Field trip to Asker Museum

A couple of weeks ago, Rhiannon's entire barnehage took a field trip to Asker Museum. I don't think they actually went inside the museum, but it looks like they had a really great time playing outside on the extensive grounds all day.
Sofia's (of jumping fame in a previous post) father went along as a helper on the trip and he took this photo of Rhiannon. Vana is behind her to the left and Rubi-Marie is in the distant back to the right.

Learning to cook

One of Tryfan's favorite places to be is in Rhiannon's bedroom so he can play in the kitchen area. Usually he plays there during the day when she is at barnehage, but today they played together. He is very proficient now at transitioning from laying on his belly to standing up. Boy can he move fast! We call him "our little Commando" because he mostly does the army crawl to get around. Here he is standing at the kitchen sink and holding on for dear life while Rhiannon stirs vegetables vigorously next to him. Of course he is always the first guinea pig to taste her creations (which consist mainly of wooden vegetables and water from the bathroom sink). Rhiannon talks mostly in Norwegian to him.
He clearly thinks that everything Rhiannon does is hilarious because he always crows with laughter when she does anything.

Somethings fishy

On Saturday we walked into downtown Asker and there was some kind of performance that was just about to start. Lots and lots of teenagers were wearing fish hats and fish costumes. They were taking their performances very seriously, so there wasn't a lot of giggling or saying "oh don't you look funny with that fish on your head!". No. They were milling around, wringing their hands, looking for the Queen Crawfish (or perhaps she was supposed to be a lobster?) to give them the signal to start. We watched the first 5 minutes or so and then we had to walk home so we could make it to Phil and Emily's housewarming party, where it was only slightly more civilized of a scene.

Into the city

Today I kept Rhiannon home from barnehage and we had such a fantastic day! First we played out on the trampoline for a bit this morning while Tryfan had his morning nap, and then we all went into Oslo for a day of enjoyment. The weather cooperated with us, which always helps :-) Here we are as we were heading back to the car at the end of our day. We didn't attempt to see much of the city. Sometimes just walking a few blocks into unfamiliar terrain and having a picnic with fresh baked goods on soft green grass is enough to bring complete enjoyment. We ended the day with ice cream cones down on the Aker Brygge waterfront. Right before I took this photo of Rhiannon, she had just said to me - completely out of the blue - "Mama I am so happy right now". Just like that. In perfect English and with a sweet ice cream coated smile.
Another sweet thing she said today was just before we left the house to go into the city. I had put her and Tryfan into the car and Flo was sitting with them while I ran back to the house to gather stuff. When I finally got into the car and started driving, Rhiannon said "I am happy to see you, Mama". How cute is that?!

A good day for a picnic

Today we had a long lazy morning and then took the train from Asker to Sandvika. We brought Bentley with us and had a little picnic on Kalvoya Island.
Here are Flo, Tryfan and Bentley at our picnicking spot by a calm little bay. Bentley got to play in the water a little bit, but not as much as he would have liked! And it was a bit too chilly for us to be tempted to play in the water.
It is so wonderful to spend the days having long talks and walks, catching up on everything that has been going on in each other's lives in the 4 years since we last reunited.

Jumping jumping

Today Sofia (not Sofie) came over to play while her parents went shopping after barnehage/ work. She and Rhiannon played so nicely in the backyard, upstairs in Rhiannon's kitchen, and outside on the trampoline. There were a lot of "ikkes" being said (that means "don't" in Norwegian), but it was funny to hear Rhiannon rabbiting away in Norwegian! They especially had a good time jumping together. I know I am going a little bit crazy with these collages, but what the hay...Here they are waiting patiently (though not happily!) for their turn on the trampoline while some big kids jump.

Spot the sheepdog

Can you spot the sheepdog in this photo? Hint, he is a few feet off the ground. Bentley likes to do big jumps sometimes, and yesterday was one of those times (photo by Geir). I was thinking today about the people that I didn't get a chance to really talk with yesterday and feeling a little bit sad about this fact. I guess that's how it is sometimes, especially when a certain 8 month old baby is clinging like a little monkey to one's shoulder.

Solstice Party!

Lots of happenings here at Lewis Central! My dear friend Florence arrived last night from Paris to stay with us for ~10 days. Yippiee! We spent all day today preparing for, enjoying, and then recovering from our Solstice Party. At one point Rhiannon got a hold of the camera and learned how to take a picture, so here is a collage of her photos. A view of the party from Rhiannon's eyes...It was a lovely day, though a bit windy and only borderline warm. Our guests included (left around the table to the right): Phil H., Geir, Cindy, Phil G., Wendy G., my cousin Herb and his wife Christine, Christine's sister in law, Christine's brother Roy, Roy's sons B.J. and Roy Jr.
Its complicated to explain all the people connections here, but basically it was a whole herd of friends and relations that all ended up being in Oslo at the same time! Fortunately my friend Flo was able to help do a lot of the preparation and cleaning, and my friend Emily helped keep the young ones out of trouble.
The watermelon keg below played a big part in the day. My sister Heidi gave the idea to me, Rhodri was the handyman that installed the non-leaking faucet, and Flo and I mixed the non-alcoholic punch using the watermelon juice as a base. It worked great - thanks Heidi!
Here is a timer shot of the whole herd of us (l to r): Cindy, Herb, Christine, Phil G., Wendy G., Rhiannon, Rhodri, Tryfan, Lisl, Geir, BJ, Roy Jr., Roy's wife, Roy, and Florence. (Phil H and Emily had left by this time.)

