More from the weekend

The Minx wasn't actually as thoroughly bored as she looks here! She was completely transfixed by a little boy who was sitting at the table next to us at breakfast on our last morning at Engo Gard.On our first afternoon here, we went fishing in the fjord and Rhodri caught a sea trout! Of course, Rhiannon was not in the pack once the fishing started...she and I played in the sand and rocks nearby.
Here is the glass-enclosed bath house where we swam one day with Rhodri, Rhiannon and Grandma Debi in the foreground. Rhiannon would have been into the swimming except that the pool was a little too cold for her and the jacuzzi was a little too warm. So she and Rhodri walked around and around the perimeter of the pool holding hands while the rest of us enjoyed the water. On Saturday we had a cycling adventure. We drove to nearby Hvasser and rented bikes but they didn't have a baby seat so Rhodri had to carry her in the pack. We rode up to Lilleskagen beach and then down to the other end of the island to have a picnic on some smooth rocks at another beach.Here is the smooth rock picnic spot. It was a litte bit windy but we all had jackets and the Minx had her 'parkdress' to keep her toasty (windproof breathable coveralls that she plays in at barnehage now that the winter is over).Then we rode bikes back to Hvasser and drove back to Engo Gard in time for Afternoon Tea! Here is the port of Hvasser (its not too big!) with us looking windswept and interesting except the Minx was hiding from the camera.

Pure luxury for the weekend

This weekend we ventured south from Asker only 1.5 hours drive to a place called Engø Gård
http://www.engo.no/english/, which turned out to be such an amazing place to stay! We took a squillion pictures so here in the first installment...
Some of the flowers were in bloom and Rhiannon loved touching them, smelling them, and trying to chase insects around that were crawling inside them.This place is on an island (that you can drive to) and is an old farm that has been converted into luxury accommodation with outstanding meals. It is one of two places in all of Norway that made the ranking for "Relais & Chateaux" (some luxury guidebook thingy). Needless to say, we had a really good time and got very well fed. We also went swimming in the glass enclosed bathhouse, fishing in the fjord (and Rhodri actually caught a sea trout!), went on several lovely walks and had a cycling adventure. Here is our car 'Max' in front of the house that Rhodri, Rhiannon and I stayed in.
We were served a fancy Afternoon Tea
and enjoyed fine dining in the evening
Rhiannon absolutely loved playing in the bedet
She ended up sleeping in this bathroom actually because the toilet was in another small room. This arrangement worked really well and she slept like a log from 7:15pm to 7:15am both nights we stayed here! She did NOT like the huge jacuzzi bath, however.

Back to her roots

Here is our little 'gangsta' getting back to her homie roots! She has been enjoying putting hats on and then taking them off for awhile now, but the Burts Bees diaper ointment cigar was a new one! At barnehage this week, she has had loads of fun on the playground since the sun has been shining all week. Her favorite place to play is the tunnel where she can walk back and forth hiding from her teachers. But when rowdy boys come to play there also, she is quick to leave!

We have also been greatly enjoying having the Grandparents here, although this week has involved more time at work (for Rhodri and I) than we had hoped for. However, we are taking today (Friday) off and heading out of town for the weekend...

Spring already

Spring arrived on Saturday! It snowed on Friday but quickly melted, then Saturday morning was clear and sunny and actually a little bit warm (50 deg F). We played in the backyard right after breakfast. Then we went to Kalvoya island for a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon and played on the fjord beach -- Rhodri fished, Bentley chased sticks in the water and Rhiannon ate rocks (tried to anyway).
We spent the rest of the weekend getting ready for the Grandparents to arrive Sunday afternoon!

Bluntness

I got a haircut yesterday at the hairdressers which is across the road from us under the grocery store. No, I am not going to post a picture of my haircut yet! Instead here is another photo from the archives when Minxie was a mere 5 months old.Anyway, I was writing about the haircut because I found the Hairdresser's bluntness so refreshing. None of this "What would you like to do with your hair today?" that I used to experience in the US. No. This lady said "You have very strange hair - curly in the back and straight on top. I don't like this [grabs a chunk of hair that had grown quite long]. It makes your face do this [pulls her own cheeks down and makes a sour expression]. You need to not have this [grabs chunk of hair again]. I want to cut it all the way around this much [shows me several inches in midair]. Then I will see what your hair does. I think it has its own mind so I want to see the big cut reaction first."

