Halloween

Halloween is getting bigger here in Denmark, but mostly justs with having gross and creepy decorations at the supermarkets and having themed days or parties.  But Trick or Treating, at least here in West Jutland, has not become a thing yet.  This was always a fun and cozy activity for me as a kid and I can tell I miss getting to do this with my kids.  They do get to dress up for "Fastelavn" in the spring, but the door to door thing is missing!

Because Halloween is getting more and more popular there, there have been quite a bit of cartoons showing Haloween episodes lately.  Our kids have seen some of them and kept asking if they could go "Trick or Treating".  So on Halloween I was home alone with the kids, and we made our own trick or treating at home.  I told the kids to go find some costumes in their dress up box and then I found candy and shut the door to a room in the house.  They each got a bag and had to knock on the door and say "trick or treat".  They were so into it and I went into each room of the house so they could try it a few times.  Afterwards we ate our candy and watched the Charlie Brown episode about "The Great Pumpkin"... They thought it was so fun adn a special treat on a normal wednesday night.  It may indeed be a new tradition here at our house!

Here are my 3 Trick or Treaters

Liam 2 years old

Liam 2 years old!

Happy Birthday!

Liam is now 2 years old and changing everyday.  We celebrated his birthday on 2 occasions.  1 on his birthday where Farfar and Hanne came for dinner, and 2 when we were in Germany with Ulla + fam and Farmor in the fall break.  Liam loved all his Peppa Pig Toys, remote control car, cute clothes and puzzle! Benjamin and Silas loved celebrating Liam and helping him open and break in his new toys.

Here are some characteristics/updates about Liam as a 2 year old!

Language has taken a huge jump as of late.  It started with Liam copying just about everything we said…especially the not always so “great” words of his bigger brothers.  We noticed that he pronounced the words really well and now a few months later Liam can communication so many words on his own and also put 2-3-4 words together.  He doesn’t usually say the English word first, but if he is talking or reading books with me, he will continue to copy me when I use the English words, so he is getting some English practice in! 😊   

Some favorite “quotes” of his are:

-     “Mig gøre”  --- Which means, let me do it by myself!

-        "Min Mommy” ---My Mommy---him and Benjamin like to discuss the topic of whose Mommy I am.

-          “Push” – Here is an English word he uses when he wants someone to push his chair closer to the table.

-          “Op” – or “Up” – This word seems to confuse him because he most often uses it when he wants to get DOWN from being held, etc.

       "En to tre fire seks syv" - 1,2,3,4,6,7 -- He can count almost in order and also a bit in English!. If you ask him how many items are in front of him, he will answer "mere" (more) if there are more than 1 item! 

-          “Dut” – His pronounciation for “sut” which is also known as a pacifier in English.  PS: He can get hysterical about this one, if you he isn’t allowed to have his pacifier or doesn’t get it quick enough.

-           “Ben-min” + “Siah” – These are Liam’s pronunciations of his bigger brothers names.  (Ben-meen, See-ah)

At the end of the day when I am putting him to bed, I always ask him if he’s had a good day.  And he answers “Yeah”…. But just the past few weeks he has begun to explain things that have happened to him, and I acutally understand.  He’ll say “mig leg biler…og far, ben-min, siah…og MOMMY”  (translation: I play cars, and far, and Ben-min and Siah and Mommy!)   He says it in the most excited voice and when you repeat what he says he just shakes his head yes and says “Yeah”!

Otherwise Liam really like to do rough and sometimes crazy things.  He will climb up on the couch or even a taller chair or table, and then just jump off thinking someone will catch him.  He really loves to climb and jump.  He also likes to do sommersaults and wrestle with his bigger brothers.  If Benjamin and Silas  are rough housing, Liam will come running saying “Mig med” (Me too) and join in! 

Liam loves little animal figures of all sorts.  Farm animals, zoo animals,  Duplo animals, Paw Patrol animals, Peppa Pig animals…etc.  He loves to carry them around (as many as he can manage to hold at one time). Almost every morning he wants to have one in each hand an bring up to daycare! He will play with them and make voices for them and also line them up on the table or floor, or in a play tractor trailer.

Dora the Explorer- This is a television cartoon about a girl who is always trying to help others and has to face different obstacles to do this.  In English she also speaks a lot of Spanish as a way for kids to learn Spanish.  But on Danish television she uses a lot of English words, so our boys are in their perfect element.  There are multiple times throughout the episodes where Dora asks the kids to say words, and Liam just yells along! He gets so excited if he sees the Dora icon on the TV and will jump up and down and yell “Dora, Dora”!  Benjamin is also really into it right now, so they have that bond together!

