The clean up

Last night Daniel´s diaper was off, which is rare in this Nordic atmosphere. He was ambling around when to his surprise, pee happened. Without a sound and after a bit of wonder, off he went to the kitchen. He opened the correct drawer, got out a rag, and went back to the pee spot and wiped it off. With 19 month olds like this, life is easy for mamma!

"Mamma, mamma!"

Daniel was a screamer, up until last week. This week we have a much calmer boy, and a calmer mamma for sure. Why? Well, I noticed that he screamed out of frustration whenever he couldn´t manage to do something he wanted to do, or needed help from one of us bigger people with something. I decided to try a variation of baby signing (which we don´t do), by giving him a word he could use to ask for help. I told him to say "mamma," and decided not to help him (much) when he screamed, but to urge him to say the magic "mamma" word instead. When he screamed, I´d come over and say "say mamma, and I´ll help you." It took a little while, but not long at all and he understood! Now, there´s way less screaming out of pure frustration and annoyance, and it´s blissful! I think he´s generally getting calmer now that he can master some important basic things that require some balance and coordination, and that, too, is a huge help for him. He´s such a smart, funny, sweet and determined little boy!

Daniel´s Navnefest :)

We put together a small party for Daniel, celebrating his name, his arrival and presence in our lives, this past Saturday. It was fun and sweet, and one of those life-affirming events that reminds me of the sweet joys in life and how important it is to remember and commemorate the gifts we all have. Life itself is a gift, and the love and innocence of a child is life´s reminder that the world is a wondrous place.

The guests were many of my fellow students from my master program, a wonderful and warm group of people from around the world, and a few neighbors and close friends including David and Shai and Maiken. Momo (short for Mormor, or grandmother) Tone came with a gorgeous personalized cake and 3 bouquets of roses, plus a sweet child´s measure to hang on the wall and measure Daniel with as he grows. He´s now 83 centimeters tall! Quite tall for his age, any many people think he´s 2 years old though he´s only 18 months.

We ate a vegetarian version of a Nicaraguan soup called Sopa de Albondigas, a recipe I got from a classmate from Nicaragua, and had cheese and crackers on the side. Dad, mom and Momo all said a few words. David, who is studying to be a rabbi, spoke a bit about the name Daniel and the biblical Daniel.

Introducing, Aidan & Daniel!

My sons. I get a wave of happiness writing that little sentence! I have two beautiful children! They are so awesome, and I can hardly believe my luck sometimes! Three great guys (plus a great cat, also a dude :) in my life, is really, really fantastic and a great gift. Family is not something I take for granted, and I treasure my little one. I started a blog about Aidan when he was really little, and got so busy when Daniel was born that I neglected my blogging duties, and have lots of catching up to do now. I´ll do the best I can. No promises. And not because the will is not there. It is. Especially now that I´m done with school (I did a master program here in Oslo - crazy thing to do while still nursing a baby, let me tell ya!). But work and other such mundane things take up lots of time - ugh! I´d rather blog all day and night! So, let the blogging begin!

PS--See my Aidan´s Antics blog if you like :)