And so she chopped my hair. It looked okay when I was leaving (hair still wet) but now its a different story. Oh well.

Its been a quiet week...

The Minx has had a nasty cough and a fever all week and so we have spent a lot of time at home...3 full days and 2 half days this past work week. One of the days we went out to the little playground behind the house and she got to dig in the snow and dirt. She definitely enjoyed shoveling snow into the bulldozer.
For the most part, she has been acting her normal cheeky self but occasionally she has been in 'burrowing mode', when she just wants to snuggle up and make cooing noises against Rhodri's or my shoulder. Let's hope this week is better - it must be since her Californian grandparents are coming to visit next weekend!

Ladybug boots

Rhiannon got these Ladybug boots for Christmas from her Auntie Sioned and she hasn't been able to wear them because they aren't lined for winter temperatures. However, she gets to wear them around the house! She still needs a little bit of help to get them all the way on but she loves trying to get them on her feet by herself.

Bentley the Musher - part 2

Here is some footage of us skiing in the final stretch at Solli. Rhodri is pulling Rhiannon in front of Bentley and I. Note how slow Bentley is going! I think we "unbounced" him..

Back to Solli

We couldn't resist going back to ski at Solli, so we left the house at 9am this morning (Saturday) -- quite ambitious for us! We ended up doing a big loop out to Sandungen Lake and back a different route. Here is a timer shot of our group:[l to r] Phil, Emily, Rhodri, Henry, Jack (Henry's 9 year old son), Bentley, me and Rhiannon (in the pulk).We stopped for some yummy carrot soup (which Emily had made) and other snacks at a little hut that was slightly heated inside. Here is our little family (Bentley was sniffing around for crumbs on the floor).
This outing was a grand success, although everyone wiped out at least one time except Bentley and Rhiannon. There were quite a few ups and downs, and other skiiers out there coming fast in the opposite direction! We were kind of a chaotic group out on the mountain and managed to "clothesline" 2 other skiiers with Bentley and Jack in the middle of it. Nobody got seriously hurt but we were all completely exhausted by the time we finished -- we ended up skiing about 10 km (6.6 miles)!

High and Nigh

These are Rhiannon's new favorite words!
She says "Hi !" all the time and that word comes in all sorts of different intonations. Sometimes she sort of chirps it and other times it comes in a sing-song voice, but my favorite "Hi" is this really soft and gentle "Hi" that sounds like she is genuinely happy to see someone. She just sounds so sweet and cuddly :-)

But then there is the flip side. The "Nigh" side. Actually it is spelled "Nei" and this is the Norwegian word for "No". She only says "Nei" one way and this is usually accompanied by flailing arms and a sour face... she says "NEI NEI NEI NEI!!!!" really fast and in kind of a gravelly LOUD voice. Needless to say, she must have learned this at barnehage.

Solli skiing adventure

Today we went x-country skiing up at Solli with a group of our friends. Solli is a horse farm/ riding center that also is known for having really good ski trails. Back in August when Rhiannon and I were here visiting with Aunt Kim, we had a company-arranged dinner at Solli but I hadn't been back since. Since Solli is only about 20 minutes drive from our house, I think we will be back soon! We borrowed a "fjellpulken" ("pulk" as it is commonly known) from our neighbors and Rhodri towed Rhiannon in that while Bentley pulled me with his harness. This arrangement actually worked really well! Here we are all saddled up...
Rhiannon has gotten quite used to sleeping in the fresh Norwegian winter air, so she fell asleep as soon as we had her bundled up in the pulk.
It was quite a production getting out the door for this outing, but once we were underway it was really great. I think we may buy this pulk off our neighbor and start going on more outings like this. When we were done skiing, we gathered at the Solli cafe house to have some warm food and beverages in front of the fireplace.
From the far left in the back and going around to the right, we have Emily, me holding Rhiannon, Emily's sister Eifa, Emily's other sister Rebecca, Phil, Leendert, Thomas, Abi, Annike, and Jessica. [Rhodri is taking the photo]

Goodbye February

I cant believe that February is over! I am going back to work full-time starting tomorrow. Mixed feelings, of course. In a way it will be easier because we can all leave the house together in the morning. In this scenario, Rhodri goes to fetch the car and drives up to the front of the house from its parking spot 200 feet away. This doesn't sound like a big deal, but when One is alone to get out of the house and there is a slight downhill which is slippery and One is carrying a squirming Minx while at the same time also carrying a backpack with work computer etc in it AND a handbag with the Minx's food and extra clothes for the day, THEN has to clear some of the snow off of the car before putting the Minx and Stuff into it... you get the picture. Waaay easier when Husband goes to get the car warmed up, free of snow, and delivered to the doorstep and we both carry all the Stuff + the Minx to the car!
Here is the Minx and Rhodri sharing a blueberry shake. Can you tell she liked it? The background is the view out our living room windows - you can even make out the local ski slope here in Asker which is lit up to the right above Rhiannon's head. The slopes are only open at night 4-10pm and on the weekends all day.

