Otso's 26th Month

Summary
The big change this month is complexity of speech. He makes sentences and shares opinions. He seems comfortable in Finnish, English, and Norwegian. They say at barnehage that he is talking all the time now, and we see the same thing at home.

Events
20.11 new tooth
22.11 ice skating with Toni (otso just watched), swim class
24.11 stayed home from barnehage

27-29.11 visit from Diego and Gemma (and parents!)

7-10.12 stayed home from barnehage

11.12 lucia dag celebrations at barnehage

12.12 baerum verk & pancake house

19.12 we opened all the christmas gifts from the american side of the family!

20.12 pancakes with viviane and family, afternoon at pedro's house

Development
He seems to have lost interest in walking to barnehage. And since he is close to 15 kg, it's not so easy to carry him. 

He can count to 10 in Norwegian.

Language
Sentences are popping up all the time.

1.12: "What Isä doing?" It was cool to hear him construct that kind of question for the first time.

He still has a lot of little phrases that only parents can understand, like "sap" = "sit on your lap".

When he sees a picture of Santa, he says the Norwegian word "Nisse".

"Christmas" is pronounced something like "missmiss", as in "missmiss tree", "missmiss cookies", etc.

He has a bit of a lisp.

Social
He and Diego had a great time playing together.

Toys/Games
Little figurines are still quite popular. He carries them around and puts them on things.
He also loves the Skype "dancing monkey", and is really enjoying Google's "Santa Village". We played the games on there every day while he was home sick.

Eating
20-22.11 he ate quite poorly and (either consequently or due to being) very grumpy.

Sleeping
He is still sharing a room with Lumi, though we are thinking of changing that.

Health
He is starting to be able to blow his nose. He knows what he has to do (close mouth, push air out through nose) but he doesn't blow hard enough to do anything.
23.11 had fever in the evening and wouldn't eat
24.11 still a bit feverish; stayed home.
25.11 had to pick him up a bit early because he wasn't feeling well.

5.12 horrible fever in the evening

6.12 stayed inside all sunday to rest, fever again at night

7-10.12 fever again; stayed home from barnehage

Stats
Clothes: size 98. He wears size 23 shoe, but those are getting tight.

Teeth: 16 (right lower canine 20.11)
Weight: 14.6 kg on 11.11
Height: 88 cm

Random
otso knows what he wants but can't always say it (among other frustrations, no doubt), so we often get horrible tantrums out of the blue. for example, he'll just be calmly sitting there, and point to the water cup and say "water," and then you ask him "do you want water?" and then he nods, and then you hand him the cup. and then he collapses face down on the floor and sobs. sometimes he'll throw the cup of water at you before collapsing. 

he throws in anger, and he has a strong arm.

often we hear lumi singing and then otso responding with his little "no, mumi!" because apparently he doesn't enjoy it.

Winter warmth

When she was feverish the other night, Lumi put on a fleece sweatshirt of Kimmo's and climbed into the sleeping bag from her baby box (äityspakkaus from the Finnish government) to get cozy.

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer By Lumi

Sick!

This poor guy has been sick and is now staying home from barnehage for the fourth day in a row. Here is a rare smile.

Lumi: 4 Years and 10 Months

Summary
Lumi has mostly had a great month. We have had a lot of visitors, and Lumi usually enjoys that.

She is subtly growing more rational and it's wonderful. She can be quite kind and considerate when she is in a good mood.

Events
8.11 Ola's birthday party, swim class
11.11 accompanied Otso to helsestasjon
14.11 visit Pedro
15.11 suomi kerho, swim class

17-21.11 josh visiting

22.11 ice skating with Toni, swim class

27-29.11 visit from Diego and Gemma (and parents!)

29.11 swim class

Language
8.11 we were told her Norwegian now sounds like Oslo dialect.

It's hard to report monthly progress on this because the development is subtle. But she seems to be doing great (except sometimes speaking to Kimmo in English).

Learning
6.11 she saw a picture of a little girl refugee, called her "beautiful", and was interested to hear more. it was a good moment. i tried to explain the loss of home, etc. i'm not sure how much sank in.

Social
She is starting to branch out socially at barnehage and plays with other kids.
9.11 we had a meeting with the barnehage teachers to discuss her development. apparently lumi is doing just fine (except for occasional bouts of stubbornness, which we are definitely aware of), and comfortable. she speaks norwegian with the other kids, and sometimes english with her teachers. she loves to do the bead activities and sing.

we had a really nice visit with Gemma & family. Lumi and Gemma had a great time together.

