A conversation with Bjorn

 At 7 1/2 months old, Bjorn can be quite chatty when he is in a good mood!

A conversation with Leif

Every now and again, I try to get a video of Leif where he actually says more than three words so I can have some documentation of how his language skills are developing over time. This video was taken in early December, when Leif was 2 years and 9 months old. Among other things, we chatted about Fraser School, where he has been attending preschool two mornings a week since September. He loves it there!

Christmas video

We just got around to loading our videos from the past couple months onto our computer, so it's high time to post a few :-) . Here's one from Christmas Day out in Cottage Grove, featuring Bjorn getting a bow stuck on his head (the sorry fate of many babies on their first Christmas, I imagine) and Leif oh-so-carefully balancing a Matchbox car on the branches of the Christmas tree.

Merry two weeks and two days after Christmas, everyone!

Legoland

During the cold winter months, the Mall of America has become a common destination for Aaron and Leif on weekend mornings when they are in search of a warm place to spend some time while I enjoy a bit of peace and quiet (or freelance work time...) at home and Bjorn naps. Leif particularly likes playing with the blocks at Legoland -- and, lucky for Aaron, he doesn't seem to have quite caught on yet to the fact that it is in fact a store, and his role as a preschooler is supposed to be wheedling for Daddy to buy him something before they leave. For now, at least, he's content to play for half an hour or so building a tall, tall, tall, tall tower.

Bjorn meeting Great-Grandma B.

 

As I mentioned in the Christmas post, we were especially happy that Leif and Bjorn's Great-Grandma B. (Thelma) was able to travel to Minneapolis to spend the holidays at the House of Brynolf once again. Back in June 2012, Thelma celebrated her 95th birthday with a festive gathering in Buffalo, NY, of her four sons and most of their spouses, children, and grandchildren, but unfortunately we were not able to make the trip since Bjorn was just six weeks old at the time. Bjorn and Thelma hit it off famously at Christmas, and Leif (as well as the rest of us) enjoyed seeing his Great-Grandma again!

Christmas

We had an enjoyable Christmas week featuring our usual celebrations: Christmas Eve with the B. side of the family and Christmas Day (which is also Granny G.'s birthday) with the G. clan. We were very happy to have Leif and Bjorn's Great-Grandma B. in town (visiting from Buffalo, NY) once again this year, as well as Great-Uncle Timo from northern Minnesota. Leif was not as excited as I thought he would be about opening presents, although after they were open he did have a great time playing with all his new toys, as well as some of Bjorn's. Bjorn was his usual charming and contented self throughout the festivities, despite the fact that all he got to eat while the rest of us were feasting for two days straight were some Baby Mum-Mum rice crackers and a couple bowls of *mouthwatering* baby food, spoon fed to him by yours truly. As for me, I learned how hard it is to remember (or find the time, or a free hand) to take many pictures or videos in the midst of the celebration with two youngsters to attend to!

Here are a couple pictures of the boys wearing their seasonal duds that I took during calmer moments at home, as well as two that my parents took during the Christmas Eve smorgasbord at their house. I'll try to do a better job as our family photodocumentarian next Christmas! (Or maybe I'll pass the baton to Aaron by then, since Santa brought him a new camera this year....)

Leif ~ 2 years, 10 months

Bjorn ~ 7 months

Leif, Aaron and Bjorn at the House of Brynolf on Christmas Eve

Amy getting Bjorn ready to enjoy his baby Christmas Eve smorgasbord

Like brother, like brother (6 months old)

Bjorn at six months:

Leif at six months: