All American Weekend

I’ll catch you up on last week before moving on to our SUPER fun weekend.

Svea’s been making huge strides in the brain department.  I see her understanding new things every day.  The moments where I realize she can understand the words I’m saying are coming more often.  She has started to become a great mimic.  I’ve gotten her to say several words (whether she understands what she is saying is not determined yet) including eyes, nose, banana, mama, dada, no no.  She also does sounds now.  This clip captures two of my favorites.  The snore was unexpected and made Soren and I get the giggles several times last week.  The kisses are my absolute favorite and a very common way for her to communicate.  So here’s yummy little Svea:

Soren has also been mastering some new skills this week.  He is still very apprehensive about his swimming lessons, but he’s made some big strides.  Here’s a little sample of where we were on Thursday:

We had a great weekend. After struggling all week to finish getting over nagging cold symptoms, we finally felt better to welcome my parents for a visit on Friday. I can’t believe they were brave enough to face the July Phoenix heat, but I guess seeing the grandkids was enough incentive to make it worth the trip. I felt like we were on vacation – we had a blast!

On Friday morning while Soren and Erik went for a follow up visit to the doctor’s office, Svea and I picked up Grandma and Grandpa at the airport. We met up and headed out for a Mexican food lunch at my favorite place. Soren still wasn’t feeling well, and while he took a nap Svea soaked up some attention from her grandparents. They brought her a couple of surprises and it was so cute to see how she reacted. I’ve never seen her so excited before. She kept squeak-laughing and bouncing up and down and loving on her new Anpanman doll and looking at her new book. It was priceless!

Friday evening we faced the heat (115 – yikes) and went to the dbacks game. It was pretty warm even in the air-conditioned ball field. Arizona happened to win that night and we had lots of fun. I’m already craving my next dbacks dog. The kids were both really good. I couldn’t believe how well Svea did at her first game – she is usually very crabby when her bedtime routine isn’t followed but she stuck with it until the end of the game at 10:30. Soren also enjoyed his first hotdog at a game. I couldn’t get him to stop eating and smile for a picture!

Erik and Svea enjoyed some bonding time. This is a long clip, but I couldn't help but share. These two are so cute together - Svea is Daddy's girl!

After the game, both of the kids were pooped out.

On Saturday morning we went to the ward’s pancake breakfast celebrating Independence day. Soren ran around like a madman with the other kids. They played a pin the nose on the Uncle Sam type game. I heard that Soren won the game and told everyone “I won and you all losed.” I thought teaching a kid that winning and losing would help make them a good sport. Apparently THAT backfired a little.

After lunch and naps we went over to check out the new SeaLife Aquarium. It’s a little pricey at admission price, but I think it is pretty well done. It took about an hour to go through and was enjoyable. Saturday afternoon in July is probably the worst time to visit and the crowds were pretty bad, but the kids LOVED it – especially Svea.

We sent Grandpa and Grandma home on an airplane this afternoon after church. I can’t wait to see them again next month. I love being around my parents and I love to see the kids interact with them. That bond between grandchildren and grandparents is so sweet to watch. I feel refreshed – their visit made the weekend feel like a vacation. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Soren isn’t feeling well again. Poor kid. A bubble bath always makes you feel better, especially when you have a sister to dump bubbles all over! Both of the kids conked out after their baths – a sure sign of a fun and busy weekend.

Inked

   

And here are a more pictures of the kids, mess free:

      

Soren & Svea June Update

Life has been really busy.  We’ve been having a lot of fun and enjoying the warm weather.  I’ve gotten a little behind on updating.  Here are a few visuals to catch you up:

Chibi and Soren have grown closer:

We spend some unusually cool days (for June in Phoenix) outside at a neighborhood park:

We’ve enjoyed several coupons and passes to museums in the area.  Erik is off on Fridays again now that school is out for the summer and we are taking full advantage!  We usually choose one fun activity to do on Friday and eat out for lunch somewhere close by.  We’ve visited the Arizona Museum of Natural History, the Arizona Museum for Youth, and the Arizona Science Center.

Erik on the bed of nails:

Svea on the bed of nails:
 

Soren and the magnetic ball wall/track:
 
Svea investigating Bernoulli’s principle:

We’ve started swimming lessons and have enjoyed swimming from 11:30 until 1:30 or so, then hiding inside from the heat in the afternoons.  We are also able to go with Erik to ASU on Saturdays and while he is getting in a long run we catch some more time in the pool.  When we are at home, Soren and Svea play side by side all day long.  They bug each other some times, but they both appreciate the company!

We’ve been catching time in our backyard when we can.  Soren loves to throw a ball or swing his baseball bat or just dig in the dirt.  Svea just likes to crawl and eat whatever she can grab off the ground.