Liam also enjoys sitting at the kitchen table and drawing, especially with markers! He gets it all over himself, so good thing they are Ultra Washable Markers he is using.  He also loves stickers and to place them all over.  Another fun table activity is looking at flashcards, lining up figures or putting plastic pegs in a peg board…he loves that!

In general Liam is a very happy and content boy.  He has started being a little more demanding with having things how he wants them (I want that specific bib or spoon at mealtimes, or not wanting to wear a long sleeved shirt or hat outside, etc.) but he still goes with the flow and is for the most part good at listening.  He starts to resist, but if we are persistent he “gives in” quickly and goes along with what he has been asked to do. 

He continues to bring so much joy to all of our lives and also the lives of our family and friends! Liam loves to get attention from others by saying hi and pretending to play peek a boo or be shy.  He succeeds often and you can see he loves it!

Lastly I want to write about one of my favorite things Liam does right now.  He will come up to me and get really close to my face and in the sweetest, quietest voice he will say things like “Vil du med Mommy?”  (will you come with Mommy)…He cocks his head to the side and our noses are almost touching.  You probably have to be there, but it is so sweet!!

We love you Liam happy 2 years!

  

Half of 70

I had my 35th birthday last week.  For many years I have just considered my birthday another number added to the previous, and this year was the same. Even though Søren did have to remind me a few times that I am closer to 40 now than I am to 30! Hmm... But I have a great life, so I can take it!

I had to work until 2:30pm, but all my new students at work were really sweet and wishing me happy birthday all day.  I even got to sing a birthday song to myself for the daily morning gathering with the entire student body and staff.  After work, Søren took the boys for an hour to shop for homemade Tapas, and I had an hour of quiet, book reading bliss at home.  Then we went bowling and the boys loved it....even Liam had a great time, and really wanted his turn too!  We came home and had a "hyggelig" tapas dinner, topped off with carrot cake (my favorite)! Søren and I enjoyed a nice quiet evening on the couch wathching a few episodes of "How I Met Your Mother"  A great day indeed. 

My presents included:  Some clothes and a new phone cover from Søren and the boys, A new rainjacket, exercise shoes and some flowers.  I also still have some birthday money to spend, so we'll see what I get for that!!

Happy Birthday Me!

Biking Benjamin

After months of refusal to try biking, or to attempt to even pedal anything, Benjamin has now learned how to ride a "big boy" bike! The story is just so sweet and funny, so I just have to share it, so we remember it as well!

So one evening after dinner, I was alone with the boys, and Benjamin wanted a band-aid (plaster) on.  He wasn't bleeding or anything, so since we always say there needs to be blood to need a band-aid, I refused to give him one.  This time though, in a calm and casual way I added "Unless you want to go try out your bike and fall over so you need a band-aid."..... Yes I actually said this!

And his answer was "Okay!"

I dropped what I was doing, and we went out to the shed to where Benjamin has 2 bikes.  A red one with training wheels, and a blue, bigger one, with no training wheels.  He chose the blue bike and we went out to the street.  I ran along side him for a few seconds and then I let go! And Benjamin biked! He made it all the way down the street and then just braked and put his feet down.  I was running along side him happilly yelling "way to go, you're doing it, etc..." the whole time.  When he stopped he looked up at me and started crying and yelling "Mommy, don't be so happy, I didn't fall!!"   He wanted to fall over so he could get a band-aid!  That was his only focus, and therefore this amazing feat was not a success after all!   I told him he could have a band-aid anyway, for being so brave and trying, but he insisted on falling.  So after trying a couple more times, I ended up running along side him until he was in the grass and gently pushing him over!!!  Then we was happy and a bit proud. 

Since that day, he has wanted to bike now and then, and every time he does, he has the biggest smile on his face.  Silas tells him all the time how cool it is that he learned how to bike without ever even using training wheels! And now Benjamin and Silas are beginning to be able to bike away from us! Benjamin thinks that is cool.

Liam 1½

Liam is 1½ and wow how he seems like such a big boy these days.  He has really been communicating the past few months and it is a joy to see how proud he gets when he accomplishes new things.  He brings a lot of joy to all of us and both Silas and Benjamin each have their own special bond with Liam.  Silas and Liam like to scoot around together on the scooter we have inside, and Silas likes to help Liam with the more challenging things or try to cheer him up if he is sad about us leaving or if isn't allowed to do or get something that he wants.  Benjamin and Liam have a fun relationship where they make each other laugh by copying each other or being silly.  Benjamin will ask Liam...hey Liam, lets go play..and Liam just follows him along! One of their favorite games is screaming and having the other one copy at the same volume or louder.  Yeah, that one can get a little too much!