Our car, at last

Finally 3 months after the rest of our stuff arrived, we are reunited with 'Max' our car! He has a really cute Norwegian license plate now and we think he is enjoying all this snow.
Its been snowing non-stop for about a week now! We went cross-country skiing on Saturday and then Sunday we mostly stayed around home but went for a really nice walk through some fields by our house. Here is Bentley running superfast through deep snow.I also made a new movie of Bentley the Musher which I will put in the place of the previous movie with that post title.

Battle scars

Can you see the two crescent moons on Rhiannon's upper cheek? And if you look closely you can also see a lip-colored scratch just above her lip by her middle finger. These are her battle scars from her first full week at the barnehage.
So sad! The scratch above her lip is a mystery - probably the work of a zipper or a fingernail - but the crescent moons are clearly bite marks! A little boy (a known biter) did the deed unprovoked on Friday. Yes there were a lot of tears from our little Minx and I never found out exactly what happened to the little biter boy. Its probably not the last time that something like this happens, so her Daddy is already teaching her self-defense tactics. She seems to enjoy head-butting...

Second day at barnehage

Friday was Rhiannon's second day at barnehage but her first day without me there. I wasn't too worried since Thursday she ignored me the whole time. However, Friday was Carnival Day so all the kids were dressed up in costumes.
There were a whole lot of princesses and fairies! But there were also pirates, dragons, puppies and Winnie-the-Pooh characters. Our little Minx came in the only near-costume we had so she was a little cow. So cute! I really wish I had the camera with me when Rhodri and I dropped her off in the morning. We went into the 1-2 year old room and all the other kids swarmed around her, touching her hair and patting her back. She is quite a bit smaller than everyone else and it was just too cute. I think she was overwhelmed at first but then she enjoyed all the attention. Her second day was quite a long one since we didnt pick her up until 4:30pm (dropped her off at 9:30am) but the reports were that she was happy all day.

First day at barnehage

Today was Rhiannon's first day at the barnehage (pronounced "barnuh-hogguh", basically a nursery school that is for kids 1-5 years old). I was a bit worried that she would be overwhelmed and clingy but not this gal! She wanted to get down and walk around as soon as we got in the door, and she made her way down the corridor smiling her brilliant little smile at anyone who would look her way. Here she is ready for the big day...When we walked into the 1-2 year olds room, most of the kids had just diapers on and nothing else! It turns out that today was 'bath day' where the kids go play in a plastic pool 3 at a time. This happens once a month or so. Rhiannon opted out of the bath fun, but she settled right into playing with the other kids. There are 6 other 1-year-olds, but Rhiannon is the youngest.
Here she is in action! At lunchtime, everyone sat around the table and the Lunch Lady brought in a tray of open-faced sandwiches. Then before eating, everyone sang a song which turned out to translate to "thanks to the cows for giving us milk to drink" and then clapped and lunged for the goods!

Bentley the Musher

Here is Bentley pulling me through the snow (mushing) -- not the best quality video so hopefully we will get another chance to do this again soon! Also this was towards the end of the day so he isn't running as crazily as he was a bit earlier.

Naptime practice

Rhiannon is going to start at the barnehage this week. When its naptime at the barnehage, all the kids are put in their prams (which are parked outside) and snuggle inside their sleeping bags in the fresh air. Since our stroller doesnt recline all the way, we had to get a new stroller that does. Fortunately one of our neighbors lent us hers for as long as we need so we dont have to buy one! However, we did need to practice getting Rhiannon to sleep in it, so we strolled around the fjord with Bentley diving in the icy water to chase ducks. That was on Saturday. On Sunday we went cross country skiing and even Bentley got to join the fun! I will post a video of us 'mushing' soon.