Leisure
8.11 more progress at swim class! due to the teacher's urging, she is trying to not hold her nose when she dives or jumps in. she also practiced swimming underwater and also on her back (and kept herself easily afloat for 5 seconds on her back; it looked much more smooth than the doggie paddling).

Food
She is better than she used to be about trying new things, but she still isn't a great eater at meal times.

Health
Nothing to report here and we are grateful about that.

Stats
size: 110 (5T) in most clothes. 28 shoe. She is skinny but getting taller.
height: 107 cm on 11.11
weight: 16.7 kg on 11.11

Random
8.11 on the way back from swim class she saw an evening gown in a window and said she wanted it. i asked where she would go with it and she replied, "I would wear it to a birthday party...to a grown-up's birthday party!"

15.11, explaining why she couldn't bike the rest of the way home "Ei oo energia jaloissa!"

When we arrived at barnehage on 16.11, the front door was locked. Lumi said "Oh no! I think the barnehage is stengt!"

21.11 cuteness :
L: Otso, should we play together? 
O: Yeah! Play together! 
And they trotted off to the living room. 

24.11 she is delighted by "Open your mouth and close your eyes, and you will get a big surprise" followed by a cookie shoved in her mouth.

1.12: she had just found otso's special Mickey Mouse and he was very happy. Lumi said "it's nice to make someone happy because happy is not so loud."

watching ice skating

he didn't like being on the ice but he loved watching.

Otso's 25th Month

Summary
It's great to see how Otso's personality is developing. Now that he has more complex thoughts, there is definite moodiness, but we still do see big smiles when he's doing fun things.

Events
23-25.10 visit from neighbors 
30.10 new tooth!
30.10 - 2.11 visit from mummu
1.11 suomi kerho
8.11 new tooth!
11.11 2 year appointment at helsestasjon

14.11 visit Pedro

15.11 suomi kerho

18.11 meeting with barnehage teacher

17-21.11 josh visiting

Development
He is quite good at building towers with Legos or regular blocks.

Language
He repeats the last word he hears, often to hilarious effect.
We can see him separating the languages now, though not with 100% accuracy.  For example, he knows that it's not just the Norwegian "min", but that isä says "minun" and äiti says "my". but since there are both "my" and "mine" in english, that is a bit more difficult. I have seen him look a bit doubtful when he pointed to something and said "it's my!", so i think he remembered that it's a little different in english but he couldn't remember how exactly.
His language comprehension got "approved" at the 2-year visit at the helsestasjon. She chatted with him in Norwegian. He was quite shy but gave a lot of "joooo" agreements when she asked things like "do you go to barnehage?". She asked what he likes to play with at barnehage and he said "bil!" very confidently so we definitely know he likes cars. He was able to identify body parts when she prompted him.

Social
He knows most of the kids' names at barnehage.

We met with the barnehage teacher on 18.11. It sounds like Otso is doing well socially. He really loves circle time and he loves singing.

He sometimes is very moody.

Toys/Games
He still loves balls. He also loves books and Mickey Mouse and cars.

At barnehage, his favorite toys are the trains and the legos (and other building toys) and jumping on the pillows.

Eating
He drinks milk now, almost every day at dinner (and sometimes at breakfast).
6.11 was miserable in the morning, seemingly because i made rice porridge for breakfast instead of oat porridge. but it wasn't clear.
He does not like cheese.

16.11 again miserable in the morning because we didn't understand his breakfast request. it seemed like it was a spoon problem.

They are very worried at barnehage because he doesn't like snack time. We reassured them that he eats a lot at home, but he doesn't eat knakkebröd, especially with stuff on it.

Sleeping
He has been waking up a lot in the night and calling for us, then coming to sleep with äiti.

Health
25.10 beginning a cold?
8.11 woke up with a slight fever and was kind of fussy and clingy all day.

Potty
No progress lately. We are probably tabling this until after winter, so we don't have to deal with the snowsuit in a potty emergency.

Stats
Clothes: sometimes a size 92, but more often a size 98 now. He is in a 23 shoe, though his feet are so wide that it can be difficult to fit the sneakers on, despite having a lot of room in the toe. His size 92 pants still fit great in the length, but his hips and belly make them annoying to get on.

At barnehage they pointed out that Otso doesn't really try to put on his own clothes and just waits to be helped. Oops. :)

Teeth: 15 (upper right canine 30.10, lower left canine 8.11 ) 
Weight: 14.6 kg on 11.11
Height: 87.5 cm on 26.9 (86 on 11.11?)