Liam is still thriving at daycare and he runs in to play when we drop him off.  The group of 5 boys really enjoy each other and it's cute to see how they greet Liam when he comes! We are so grateful for the great place he can go mon-wed and friday...yes most thursdays he is come with me!

Other notable traits:

-He says quite a few words some English and some Danish and some in both :
 Ned/down, hej, tak/thank you, bye bye, ja, nej/no, dip dip, ball,cheers, Baah (the name he calls all of his family members: Far, Mommy, Benjamin,Silas and himself)

-Drops his  head down with a "huh" noise when he says yes to a question.  He understands so much!

-Loves ketchup and says "dip dip" and dips everything in it

-Can eat by himself with a spoon and fork and also drinking from a cup  (since about 13 months)

- As mentioned above, Liam is a Copy cat! Especially with Benjamin.  Examples: Throws things like Benjamin, yells like Benjamin, runs around like Benjamin, makes the same noises as Benjamin)

-Has an amazing throwing arm - can throw balls really far.

-Sleeps 11 hours straight at night, falls asleep on his own in his crib after the goodnight routine consisting of: reading a book, singing a song, and praying before kisses and goodbye.

-Brings us all our shoes when he hears we are going somewhere... also just if we are talking about going somewhere later that day.

-Can follow many commands..."put this in the garbage" "put this on the table" "can you get _____"

Is very cuddly! Loves to nuzzle in your neck, or gently swirl your hair, especially if he is tired.  He also loves to come and sit on our laps...he will come towards you and then at the last minute turn around and plop on your lap.  We absolutely adore it!  Going along with the cuddling, he also likes to lay on us and watch tv before bed...he copies the noises and just cuddles into us.

-Loves playing hide and seek,  He is so cute when he is the one having to find us, he goes around and says coo-coo and BOO when he finds you.  The last few times he has found his own hiding spots and was able to keep super quiet! He also likes playing "doggie doggie where's your bone" he gets down and when you say wake up doggie, he sits up and barks.

-Waves goodbye to lots of different people.  Especially Søren and Silas as they go off to school in the morning.

- If Liam sees any type of animal, he gets really excited yells...woo woo...(also birds)

- He is quite daring -climbing ladders, climbing up slides (also the slippery ones at the pool), and the newest craze is climbing up onto things and jumping off on to a mattress! He is brave.

-Can be very persistant...grabbing your hand and pulling you to where he wants to go...or pointing ... Especially the forbidden game cabinet.  It is forbidden because Liam likes to take all the game pieces out of the boxes and walk around with them putting them in different boxes he finds around the house.

When he's sad he will drag you by the hand into his room where he has a bag of pacifiers and whine until you give him one.

Yes, as you can read, Liam really has a personality, full of fun and determination.  He is generally so happy and we can't help but have it rub off on all of us!

Note Liam answering with his head drop here!

Oh the laughter!!

Titanic

A few months back, Silas saw a Lego video on YouTube of someone building the Titanic out of Legos.  Automatically afterwards, as YouTube is known for, a new video about Titanic came up.  It told the story of Titanic and showed pictures of the boat, it hitting the iceberg, starting to sink, people escaping, etc.  I watched the entire thing with him and he was in awe.  Since then he has been quite obsessed and wants to know everything about Titanic. He can tell you how long it was, the date it sank, etc.

The other day he saw another video depicting the events of the sinking of Titanic and during the part where people were jumping off the boat and screaming, he put the video on pause and looked over at me with a puzzled look and asked. "Mommy, why are all those people screaming?"  I answered that they were scared of what was happening and that they might die.  Silas then said "Well I still don't get why they are screaming, if I thought I was going to die I would be so happy cause I would get to see God!"

It put tears in my eyes to hear the complete innocent faith of a 6 year old. There is no doubt in my mind that he doesn't wish to die right now, but in that moment it showed me the complete faith he has in the fact that the life after death is something to look forward to.  He continued to tell me about how great it is going to be here on earth when Jesus comes again! I am so happy that Jesus can bring him so much joy in this life!

This is a picture of the original video he saw of a young boy making this Titanic model out of Lego!

Benjamin 4 years old

Benjamin and kitty...his favorite stuffy!

Four years have gone by since Benjamin Adrian Madsen came into our lives.  He is full of personality and makes us laugh every day.  His mood can change on a dime, so we never quite know what to expect when he wakes up, or when you pick him up from pre-school, or even if you just ask him a question. He's learning things everyday and he fascinates us.