Friday fun and a brush with royalty

Today Rhiannon's dagmamma had the day off so that meant that I got the day off as well! We had some friends over for a "coffee morning" and it was so nice to play around the house with the kids. Here Rhiannon is about to pounce on poor Oliver, who is NOT impressed!

We also found out this week that the playgroup that we go to sometimes on Tuesday mornings at the barnehage next door to our house is the same one that the Norwegian Prince's son goes to! Apparently he was there last Tuesday when we were but I didn't recognize him and I didn't know to expect him at that point. I think its so great that the Norwegian royalty are out sharing toys and singing children's songs with commoners. Of course, it was the Nanny that took little Magnus to the playgroup rather than the Prince or Princess, but there you go.

struggling with a boot

Rhiannon loves her purple velcro boots! She loves having her foot go into them and she loves opening and closing the velcro. It doesnt go so well when she tries to do it on her own...

Last weekend downtown Oslo

I meant to post these pictures right away... last Saturday was gorgeous and sunny and not terribly cold so we met our friends Henry and Elianne and their two kids down at Vigeland Sculpture park. Although Bentley is on a leash here, he spent most of the day scampering around the sculptures and snow with all the other dogs that were off leash.

Miracle of miracles!

This is the view from the little playground behind our house! That is Oslo fjord in the background through the winter trees. It is such a gorgeous place to be at sunrise, which usually seems to coincide with Rhiannon's morning nap and my opportunity to take Bentley out for his morning constitutional and a bit of a scamper! Of course, none of this has anything to do with my subject about miracles... I just wanted to share this beautiful view that I enjoy every morning.

The miracle news is that a place for Rhiannon opened up at the barnehage right by our office in Asker! She can start immediately (although we have opted to wait until Feb 15th) and it is all because one of the other Schlumberger families decided to have their child be at home instead of in nursery school. Hurray!!! It is almost too good to be true. I have been stressing and worrying about this for MONTHS, especially because I am expected to go back to work fulltime on April 1st and it would have been such a nightmare to drive back and forth to Sandvika twice a day during traffic times. I had been really discouraged because the whole process to get into a barnehage is strange and convoluted and the waiting lists are really long...everyone I talked to had a different thing to say. Terrible. But now because of this family that pulled out, the Schlumberger-allocated slot went to someone of Schlumberger's choosing! And because I have been SUCH a squeaky wheel to the poor ladies in the Personnel Dept, there was no question that we were the ones for the slot. I feel like a 100 lb burden has just been lifted off my shoulders :-)

Clapping along with Toby

Our friend Rosie in San Diego sent us this video of her son Toby clapping his hands. Rhiannon and I watched it together and she was clapping right along! I think she must recognize her old pal Toby. Look for when she points to the screen and says "Baby"!

A very late night

Saturday night, Rhodri and I went to a formal-dress evening for work at a fancy hotel in downtown Oslo. We didn't get home until 3:30am! It was quite a fun night with good food, wine and entertainment but I was ready to call it a night around 1am. We had our 16-year-old neighbor babysat for us and of course Rhiannon was asleep the whole time anyway so that she could wake up bright and bushy-tailed at 6am! Luckily (for me), it was Rhodri's turn this morning to get up with her while I got to sleep in for a few more hours. We had a nice slow day otherwise and it even snowed a couple more inches today. Then this afternoon, we were invited to one of our neighbors house for coffee and cakes at 5pm and that was really nice.

Morning in the crib

Lately I haven't been hearing Rhiannon wake up from her morning nap. One day recently I went in to see if she was still sleeping after 1.5 hours and this is what I found...

Our first dinner party

...But it was for brunch, not dinner. We figured it still counted as a dinner party because all 10 of us sat around the dining table.
[l to r]: Rhiannon, Rhodri, Tamara, Eithne, Laura, Emily, Phil, Magnus and Billy (only a sliver of his face and his waving hand unfortunately).
Our friends the Heelans came over this morning an hour earlier than we expected! This was because of an Irish-American communication error...Phil said "We will call at 10am" and I thought he meant he would telephone me at 10am to confirm they were coming, but he meant to "call by" at 10! So anyway, it was a happy if a bit chaotic scene with Phil, girlfriend Emily (who was my rescuer on the Dec 10th unlucky day), brother Billy Heelan, Billy's girlfriend Tamara, mother Eithne Heelan and sister Laura Heelan. There was also a friend Magnus who was taking them all skiing after the meal.
Rhiannon really liked playing with Laura