Jumpoline

Our housing association recently solicited donations to buy a new trampoline and we gladly participated. The long-awaited unit finally arrived a few days ago and now Rhiannon wants to go jump at every opportunity, but she calls it the "jumpoline". This is a much better name I think!

8 months old

Here is Tryfan on his 8 month birthday yesterday.

Vintage "Liesel"

While I wait for a Tryfan video to upload, I thought I would post this photo of a boxed wine that I bought the other day. "Boxed wine?", you say, "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Well, maybe it is and maybe it isn't, but it's called 'Liesel Nahe Riesling' so I thought it was worth a try. ('Liesel' is another spelling variation of my name, in case you didn't work that one out). Some boxed wines here have had very good reviews, and with our Solstice party coming up this weekend....it just might come in handy!

Father's Day present

After all the coaching that I have done with this little guy, trying to get him to say "Mama", guess what his first word-like sound was? That's right, it was "Dada". Yesterday (Sunday) he started making a lot of sounds and noises that he had never made before, and then this morning when I finished nursing him in bed, he sat up with a big smile and said "Dada"! That's about as good as it gets for a Father's Day present (even if it was a day late). Here Tryfan is today practicing his new word:

Sommerfest!

Last year we missed the Sommerfest at barnehage because we were traveling, so this year we were determined to be here for it! There are about 75 kids at the barnehage (split into 4 classes), so we were quite a crowd of spectators clustered on top of the slide hill watching. It was a big deal - speakers, microphones, costumes, props, the lot! Rhiannon spotted us right away and was calling out to us as she walked "onstage" wearing the t-shirt that they had decorated themselves. Each shirt had a little tail stapled onto the back - so cute.They sang two songs altogether (the first one was "Hei på deg" - the video in my previous post), then re-enacted the famous tale about 3 billy goats and a troll under a bridge, and then the small kids (1 and 2 yr olds) were finished and ran into the crowd to reunite with their parents. The rest of the performance featured quite a few more skits and songs, and then a graduation ceremony for the 5 (some 6) year olds. Meanwhile, the toddlers scampered and frolicked around the playground. Here are Sofie and Rhiannon up to their usual tricks.
The fun thing to do was to go down the slide backwards - here are Sofie, Kaja Elise and Rhiannon.
We were impressed with the graduation ceremony - each child was called up and presented with a big colorful handmade album containing artwork, photos, notes and their cumulated development chart from their whole time at the barnehage. Then there were awards and gifts for the teachers followed by a couple of speeches, and finally it was time to eat!
Everyone was told to bring their own drinks and salad, but they provided hot dogs, hamburgers and cakes. A truly great Sommerfest!

Hei på deg

Here is a scene from the barnehage's Sommerfest. Rhiannon is in the front and center - she is the one wearing a blue skirt with pink leggings and is always first to slap the ground in this song called "Hei på deg (Hi to you)".

Føderiket turns 1 year

Today was the 1 year anniversary of the Føderiket birth center (where Tryfan was born), so we joined the festivities in downtown Oslo. We gathered by the Parliament building and paraded up Karl Johan's Gate to the Palace, then continued on to Føderiket for refreshments. Tryfan wasn't too happy about anything today and he definitely didn't want to be pushed in the stroller, so I carried him in my trusty sling and pushed the empty stroller with balloons and flags tied to it. I was happy to see my former midwife Anette and meet some of the other mothers who gave birth here. We made a pretty quick getaway though so that we wouldn't be late for Rhiannon's big "Sommerfest" party at barnehage!

Kenny G?

There is so much construction going on around Asker and actually all over Oslo these days. Today I took Tryfan on an early afternoon walk into downtown Asker to get him to sleep in the stroller, and we saw a funny sight: there was a big JCB digger with a few guys wearing orange safety vests and doing construction-like activities, and they had Kenny G blasting from their truck radio. What kind of construction dudes are these to be listening to elevator music while out on the worksite? Geez, Louise. I laughed, though.

And just a quick update on little Tryfan - he is back to his happy self with no fever at all now. Yay! Now if he will only do a bit more sleeping during the nighttime hours, we will be good to go.

