Cleaning frenzy

Today was a snowy/sleety/ rainy day and Wales was playing Australia in rugby, so that meant that I got the kids to myself for the afternoon. (Wales won 21-18, by the way!)
We had a good time together though - played outside for about 15 minutes (Rhiannon forgot her gloves so her hands got cold quickly), made some hot chocolate for Rhiannon's first taste of it, read books, did puzzles, watched "101 Dalmatians" (the old school movie version) and played with cleaning equipment. Cleaning equipment? Well, yes. Tryfan is obsessed with hoovers (vacuums) and once he starts hoovering, there is no stopping him that doesn't lead to tears of protest. We got the hoovers out (main one and a dustbuster, just so each child has one to use) late in the afternoon when we ran out of other fun things to do. Anyway, today I observed a new frontier in Tryfan's cleaning skills:
Yes, he is cleaning the inside of the play kitchen's oven. Here's the story: all 3 of us were upstairs - Rhiannon was sitting quietly at the desk playing with ink stamps, I was putting away clothes, and Tryfan was putting things into play cooking pans and moving them from one room to another. Then I saw Tryfan pick up a tissue from the floor in our room (probably fell out of a pocket) and disappear. The house was just a little too quiet several minutes later so I went into Rhiannon's bedroom and this is what I saw: a "deer in the headlights" expression on Tryfan's face as he crouched over reaching his tissue into the back of the oven and wiping vigorously. He definitely takes after his Daddy, who is the most thorough and efficient housecleaner I know (absolutely one of the perks I take advantage of by being married to him)! Let's hope Tryfan keeps honing his skills...

New addition

Oh you beauty! Yes! We finally broke down and bought an espresso machine. It's not as expensive as it looks (for Norway!). We have been importing Peet's coffee for the past 2+ years and our stock has run out so we saved up and brought this little baby home on Monday. Even though the box it came in was written in English, the manual is only in Scandihooligan languages so I had to use my new best friend Google Translate to figure out how to work this beaut. So far so good! It helps me want to get out of bed on these dark mornings...the sun has been waking up around 9am lately, so every little bit of incentive helps.

Home again

We were very sad to leave Llandudno and the rest of the Lewis family, but it is nice to be home. Tryfan was especially happy to be home, I think. I had forgotten to bring his special blankie with us to Wales, and he hadn't slept very well during our entire stay (whether from not having the blankie or because it was a new place or whatever, we will never know!). So when I put him to bed last night, he burrowed his face into the satiny blanket and slept for 12.5 hours straight.

Today we picked up Bentley from our friends' house, and Tryfan was really happy to see him! Tryfs had become increasingly interested in "Thomas", the tabby cat at Nain and Taid's house, while we were there. He had started following the cat around the house and saying "Yeah! Yeah" to Thomas whenever he saw him. Fortunately it appears that Tryfan just loves furry animals - not exclusively cats - because he is delighted to see Bentley in the video below...

Celebrations

Well, this holiday is coming to an end and we are really sad that we have to leave tomorrow. It's been a super great visit and we can't wait to come back! Here is Taid Trefor with the urchins.
Yesterday I turned a year older and we had a celebratory day! I was treated to an afternoon at Bodysgallen Spa and then after the kids were in bed for the evening, we all went out for dinner at our favorite place in town. Here are (l to r around the table): Llinos (Trystan's wife), Nain Beryl, Trystan (Rhodri's brother), Taid Trefor, Steve (Sioned's boyfriend), Rhodri, Sioned (Rhodri's sister) and me.

Good times

Can you tell these two are related? Rhiannon with her Auntie Sions.
We had a quick visit to our friends Bleddyn and Geri's house this evening before dinner so that all of our kids could play together. Ceiro is almost 4 and Meilir just turned 2, so it was a pretty funny session in the playroom with these four. No fights broke out though!

Santa's grotto

This afternoon we went to visit Santa's grotto at a plant nursery in Glan Conwy. There was a lot of build-up to this outing, and I don't know if Rhiannon saw what she expected to see. Santa wasn't there (thankfully!) but we got to peek into his house and admire the elaborate display. Tryfan loved the fake candles in the window and immediately pointed to them, saying "hot" and holding his hand out. For about 10 minutes, he continued to stand there nodding his head and saying "Yeah! Yeah!" to himself and the candles, refusing to leave!
I was pretty impressed with this grotto -- there was a real stream flowing under the little bridge with a water fountain and lots of sparkly lights and decorations. In the lower right of the photo you can see the candles that Tryfan was pointing at. Pretty good for a little plant nursery in a small village!
Rhodri and I have been able to leave the kids with Nain and Auntie Sioned and sometimes Taid (if he is not working) and go do our own things! Bliss! We have done a bit of shopping, played squash, went on a walk up the Vardre (hill near the house that has remnants of an 8th century castle still standing), met up with friends, and even went to see a movie. Rhiannon and Tryfan seem to hugely enjoy their time with their grandparents and Auntie as well, so its a win-win-win all around! Rhiannon is speaking really well in Welsh now. She still throws in the occasional Norwegian word, but her vocabulary has increased by about double just over the past couple of days. It is really cool to hear her 'siarad cymraeg' (speak Welsh).

