Sunday Afternoon To-Do List

This is what I suspect H's to-do list would look like for this afternoon. All this took place between lunch and dinner.

Unwrap neighbor's birthday present

Spill K's water
Get out dish cloth to help Mommy wipe up water I spilled
Empty drawer of dish cloths and towels

Get in favorite cabinet, sit down, and try to open baking soda

Snuggle with Mommy and my favorite blanket to fall asleep.

Wake up, play with stuffed giraffe until Mommy comes to get me.

Help Mommy put my clean clothes away
Help Mommy start a load of laundry

Climb up on table to reach cherry tomatoes Mommy just picked.
Try to taste a cherry tomato, then throw it on the floor.

Unwind Mommy's cloth measuring tape

Play outside on the trampoline

Turn on vacuum cleaner and vacuum part of the kitchen and entryway. Turn it off when I'm done.
Ride the vacuum when Mommy takes over the vacuuming responsibilities. Turn it off with my bum three times in the process.
Climb off and grab Mommy's legs when she gives up on vacuuming for now.

Another Trip to Denmark

Last weekend, we visited Denmark to see Timo's grandmother and parents. It was a low-key trip, which was good, since all of us ended up getting sick. This did not stop the kids from visiting the pool, though, and we took advantage of the access to expose the kids to the water. They swam three times in the two full days we were there.

H hanging out in the pool.

AJ swimming around

The audience

K and H in the pool

K enjoying the pool

We also visited a local dairy where they offer soft-serve ice cream that would delight the epicurean in anyone. AJ chose banana sprinkles on a cone as large as his head. H refuses to eat ice cream, so he missed out on this mouthwatering treat. K missed out, too, since she chose a push-up instead of the soft-serve.

AJ enjoying his massive ice cream cone

It was a sunny day, so we took our ice cream outside to savor in a proper fashion. H warmed up to Timo's parents enough for them to hold him.

Farfar and H

Farfar, Farmor, and H

The dairy where we bought the ice cream

Of course, we were also there to see Timo's grandmother, not just to swim and eat ice cream. She enjoyed seeing the kids play and interact. H let her hold him a bit, and the two of them even had this thing going on where she would shake his hand and say, "Hi," then he would walk off, and return later to do the same thing. It was fun to see them interact.

H and Mormor

Mormor also gave the kids hand-knit hats, and they tried them on for the camera. AJ refused to look at the camera and smile, but that is not so unusual.

Applesauce

Yesterday, I took the kids up the road to pick some apples from a tree that no one seems to own. The apples aren't beautiful, but they are free. They aren't so great to munch on raw, but they work for baking.

Today, I kept my promise to K to teach her how to make applesauce.

I peeled the apples, then K cut them in small pieces and put them in the pot.

We found a friend on one of the apples. :)

H decided to carry the apples around

After she was finished cutting the apples, she poured a little water in the pot.

All ready to go.

Once the apples cooked a little, it was time to add the cinnamon and vanilla sugar.

Adding cinnamon

When the apples were soft enough, she mashed them.

All done!

Now, the final step is to eat it.

H at first refused to try it. Once I forced some in his mouth, he couldn't get enough.

Soccer Camp

Last week K and Timo participated in our local soccer camp -- K as a player, Timo as a coach. The first two days it rained, but that did not deter the Swedes at all. The final day, it was nice enough for me to take the camera and the boys out to the field to capture some of K's experiences.

Tying her shoe

Doing the soccer pose.

I love this action shot

AJ thought it was fun to ride his bike on the grass.

K's turn to play goalie

Taking a break

While K and Timo were occupied with soccer camp, I ran errands (the first day), took the boys to the safari park (the second day), and took the boys on a walk. I tried to help AJ feel like he was doing something special since he really wanted to go to soccer camp as well. Unfortunately for him, they don't have anything for his age group.