On upward wing

Poor little Tryfan has had a fever for a few days now -- its not his teeth, but they probably aren't helping the situation! He has been moaning and whimpering most of the past 3 days and then not sleeping very well at night. So little Tryfs has been just staying close to my bosom and laying low. Its wonderful to do so much cuddling with him because recently he has been wanting to crawl and explore everywhere - not content to nuzzle into Mama's shoulder. During times like these, I remember so vividly the times when I was young and didn't feel well, and I would nuzzle into my Mom's shoulder while she sang to me. It still brings tears to my eyes to recall that warm, safe, loved, drowsy feeling. Usually she sang the poem by Mary Baker Eddy called "Mother's Evening Prayer", and so this is the song I have been singing softly to Tryfan:
O gentle presence, peace and joy and power
O Life divine, that owns each waiting hour,
Thou Love that guards the nestling's faltering flight
Keep Thou my child on upward wing tonight.
Tryfan perked up a bit tonight in the bath and was back to his 'old self', laughing at whatever Rhiannon was doing and chasing floatie things in the water. But I am keeping him "on upward wing" in my thoughts and prayers. I don't even know if I really understand what that phrase is supposed to mean, but I envision being tucked up the place that is at the top (but underneath) of a big fluffy bird's wing...I guess that's the bird's armpit? Great, so I guess that means my idea of God's protection is inside a big fluffy bird's armpit? Nice, Lisl.

Connoitering

Yesterday we went on an outing, first to a fishing store in Drammen and then to the outback to connoiter a potential fishing spot. We brought the double stroller and some provisions, and enjoyed a fine afternoon!Here we are enjoying the sunshine and the cool breeze with our picnic on the shore of a little lakeEverything was fine until the 57 km drive home in the very late afternoon (actually early evening). Tryfan was really unhappy and had a bit of a fever. This carried on through the night and all day today. Poor little guy - this is the first time he has had a fever or has been really unhappy since we met him! We reckon its his teeth (or rather, soon to be teeth) bothering him, but time will tell.

Another day, another beach

Friday was another hot day, so I picked up Rhiannon early again and met my friend Candice and her 3-year-old twins Shaun and Sophia at a different beach. This one (a freshwater lake called Finsrud) was much quieter than Hvalstrand where we were a few days ago. And this one is just a few hundred meters down the road from Rhiannon's barnehage, so I reckon we will become more frequent visitors. We had a nice shady grassy spot to set up camp (with Tryfan in the foreground) with the water not too far off (Rhiannon is in blue and Candice is wearing a black shirt in the photo below).We all sat in the shallow water and played with buckets and shovels for awhile.
As the afternoon wore on, more and more people came in straight from work and we saw a bunch of other familiar faces here!

Crowing

Tryfan has been crowing, cawing and giggling a lot lately. He loves this orange hand!

To the beach

Today Elin and I picked up Rhiannon and Sofie from barnehage at 1:45pm and we all went to the beach! It was packed but we found a nice spot to set up camp. The first thing that Tryfan did (after I covered his pale skin in sunscreen) was get a nice big handful of sand and eat it. Rhiannon and Sofie played in the water and under the jetty, making cakes and so forth.
Tryfan is wearing a cute swimsuit that I got him which has a picture of a crab on the bum and the claws stick out to the sides. Johanne seemed to like looking at it!
Coming over to share some cake with Tryfan and I
I don't think any of us got sunburned, but it was our first day really OUT in the sun, so we took lots of refuge in the shade. Anyway, it was a great way to spend the afternoon. We shall have to do it again sometime soon.

The Risky Biscuit

When we lived in Reno, every Saturday morning we would listen to the "Risky Biscuit Hayseed Hoot" on quite possibly the best (at least one of them) radio station ever, KTHX. I really miss those Saturday mornings of country, bluegrass, Americana, and other string-pickin' good music. And you know we don't get any of that coming out of these Norsk radio stations :-( However, I discovered recently that they finally started broadcasting via the internet. Woohoo!! So you can bet your bottom dollar that we are the house of the Risky Biscuit now as we are catching up on previous radio shows. Yeeeeeeehaaaw!

A good way to start June

We decided to take our canoe, the SS Meerkat, out for a spin this weekend. Since Rhodri and I can't take it by ourselves with the kids in tow, we invited Jamie and Solveig to come along! Today was a gorgeous day in our neck of the woods, so the fjord was very busy with boats and sunbathers. Here is the SS Meerkat (the slightly yellow speck in the middle-left of the photo) with Rhodri and Jamie in it, paddling over to the little peninsula where we would set up our picnic spot.Solveig, Rhiannon and I walked around the little bay and Tryfan was pushed in a stroller along a very stroller-unfriendly path through rocky outcrop and rooty forest. The idea was that Tryfan could sleep in the stroller, but it didn't work out that way! Here is our picnicking spot with the canoe launch site on the Konglungen peninsula in the background.
At first I was grumbling because I realized that I probably wouldn't have a chance to go in the canoe this time and I also hadn't brought any books or magazines to read. But it turned out that there was so much to see from our perch...people swimming in the fjord, water-skiers, other picnickers trying to grill hot dogs in a very windy place, sailboats darting back and forth, and of course our own party in the canoe! So Tryfan and I just hung out on the blanket and watched it all go by. Then the troops joined us for a few nibbles. Happy June!