Cousins reunion

Yesterday we went to Auntie Mary's house (Nain's sister) in Aberystwyth for a family reunion. Rhiannon and Tryfan didn't know they had so many cousins! Most of them are 2nd cousins, but hey - a cousin is a cousin and that's what makes them great.
Here are (l to r): Dewi (almost 3), Gabriel (2), Rhiannon (almost 3), baby Katie (9 weeks), Hannah (14), Sara (9), Tryfan (1) and Iwan (10).
This picture doesn't really convey the chaos that characterized this get-together, and what is not visible is the layer of old school Tonka trucks, tractors and trains that covered the floor in this conservatory playroom. Needless to say, the kids had a really great time and nobody got hurt (despite the mischievious look on Rhiannon's face as she points a power drill towards Tryfan's face with Gabriel cheering her on in the background). That is Dewi in the foreground of the photo.
Anyway, it was a great day with a good amount of driving (2 hours each way). Fortunately, the colors of the trees, clouds and mountains were gorgeous and we had a great time looking out the window and listening to music in the car. Thanks Auntie Mary for organizing this!

Made it to Wales!

Well, considering that it is only a 2 hour flight from Oslo to Manchester, and then a 1 hour drive to North Wales, it sure was hard work traveling with these two! They were good kids the whole time but Tryfan is not one to sit still and he was very squirmy - VERY squirmy - on our travels. Here is a rare moment (about 10 seconds) when they were peacefully munching "boller" (buns) on the floor of the airport while Rhodri waited in line to check in.
Anyway, we made it to Nain and Taid's house and we are so happy to be here. Auntie Sioned came over on Thursday afternoon and we got to meet her puppy Bella.
The Princess-mobile was popular as ever and both urchins love riding it around as well as pushing the other urchin.

Waiting waiting

We are going to Wales on Thursday and we can't wait!!
Now the snow has melted and it has been raining really hard here the past few days. All of us are just antsy for a change of scene. Today Rhiannon was stomping around with a pout because she wanted to go see Nain and Taid right NOW! Not Thursday!
Just another couple of days to go...

Second word!

For the past week, Tryfan has been communicating by pointing urgently to something and saying "asdfdncxjvoiwekslkfj..... YEAH!" (the latter part coming as soon as Rhodri or I touch the item he is pointing at). It is so funny to hear!
But this afternoon he busted out with his second real word. (Actually, I guess if you count "yeah" it is his third real word..) Here is the story:
I had just put dinner in the oven and Tryfan came into the kitchen and touched the [closed] oven door (which is room temperature). I said "Don't touch, Tryfan. That is HOT" and pulled my hand back like I had just touched something hot. Tryfan then turned around, walked over to the fireplace in the living room and pointed at it, then said "HOT". He pronounced it perfectly, and I was so surprised to hear him say it! Such a smart little guy!

Pushing strollers

Good thing we have two strollers in our house because Tryfan has decided he likes pushing one also!

First 'real' word

Tryfan is really trying to say words now. He consistently says "thanks" whenever someone hands him something (okay, it sounds more like "taks", but its the right idea!). So I guess that is his official first word aside from Mama, Dada and Nanon. So cute! But he has been especially whiney and irrational lately, and he has been such a wriggler. He must be about to reach a new stage of development with all of this frustration he has been showing. In the mornings when I try to breastfeed him in our bed, he is just climbing, pinching, pulling and squirming the whole time. Not the blissful cuddle moments that we used to have as we were waking up. Maybe we won't make it til he is 5 years old...
Anyway, these photos are from the annual "Autumn Soup and Art Exhibit" at barnehage which was a couple of days ago.

Clinging to autumn

Well, the snow hasn't melted yet from last week's flurry. We have had temps of ~-5 to 2 deg C (~20-37 deg F) with bright sunshine. We can't complain about this! It is so lovely to have colorful autumn leaves intermingled with snow.

I was dreaming all night of the election results and it was such a relief to wake up and hear the good news. I am so glad that this whole ordeal is over and we can move on. But it made for some interesting discussions...though none of them in person since I haven't met any McCain supporters here in Norway. Anyway, this is the end of my short-lived political blogging...back to our normal world of kids, dogs and changing seasons!

Party party party

This weekend we were busy at Halloween parties on Friday and Saturday, then went to a birthday party Sunday. Fortunately, only Rhiannon went to the Halloween party on Friday with her friend Sofia (the blonde one) and none of the rest of us had to endure the pain and sweaty foreheads of Hoppeloppeland. Rhiannon went in her devil costume and I have no photos of her in it. I can say that the devil outfit is size 18 months and she is wearing size 3T now, so I think the tail was sticking out of her back rather than her bum area. And as promised, she came home caked in dried sweat and full from eating 6 pølser (hotdogs). Anyway, Tryfan went to barnehage dressed as a cow. Its hard to see in this picture, but this outfit is way too small for him, too! And I think the cow ensemble is meant to be worn on a little girl since the sleeves were frilly and there was a nice bow in the front with a flower, but he was a cute little cow :-)
On Saturday we went to a Canadian colleague's house for an afternoon Halloween party. This time Rhiannon was a fairy princess...pullleease don't tell me that the age of princesses is upon us! I hope and pray not! Anyway, she was most excited to wear wings.
Here is the original Lil' Minx, making a swift getaway on a stolen bike at the party. Poor David (whose house we were at and whose bike she stole) was having a rough time sharing toys with so many invaders.
I am still just happy to have found a seasonal pumpkin source! And now I have cooked, pureed and frozen enough pumpkin to survive at least until it is gingerbread season....