Random
20.10 his first impulse in the morning was to find my slippers and hand them to me. :)

19.10 i forgot to put on the last month that he asked me to carry him to barnehage and then when i complained he grinned and said "sorry!"

8.11 while Lumi and Isä were out at a birthday party, he got to Skype with Grandpa and Mama Dollie. He spent about 10 minutes in this cycle:
 1. build a lego tower
 2. put the helicopter on top
 3. put Mickey in the helicopter
 4. make Mickey fall
 5. laugh
 6. make sure Grandpa and Mama Dollie were watching
 7. repeat

Daniel Tiger

These are the faces of kids watching Daniel Tiger.

tram selfie

Refreshment

The kids really enjoyed filling an old saline pipette with water and then drinking from it.

Lumi: 4 Years and 9 Months

Summary
Highlights of the month include starting swim class and visit from the neighbors and from mummu. She is also gaining more understanding of the world and how it works.

Events
3.10 birthday shopping for otso 
4.10 suomi kerho
9.10 Barnehage trip to frogner park 
10.10 Helmina and Amalie over for cake 
11.10 playdate with Toni, swim class
14.10 playdate with Helmina -- she went home from barnehage with her.
15.10 "høst fest" at barnehage -- parents invited for soup
17.10 swimming with Eino
18.10 birthday cake in frogner park with pedro and toni, swim class
20.10 otso's birthday
23-25.10 visit from neighbors

30.10 - 2.11 visit from mummu

1.11 suomi kerho, swim class

Language
She is increasingly comfortable in Norwegian. The Oslo language is different from the Stavanger language, but she has it under control, it seems. She is starting to sing more in Norwegian, and she still loves to chat with strangers.
When discussing the word "mice", she pointed out that the is also "mais", the "little yellow ones we eat." it took me a while to understand it was a Norwegian word.

Learning
She is practicing writing letters a lot. It's fun, and she wants to recognize words. We're trying to go slow and not push her (in the hopes that we don't scare her away from reading).
She is delighted by the idea that our ceiling is our neighbors' floor, and that our floor is our neighbors' ceiling. :)

Social
She enjoys her friends from barnehage. Current favorites are Helmina, Emilia, and Maja.
She went home from barnehage with Helmina. She loved it and it sounds like she wants to go often now. They pretended to be Elsa and Anna from Frozen and generally had a great time.

She really can't stand hearing crying. She yelled at us for not giving Otso the candy he wanted (because he was crying) and was very frustrated that our neighbors wouldn't give Clemence something she wanted either (because she was crying). in the case of Clémence, she gave her the item and said "I'm not going to let her cry!".

Leisure
She loves riding her bike, but is still learning how to start. She is nervous and asks that someone hold her steady while she starts pedaling. She has trouble getting the pedal in the right place, and fears toppling over before she gets enough speed.
11.10 she figured out how to start pedaling and now gets angry if you try to help.

We started swim class this month. There isn't too much instruction but it's fun to be in the water.

1.11 big progress in swim class. i had a chat with her before the class that she really needs to try what the teacher says to do. so when the teacher started having the kids do a "knee dive", and lumi said no, i reminded her that we need to try. she didn't want the teacher to touch her, and this teacher was great after i explained that. the teacher moved further out into the pool and simply told us what we should do. and lumi started with a bit of a jump into my arms and avoiding her face going in the water (some kids were also at this level but some kids dived gracefully and swam underwater for a meter to their parents). the teacher praised her and she was proud. but the funny thing is that after lumi trusted that the teacher wasn't going to touch her, all she wanted was to interact with her! she kept trying and trying to jump/dive better than the last time, and each time she wanted to tell the teacher what she did ("i went on my knee!" "i went under the water!"). i was proud of her for pushing through her fear and making the effort, and she was proud of herself. she also used swim goggles (present from mummu, who was also there watching, which was even more of an inspiration i think) and eventually put her face under the water quite willingly. and as if that wasn't enough, lumi doggy-paddled her longest distance yet -- something like 3 meters. previously she had "swam" about a meter but it could be mistaken for simply pushing off one wall in the water. but this time it was in the deep end and she kept herself up and moving forward. 

Food
6.10 told us she wanted to buy her own butter, so she could eat it all herself (though she said she would share with friends at barnehage). she claimed she liked butter better than she likes ice cream.
12.10 she was thrilled because i gave her a packet of margarine.
14.10 i was really pleased that Helmina's mom reported that Lumi ate well at their house.

Health
The swim class is tiring her out, but she loves it, so we will stick with it for now. Otherwise, she has been impressively healthy. We are crossing our fingers that she stays that way!

