Merry Christmas post

We're so busy these days that it's hard to find time to write for the blog. Every day, we have a to-do list, which we cannot seem to complete.

We planned to celebrate the Xmas Eve, according to the tradition in Sweden, but since some friends of ours had already had plan for that night, we changed the dinner to 25th. We shopped at Ikea, but didn't find much other than meatballs and herrings. Unfortunately, they carry most of their own brands nowadays, which tend to be of lower quality than their previous counterparts. Mattias made Johnson's Tempetation and meatballs, and also the Swedish Xmas drinks. An and Chong brought ham and salmon. Yu-Ling and Bernice brought beer and wine, Bond dessert, and Christine holiday cookies and mashed potato. Before and after dinner, people chatted around the kitchen island, watching the kids playing in the family room. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

Let's see what Maya and Luca got for Santa.
Maya:
Barbie (fashion designer)
A big Lego City set (a ship and all kinds of equipments)
a pink Lego set (from An) -- I know that Lego is criticised for making products for girls only but I have to say this set is pretty cute.
Clothes (sweater, leggings, pants)
a RC truck
More cars (she surely likes cars)
doll house ( gift exchange at Madison's house)
a dophin bean bag (from Xinran)
puzzle

Luca:
A big lion which he likes to ride on
a music tractor
some kind of push toy that makes a lot of noise
cars

I think Maya's favorites, other than legos, are Barbie and the little car that can fly. As for Luca he likes to play everything for several minutes then he moves on. He's immensely curious. Everything can be a toy for him. House objects, from food containers to cups to pots to faucets, and a leaf or a small rock on the ground are all fun to play with. 

I got an Apple laptop myself! It looks cool, not to mention that the timing is perfect, just when my old laptop is quitting on me.

RE: First hair cut

                             

We gave Luca his first hair cut today. His hair was getting too long and it was time to trim it down.

Tidbits to remember before I forget to write them down

Maya is still in her old school right by our old house. We decided not to move her since it won’t be that long left until kindergarten starts. The drive is long but the bonus is that Maya and I get lots of time to talk to each other going to and from school. We sing, we talk and sometimes we just enjoy listening to music together.

After farmor and farfar was here Maya is making a more concentrated effort of speaking Swedish. She sings, counts etc in Swedish and when I speak Swedish to her she responds with “Jo” for yes and “Naj” for no. 

How do I answer this one?

“Daddy, why did Anakin chose to be Darth Vader?” One of the boys in school are very much into Star Wars….

I have a feeling this tune will change over time:

“Daddy, daddy, can I plllllllllllllleaaaaase do my homework before dinner??? I don’t want to wait!!”

“Daddy, I want you to hug me because I love you SOOOO much….and Luca and mommy and Noa too.”

Mixed post

Farfar and Farmor left last Wednesday. It was sad to see them leave. When it was time to say goodbye, Maya hid behind me and didn't want to hug Farfar and Farmor. Later, her teachers told us that she was quiet the whole day. :( In the evening, she told us that she was sad and asked to sleep on our bed for the night. Of course, we said yes. The following two nights, with the same excuse, she slept on our bed, too.

Luca has always been a big eater. Today, for lunch, he has two bowls of porriage (rice+ground turkey+carrots), one whole milk yogurt, and half of my salmon+avocado sandwich. I used to give him several bottles of milk a day, but Doctor Rosen said that he should get more balanced nutrition from solid food. So he now drinks milk twice a day, eight ounces each, and has plenty of solid food in between and after. His favorite food are sandwiches with avocado, well-cooked broccoli, all kinds of meat, rice and noodles and pasta, yogurt, and ice cream (just like pappa, Maya and farmor). Really, pretty much everything.

Luca is a fast learner. The first time he was put on a slide (four weeks ago), he climbed up the stairs by himself and when he got to the slide, he just turned and went down with legs first, laughing all the way. He had so much fun that day. So did we. Today, I show him how to drink water from straw (I cannot find his sippy cup). It takes him no time to get it right. Actually he really enjoys it. This progress will make my life a little easier--from now on, I don't have to look everywhere for his sippy cup every day.

Maya's first word, other than mama, pappa and their different variations, is Lumpa - lamp in Swedish. Luca's first word/phrase? "Stopit." He has Maya to thank for it.