New Shoes!

Grandma Jean and Grandpa Lee took Lars and Odin shopping for shoes this week, it was an outing for just the four of them (I stayed home and weeded the garden, sweet!).  It's the first time they've been shopping for shoes since we've been able to rely on hand me downs up to this point.  They had a blast, and it's so nice that they have shoes that fit well, and look good!  Lars' feet are gigantic at a size 9C, in comparison, Odin is wearing size 6.5.

Nordstrom knows it's customers!  Aquariums are the COOLEST!

Apparently Lars made it his mission to bring all the sample shoes over for inspection.

Odin's final choice...silver and blue Sauconys

Super fun!

Businesses that take kids into account are so wonderful!

Lars' final choice, blue and black Nikes.

First Plane Trip

My dear friends Molly and Greg live in Napa, CA.  Last summer they had a son named Max and it was high time I got to meet Max and Molly and Greg got to meet my boys.  Nana Lynn came along with us in order to deliver an extra special present for baby Max...a tide pool inspired by the tide pool she made for Lars and Odin.  

Since Lars and Odin aren't two yet they could travel as lap infants which made the trip financially possible.  The travel was hectic and not without hassles and hiccups, but all in all, it went smoothly.  Both on the flights to and from Oakland our seats were changed and though Lynn and I were planning on sitting near each other and on the aisle, we were moved at the last minute and each adult was totally separated from the other adult.  Fortunately both boys did beautifully on both flights.  There was some wiggling from both of them at the last 10 minutes of each flight, but it was pretty easily dealt with.  We relied on lots of snacks and new toys.  Since it is over an hour drive to Napa from Oakland, and we arrived at 5pm on the first day, we stayed in a motel near the Oakland airport the first night.  It was the right choice, but it sure did seem funny to spend the first night of our visit close but not quite visiting with Molly and Greg.

Our visit with Molly, Greg and baby Max was great.  It's been ages since I've seen them, and it was so much fun to share my boys with them and get to know Max.  We had great food, great wine and the boys even got to watch a train go by while eating lunch (the Napa Valley Wine Train goes right behind Molly and Greg's house).  All three boys slept in the same room and it went remarkably well.  There were definitely some more wakings than either Molly or I were used to, but it all could have been a whole lot worse.  Molly and I even got a chance to go out to lunch just the two of us one day...that was really nice.

All in all, we are glad to be home, but it was a great trip.  Thanks to Nana Lynn for making it possible to travel and being such a good travelling partner.  Thanks to Molly, Greg and Max for their hospitality!  Tor is looking forward to visiting next time!

Odin and Mama on the plane to CA

Lars and Mama on the plane home

Swinging at Playground Fantastico

Happy Lars on the swing too

Checking out the little houses at Playground Fantastico, Napa

Molly and Max

Odin had to get in on the photo action!

Updates

I can't really believe it, but it's been more than a month since the last post.  It's time for and update!  Odin and Lars are now 22 months old and we are having so much fun.  Their vocabularies are expanding day by day, though amazingly a lot of their words sound like "ba?" so you really have to pay attention to the context and not just assume that it means "bath?"  They are both getting better at communicating and are so excited when you understand what they are asking for...those grins are some of the best ever!

They both love brushing their teeth and it is the most clear word that both of them say.  Good thing, since we went to the dentist for the first time last week.  The dentist approved of their dental hygiene!  They also copy me when I brush my teeth and are trying to learn how to spit their toothpaste...they've even been known to copy the gagging sound I sometimes make when brushing my tongue.  Ah, little sponges!

Two times now Tor and I have both been away for bedtime.  Grandma Jean and Grandpa Lee did and awesome job getting the boys to bed and we were able to get away and do our two presentations on our trip last summer.  It is so wonderful to have their support and help!  It was also so wonderful to be out as just a couple in the evening!!!

Lars is a big kid and he is fully in 3T clothes.  He is a giant.  Odin is no shrimp himself, but at ~6 lbs. lighter and ~2 inches shorter, it can be difficult to remember that Lars is the one who is off the charts.  The danger with twins is just how easy it is to compare them...it's not fair to either kid!

It's difficult to put into words how quickly things are changing and how wonderful these two little boys are.  I want to keep this blog as a record of their growth and development, but it can be so hard to find the time to do these two amazing boys justice in words.  It also seems like we are having too much fun to find the time to take photos, but these will have to suffice.

Yup!  We're raising Seattle kids...biking and drinking coffee

Trying to create a Leap Day celebration photo,  Lars loved the leaping.  I got tired!

Getting Odin in on the Leap Day photo action...not too successful

We noticed a small hole in our back yard...

When Tor dug down to investigate, the small hole turned into sewer repair.  Lame!

The boys sure thought it was fun to look in on me from the outside!