Stats
size: 110 (5T) in most clothes. 28 shoe. She is skinny but getting taller.
height: 106.5 cm on 26.9
weight: 15.1 kg at airport on 26.7

Random
4.10 announced she wanted money to "buy things". I believe the toy store trip (for her brother's birthday present) had quite an effect, and that she hadn't realized there were so many toys to be had.

4.10 first time we took the bike out on a busy sidewalk. She shouted at the first people who were blocking her way "move to the side!" they were startled but then they smiled and laughed when they saw it was a little girl.

12.10 lumi informed me that i am "the meanest one in this house". 

15.10 she requested that i trim her bangs because they were "too long" and i think it annoyed her. she still wants to grow the rest of her hair long, but i trimmed the bangs.

NRK (the national broadcasting company) does a campaign every year for kids and here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m0cNb52lHg
the kids love it and practice the routine together.

19.10 she said she wanted to sleep in "the bed with my name on it." so we put her in the bedroom with Otso. Then she told us that when she sleeps in the guest room she wakes up but with Otso there she just goes back to sleep. We hope that's true.

26.10 she got some leftover Polar bread from Otso. I said he was a nice little brother, and she replied "he wasn't nice. He just didn't want it."

Her favorite thing downtown is any busker playing an accordion. She always says the music is "beautiful." and I have been giving her 1 kr to give to any musician who she listens to for any length of time. 31.10 she took her own wallet (with all her Norwegian currency, in total about 8 kr)  and she gave to three different accordion players.

1.11 Otso hit isä and isä calmly reprimanded him. Lumi apparently felt Isä wasn't mad enough so she said "minä olen raskas!"  we think it was a direct translation from Norwegian to say that she was strict.

Love Locks

Otso: 2 Years

Summary
Otso is 2 years old! He is funny and kind. We all love him. He is growing more creative and speaking more every day.

Events
27.9 excursion to Fornebu
29.9 doctor visit to remove splinter 
4.10 Suomi kerho
10.10 helmina and Amalie over for cake 
11.10 playdate with Toni
15.10 "høst fest" at barnehage -- parents invited for soup
17.10 swimming with Eino

18.10 birthday cake in frogner park with pedro and toni

20.10 2 years old!

Development
27.9 he made substantial progress on the scooter. He isn't very fast but he can ride and push himself forward properly.

Language
He definitely says "äiti" and not "äini".
I managed to have him in stitches when i repeatedly called him "sucker".
He likes to shout. 
He has started saying " yeah! " in response to a question or a statement. It's great. 
Other gems: "exactly, otso! "
Calls his belly his " beely". 
Dog comes as "cog".
He seems to think the Finnish word "maali" means door, no doubt because Kimmo and Lumi and Otso practice kicking the balls toward the door.

Social
He likes Pedro a lot. He is also kind of obsessed with Toni, who is in Lumi's class at barnehage. 
5.10 We asked about their days and who they played with and Otso said he played with Toni (Lumi was quick to correct him).

Toys/Games
He really likes Mickey Mouse, both the stuffed cuddly version and the little figurine. 
He likes balls and Legos and puzzles.
The barnehage teachers always inform me, a bit sadly, that otso does not like fingerpainting. but then they gave him a paint brush and he did it a little bit.

17.10 Grandma gave Otso some toy food and a backpack.

18.10 Pedro gave Otso a couple of his toys -- a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and a figure from Kung Fu Panda. They are Otso's first action figures and he really liked the turtle.

18.10 Maria and Pasi (and Elmo and Elsa and Veera) gave Otso an outdoor ball. He loved it.

20.10 presents from äiti (socks and mittens), isä (cars, including a police car), and lumi (legos)

Eating
favorite foods: ice cream , eggs, yogurt, chicken, pasta
6.10 drank milk -- first time! he has had chocolate milk, but only from a box when he couldn't see it. lumi requested chocolate milk when they got home because it was chilly. otso also said "chocolate milk!" and sat in his chair at the table. i warmed him a little and then added a bit of sugar and then added a bit of chocolate and then he panicked and cried. then i switched mugs and gave him some from lumi's mug (which was just warm milk and sugar because i hadn't done hers yet) and he loved it, and drank some more milk (cold, without sugar) with dinner.
12.10 he is still very confused about what "chocolate milk" is. for example, he says it when he sees cake baking. and he won't drink something that looks like chocolate milk (though he loves it in a box where he can't see it). and he generally doesn't like chocolate (he spits out chocolate chips from cookies).