We went up north to Anthem a couple of weeks ago and visited the outlets while we were there.  They have a great splash park that Soren really enjoyed – too bad it is so far from home!
   

Svea’s been working on walking.  She likes to hold my hands and toddle around, but this weekend she figured out a faster way to travel.  This kid cracks me up with her methods of locomotion.

Svea has also started sleeping through the night – 5 nights in a row now for 11 hours straight.  It is mommy heaven for me – especially since I have been trying to fight a particularly nasty bug for a week.  She is great at soothing herself to sleep as long as she has a soft blankie.  A substitute will do as well:

The kids are growing and learning so much every day – it is hard for me to keep up.  They keep me busy and frustrated and joyful and fulfilled.  What a ride!

Already missing the beach

We’ve been busy, but here’s an update:

The weather is warming up here. We’ve enjoyed a beautiful long green spring and although we are getting temperatures in the 90s, it still feels very mild for this time of year. The kids and I have started sitting out in the baby pool in the afternoons to beat the boredom and the heat. We are scheduled for swim lessons for June and July, so we are enjoying our freedom for the next couple of weeks.

We were even able to do some kite flying on a windy day last week

I think I forgot to mention Svea’s 9 month checkup. She’s a healthy girl who is long and lean (with a big head). On April 28th her stats were:
weight 19 lb 0 oz (50th percentile)
height 29.8 in (above 95th percentile)
head circ 18.3 in (above 95th percentile)
After finding out how tall she was, I realized that she had outgrown her infant car seat. We moved her into Soren’s old carseat. I miss the simplicity of the infant seat, but it had to happen sooner or later!

Svea is still getting around, but has gotten FAST! She is into everything and tests my cupboard child lock system daily. Although she prefers her belly scoot for getting around quickly, she has started mixing in some traditional crawling as well. She is a sweetie and is always ready to smile and snuggle. Her 8 front teeth are fully in and her smile is very toothie. Her hair is finally starting to come in – it looks like it will be the same color as Soren’s. She babbles constantly, saying “mamamamamama” or “bababababa”. She likes to sit and communicate with Soren by laughing and spitting. Svea is very tough. She didn’t even cry for her shots last visit. I think her high pain tolerance may have something to do with her brother’s constant attention/mauling. She’s such a great fit and easy addition to our family. I’m loving seeing her personality bloom.

Soren is also getting bigger and smarter every day. His speech is getting clearer and sentences longer. Along with his increased understanding of the world around him has come a tiny bit of an attitude. Yesterday he gave me what I thought was a “5” and slapped my hand. Then he said, “I didn’t clap you, Mama, I hitted you.” Apparently he was mad at me. It is hard not to laugh at his quirky little emotions. While we were on our long car trip home from California, Soren was making Svea laugh in the backseat. It was very cute and went on for quite some time until Soren suddenly said (with sarcasm?!?) “I don’t want to hear your laugh anymore. Sorry, baby.” For the most part he is very pleasant and happy to entertain himself or play with his sister. He loves playing computer games on pbskids.org or starfall.com and I have to be careful to limit him by locking the computer or he’ll jump right on.

We had a very fun and relaxing trip to California last week. Erik’s final for his class was on Tuesday, so we packed up the car Tuesday night and left early Wednesday morning to stay with our friends, the Underwoods, in Carlsbad, who live about a mile from the beach. We had an amazing time. I feel totally rejuvenated. It was great to reconnect with our best friends and have time just to hang out at the beach or sit and talk together. They have two cute boys, and the kids all got along great. Rachelle spoiled us with good food as well, I can’t wait to use her pizza crust recipe.

We spent Wednesday afternoon at the beach, Thursday morning exercising and relaxing and Thursday afternoon at the beach. Friday morning Jared and Erik headed out to go surfing and Rachelle and I took the kids out on a walk to enjoy the beautiful weather. After a couple of hours on the beach Friday afternoon, we went out to dinner at Buca di Beppo. It was delish! The kids were good, especially Soren who was passed out in his chair the entire meal.

Saturday morning we got up early and hit the road for Palos Verdes, a little town south of LA, for my race. I ran the 1/2 marathon. The day was beautiful for running with cool temperatures and overcast skies. The course was VERY hilly with a giant hill between mile 2 and 3. Erik and the kids were waiting to cheer for me at the top and I was so zapped by that hill that I wanted to stay with them and quit. Somehow I managed to pull through that exhaustion and had a great race. I ran PF Changs 1/2 marathon a few years ago and had a time of 2:11 that I wanted to beat. I was totally ecstatic to finish with a 1:57. I have no idea how people run a full marathon because that race creamed me and I can’t imagine that being the halfway point. Training for this race has been wonderful for me. I was able to do more than just get fit to run, I was also able to get rid of all the weight I gained thanks to baby Svea and I got great satisfaction from accomplishing a goal that took me 6 months. Although I can’t say that I enjoy running any more than I did at the beginning of my training, I can say that it brought me pride and satisfaction each time I completed another scheduled run. I’m already planning my next race.

