Leif and Finn sing the ABCs

At a recent MOMS Club play date, Leif and his fellow car-loving almost-three-year-old friend Finn gave a smashing performance of the ABC song (well, more of a chant), all while jumping vigorously up an down on our living room sofa. Finn just became the latest member of our play group to become a big brother...and somehow almost everybody's little sibling(s) (twins, in one case) have turned out to be boys, as well. Our Boys' Club is growing by leaps and bounds!

Cousins' bell choir

At a recent family gathering, Vivian and Leif collaborated on a melodious bell choir performance using the set of bells Leif received from Erik, Tami, and Vivian for his second birthday. We'll let you know when they're going on tour :) .

Jumperoo

This video was taken a few weeks ago, soon after we borrowed this Jumperoo from a MOMS Club friend. If Bjorn ever gets tired of playing on the floor and starts complaining, a little time in the Jumperoo will usually restore his good mood.

Thanksgiving

We enjoyed a delicious, low-key Thanksgiving celebration over at the House of Brynolf with Grandma and Grandpa B., Auntie Mirja, Erik, Tami, and Vivian, as well as Grandpaw G. and special guest Agnars (a good college friend of Grandpa B.). Gock and Auntie Sarah were out of town, logging a half marathon in Atlanta on Thanksgiving morning before driving up to Aiken to spend the weekend with Jessica and family.

I took advantage of Bjorn's good mood (exceptionally good, even for Mr. Perpetually Cheerful) before the Thanksgiving feast to pass him around for a round-robin photo op.

Aaron did also manage to snap a couple of pics with Leif in them earlier in the day. They capture the spirit of the moment, if nothing else!

Six months old!

We can't believe our little Swedish meatball is already six months old. Happy half birthday, Bjorn!

More play-doh fun

Ummm....I'm not sure that's what those play-doh tools were intended for, Leif, but whatever floats your boat!

Halloween

Leif was still not too into the idea of dressing up for Halloween this year, so we did not take him trick-or-treating, but we did break from our tradition of turning the lights off and pretending we're not home on October 31st. Not wanting to have a bunch of leftover chocolate around the house, we purchased mini packs of gummy bears (which we had already been using as potty rewards for Leif) to hand out to the kids who came to our house. Once Leif got that the big bowl of gummy bears by the front door was only for kids who wore a costume and said, "Trick or treat!", he agreed to try on his Tigger costume from last year, which fortunately still fit him. He still was not crazy about pulling the hood up over his head, but at least having a costume on didn't make him cry the way it did last year! Maybe in 2013 we'll actually make it out trick-or-treating to a few houses other than our own.

Bottlepalooza

Leif's latest toy-that's-not-a-toy is the collection of bottles that I had gotten out and washed in preparation for Bjorn's arrival...and then never used. Since Bjorn is exclusively nursing and the bottles were just taking up space in our crowded kitchen cabinet, I took them out last week and placed them temporarily on the dining room table before looking for a better, more out-of-the-way home for them. Little did I suspect that Leif would quickly adopt them as his favorite plaything of the week! He mainly likes taking the caps off and putting them back on, although he also periodically comments (somewhat mysteriously) that "This one is a lightbulb" or "This one is a flashlight," so some kind of imaginative play is evidently going on, at least in his head.

These photos also commemorate Leif's "Can I use your hair clip, please?" phase. ;) Whenever Grandma B. or I are wearing a barrette or a headband, Leif is eager to borrow it and try it on himself. I think the novelty is finally starting to wear off, but he was quite insistent about us handing over the hair accessories for a while there.

Preparing to launch!

Bjorn has surprised us this past week by getting very interested in pushing up on all fours and rocking back and forth on his knees like he really, REALLY wants to start crawling any day now. So far he's quite good at pivoting around in circles and occasionally scooting a few feet backward, but no forward motion to speak of yet. All I can say is, pleeeease, take your time, kiddo! The fact that 50% of the children I care for on a daily basis are immobile is definitely making my life less complicated right now....Once Bjorn starts moving, it's going to be a whole new ballgame.

Autumn at MN Zoo

We took a family trip out to the Minnesota Zoo in October to enjoy the nice fall weather while it lasts. As often happens, Leif fell asleep on the way there and Bjorn woke up as soon as we arrived, so Aaron and I had a little impromptu photo op with Bjorn in the zoo parking lot while Leif finished his nap in the car. Since the zoo is already on winter hours (closing at 4:00 -- way too early!), we had to wake Leif up in order to have any time left to walk around the zoo grounds and see a few things. We just barely were able to complete the trek out to the little farm at the far end of the zoo, where Leif got to run through a hay maze, climb on a tractor, and feed the goats. I'm a big fan of the zoo in autumn. Too bad the beautiful fall colors and warmish weather can't last a bit longer...say, until March or so. (I'd take December!)

Bouncing baby boy

Our little Bjorn has graduated from being merely a bouncy baby boy to being a *bouncing* baby boy! Now that he's five months old, he's strong and tall enough to enjoy this Jumperoo that we borrowed from a MOMS Club friend. It comes in very handy for 10-15 minute stretches if he's sick of being on his tummy or his back but no one is immediately available to hold him and walk him around. And I'm sure I'll make even more use of it once he starts crawling and I need some new strategies to keep him out of trouble!