Sleeping
24.9 trying a new system for bedtime. Kids are in separate bedrooms and neither gets to come to our bed. He wakes between 3 and 4 and has a massive pee, which is not even contained by a disposable diaper. We are trying to use cloth at night and simply change him at that time (because the point of disposable at night was so he could sleep through but that isn't the case now).
30.9 went to sleep in the toddler bed. 
3.10 still prefers the toddler bed.
11.10 we let him have the old baby pacifier (tutti) for bed.

Health
21.9 seems to be getting sick: not eating much, very whiny
27.9 unusually whiny all day. Also got a bunch of splinters in the feet.
28.9 still really whiny. it could be just the age, but it seems like it could be that he is uncomfortable somehow and therefore on edge.
29.9 went to doctor to have big splinter removed. This is our first experience with the new oslo doctor. It was positive. 
4.10 during Suomi kerho, he got very clingy and then had a fever. He looked better by the time we got home, but for him the event was pretty miserable.

Potty
30.9 went unprompted to sit on the potty after I got him naked for a bath. He didn't pee, though, and a few minutes later he peed in the shower. So maybe it's a matter of connecting the feeling of peeing with the conscious effort to relax. 
2.10 somehow pushed down pants and diaper himself in protest in his crib, then woke up covered in pee (but with a dry diaper around his ankles) at 5:00
3.10 pee in the big potty just before bath, using the seat reducer.
8.10 he is enjoying wearing his underwear and really hates diapers, so i guess that's the first step? now we have to get him to see the connection between using the potty and getting rid of diapers.

Stats
Clothes: size 92 (2T) in most things. He is in a 23 shoe, though his feet are so wide that it can be difficult to fit the sneakers on, despite having a lot of room in the toe.

Teeth: 13
Weight: 13.1 kg at the airport on 26.7
Height: 87.5 cm on 26.9

Random
He gets mad when äiti starts to do push-ups. It's hard enough to keep in shape without someone working against me like that.

He counts before jumping. In English, it usually starts at 7 and goes "7, 8, 9, 10!" In Finnish, he loves to say "kymmenen" (10). Sometimes it's "kymmenen, kaksi, kymmenen!" (10, 2, 10). Sometimes he combines the two languages and says "seven, eight, nine, ten, kymmenen! [jump]"

18.10 we had a lovely birthday party in frogner park. we brought cake to share with our friends Maru and Gaston (and Pedro and Maxi and Mia) and Maru's mother was also in town. But then we ran into Lumi's friend Toni from barnehage and her dad, so they joined us for cake. It was a sunny day and perfect fall weather. The kids had a blast and guzzled down chocolate milk. We brought a thermos of hot water and had instant cappuccino and hot chocolate. Otso blew out the candles enthusiastically. We all had a great time.

Otso has a lot of opinions about shoes. He likes certain shoes and refuses to put on other shoes. He is fairly relaxed about clothes, but footwear is a big issue. So now that it's getting colder in Oslo, we want him to wear boots. He loves his summer sneakers and has refused his winter boots. We got him another pair (insulated Viking boots, size 23) and he was eventually coaxed into trying them. We had to do a lot of "wow what awesome boots!" pep talks. The good news is that he can stand up and step into the boots with only a little help, so he is quite proud of himself.

Writing

Reading

Painting sucks

The barnehage teachers always tell me how Otso doesn't really like painting. Apparently all the other kids like to fingerpaint, but Otso doesn't. But then they gave him a brush and he participated tolerably.

He looks a bit sad to me.

Lumi: 4 Years and 8 Months

Summary
It has been a good month. Learning to ride a bike is significant, but also she is really enjoying new levels of responsibility in other ways, like operating the TV remote control.

Events
6.9 Nordre Lindeberg gård, car wash, play date with Toni and Helmina
10.9, 11.9 - barnehage planning day; kids stayed home
10.9 x-ray on arm to confirm that the bone is straightening properly
12.9 visit with Pedro & fam
13.9 suomi kerho
19.9 visit with Pedro & fam
20.9 Toni's birthday party
26.9 training wheels off the bike! 
27.9 excursion to Fornebu

Language
Her Finnish "r" is coming regularly now.

Learning
She is getting quite good at relationships between things.
She is hyper-aware of letters and words now. She may be like this for a while, or it may transition into her reading on her own. We aren't pushing her.
Also, counting is coming along well.
26.9 she had seen a friend from Barnehage this week riding a bike without training wheels and said she wanted to try. So Kimmo took her out this morning and she made the transition really quickly. We were proud and she was proud.

