Christmas news!

Nicholas has decided he knows how to walk -- just in time for Christmas!!! For several weeks he's been teetering along, taking a few steps here and there but then sitting down the moment he realized he wasn't holding onto anything. Something must have happened last weekend, though, that convinced him that walking should be the preferred mode of transport. Now he's waddling around on his own quite freely, although any distraction is likely to (unintentionally) end up with him tipping over.

He's also learned how to ride his car and his bike (and get on and off them by himself). No wall, no window, no fireplace can get in this kids way!

Being creative as he is, he uses some non-traditional riding styles.

To celebrate the holidays (or maybe it was to celebrate their upcoming freedom from school?), Lucas's class put on a series of three plays. Lucas played one hungry, oh-so-cool wolf in "The Boy Who Cried Wolf". He must be up for a Tony Award!

Matthew and Lucas recently took part in their first swim meet. Look at Matthew on the block in lane 3... looks like he's ready for the Olympics!

December's been a very busy month for us...

and we've been happy to share it with Gitte, Susanne and Jesper, who all came up from Denmark to visit! All of the boys enjoyed being spoiled with all of the extra attention, and we adults enjoyed good conversation and a lot of laughter.

Matt's school crossing guard...

Welcomes the audience to the annual Christmas concert

Getting in the Christmas spirit

In loving memory...

of my Aunt Margie, whose departure from our midst has left this world a bit quieter, but still full of the light and laughter she shared with everyone around her.

Thankfully homesick

If there's one day a year that I am truly homesick, it is today. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and one that means so much to me. I think of it as a chance to sit back and take stock of my life and all of the wonderful blessings that fill it.

Being away from the US today means that I will miss an amazing, stuff-myself-to the-brim meal made lovingly by my Grandpa. I will miss the traditional pass-the-phone-around calls to family in California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio and Georgia. But most of all, I will miss the chance to tell those members of my family who are not in Sweden today how thankful I am to have each and every one of them in my life.

We will celebrate Thanksgiving on Saturday with Eva and Steve and their kids, American-Swedish friends of ours. I am so happy that we have the chance to hang out with them, share some turkey, laughter and smiles and I'm really looking forward to it!

The past week has been busy -- Nicholas took his first unassisted steps (he can take five now before he tips over), he began insisting that he can feed himself, all three boys were sick, and Nicholas had his first haircut (which left him looking like a completely different little boy -- not exactly our intention). Over the weekend we got over two feet of snow. Unfortunately, it's melting today, but I wanted to share some pictures of it. In fact, here is a bunch of pictures and one cute little movie.

Happy Turkey Day!

Winter begins

The view from our porch at dusk

Caught in the act

You mean I'm not allowed to make my own chocolate milk?

My famous boys

As previously mentioned, Matthew and Lucas took part in a presidential debate and mock election at school earlier this week. Those events were filmed by the Swedish National Television network (SVT) and were covered tonight in the children's newscast.

You can see an excerpt of it here (some of the people are speaking Swedish). Watch for Matthew and Lucas, who are handling the vote count.

A moment in history

Nicholas closely watching the news -- Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States!!!!!

VOTE!

When I was a little girl, I used to think Election Day was held on November 4 just because it was my birthday. I didn't realize at the time that the day shifts from year to year or that it had nothing whatsoever to do with my birthday, despite the fact that I was indeed a very special little girl.

Today, though, being a bit wiser, I just want to say that even if you are busy celebrating my birthday, I hope that each and every one of you who is able to vote in the US election heads to the polls.

A few weeks ago I gave a presentation for Matthew's class about the election and the US electoral system. The students asked a bunch of questions that really gave food for thought. These 10 and 11 year olds were concerned with issues like:

Do you think that George Bush is responsible for all the banks falling apart?

What will the candidates do about the war in Iraq?

Why doesn't every American child have a right to health care and a good education?

Yes, I have sent in my absentee ballot. Yes, Matthew and Lucas will both take part in a "presidential debate" and vote in a mock election at school today, even though they attend a Swedish school.

VOTE!

***********

Lucas and his buddy Anton went trick-or-treating Friday and had a great time. Despite the snow and freezing temperatures, they came back with bags filled with candy, popcorn and potato chips. Matthew wasn't able to join them because he was in Denmark vacationing with Steen's parents.



Nick and I hung out at home handing out candy and trying to scare children with my great impersonation of a witch. Some say I look like a witch whether it's Halloween or not.




On Saturday, Matthew and Lucas took part in their first tennis tournament. Both of them did great considering they've only been playing for a few months. Matthew won 2 games and lost 3, while Lucas won 4 and tied 1.

On Sunday, Helena, Anders, and Eva -- and their kids -- came over to celebrate Nicholas's birthday.

Here's a bonus photo of Nicholas playing with the garage he got from his Bedstemor and Bedstefar for his birthday. He adores it!

Police!

Lucas and his friend Milo as the backbone of the Swedish police.

366 days

On October 16, our little boy turned one. One! The year that has been passed has been filled with joy, wonder and amazement -- starting with his bursting onto the scene, screaming his lungs out for hours and hours as if to fill the air with his presence. I know no better way of describing that moment than this:

He was actual! An actual baby, pulled from the dream of my body into the shocking wakefulness of earthly life.

Elizabeth McCracken

Since the midwife placed him on my belly, he has truly been bundle of joy for all that encounter him. Until Nicholas was born, all of us were nervous about what changes a new baby would to our family. But once he came along, we all immediately had a sense that "of course Nicholas belongs here". He has always belonged here. Until he arrived, though, we just didn't know it.


Imagine what an experience that first year must be for a baby... the first breath, first food, first smile. In fact, in his first year, Nicholas has experienced thousands of "firsts" and achieved many of them on his own. Meeting his brothers, crawling, burping, banging his head with Lego blocks... The list is endless. I feel so lucky to have been able to be home with him this year, to watch him grow and learn and become the loving, cuddly little burst of energy that he is today.

Mom and Dad were here to celebrate that special day with us, and we were so happy to spend a week with them. Nicholas particularly loved his new Radio Flyer bike, which he can already move on his own and is daily crashing into the walls (only when his daddy isn't home, of course).


For his birthday, we made an egg-less, milk-less chocolate cake, which actually tasted quite good. Nicholas seemed to enjoy it....



Here are just a few of our favorite photos from Nicholas's first year.

Special moments

Enjoying a precious moment with grandma