The steps to the back porch are a fun structure to play on

Odin woke up one morning and it looked like he'd been in fight club the night before.  Luckily he didn't actually sneak out of his crib and get beaten up, he'd just had a bloody nose in his sleep.  Gave this mama a heart attack!

Wise Lars

Little boys love reading!  Especially with Grandparents!

Reading with Grandpa Ralph

Lars at Ballard CC playground.  There are pictures of my sister and I playing on this ship!

Odin on the ship

I think Lars looks like my Uncle Don in this photo.  Maybe it's the black sweatshirt.

Pneumonia

Poor Odin came down with pneumonia.  He's all better now, but on Valentine's day he had a high temperature (somewhere around 104 degrees).  I took him to urgent care that evening and though he seemed to be bouncing back due to the children's ibuprofen kicking in, the pediatrician didn't like the sound of his lungs.  He had a chest x-ray that confirmed the pediatrician's preliminary diagnosis of pneumonia.  Odin was given a prescription for amoxicillan and in 2 days the fever was gone and he has continued to get better.  He's all better now and back to being my smiley kid.  Thank goodness!  It was a really rough week.

He's never this still.  This kid felt awful.

The last time he successfully slept in the living room was when he was a tiny little baby.

Back to being all smiles.  New fun, finger painting!

The Alaska Trip--Presentations

Tor and I have been asked to give presentations on the trip we made to Glacier Bay this summer at both the Corinthian Yacht Club and the Puget Sound Cruising Club (PSCC).  Both meetings are open to the public, we would love to see you there.  The details are below:

Corinthian Yacht club
Friday February 17th
Click here for details

Puget Sound Cruising Club
Friday March 16th
Click here for details

Taking Full Advantage of Beautiful Weather

This weekend we enjoyed a little taste of Spring here in Seattle.  It was sunny and the temperatures were in the mid 50s.  Glorious!  In order to take full advantage of the weather, we went out on the boat for the first time since we got back from our Alaska trip this past September.  I was nervous about how it was going to go with getting the boys out there again as walking and much bigger little boys.  I needn't have worried.  It was fantastic. We easily fell right back into the routines we developed this summer, and the muscle memory needed to contort our bodies into the small spaces of the boat was perfect.  The childproofing we did this summer was even still effective!

On Sunday we motored over to Poulsbo with the plan to stay one night, but the weather was just so good that we decided to make it two nights.  We anchored out and rowed to shore for several excursions and lots of running around the waterfront park.  Poulsbo is a great place to visit by water.  The anchorage has fantastic holding in shallow water, it's easy to row into the dinghy dock, the Sluys' Bakery sells Danish donuts and the Marina Market sells a wonderful variety of black licorice, including the strongly flavored salty Dutch type that I love.  The sunny weather meant that the adults spent several hours reading in the sun while little boys napped down below which was glorious in it's own right.  All in all, we took full advantage of the weather.

We did run into a little hiccup getting home yesterday...we planned to be back at the dock by about noon, but the Locks were closed for maintenance.  Oops.  Fortunately Shilshole Marina is right there, so we tied up to the guest moorage dock for the day and Grandma Jean and Grandpa Lee saved us by delivering our car so we could get the boys home and Tor took the boat through the Locks last night once they opened back up.

Lars and Odin drinking from big people cups.  Odin was a lot more successful.

Rowing into town

Danish Donut and coffee for Mama and cookies for boys, yum!

Do you see Yare anchored out in the background?

Happy little boys!

No need for playground equipment when you have benches!

Are you sleepy Odin?

Getting ready to row back to the boat

Yum!

Lars loves ice cream!

Glacial erratic climbing

These rocks will be climbed for years by these guys!

Playing with trains on the sole

Mama's getting us home

Cute boys!

Grandpa's Birthday

Last week Grandpa Lee had one of those milestone birthdays and we celebrated in grand style last weekend.  It was a full, busy and very fun day.  We started early for breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa, cousins Einar and Soren, Auntie Karla, Uncle Jared and Great Uncle Steve.  Then we all made the trek down to Redondo to visit the small aquarium next to Salty's restaurant.  The aquarium was a big hit with everyone.  Then it was back to Grandma and Grandpa's house and the boys had a lousy nap and the rest of us ate a delicious lunch.  We played hard the rest of the afternoon and then went to check out the new Dick's Drive In in Edmonds, where 10 of us crammed into our van for supper.  All in all it was a fantastic celebration, Happy Birthday Grandpa Lee!

Lars and Papa checking out the touch tank at the Redondo Aquarium.  The sunflower stars were hungry!

Odin and Grandma checking the sunflower stars out too.

"Eh, the aquarium is cool, but these lights are cooler," says Lars

Odin and Lars watching scuba divers

The whole party

Cousin Einar reading Odin a story

Nap time!

Uncle Jared, Einar and Lars playing with slot cars

Grandma and Grandpa and the boys getting ready for dinner at the new Dick's Drive In in Edmonds