Social
She has a friend at barnehage and they play together a lot. Her name is Helmina and she's kind and cute. Also Emi. 
She and Pedro (an old friend from Prague who just moved here) played together really well and seemed to have a great time.
She likes to chat it up with strangers and will happily interview people in the elevator in our apartment building or other parents at the barnehage. However, she will freeze up when we chat with good friends or family over Skype. strange...
25.9 we met with her Barnehage group leader for a conference. She said Lumi is doing well and seems happy.

Leisure
She enjoys role playing with the dolls. She likes puzzles. We are now in the market for 50-100 piece puzzles.
10.9 spent a few hours building something from the directions with the Lego Friends.
At barnehage she loves to do the perler.

Food
Her appetite is the best it has ever been, and she has been less stubborn about trying new things.
Current favorites include liver paté (!) and jello.

Health
We are trying a new system, where we do books and bedtime with Otso in the kids bedroom, and longer books with Lumi in the living room. This gives Otso a chance to fall asleep without the distraction and Lumi a chance to read longer books and stay up a tiny bit later than her little brother. So far it has meant fewer tears and a more pleasant evening for everyone.
10.9 we went to the hospital to have an x-ray and see the orthopedist to make sure her broken arm is straightening properly. it is. but she was *awful* about the x-ray, despite having done it before, knowing it doesn't hurt, and role-playing it at home a few times. she wouldn't put her arm on the board and after many kind encouragements from the technicians and nurses, it ended in the technician needing to roughly hold her arm in place while lumi sobbed and pulled on her arm. she was a bit better for the doctor, but still was uncooperative and sullen.
17.9 got an email from the barnehage that someone has pinworm. crossing fingers we don't get it.
She is letting me give her a head scratch / back rub / leg massage before she goes to sleep. It's a nice way to reconnect and also help her relax.
24.9 has achy ear.
25.9 woke up with zero ear problems.

Stats
size: 110 (5T) in most clothes. 28 shoe (though this varies widely by brand). She is skinny but getting taller.
height: 106.5 cm on 26.9
weight: 15.1 kg at airport on 26.7

Random
4.9 when walking home from Barnehage, she looked at her reflection in a car's side mirror and said, "I love you! You can be yourself!"

28.9 when i tried to hug her while she was doing a puzzle, "you're wasting puzzle time!"

3.10 announced that In the Night Garden is " kind of boring. "

Sunday Funday

We had a beautiful sunny day on Sunday.

Learning To Ride a Bike

So...this happened this morning. It was impressive how quickly she picked it up (I suppose Kimmo is a wonderful teacher). She is so proud of herself!

Art

Lumi drew some snails. She pointed out that they "even have butts!"

Otso's 23rd Month

Summary
The big thing this month is language. He repeats a lot and is getting quite chatty. Also, he is quite skilled with a ball.

Events
23.8 suomi kerho
30.8 sognsvann
6.9 Nordre Lindeberg gård, car wash
12.9 visit with Pedro & fam

13.9 suomi kerho

19.9 visit with Pedro & fam

20.9 Toni's birthday party

Development

He's all about language right now. He repeats almost everything.

He also is still quite good with balls. He can throw accurately and hard. He can catch. He can kick.

He learned to jump with both feet.

Language
He is repeating a lot and his acquisition is rapid. 
27.8 he has said "äiti" a few times instead of "äini" but it's not consistent yet.
He now says "one, two" when we put on shoes or anything in pairs.
"pi-ki-ka " = paprika 
"sap" = he wants to sit on your lap
8.9 he is making notable strides with Finnish. He says "yksi, kaksi, kolme" when counting with Kimmo before throwing/jumping/etc. He says "vettä", which is a big breakthrough (he has only said "vann" up until now, and it is a common topic).
10.9 he said "water" in english too!

Social
He made a friend (Eino) with our Finnish group, and he asks for him by name and wants to throw a ball with him.
His teacher at barnehage said that all the kids know that he likes balls so they bring balls to him all the time.

Toys/Games

favorite toys: balls, balloons, stroller, Mickey mouse figurine, puzzles (he shouts "i did it!" almost every time he fits a piece in)

Favorite books : Pupu Tupuna Syntymäpäivä, anything by Sandra Boynton
He does not like finger painting.
He loves to have a barrette in his hair.

Eating

favorite foods: ice cream , eggs, yogurt

nursing: done!

Sleeping
bedtime is 7:00, wake up at 6:00.
He is starting to understand the toddler clock : the sun means you can get up, etc.
We are trying a new system, where we do books and bedtime with Otso in the kids bedroom, and longer books with Lumi in the living room. This gives Otso a chance to fall asleep without the distraction and Lumi a chance to read longer books and stay up a tiny bit later than her little brother. So far it has meant fewer tears and a more pleasant evening for everyone.

