to be just right. But that's a story for another time...and I'm not quite sure I'll share that story here at all actually.

What did November have in store for us. Well, for me, exams and yet another clincal placement. This time, the childrens ward with infectious diseases.
Mattias, went to the University of Copenhagen for a couple of days to present his research/thesis.
And the kids...sickness! Actually I think the sick bug actually hit us in October but I can write about it here. Our house was infested with the some sort of stomach flu. It started with Aleksander and then when he was better it "dominoed" over to Enzo, in the midst of his one day sickness it went over to Mattias. And boy did Mattias get it the worst! He was really beat up!
Once that was all over I got some sort of nasty cold. It hung around for a solid week but I trucked on nonetheless. When then past the cold around through the house. And then when we were finally healthy for a week or so, Enzo came down with a high-grade fever. He had it for three days and then that was over. Now we're healthy. At least for now. Fingers crossed.

I combed Aleksander's hair out. He has a lot of hair. This boy is too funny!

One morning I woke up and took some pics of the boys. I really need to have some professional pics taken of them, not in their pjs.

silly boys!

One Fall afternoon we went out for a walk. It was actually a Saturday when Enzo had soccer practice but he didn't want to go. So we let him choose, either go on a walk but he gets to ride his scooter or go to practice. He chose the scooter. We weren't more than 200yds from the house when he no longer wanted to ride it. He had a fit. I swear I can count on both hands how many times he has rode on that thing. This boy and bikes or scooters...I'm not sure he'll ever learn to ride a bike. It's crazy!

Aleksander chillin' on the same above mentioned walk. He has no clue about what is going on.

My Lego-nerds! They can sit and build for hours.

When we go on our weekend morning walks we often stop by this pond and skip rocks. Enzo loves to do this.

So, we've been talking about how Enzo is going to celebrate his birthday this coming year. He wants to have his birthday party at this indoor play place. Which I actually think is a good idea since he is bigger + our place is small = not so much room for the kids to play around. The only problem is that these indoor play places can be quite pricey when you have a party there. We are talking about at least 155kr ( about $30)/ kid and Enzo has about 15 kids he wants to invite...this includes both family and friends. OUCH! What to do?! We will be having the party there, the only question is, is how do we narrow down the invite list?

Our sick Enzo. Day 3 with a high fever! Out getting some fresh air.

Thanksgiving Celebration. We celebrated on yesterday, Saturday with some friends. I find celebrating on the actual day here can be quite stressful since we are usually working or in school. Thanksgiving is not a holiday here. So, we celebrate on the weekend when we have time to prepare and actually enjoy the day. We used Mattias grandmas old dining ware for dinner. It was nice.

Mattias getting the potatoes ready. He was adamant about us having mashed potatoes.

Aleksander and Enzo were good about keeping themselves busy while we were preparing. Plus we actually made a pretty easy dinner so we weren't too consumed in the kitchen.

The Mystrand-Leander crew joined us for dinner. Dinner consisted of: turkey, of course, mashed potatoes, honey glazed carrots, garlicky green beans, gravy and a black currant sauce. It was yummy. Oh, and I made my first pumpkin pie. It was DE-LISH! I grew up on sweet potatoe pie but Mattias, once again, was adamant about us trying the traditional pumpkin pie. I was quite nervous if I would like the taste of it but I dipped my finger in the batter prior to pouring it into the crust and it was delicious! I succeeded! This we shall make again, probably every thanksgiving from here on out! Enzo even loved it!

Enzo wanted to drink his julmust out of a wine glass. So, he did. And then Kajsa was joking with him and asked "are you drinking wine?" And he replies, "yes, like usual." It was hilarious!!!

Enzo kept throwing himself on Tobbe. They were having tickling wars.

It was a great evening with great people!