Brothers

Although it is December...we've been having pretty warm weather and the boys have been enjoying afternoons outside.  Odin comes home from Tia's or Lynna's (the lovely mommas that watch him while Momma Celia works) and we head out to the backyard.  Momma Celia picks up dog poop (did we mention that we are dog-sitting Uncle Brandon's and Aunt Mary's two dogs PLUS Grandma Fern's dog...three dogs make a lot of poop...) but anyway, the kids...yes, they PLAY and PLAY!  Odin especially likes to push Bjorn on the tractor.  Bjorn enjoys it usually, unless...

Odin goes too fast!  And that makes Bjorn a little nervous.

When not playing outside in our backyard, we can often be found at an area park.  

Ah, nothing better than a Grandma to sleep on...

Hanukkah Party

Grandma Fern has started a new tradition...for the second year in a row she has hosted a Hanukkah party for the kids.  Of course everyone had FUN!

Odin, Demetrius, Lucus, Delta and Lizza play candyland together.

Pappa Luke, Delta and Lizzie play music while the boys dance.  Check out Odin's butt shake!

And Demetrius has got some good grovin' moves too! Lucus is focused on a shooting toy:-)

Delta gave us a violin concert and Bjorn was mesmerized!

A tired Bjorn sleeps on Momma Hope.

Before the party, we played in the garden.  Bjorn really digs the garden and getting dirty.

Grandma Fern also does "school" for Odin a couple of mornings a week.  Here she's showing both boys how to add and subtract using the calculator and the abacus.

Hey! I'm Talking!

Björn shocked Momma this morning by saying "HOT!"  Momma and Odin baked coconut flour muffins this morning and while she was holding Björn she opened the oven door to check to see if they were done.  He responded by saying "HOT" when the hot air wafted out of the oven.

Yesterday, Grandma Fern, told the dogs to "GO LAY DOWN!"  Björn repeated by pointing at the dogs and saying "G."  Which we interpreted as either he was saying go lay down too or he thinks the dogs are a G:-)

AND, yesterday he took 32 steps!

This is a great picture titled "One hand on the saw, One hand in the raisin box!"  :)

Wreath Decorating Party

This past weekend we had our annual wreath decorating party.  As always it was a blast and the kids had fun!  Bjorn got lots of attention and enjoyed seeing all the kids play.  BUT, his favorite was the snack table...he crawled up onto a chair and started helping himself to carrots, apples, and hummus.

 He even made a pretty design with carrots IN the hummus bowl.  Thankfully most folks were finished eating by this time!

 Here are all the kids (and momma's) decorating.

 And later in the night three momma's hung around to enjoy fabulous companionship.

 In the morning Odin couldn't wait to show off the wreath he decorated.

Bjorn is walking...almost

This past T-day holiday Bjorn took 2 steps!!  He hasn't walked much more, but we think really soon he'll be off!  Bjorn is also really enjoying feeding himself.  Today he grabbed a cup and put it to his mouth and drank all by himself.  He's such a cute eater (and a good one too!).  He loves all food and if he sees you eating, he wants a taste!

Today mom caught Bjorn eating fermented beets and sauerkraut on camera...such sophisticated tastes!  He also ate liver pate, strawberries and butternut squash soup today.

Bjorn is also getting very good at communicating! He says Momma, but more than talking he points to what he wants or pushes his way to what he wants and if Dad is giving Odin too much attention he tries to push Odin off Dad's lap!

T-Day

We spent Thanksgiving at the lake house with our friends Hope and Luke and their children Delta and Demetrius.  It was a great time.  The kids played morning till night.  We did some crafts and we spent a day at the forest land.

Bjorn in the middle between buddies Odin and Demetrius.

Climbing a special tree...Delta, Demetrius and Odin see how high they can go!

Luke, Delta and Demetrius enjoying the warm fall day.

Our Thanksgiving feast!!

Halloween and Fall leaves

Yes, it's Fall here in NC, and that means LEAVES to ride your bike through!!

 Odin would back way up with his bike, get "tremendous" speed and then go fast through the leaves!

 Before Halloween we went to a corn maze at a local farm.  They had a huge slide that got the kids going really fast, lots of fun!

 Odin and I went on the "cow-ride" which was basically some black and white painted barrels being pulled behind a tractor around the field.  Fun!

Björn had a lot of fun too!  He especially liked the "spider web" for climbing on.   

 Luckily there weren't many big kids jumping on the web or Björn would have been bounced all over the place!

 Then Halloween night, Odin and Björn went trick-or-treating with their friend Maya (and parents).  Odin's pumpkin was pretty full with candy by the end of the night!

 Maya was a black widow spider, it went well with Odin's Batman.  Björn was "Super-Björn" wearing a superman outfit (no pictures), but he slept most of the time we were trick-or-treating.

Dad's favorite stop was the house that had 2 kegs of home-brew beer outside for the parents!  (and candy for the kids)

Odin enjoyed candy for 2 days and then we negotiated a trade... all remaining Halloween candy in exchange for a toy of his choice from the toy store.  He had his eye on a monster-truck for a while now...so he thought about it, said no, then came back to us 45 minutes later and said he was ready to trade in his candy for the monster truck!  What a big boy!

Almost walking!!!

Björn is getting so close to walking.  Yesterday he discovered how much fun it can be pushing a cart!

 Walking so fast the picture is blurred!

Swings and Popsicles

Just some super cute pics...Odin loves to swing and he can get really high!!!  He always makes a funny face for pictures.

 Bjorn, loves to swing too!

This morning Odin requested a popsicle for breakfast, so Momma made him an OJ popsicle.  He insisted that we make one for Bjorn too.

I think they both enjoyed themselves!

Odin and Maya

Odin spends a lot of time with a very close friend, Maya.  Her Momma, Tia, watches Odin 3 days a week while Momma works.  And boy do Odin and Maya have fun!!

They hike,

 ride 4-wheelers,

play dress-up,

 and once a week Momma Tia gives them both a swimming lesson!

Good times...

In the afternoon...

Sometimes Odin is so tired after playing all day he still naps...and that allows Momma...

 to cook dinner with Bjorn!

And sometimes they BOTH nap together!  But this is VERY RARE!

 Of late, Odin has been enjoying a strange breakfast...TACOS!

 Yes, indeed, tacos!

Visit from Grandma Cathy

This past weekend we got a very special visit from Grandma Cathy.  She spent the weekend with us at the lake house and you betcha...we had fun!  We took many walks, did some biking (Odin demonstrated tremendous speed going down his favorite hill), and read a lot!  Grandma Cathy read an entire novel (yup, book with chapters and very few pictures) to Odin.  She also gave Björn lots of cuddles and squeezes.

Here they are hanging out on the dock in the morning for some coffee.

Reading the novel!

Odin and Björn continue to enjoy each other.  In this picture they are playing and having fun, but you may notice Odin is about to steal a toy from Björn.  The next second, Björn screams at Odin!

Just like Odin at this age, Björn LOVES to drive a car...

Just a cute picture of Björn and Momma...