Health
30.8 Runny nose for a few days now, but nothing big.
12.9 eye looks puffy and runny

13.9 both eyes puffy

14.9 eyes a bit gross, but we're sending him to barnehage nonetheless.

17.9 got an email from the barnehage that someone has pinworm. crossing fingers we don't get it.

Potty
He tells us just after he does a kakka in his diaper. He also says "kakka" when he does a pee in the diaper. He will sit on the potty without a diaper, but usually not when he needs to pee. It seems like he fears actually putting something in there.
We bought a seat reducer for the toilet. He is excited about it, but terrified to actually sit on it.
It feels like he is too old for diapers and too immature for the potty.
He tends to absolutely drench the night diaper. This is a recurring problem.
5.9 sat on the potty and did a pee! He got a sticker for it.

Stats
Clothes: size 92 (2T) in most things. He is in a 23 shoe.

Teeth: 13
Weight: 13.1 kg at the airport on 26.7
Height: 85 cm on 11.9

Crisp apple

And a new playground!

reading and snacking with isä

girl on a horse

Lumi: 4 Years and 7 Months

Summary
It has been a good month. So far, the shift to the new barnehage has gone quite well. It's clear she misses her friends and the comfort of knowing the routine. But overall we have a good feeling about the staff at this barnehage and she seems happy.

Events

27.7 - 7.8 grandma babysitting
9.8 grandma left
10.8 first day of barnehage
15.8 first time she stayed by herself in the ikea play room
16.8 went with Raija and Eino to Bygdøy
23.8 suomi kerho
30.8 sognsvann

Language
Nothing to say right now: steady progress.

Learning
New topics she chats about now after the grandma visit: marriage, falling in love, being a princess.
She is doing all kinds of slightly more self-sufficient things and it's wonderful to see.
One thing that she is (so far) great at doing is stopping before an intersection. This means that we can let her go ahead with her bike/scooter/whatever and we are confident she will wait for us before she crosses the road.
In fact, once when Otso ran out of a grocery store, Lumi chased him down and talked to him so he wouldn't go in the street.

Social
10.8 met a friend, Maja, at barnehage. She says they speak English together, primarily because Maja doesn't know that Lumi can speak Norwegian.
Often in the afternoons we find Lumi and Otso playing together in the playground at barnehage.
She made a new friend, Nea, at the suomikerho. They rode scooters together and had a pretend shop/restaurant.
25.8 she is starting to have tantrums at barnehage. I guess the honeymoon period is over.

Leisure
She likes the scooter and playing with her dolls. She likes to swing and to ride things like tricycles and bikes.
We have one brand-name Barbie and one off brand Barbie-ish doll, and she seems to think the actual Barbie is more mannish because it always is the "daddy" while the off-brand doll is the "mommy". It's surprising to me because the brand name one has more makeup and more exaggerated curves.

Food
She now regularly eats chicken and salmon. Not every time, but regularly. And pork chops! We are trying to have them weekly now.
On 14.8 she claimed that she "loves" salad and ate some lettuce. on 18.8 we tried to give her lettuce again and she wouldn't eat it.
30.8 progress on the new flavors front: we talked her into trying pesto sauce. we're not even sure what convinced her, but she dipped a piece of pasta in it. and now she loves it. we're really hoping that this will open up a bunch of new meal options for us.

Health
She gets a nose bleed maybe once per week, probably due to picking it too much.
She had a couple tiny scabs on her cheek that she kept scratching off and reopening.
16.8 woke up kind of snotty and blew her nose a lot during the day.
19.8 still snotty but it's getting better.
She wants to grow her hair long, and grow her bangs out.

Stats
size: 104 (4T) in most clothes. They don't slide off her hips anymore. Any new purchases are in size 110 (5T) or bigger. 28 shoe (though this varies widely by brand). She is skinny but getting taller.
height: 104 cm on 7.6
weight: 15.1 kg at airport on 26.7

Random
9.8 she dressed up in a long skirt and announced "I need to fall in love." apparently she wanted to pretend to get married. She settled for "falling in love" with äiti.

10.8 picked up a George R. R. Martin book from kimmo's night stand and insisted on that as her bedtime story.

13.8 Otso stepped on her foot. She told us "it hurt, but just a little bit. Because he is a tiny baby. He has tiny bones."

19.8 after 2 helpings of puuro (oatmeal) she rubbed her belly and said "I am full of all kinds of meat."

