Laua's Birthday weekend

Bjorn was so excited all weekend that it was Mamma's birthday, he could not wait to sing to her in both English and Swedish, eat cake and of course help Mamma open her presents. He loves helping everyone open their presents these days and can clearly not wait to celebrate his own (which will be his 3rd in January...).

Bjorn and I bought Laura's birthday gift together, a gift certificate to the spa, and Bjorn and Freja gave Mamma a package of her favorite movie series, The Transporter.

We had such a nice birthday weekend, I had Monday off and we celebrated all 3 days, like we always have (with the exception of last year as Freja was born), Friday I surprised Laura with a Princess Tarta from the Swedish store, Saturday we went to see some friends during the day and we had a wonderful day outside, and Sunday was the big event at her parent's house with some apps I made (Buffalo chicken dip, stuffed mushrooms, cheese and crackers) and Laura's mom made stuffed burgers and hot dogs, it was all very delicious. We finished with Pina Colada pie which I had made upon Laura's request. Bjorn loved the pie too as did Freja : - )

Sing me a song "Kakka"

Snuggle time

Freja wants to stand all the time now.

For some reason, Bjorn calls me "Kakka" from time to time, he knows it is not my name, but he thinks it is funny and we all had a good laugh over it this evening at bedtime. Bedtime came a little late tonight as we went to Wal-mart so Bjorn could pick out a toy. We had told him for weeks that if went to the potty to poop, we would buy him a Handy Manny tool, so tonight when I noticed him starting in his diaper, I ran with him to the bathroom, off with the pants and his diaper and he finished on his potty!

Our little fire guy

He was very excited when he got to pick out his own Handy Manny tool, hopefully this bribe will get him started to go on his own and eventually no diapers!

Tonight I started singing Imse, Vimse, Spindel for him, I usually sing a few other songs, but I thought I should try something else, which was a hit, he loved it! He kept saying, sing "ImseVimse" Pappa,and I sang it over and over, hehehe. I need to learn more Swedish songs, I have not done so well with the Swedish lately, it has been so easy talking to him and Freja in English, but I need to do better, or they will not learn.

Freja outside in the wagon, her favorite is the pink buggy

Singing, Dancing, Laughing

Bjorn just loves to dance and sing, he has for a long time, but lately he has really advanced his singing by singing whole songs, I am so amazed he can remember all the words, he loves to sing "Ba, Ba Vita Lamm", "Bjornen Sover" as well as several English songs. Freja loves it when Bjorn is dancing and singing, she just laughs and giggles and it is so cute as she smiles with her whole face, you can really tell on her eyes how happy and excited she is.

Bjorn loves to play "airplane" with Mamma

I am still working on the Swedish with Bjorn, but it has become harder, it is so easy for me to speak English to him as he responds back in English, but when I do talk Swedish to him, he does understand everything I say, sometimes even words I did not know he knew yet...amazing. We met a new Swedish person this weekend, Hakan, who has been in the US for a long time, he said when his daughter turned 5, it became more difficult to keep up with the Swedish as she spoke English in school and quickly learned that her Pappa also speaks and understands English. If we can continue with Bjorn and Freja to remain active with the language, culture, etc, I think we can do it.

"Tough guy" in his Alfons hoodie.

Vacation is over soon....

Freja eating rice ("grot") and Bjorn cheering her on

I had 5 days off each week this year during Christmas week, and then New Year's week and what a treat it has been!  To spend the days waking up with everyone, snuggle with Freja, play soup with Bjorn, and to have bre i nkuakfast as a family, it has all been so wonderful.  I was able to go with Laura and the babies to open gymnastics on Friday, I have never been able to go with them since I always work on Fridays, so it was a nice treat.  Bjorn loves it, he was jumping, rolling, and he even held himself up on the rings and swung, very impressive!

Monday again, back to work, it was so hard to leave this morning, Bjorn wanted me to play soup, and Laura told him Pappa has to go to work, but he kept asking, then he said, "Pappa, go work", and the sad face he gave me made me so sad.  If I only could win the lottery so we all could stay home every day....but on my way home tonight, Bjorn called me on my cell phone and said,"Pappa, where are you?", and then he said, "Dinner is ready", and I said I am almost home, I love you, and he responded, "I love you Pappa", he just melts my heart all the time.  When I walked in the door, he was already at the table ready to eat, and Freja gave me her big smile and wink, I love her smile.  

Bjorn had a really good dinner, he ate so much carrots, he even ate some corn and green beans.  I think he is trying to show us that he can be a big boy and eat everything we ask him to eat, or at least try.

Christmas is here...soon

Wow, it has been over 3 months since I last blogged here, I cannot believe time has flown by. It has been a very busy fall for us, with school (2 classes), swimming lessons, all kinds of activities like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and now Christmas. Bjorn and Freja are growing up so fast, it is hard to believe. I have always been speaking Swedish to Bjorn since he was born, and I do the same with Freja, but sometimes it is hard not to speak English only to both of them, but I try to do Swedish only. The other day I mentioned to Laura that maybe I should only speak English, and of course, she was angry with me, but I felt a little frustrated and I felt like maybe I was confusing Bjorn. I did not stop, and the other night Bjorn really surprised me, it was probably the best surprise ever.



I usually sing Ba, Ba, Vita Lamm and a few other Swedish bedtime songs, and last night he asked me to sing "Ba, Ba", and before I had chance to start, he started, in SWEDISH, and he knew almost the whole song!! I was so schocked, surprised and happy at the same time, it was just amazing. Tonight when I put him to bed I asked him what song I should sing, "tail", which is Ekorren satt i granen...or "Ba,Ba", and his reply was, Bjornen sover...he just continues to amaze me with his vocabulary, in both English and Swedish, and how he remembers all the words I say. I notice now that when I sign, he watches me closely and listens, so I have to slow down and articulate more so he can hear and understand each and every word in Swedish.

Next week is Christmas, and we talk about Tomten and Santa Claus, Bjorn is so excited this year about Christmas, he keeps saying, "next week, Santa Claus", and then he says, Tomten, hehehehe. I will of course pass on the Swedish tradition of watching "Kalle Anka" at 15 on Christmas Eve, as I have a copy on DVD, we'll see if he is more interested in it this year or not.

Hopefully it will not be 3+ months until next blog entry, but in the meantime, God Jul och Gott Nytt ar till er alla (Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you).