My little men

Aidan amazes us with his philosophical questions and reflections about the world. He often asks how we know we´re not all dreaming, and what makes each of us, us ("Mommy, why and how am I me?"). Wow! The death of his uncle Scot when he was 3 was a huge event for him, and I think it caused him to more deeply reflect on the meaning of life than he might have done if Scot hadn´t died. But of course he is a sensitive, reflected and very aware little boy, and his deeper nature would have been expressed sooner or later.
He is so much fun to talk to, and I love our conversations together. He really "gets it," both complex concepts and fairly sophisticated feelings and expressions, and it is really amazing to get his questions and feedback on all sorts of things. And poop. A fascinating subject, even for a philosophical six-year-old :)
what a cool and fun kiddo!

Daniel is starting to talk now, and his "Pingu language" is turning into legible speech. He has been talking for the longest time, but we haven´t understood him until now. He had pitch, tone, expression, everything except for clear speech. So we had no real idea of what he was saying. He loves Pingu, a cartoon character who speaks gibberish that sounds like it´s real language. Very cute. But since Daniel is the world´s number 1 Pingu fan, and watches it so often, he started talking Pingu language himself! Hehe!
Daniel loves shovels, and wherever we go, a shovel needs to go with him. Even to bed. Sometimes he insists on sleeping with two shovels, one in each hand. Love it! He´s got gusto, and has an infectious positive energy that people seem to pick up on. He´s a real livewire, and deliciously yummy!

Finnish humor :)

Aidan today after we talked about a very long Finnish word on a box of soy meatballs: "I think they call it Finnish because they say to themselves, wow, so glad I´m finally `Finnished` saying that word!" Hehe :)

Here´s an even longer Finnish word. Can you pronounce it?

http://anina.typepad.com/anina/2006/06/very_long_word__1.html

A toddler´s inner spirit

Amazing toddlers, mine included. I think we underestimate their emotional abilities in our desperate attempts to control the damage they can do to themselves and others.

Scenario: Daniel at the hospital after his surgery. I was very loving and very available, more so than usual. Daniel came over to me, looked me in the eye, said "thank you" and kissed and hugged me with great love and tenderness. It was so special.

Sweet: Daniel calls trains "voogas," and gets really excited and does a happy dance when he sees a train (or anything that resembles one, like an Oslo tram or even a tractor-trailer). He talks so much and we can make out some of what he is saying, but his speech is still unclear. What is clear though is that he has so much he wants to share, and the tones and inflections along with hand movements, make that plain. Yum!

Oh, joy!! I love my boychicks, oh man do I! Daniel is Mr. two-year-old, funny, curious, smart and adventurous. He´s just so much fun to watch and join in with as he discovers the world. He loves Pingu, laughs at Tom and Jerry and other cartoons, and admires big bro so much. Aidan is a gentle and sweet big brother, even when little guy insists on taking everything Aidan has away from him (does not always succeed, mind you!). Daniel so wants to do everything Aidan does, and gets so upset when he can´t do it all in quite the same way. Aidan admires Daniel´s gusto and fearlessness, and they are a sweet and fun team.

Aidan yesterday upon learning that a friend of mine has relationship woes at the moment: "I didn´t know it (relationships) was so hard. I just thought you go to someone you really like, tell them you want to be with them forever, and then you live together always." Hehe. Now wouldn´t that be great if it actually worked out! Love it!

Aidan is a philosophical, smart boy who asks often if we´re really in a dream, and thinks about life and its mysteries at his tender age. He has lots of friends and enjoys playing jokes and being really active. He is really limber and strong and can outdo most other kids in climbing and running and other sports. NOT a boast, just where he´s at :) He loves the outdoors and knows lots about nature, what different flowers are called, how to make a fire outside, and lots more. His Norwegian kindergarten here in Oslo takes the kids on 6 hour long trips into the forest twice a week, even in the wintertime, and they build fires, climb trees, ski, sled and learn about the great big outdoors. I love that he gets that close to nature and feels comfortable in it. He wears his wonderful Norwegian kids outerwear and is (mostly) warm and dry despite freezing temps!

Daniel is a sweet, determined and fun-loving little dude with a great sense of humor. He is quick to smile and laugh, and he loves to learn and take part in everything around him. He talks a whole lot, although we don´t understand much of what he says. But they are real words, even though we don´t understand them yet. They are full of emotion and inflection, and he is full of thoughts and reflections on things. He is slowly speaking more clearly and seems to be very proud when we can understand what he´s saying. He´s going to have his tonsils removed next week after over a year of constant infections, and we hope the surgery and recovery go well. He´s a hearty and strong kid, so I´m sure it will be fine. such a cutie pie!