22.8 after otso (with wet fingers) touched a page in the book they were looking it, she complained, "otso just ruined this book!". seems to be another thing learned from grandma.

30.8 while walking around sognsvann, we saw lots of joggers. One very sporty woman was running toward us and the bright sun had highlighted some facial wrinkles and lumi exclaimed happily "äiti, it's an old lady!" She was probably around 40 years old.

a bear gets tired

Otso: 22 Months

Summary
It has been a good month. We finished up the trip in Finland, then he had two weeks with grandma babysitting, then he started at the new barnehage. 

There have been some changes, and he cries when we leave him at barnehage, but mostly he is doing great.

Events
21.7 picnic on Palosen saari
22.7 motorboat ride in the morning (during which he fell asleep ) , drive to Helsinki
25.7 Suomenlinna with cousins
26.7 flight back to oslo, grandma arrived
27.7 - 7.8 grandma babysitting
2.8 playdate
9.8 grandma left

10.8 first day at the new barnehage
14.8 new tooth!
16.8 went with Raija and Eino to Bygdøy

20.8 new tooth!
 

Development
He is quite good at throwing a ball. His fine motor skills seem ok too -- he can use a fork and spoon and he likes to draw with markers or crayons.
8.8 He is resistant to the crib and throwing his leg up on the rail.

He can play by himself for a few minutes.  

Language
His pronunciation is still humorous : äiti is still äini, isä is still sä, Lumi is still Mumi. (update: toward the end of the month , he started saying "isä" instead of "sä"). fork is "fuck" and spoon is "piin" and yogurt is something like "shoger". A common expression is "Lumi! Stop!" and "stop" is missing the initial s. Yucky is "shucky".
Lots of new English words with grandma, like "helicopter" and "butterfly".
He repeats a lot when we speak to him and his acquisition is rapid.

Social
He enjoyed his cousins in Finland and in general is happy to see/meet other kids.
He is biting äiti and isä a lot, and sometimes Lumi. He seems to try to keep it on clothes instead of skin. And it seems to be mostly when he is grumpy or hungry (both?). After he bites, we try to give him food and that stops it. But of course that could be because he is grumpy and the food changes that. Or it could be that he just loves food and it's enough of a distraction. At any rate, it's a really unpleasant discipline issue. We are really hoping that it's a result of a lot of teething discomfort, and that it will stop as soon as those teeth come in.

Toys/Games
favorite toys: balls, balloons.
Favorite books : Sandra Boynton board books
He likes to draw. He likes watching Peppa Pig and various apps on the tablet.
We got a scooter on 2.8 and Otso is extremely jealous that Lumi gets to ride it so much (of course, Lumi can actually use it whereas Otso just stands on it and has to be pushed around).
When it's time for the evening Peppa Pig episode, he runs toward the TV and points and shouts "tämä! ", ostensibly to select an episode. But he often does it before the episode list is visible. :)

Eating
favorite foods: yogurt, pancakes, Puuro, meatballs. He still won't drink cow's milk.
nursing: we're near the end! 20.7, 26.7, some requests on 27.7 but i think that was hunger. 29.7, 2.8, 4.8, 5.8.
8.8 requested nursing but was distracted with a balloon.
20.8 now it has been 2 weeks without nursing. I can put him on my lap without him requesting it!

Sleeping
bedtime is 7:00, wake up at 6:00 (or 5:30, depending on how he's feeling).
A little trouble adjusting to the time difference between Finland and Norway.
He and Lumi are sharing a bedroom now.

Health
The teeth have been giving him a lot of discomfort. It seems like at least 2 canines and that last of the first molars are ready to pop through. Consequently, he has been drooling a lot and has his fingers in his mouth a lot.

14.8 new tooth -- left upper canine

15.8 woke up kind of snotty
16.8 still a bit snotty

20.8 new tooth -- right lower first molar
 

Potty
2.8 got some poo in the potty.
4.8 asked to use the bathroom and then did a pee in the potty.
He really likes the Potty book (by Leslie Patricelli) and often asks to read it on the potty. And he can do a pretty good job mimicking the baby's face when s/he pees on the potty and says "mikä se oli?"
He isn't so good at trying the potty first thing in the morning or whenever else he might be expected to be successful. 

Stats
Clothes: size 92 (2T) in most things. He seems to be in a 23 shoe (which of course varies widely by the brand).

Teeth: 13 (14.8 left upper canine, 20.8 right lower first molar)
Weight: 13.1 kg at the airport on 26.7
Height: 83 cm on 27.5 (imprecisely measured)