The first snow has arrived in Helsinki.
27 October 2017
20 October 2017
Otso : 4 years
Summary
The little bear is four years old! He likes to make us laugh. He cheerfully tries new things, and will happily kick a ball around, or play board games, or build little Lego airplanes.
Learning/Development
He knows how to read four words : Lumi, Otso, stop, and Autokeidas (translation : "car oasis", where we stop on the way to Nakkila). Also now we can probably add "IKEA" to the list.
Language
His Finnish is dominant now. The words come more easily, especially on the days when he is at päiväkoti. He still speaks the sentences to äiti in English, but often nouns here and there are in Finnish. During the weekend, he often reverts back to mostly English.
Toys/Games/Other
His favorites these days are Lego, cars, and there is a mild renewed interest in puzzles. He also loves to go outside and kick the ball back and forth.
He also likes board games a lot. He loves memory games, or "muistipeliä". These days adults do not let him win; he can win easily. His teachers call him "muisti monsteri" because he is so good at it. That said, he is mostly a good sport and does not get upset even if he loses.
He is getting quite good at the balance bike, and prefers it to the scooter.
Social
He has a little buddy at päiväkoti, which is nice.
Eating
He still loves savory food. His favorite seems to be oven roasted vegetables and potatoes, and pork or chicken from the oven.
On beef entrecote roasted in the oven: "se on aika aika aika aika aika hyvä kana!" (this is really really really really really good chicken!)
Sleeping
He usually wants us to stay in his bedroom while he tries to go to sleep at night, but it can easily take 30 minutes or more.
Stats
Clothes: size 104/110. Shoes: size 29.
Teeth: 20
Weight: 17.6 kg on 2017-05-12
Height: 102 cm on 2017-05-21
Events
22-24.9 weekend in Nakkila
29.9-2.10 helmine / amalie / monica visit
1.10 ferris wheel downtown
13—15.10 weekend at the mökki with vaari
18-20.10 fall break ; Mummu came to stay with the kids during the day
Random
The kids love the They Might Be Giants song "I can add" and Otso sings it "one is plus is two, two is plus is three, three is plus is four, four is plus is five, and five is plus is sixteen..."
(note that now he has corrected this)
When he says goodbye to äiti, he has a little ritual lately: he gives a kiss on each cheek, the nose, and the chin.
18 October 2017
10 October 2017
03 October 2017
Lumi: 6 Years, 8 Months
Summary
She is settling into her routine at eskari.
Social
It's nice to see her with new friends.
One friend from eskari is in her gymnastics class and they excitedly gave each other a big hug when they arrived.
That said, she seems to be having trouble with the boys with bullying and other negative interactions. They harass and tease and she did not experience this in Norway.
She has been moody and struggling a bit.
She was really happy to see Helmine (and Amalie but of course Helmine is her special friend).
Leisure
She is really interested in learning to do a cartwheel.
We got her a new scooter! It has 2 wheels instead of 3, and a heavier metal frame. she is proud of it and likes it, but definitely still not used to it.
At eskari, her teacher complimented her on being good at tidying up.
Learning
She memorized my phone number! but now i am changing it (funnily enough, for something easier to remember).
She was brave at the neuvola appointment, even though there was a surprise shot. It was so easy, compared to her 4 years appointment in Oslo two years ago when she went absolutely nuts because they asked her to do an eye test.
She really likes her main teacher at eskari, Virpi.
Language
Her Finnish is really coming along. She is often stuck for the English word, while the Finnish comes smoothly.
Her Norwegian speaking ability is almost gone. She had to work really hard to remember words while Helmine was here, and she had a lot of trouble forming sentences. She filled in words with Finnish. She seemed to mostly understand Helmine, though.
Food
She definitely still has fussy moments but overall she is much better these days about food. I think the pressure of Finnish päiväkoti is paying off!
She is also excited about using her knife and fork to eat like a proper Finn, and loves to lecture Otso about it.
Health
She is better than ever about sleeping in on the weekends.
Stats
I'm still tracking this privately, but I am going to stop posting it publicly.
Events
5.9 first gymnastics class -- "Sirkus-akro alkeet"
7.9 babysitter
11.9 new scooter!
16.9 stayed out until after 20:00, and the kids were delighted to see that it was dark. First time in many months! Lumi said that it was beautiful.
18.9 neuvola appointment -- 6 year checkup, including vaccination
22-24.9 weekend in Nakkila
29.9-2.10 helmine / amalie / monica visit
1.10 ferris wheel downtown
Random
She is interested in pets. She really wants a dog. We usually talk through the tasks associated with a dog, and she is convinced at the time that it isn't a good idea for us. But then the next cute dog we see, it is all forgotten and we have to have the discussion again. Because the cats have scratched her before, she is convinced that they do not love her, and she wants to get a new pet who definitely loves her.
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