After the race, we headed back to Carlsbad for one last afternoon at the beach. We went to church with the Underwood’s on Sunday morning, then packed up and headed home.

Soren was his usual cautious self at the beach. He had fun playing with feathers, shells, sand and rocks safely away from the waterline. He wouldn’t go near the water until Friday, when he finally got his toes wet at the end of the day, but only with two people holding his hand at the very edge of the waves. Saturday he was more daring and let me hold his hand while waves got his swim shorts wet. He had fun running in and out of the waves with Erik at the very end of our beach time. I was glad we at least moved from Soren crying when we told him we were going to the beach to Soren feeling comfortable wading in the water.

Svea was a totally different story. She wasn’t afraid at all. As soon as we set her down on the sand she was soaking in the sensations on her skin. She rubbed the sand with her hands and dug her feet in. She was constantly covered in sand. She also loved the water even though it was pretty cold. She was kind of hard to contain as she would continually crawl toward the waves like a baby sea turtle. We learned not to let her get wet even though she wanted to because she would play until her lips were blue and she was freezing. I’m sure we will have some exciting times ahead because she lacks that sense of caution that has kept Soren out of trouble. Just like her mom and dad, she seemed right in her element near the ocean.

After church on Sunday, Soren told Erik we were going home to “our new home”. Erik told him we were headed home to our old home in Arizona. Soren was pretty bummed. We all had a great time, and while it is nice to be home we can all hear the ocean calling to us to come back soon!

We miss you, Underwood fam! Thanks again!!!!

Father and Sons Campout 2010 (by Erik)

The annual fathers and sons campout was Friday, April 30^th to Saturday May 1^st. My structural engineering class has finals on May 11^th, and the last day of class is May 4^th, so I did not feel bad taking two days off to go camping. After a very difficult semester I was very happy to be able to have time with just Soren to give him 100% of my attention for two days. The campout was held just out of Forest Lakes, AZ (about 7800 ft elevation). It took about 2.5 hours from Phoenix to get there. (It looks like there are quite a few lakes in the area and I have been told they are full of trout, so I may have to go back later in the summer and check it out.)

This year the campout was combined with the whole stake. The stake provided dinner (fajitas and Spanish rice) and breakfast (pancakes, eggs, and bacon). Our ward was underrepresented, so many of Soren’s church friends did not make it to the campout. I think the overnight low, 32 degrees, scared away many people, as it almost kept me from going.

Soren and I got up to the campground around 4:00. There were still patches of snow, including what looked like a fresh dusting. Soren remembered quit a bit about camping from last year’s trip. I set up the tent while Soren ate snow. After the tent was set up Soren and I went exploring. We did similar things to last year, walking around looking at interesting rocks, turning over logs and rocks to see what we could find. Nothing really exciting, but being in the woods and just being in an unknown setting was adventure enough for Soren.

Around dinner time, it started to get cold. It was not miserable, but staying close to the fire was a must. We roasted some marshmallows and Soren did his usual collect as many pine cones as possible and through them into the fire. Around 9:00 Soren decided it was time for bed.

In the tent, Soren had his only melt down of the trip. I think he was not used to the idea of not sleeping in his bed. This, combined with the temperature made him demand to go home. He was crying and stating that he wanted to go home to Mama. Luckily I brought his Leepster Two (thanks Papa). I got him in his sleeping bag and he played his game until he feel asleep.

He only woke up once during the night. At around 4:00 am he woke me up and told me that he wanted his sleeping bag to be warmer. When I looked at him, he was curled in a ball, sleeping out of his sleeping bag, on the area where you are supposed to lay your head. He had a blanket pulled over him. I explained for the sleeping bag to be warmer, you had to get into it. He got in and did not say anything else until 8:45 am.

Because he slept in so long, we missed most of breakfast. The bacon and pancakes were gone. We had a breakfast of eggs and tortillas. I also had packed some bagels. Soren wanted to explore the rest of the morning, so we walked all over the woods. Around 11:00 we went back to camp to break it down. We left at noon.

I am glad that Soren and I were able to go. Soren did a great job again just like last year. He really finds new experiences exciting. I am grateful that the semester is winding down and that I had the time to go on the campout. I am not taking any classes this summer, so I look forward to being able to spend time with my family and working a normal schedule.

Enjoy the pics – I learned how to use the camera this year.