Here are a few pictures from November and December. I rediscovered an old kettle corn recipe I had. That resulted in quite a few movie and popcorn afternoons for me and the kids. Yummy!:
The weather was really nice and we spent a lot of time playing at the park and in the backyard. The kids can spend hours just playing together inside as well. Svea love her babies and stroller:
Mom is always cleaning, and lately Svea has taken an interest. She is a quirky little thing and I’m happy to let her help me sweep or shut cupboard doors. We’ll see if her “neat freak” tendencies last – definitely not one of my strengths!
We spent a really fun Saturday together to celebrate Erik’s completion of school. I can’t even remember how many years this second bachelor’s degree has taken. It is such a relief to have that done! Erik now has a BS in Civil Engineering from Arizona State in addition to his BS in Applied Environmental Geosciences from Weber State. I’m so proud of him for sticking with it even though it was a huge sacrifice for him. We celebrated by attending the Mesa Arts Fair where Soren got to play on a huge inflatable, decorate a pinecone and we all watched a juggler perform.
Afterwards we went to George’s Gyros for dinner and headed over to the Mesa Temple to check out the Christmas lights. It was beautiful. I felt so much joy spending that precious time with my three favorite people in the world.
The weather was beautiful in the middle of December and we were back in tshirts and shorts for a few days. Here are the kids eating popsicles outside. In December. Only in Phoenix!
Svea is really growing up. She’s getting close to 18 months now and I can see her brain making new connections every day. She is great at entertaining herself and can sit for 30 minutes just looking at a book. She also loves to sit and color (usually on paper) – that surprised me because Soren still shows no interest in coloring books. She definitely has her own personality. I can’t get enough of her captivating blue eyes and her big hugs. She is a sweetie and brings a smile to my face throughout the day. Her vocabulary is growing like crazy and she can use her words and hand gestures to explain what she needs or wants most of the time. She loves her Daddy and her Kitty. I think the words I hear most around here are “Hi, Kitty!” and “Daddee!” Oh, and I can’t forget “No”. She says No for No and No for Yes, so it gets a little confusing sometimes. She is walking, running, and into EVERYTHING. What a treasure.
Soren is also growing into quite the little man. His speech is becoming clearer and his vocabulary is huge. He loves to watch tv and play on the computer. He especially enjoys watching the Electric Company. It is pretty funny because there is a line from that show that Soren has adopted. In every episode of EC the main character of the episode runs into trouble and yells, “Hey, You Guys!” to assemble the whole group of friends. Soren has started going out in the yard and yelling (at the top of his lungs) “Hey, You Guys!” until a little neighbor kids pops his head over the fence. Sometimes this takes along time before the kid hears Soren from inside his house and gets outside and on top of his garbage cans. They have very interesting conversations about their baby sisters and their pets. I think it is hilarious that Soren thinks that people in real life yell at each other rather than calling on the phone or politely knocking on the door.
Both kids sleep all night long in their own beds most nights. Svea sleeps in her crib with the door closed and a box fan on for white noise. One morning I heard Svea playing in her room, then Soren opening her room and going in. I snuck up to the door and listened while Soren climbed into Svea’s bed and proceeded to convince her to let him rub her ear. Soren thinks that rubbing ears is the nicest thing you can do for anyone. He finds it very relaxing (just like a puppy) and will often put himself to sleep rubbing his own ear. After climbing into the crib, I heard him say, “No, Svea, it feels good, see?” and then he started singing the song “Fun to Do”. Stifling my laughter I ran and got the camera and captured this moment.
