Family Madsen Blog: Summer in the USA

13 playgrounds, 14 swim diapers, 30 days and 29 naps. 15 peanut butter sandwiches, 14 restaurants, 4 trips to Subway.

This about sums up our trip to the USA. We had an absolutely wonderful time visting family and friends in Minnesota and Florida. The weather was quite warm, but we also experienced a week or so of beautiful Minnesota cooler weather. It was amazing to see how Silas adapted so quickly to the new world around him. Speaking English most of the day, taking many car rides, and constantly seeing unfamilier people. One of the most fantastic experiences for me was seeing Silas how Silas could recognize his Grandparents and Uncle Johnny. Although it had been a long time since actually seeing them, with all the Skype conversations, it was clear..he knew who his Grandparents were and he felt more "at home" around them. That made me smile, as it is very difficult to be so far away.

I think it would be impossible to tell about every single activity we did, so I will leave the most for the pictures to tell. But here are some tidbits.

Silas took the plane ride over very well. We only slept for a total of 40 minutes of the 9 hours, but handled it well. He sat fairly still and enjoyed the TV screens on the back of the seats. Bob the Builder was a hit after he got his own headphones. We made it to my Mom's around 3am Danish time, and althought he was exhausted Silas began playing and instantly speaking English to Mom and Johnny. He went to bed easily and slept 6½ hours straight. (9-3:30) This interval became increasingly better and soon he was sleeping like normal.

On our trip Silas got to hang out with his four American guys buddies. Andrea and Jason's - Westin. Julie and Josh's - Alexander. Dan and Tara's - Charlie and Holly and Dave's - Zach. He played well with all of them, and it was fun to see how their interaction had changed in a year.

Some of the outings we took:
--The beach---playing in the sand and swimming in the water
--Children's museum---a life like town for toddlers, slides and other fun things for a 2 year old.
--Shopping---lot's of shopping here and there
--Mall of America---Nickolodeon Universe and trying the rides
--Visiting my cousin Beth in Winona
--Bluegrass festival in Hutchinson, MN---hearing the grammy award winning Okee Dokee Brothers, of which I sang in the college choir with one of the members. Silas now loves their CD and calls them "Okees and Okees Brothers."
--Lots of playgrounds---a favorite was in St. Louis Park where they also had a splash pad
--Date night on our anniversary at Chanhassen Dinner Theater seeing "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"
--Another Date Night at Big Bowl, Hopkins Theater and Cold Stone Ice Cream
--Lot's of delicious restaurants.

We also took a 6 day vacation, in our vacation to go to Florida. We stayed with my Grandparents for 3 days and then went to Miami for 3 days. It was so precious to see Silas with his Great Grandparents. Calling them "Great Grandma" and "Great Grandpa", running towards them and giving them hugs. Silas' favorite game was to yell "Great Grandpa" and have him respond with "Silas"...then he would whisper it too. We had a wonderful time visting and were sad to leave. We had some wonderful meals and fun outings as well. We felt so happy to be able to have those 3 days.

The 3 days in Miami were also incredible. We really enjoyed spending lazy mornings on the beach. Our condo was right on the beach so we could just walk out and enjoy the water. Silas was completely fearless and loved when the waves crashed over his head or knocked him over. In the afternoons we checked out various parts of Miami and ended each day with delicious meals dining out.

There is so much more to tell, just the development of Silas in our time there was incredible. But I will save that for a separate entry. I will just say that his language and speaking skills seemed to take leaps and bounds and we were often laughing at the funny comments Silas would come up with.

So now for the pictures...Enjoy.