crawling

Aksel has started to crawl! Life as we know it is about to change :-) he really is quite sweet as he tries and tries to go forward..he has been rocking on his hands and knees now for about a month and a half and suddenly on sunday he made the magical step of moving his arms and legs. So fun!

We have been busy these last few weeks redoing the family room. Painting, setting up our new couch, chairs, and tv stand. It is soon finished - so pictures will follow in a while! It is very nice to have our own space that is truly "ours".

Crawling

with Elias's comments


going for a walk


at a lake with some friends


an attempt at a family photo!


Elias really enjoying Grandpa's cookies

a wee update

This month has been pretty uneventful - but I thought it was time to give a little update anyhow. The biggest happening has definitely been Elias's 3rd birthday. It was very fun this year with him knowing what was going on and getting excited about everything! He's been very concerned about cakes (chocolate in particular), candles and of course presents! We had a family birthday on his actual birthday and a kids party on the Saturday - lots of fun! I am already enjoying 3's - his language development is quite amazing, he really picks up on things quickly and uses words very appropriately. Sure is interesting to find out what goes through their heads. The other day we were outside and he has busy wrecking a birdhouse. I told him that it wasn't allowed and that he should stop - he looked at me and said "but Jesus will fix it"! Hard to not laugh at that one!

Aksel is getting to be a big boy, which I think is fabulous! He now sits pretty sturdy, I can actually leave him a bit (with some well placed pillows around him), he has a tooth and his sleeping is getting better! There is still definite room for improvement, but things are better then they were. If only he would stop waking up for 1.5 hours every night! Oh well, it will get better as well. The biggest "yay" is that he has finally starting taking a soother. Such a relief.

Håkon is now finished his probation period and is now officially a part of the company and loving every moment. His boss took him to a Canucks game the other night, much to his delight! Hockey is certainly becoming an interest!

On the home front, things are slowly starting to change. My parents are now on the move downstairs, which gives us some mores space during the evenings. Very nice! Which means we get to start to renovate a bit upstairs and make our own space. It's nice to start to make a "home" and helps me feel a bit more settled. So things are going quite well all in all. Now it's just to get some nice weather and experience the warmth of southern BC!

Bath time!

Elias helping me make his birthday cake

The birthday cake

Happy New Year!

As I am sitting here at 6.15 a.m. and have already been up for 1.5 hours, I am truly wondering what this next year will bring. Will I get any more sleep? When will we get a place of our own? Will Elias enjoy his soccer class today? Will Aksel ever take a bottle? How many dress shirts will we have to buy Håkon? Or more importantly, how many pants??! The reality of being here is starting to sink in a bit and it is taking some adjusting. At least for me. Håkon is loving his new job and is experiencing lots of new and exciting things. I think it will take longer for me, but hopefully I'll get there eventually. The reflections of an overtired mamma are not that deep :-)

Christmas was lots of fun this year with Elias understanding more and getting excited about it all. I was completely overwhelmed and blessed by the amount of packages and thoughtfullness from our norwegian friends and family - thank you all so much! I think the mailman was wondering what was going on with all the special trips he had to make to deliver them. One thing that was unusual about the holidays was the fact that it snowed and snowed and snowed some more. Something that is quite unusual here - at least the the snow stayed around. So Hakon spent a lot of time shoveling the driveway and getting to know the neighbors! We almost couldn't get out to eat Christmas dinner with the rest of my extended family! All the snow made for a nice, slow-paced holiday. Håkon had the week off so it was lovely to have him around as well. The basement is slowly starting to resemble proper rooms now as well, thanks to Håkon's time off.

Aksel is starting to roll over now, although it mostly happens when he's naked! Fun to see the development. Elias just started his first football (soccer) class last night. Håkon said he promptly ran into another kid and banged heads really hard and then later got into a fight...hmmm...I think he enjoyed it though! A few days ago my mother tried to get Elias to sing "O Canada", to which he refused and said "I'm norwegian!" - I have no idea how much he really understood what he said, but funny nontheless :-)

A few people have been wondering what our contact info is. Our norwegian mobile phones are still up and running as well as our norwegian home phone number (fast telefon).

Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve - a tradition in my family

Big smiles!!

