Mom Remembers

SOREN:  Part of the reason I choose you to be my actual  mom is not just the things you let me do but also your voice. (I am wondering what the difference is between an actual  mom and the regular type.)

1. New babies are so generous.  He will go to anyone and they are happier for having held him. 2. Part of that is because he is extremely easy to sooth; he just wants to be held on your lap and suck on your finger. 3. I like it best, though, when is in my  lap.  I try to be as generous as he is, but I don't often manage it. 4. There is something about his nose.  I just want to give him eskimo kisses all the time. 5. I love his bright, expressive eyes.  They are very dark blue right now; I wonder if they will go blue like Sven's or brown like Soren's? 6. He usually glances away when he smiles, like he's shy.  It's pretty cute. 7. I love how still and calm Soren is when he is holding Leif. 8. I also love how attentive Carl is to him.  He always  stops and gently interacts with Leif whenever he enters the room. 9. Sven loves on him, too.  He will sit next to me and pat the baby's head, crooning "hi, Leif." 10. He's a little guy. ...

SOREN:  We can use spiritual knowledge as a brick separator in our lives, separating our problems so we can go on our way.

1. His smile makes me smile. 2. He throws diapers in the pail for me. 3. He loves to be read to. 4. He also "reads" to himself during his independent play times. 5. He still loves to snuggle.  I really like it when Scott gets him up in the morning; then he will come find me and snuggle with me. 6. Sometimes he says "mm-hm" instead of "yes".  It's really cute. 7. Also cute: when he says "yes", he hyper-articulates the s sound. 8. Actually, everything he says is really cute.  He's a big talker. 9. He is small for his age.  That makes the talking all the more cute and impressive. 10. It also makes him easy to carry around.  Whenever he asks me to "carry you", I always reply, "I love  to carry you!"  And even with a bran new baby, that's true. 11. He will "sing" (rather tunelessly) and "dance" (rather formlessly) around the living room. 12. He likes to play outside.  And life is certai...

Sven is TWO!  (Look out everybody, here comes big trouble.) This is what we did to celebrate: 1. It was Saturday, so I made our traditional pancake breakfast.  But I shaped the pancakes like letters of the alphabet!  Because that's cool, right?  Sven helped me put in the chocolate chips. 2. After breakfast, I put on Sven's birthday shirt.  It has been sitting, folded and waiting, in his dresser for the past six months.  Today was it's big day to shine!  Once he was dressed, Sven and I practiced telling his age.  "How old are you?"  "Six."  "No!  You're two!" 3. A few days before, Sven helped me pick out a cake.  It was funfetti, of course.  So after breakfast, we mixed it up and put some cupcakes in the oven. Sven was really upset about the whole mixing process.  He seemed to think that everything was ruined.  After an hour in the oven, I started to wonder if maybe he hadn't been right.  The cupcak...

I had intended to keep a log of all Sven's words up to age two, just like we did with Soren.  But, like Carl, Sven's language progressed so quickly that I gave up early.  By around 21 months, I was no longer surprised by any word he said and was probably using five to ten new ones every day.  Now, at two, he is producing multiple clause sentences. He still says "carry you" instead of "carry me" but other than that, his grammar is impressively good.  We have another talker in the family. Anyways, without further ado, here is the list that I maintained, up until it became unfeasible: By 1 year hi, ow, more, all (as in "all done"), mama 12 months dada, please 13 months ball, bye, whee! 14 months up, no, uh-oh, shoe 15 months down, diaper, stick, side (as in "outside"), flower, nose 16 months ears, cat, juice, milk, day (as in "someday"), cake, night (as in "good night"), mine, rice, door, poop, thank...

1. He is friendly and happy when meeting/greeting people. 2. He responds when I talk to him.  He doesn't always like what he hears but I always know he heard me. 3. Sometimes, he responds with a cheerful, "Yes, Mom!" 4. I love to hear him sing. 5. He expresses sincere gratitude without prompting. 6. His lego designs are surprisingly elegant. 7. His new belly button looks great.  He had surgery last month to repair an umbilical hernia and he was a really good sport about it. 8. I appreciate how very attentive he is to baby Leif.  He asks to hold him at least once every day and likes to sooth him when he's unhappy. 9. He is also really sweet with Sven, who is going through an emotionally turbulent time right now.  Carl likes to help his little brothers feel better. 10. I love to watch his pretend play.  Frequently, he and his friends pretend to be lego minifigures.  Carl holds his fingers in a c-shapes in imitation of the minifigure hands. ...