Lots of snow at last

Finally we had a good dumping of snow here...it snowed all day Saturday and all day today as well. Yay! Up until now we have had just a few inches at a time and then the snow would melt the next few days. Rhodri came home on Saturday night so we got to enjoy the snow all together today. One of our neighbors gave us this Rhiannon-sized sled so we pulled her around in it. She liked it at first but when we got to a place where the snow and wind was going straight into her face, it wasnt so fun...
Rhodri tried to pull her through some deeper snow but she toppled over when the sled went into his footprints. It wasnt the last time this day that she got a face full of snow! Poor thing.
Bentley was a crazed and bounding snow dog. He jumps really high in the air trying to catch snowballs being thrown over his head

Little handyman girl

In the mornings, I get Rhiannon dressed for the day and then I leave her to play in her room or out in the office area at the top of the stairs while I get dressed. Today she was a busy little Minx, first pulling all the reachable books off the bookshelf and then she found her 'suitcase', hooked her thumb through her overalls, and walked out to find me! Doesnt she look like a little handyman Rhodri in her Carhartt overalls? A true Daddy's girl...too bad he wasn't here to enjoy it. I think the handyman persona soaked into her skin because this evening before bathtime she discovered a wood hammer and set about hammering everything in sight. Fortunately I stopped her before she did too much damage to Bentley's nose.

No time for soft toys

I keep trying to introduce a "lovey" or a snuggly stuffed animal or something else that is soft and cuddly for the Minx, and it is a No Go! She wrinkles up her face and pushes it away. And its not like I just started this campaign - I have been trying since Day 1 to no avail. She seems to just be happier dragging around a box full of stuff and knocking over her rolling horsie to examine the wheels. Today it looked like she was trying to change the tire on the horse! Her other favorite activities these days include pulling CDs out of the CD shelf and pulling apart anything that can be pulled apart. She also has been quite cuddly lately -- nuzzling her head into Bentley's fur or into Rhodri's or my shoulder and then patting us on the back and cooing.

Recap

Just thought I would quickly recap where we are in terms of recent posts...
- Both Rhiannon and I are feeling better (yay!).
- We are still looking for a dagmamma and/or trying to get Rhiannon into a barnehage in Asker. The commute to Sandvika isn't that fun, even though it is only really 15-20 min each way. All of my tags have been pulled from the posters I made, but nobody has phoned me yet.
- Rhodri has been traveling way too much - Dubai last week and now in Gibralter until next weekend. We miss him.
- I am working half-time and enjoying it (mostly) so far
- Bentley has settled in and is really enjoying the snow! He frolicks in it and runs really fast through deep patches
- We are looking forward to having visitors one of these days. So far we have late March-early April booked for the Grandparents, but otherwise the schedule is open. We would love to see some familiar faces!

Cool mittens

Rhiannon got these cool mittens for her birthday from a co-worker of ours. It has been hard to put mittens on her until we got these. She loves having her hands inside them.

Under the weather

Booooo
Rhiannon and I have both been feeling under the weather. No exciting pictures to share, unless there is a demand to see some close up photos of green boogers! Rhiannon's spirit has stayed mostly the same though.... She would cough, making a terrible awful sound and I would make a soothing "oooh poor you" sound in response, then her eyes would twinkle and she would say "doobie Doobie DOOBIE" and smile mischieviously! So I have not been too worried.

Now thats more like it

Finally some snow! It snowed about 1 inch on Friday night and here is the view from the kitchen window on Saturday morning. Yay! Of course we went for a big walk down an unknown (to us) public footpath and discovered a new neighborhood with lovely snow-covered trees and hills. Everything is so beautiful under a fresh coat of snow. Here is our communal soccer pitch where Bentley plays with his doggie friends.

Back at home

We are back home in Asker now. It was wonderful travelling on New Years Day - the airports and trains and roads were empty. Although it was hard to leave Wales, I think we are all happy to be home...especially since there were some packages waiting for us here!
Below, Rhiannon digs through a Birthday/ Christmas care package from her 'homies' back in San Diego. She was reaaally excited by the white styrofoam peanuts that crackle when she tried to eat them.
One of her favorite 'toys' from the package is an orange sweater! She dragged it around with her for the rest of the afternoon and kept pretending that the sleeves were mobile phones. "Hello?!" Rhiannon talks to a sleeve