Marching Dinosaurs

Apologies, dear readers, for you are about to be subjected to hearing both of us singing.  Slowly.  For a looooong two minute video.  If you're at work, consider lowering the volume.  Honestly. 

The upshot is that it's cute to watch the citizens marching around the basement.

We learned this song from our friend Mio at Together in Motion.  Somehow we manage to mangle it each time. The important part?  Adam and Ashley are learning how to march.  Very cute!  

For those of you with toddlers (or marching children, I suppose), here are the lyrics:

We are the dinosaurs
Marching, marching
We are the dinosaurs
What do you think of that?


We are the dinosaurs
Marching, marching
We are the dinosaurs
We make the earth flat

And stop!  Shhh....  (sometimes the kids hold up one finger to their mouths... melts your heart!)

Citizen Symphony

Ah, the cacophony of toddlers in a kitchen. 

Our friends tell us it is only going to get louder with time.  Perhaps an investment in noise-cancelling headphones makes sense?

Milk -- It Does A Body Good

Ashley and Adam drink lots of milk!  Guest photographer Karla snapped a photo of them enjoying their afternoon cup.

Citizen Chefs

After watching Mommy prepare their meals for the last few months, the citizens decided to try their hand at cooking.  

Who left this mess in the sink? -- Ashley

What can we make with ice cream and chicken? -- Ashley

Yum!  This ice cream-chicken soup is deee-lish!  -- Adam

Adam really got a kick out of reheating his soup in the microwave:

More Toys, Please

It's clear that we do not have enough toys in the house.  The A-team has resorted to climbing on me to keep themselves entertained.

¡Hola Karla!

A little over one week ago we welcomed Karla into our family.  The citizens love her already -- I left the room and there was no crying.  Well, except mine.  But that's a different story.  Here they are, completely engaged, learning how to color with Karla.

Hanging Out

Sometimes Adam and Ashley don't want to pose for photos.  So MLM catches them in the act:

Camera Shy

Poor Lambie.  She's camera shy.  Last time she visited Boston, Adam and Ashley tried to play with her.  It was very adorable and definitely video-worthy, so I tried to capture the moment digitally.  This is one smaht dog, as we'd say in Boston.

So I used my super stealth skills and tried again.  Look closely!

Norway in a Nutshell, Part #2

Thank you for your patience, dear readers.  It was hard to narrow down the photos for the blog.  Sigh.  What's deceiving is that the camera metered far more light than was truly available.  It meant I could snap away for much longer than I anticipated.  Wahoo!

The boat eventually docks in a very small town, which due to the season, was already closed down for the night.  Had it been summertime, we would have had the option to stay and explore the "Viking" town.  Instead, we boarded a bus and promptly fell asleep.  Hey, it was dark outside!  The bus took us to a train station for our final transfer to Bergen.

Some crazy folks then walk around in Bergen for an hour or two then board an overnight train back to Oslo.  Not us!  We spent one night in Bergen.  Photos will be posted, eventually.  I'm sure you want to see more of the citizens first!

Bon Voyage Ana!

With tears of happiness in my eyes, I'm dedicating this blog post to Ana, our au pair.  Ana spent the past year with us refining her already extensive English skills (now with Noo Yawk lilt) and helping to care for Adam and Ashley. 

When Ana arrived in the US, the citizens were only 5 months old and not yet sitting up.  Ana has watched them blossom into toddlers with distinct preferences and individuals with their own sense of humor.  She found a ticklish spot on Adam's back.  Ana combs Ashley's hair better than I ever will.  She knows and loves the citizens as if she were their mother, giving me and their father great confidence about the care and love she has shown to Adam and Ashley over the past year.

This past weekend we gathered Ana's American friends and attempted to send her off in style.  We proudly showcased her favorite foods, like authentic NY black and white cookies (thanks Aunt Melanie and Uncle Scott!), parmigiana de berenjena (eggplant parmigiana), lasagna, caesar salad and nail polish nips (thanks Ava!).  Below are some of the photos from the day.

Today Ana will board a flight to Brazil, full of excitement for the future and eager to see family and friends.  At the same time, her friends in Boston will miss her fiercely. 

It's never easy to say goodbye.  And saying "thank you" doesn't seem like it expresses quite enough.  I sincerely hope that we will keep in touch, that Ana will remember us fondly, and that love, health, happiness and good fortune follow Ana wherever life leads her.  She will always have a special place in our hearts and a second place she can always call "home".

Life Skills

Before Ana leaves, she's making sure to impart life skills to Adam and Ashley:

Snow Day

Adam and Ashley were introduced to their first snow day.  It was not an overwhelming success.  In fact, it took far longer to get them dressed than it did to take them outside, admit defeat, and head back inside.  We were outside long enough to snap some photos.  Big surprise, I know.

One citizen ready for action.

Second citizen ready to go.

Why does Mommy like the winter? -- Daddy
I don't know. -- Ashley

Can we go in now?  I'd like some hot cocoa with marshmallows, please.

And for those who enjoy watching the action as it happens, here it is in three stages.  We had some technical difficulties and had to switch cameras.  Good thing that Daddy is prepared and carries an extra for me to use.

Camera switcheroo... and we're back!

Happy Everything!