Having a long conversation with onkel Eirik and tante Lina

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

tis the season

Well, we have survived the first two weeks of Håkon working! It certainly has been an adjustment for him to go from comfy clothes to wearing dressy clothes (even suits and ties!) and for me getting used to not having him around during the day. Thank goodness for my parents is all I can say! He is really enjoying it though and is excited about the opportunities and all the new things for him to learn. The weather has finally turned cold here and we have even seen some snow! We just got back from Vancouver Island where we visited my sister Trish and her family. There is was snowing all day - perfect for decorating the Christmas tree and for Elias to get to know his cousins. Elias is very excited about Christmas - every time he sees lights on the houses or a tree, his whole face lights up and he says "christmas!" in a very sweet voice. It will be fun this year! I have been baking some and trying to get in the Christmas spirit. It all seems to be creeping up a bit too quickly this year...I'm a bit late with the Christmas cards, etc. this year and will be sending them off tomorrow so they will come eventually! Aksel is finally starting to settle into a bit more of a reasonable rythm at night to my relief! Hopefully it lasts. I have been so very tired. Elias finally has started to go on the potty every once in a while! He was very proud and tries to go even when he doesn't have to so that he can get a treat! We actually had a friend from Trondheim stop by the other day! Granted that he now lives in the States, but it was wonderful to see someone from the "homeland" and speak some Norwegian.

ah brothers!

brrr, it's cold out there!

Elias finally got a trike to ride - with a dumper on the back!

Decorating the Christmas tree.

Håkon has got a job!

Yes, Håkon has a job! It is truly amazing and way beyond our wildest dreams - he has landed a job within the first month of being here, the job is in Abbotsford which means no commuting (yay!!)and it is a job that is super interesting, challenging and a unique opportunity. The company is called Mana Corporation. According to their website, "MANA seeks to provide venture capital and management solutions to innovative business opportunities from around the world. We provide sufficient capital, resources and management expertise to break down barriers realizing the long-term growth potential of each opportunity."

Håkon will be involved in managing a company called Manalite. The actual details of it all are still fuzzy as this is all so new, but we'll let you know! Check out the link below to find out more. There is of course a probation period of a month to see if it's the right fit, for both Håkon and the company. Needless to say, this is all very exciting!

http://www.manacorp.com/?action=d7_article_viewer_view_article&Join_ID=189695&template=/templates/news_article.htm7

fall

It's starting to get cold now! Well, cold as in 7 or so degrees. We have had a good week. I have been getting to know some of the other mom's from Vineyard - and we've been invited for dinner/lunch a few times, so that's very nice! Håkon has been talking to some companies, so we will see if it will lead to something. Elias hasn't been enrolled in anything (the soccer class was all full with quite a waiting list) but we have bought him a hockey stick! He was very excited about that! We are trying to be culturally sensitive :-) Aksel is almost at the magic 3 months so I'm happy about that. Now if only he would start sleeping a bit better at night...he is still waking up 4 times a night so I am seriously tired. But he's all smiles and happy during the day, so that's good. Right now most of my evenings are going to searching craigslist (same as finn.no) for used couches, etc. Looking forward to having a home of our own!

Our first day with cloth diapers!! They work surprisingly well!

Håkon the lawbreaker

Håkon got his first ticket!!! Nothing too serious, he made a u-turn when he wasn't supposed to :-) but still quite funny! This last week has gone mostly to renovating and keeping the kids occupied. The bathroom downstairs is soon finished, which will help to alleviate the guilt of us kicking my parents out of their room! We have now checked out the Vineyard church here - our first stop in trying to find a church to call home. I found that I suddenly got very homesick sitting in the service, it's strange to be the new ones in town. I was invited to their womens biblestudy on Wednesday - childcare included! I think I like this idea! So it will be interesting to try to get to know some people and see if we will feel at home. I'm certainly looking forward to getting out a bit. Aksel has started to giggle now, much to the delight of anybody who changes him. It only happens when we take off or put on his clothes for some reason. It's so very cute! I have found a whole list of possible things to enroll Elias in - from soccer to dance to art to gymnastics. So I think we will try to do something like that soon so that he can get out and interact with some kids.