Here are some traits we recognize in Benjamin at 4:

1) Answers with a small shake of the head.  He is quite hesitant when coming new places or when asked direct questions by adults.

2) Likes to yell random noises out of the blue...especially at the dinner table

3) Much improved at telling us what he wants (or saying no to Silas) instead of just yelling.

4) Pronounces S like F  and K like T  (and other cute words)

5) Talks non stop at home - has a longer warm up period when he is out.

6) Wants to bring a toy in the car on the way to pre-school, but then leave it in the car when we get there

7) Wants to wear his Woody Boots everywhere

8) Loves Puzzles-- and can do a 48 piece with just a bit of sorting help

9) Loves to bike on his green balance bike

10) TV doesn't hold his attention for more than 10 minutes...but  it will if one of us sits with him.

11) Always wants to come along to pick up things at the store.

12) Starting singing and humming a lot! Hearing him sing in the back of the car is one of the sweetest sounds I know!

13) Isn't a big fan of sitting on the toilet.

14) Favorite place to play : Kitchen table

 15) Likes to build with Duplo and can create big and creative things

16) Enjoys being outside, especially swinging.

17) Likes to play in Liams bed and ask Liam in general to play with him.

18)Asks often: "Hvornår vi til Legoland igen?" (When we are going to Legoland again?)

19) If he asks a question and you answer, he will respond "Hvad for noget" (What now?) and say it over and over again, even though you can see that he understands the answer you gave!

20) Can YELL at you if you don't understand him right away.  Some responses have been"Er du døv eller hvad",  "Dit navn er far, eller hvad?"  (Are you deaf or what? Your name Dad or what?) 

21) See number 20....Sassy and full of ATTITUDE! :-)

22) Can climb the bigger climbing things at the playground.  He will often ask you to help him, but when we refuse he proves he can do it on his own!

23) Understands everything I say to him in English, but prefers to speak Danish...really only saying the word "purple" in English.¨

24) Doesn't always like getting his picture taken...other times smiles all cheesy for the camera!

25) Has a best friend, Isak.  Those two are so sweet together.

Green balance bike

Isak and Benjamin, both in blue!

Benjamin turns 4

Happy Birthday Benjamin!

4 was a big one for Benjamin.  You could really tell that he understood this year, that it was HIS birthday and that it was a special day.  He was so excited a few days before and kept talking about his red Pirate Party and that he would find coins in the yard. 

Benjamin's favorite color right now is RED.  So red was  theme.  He got a red fidget spinner, a red remote controlled car and a red bike! (Silas' old blue bike that I spray painted red).  When he "opened" his bike he looked at it and then said "Ooh, I want my green balance bike back"... He was not so excited about a big pedal bike.  But over the course of the day we had the bike inside still and he started sitting on it and then pedaling around.  By the next day he wanted to go outside and try it.  He made it up and down in front of the house 2 times and then wanted his green bike...but it was a start!

On his actual birthday Benjamin celebrated with his pre-school friends with red chocolate cupcakes. The kids sang to him and be got a little magnifying glass as a present. You could tell he liked all the attention in his own sweet, a bit shy way!

We spent the rest of the day together and Silas came home after school.  Activites included a trip to the library, watching Moana and eating popcorn, and going to his former daycare lady, Margit's house (now Liams daycare) where eventhough it was her birthday she invited us to celebrate, she had made a cake and gotten Benjamin a present!

Daddy came home for dinner and we ordered pizza and had cake and ice cream for dessert! The day ended with some candy and Disney Show on TV...a perfect Friday birthday!

Sunday, we had family and friends over for the big Pirate party.  When the guests arrived they all had to figure out their Pirate names and make a name tag.  There were some funny ones! Benjamin got some different presents including Tractors, clothes and games. Then we ate tortilla soup with all the fixings.  Later on there were different Pirate activities. First the kids got their pirate costumes...a head scarf and eye patch! Then each kid made their own Pirate telescope and hook hand.  Afterwards there were some Pirate games...walking the plank with sharks below, hook hand ring toss, and pin the patch on the Pirate.   (During the craft portion, Benjamin did not want to participate, but instead played with his new tractors with Farfar!)

Then it was cake time!  A Pirate cake with a gummi bear as the Captain! There were lots of chocolate treats...Chocoloate chip cookies, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, hot chocolate and chocolate M&Ms.  Oh and some fruit too!

The finaly activity of the day was finding a bunch of Gold Coins (chocolate) hidden in yard! There were some really big ones and those were for the smallest kids to find, so Benjamin found a lot and he was so into it! 

It was fun to see Benjamin have a fun day!