Sisters

These little cuties got matching dresses for Christmas.  Since we were absent from church for the first few weeks of January, we finally got to give them a try last week and they were perfect!

Lydia LOVES her little sister.  She loves her fiercely and is constantly showering her with hugs, kisses and love.

Emily is equally amazed with her big sister.  She loves when Lydia sings to her and she loves when Lydia plays "titt-tei" (peek-a-boo) with her. 

Sometimes the love that comes pouring out of Lydia can be a little too much.  It looks more like wrestling than hugs since Lydia won't let Emily get away before she is done hugging her.  

But having a sister is a special gift and matching dresses are only the beginning of the fun to be had between these two girls.

Sick, sick, sick

January started out with another bout of sickness.  Nathan came down with a horrible fever and his cough just got worse.  Nathan is a child that rarely stops.  His energy never runs out and he rarely sits still.  Once the fever hit, he was down for the count.

Three days in a row Nathan asked me if he could take a nap.  Three days in a row he cuddled up under blankets and peacefully fell asleep.  Not for 10-15 minutes but for hours.  He slept and he rested.

He asked for comfort and he snuggled in.

It was probably the first time in his 5 years of life that sickness has stopped him.  He was sick and it knocked him flat.  It spread to Joseph and Emily a few days later and we all suffered through the yucky-yucks of the sicky-sicks.   

11 months old

I always love taking pictures each month during the first year of a child's life but we reach a certain place where it requires a LOT more work.  

We have reached that point.

 "Ahhhhhh, mom!  No more pictures, I just can't do it anymore!"

 "Hahaha, just kidding!"

 "But really, do we have to do this again?!?"

 "I will give you one smile and you better catch it!"

Emily is absolutely delightful.  She is silly, she is cuddly, she is smart and quick.  She is curious and she is vocal.  She loves food, she takes great naps and she loves to be held.  

Her teeth are coming in at an alarming rate which leads to sucking on her thumb and a lot of crying as well.  She has been fighting a horrible virus since before Christmas and still carries a hacking cough.

 The cold combined with sleeping like this = pink eye (THREE times)!

Emily loves the laundry pile and luckily for her, I am usually a few days behind on folding the clean clothes.  I can almost always find her snuggled up in the pile.  She lays her head flat down into the pile and then smiles contently.  

 Her favorite facial expressions are developing but this is, by far, her most favorite expression.  Squished up nose, puckered mouth and half closed eyes.  She is constantly doing it and it always makes me laugh.

Emily and Joseph are becoming fast friends.  Although, Joseph does let her know when he doesn't like something by saying "ugh, Em-ly".  They make each other laugh and they play well together throughout the day.

 Their antics include dumping out every puzzle we own, emptying our tupperware cupboard and keeping each other company in the car while I drop off or pick up Lydia and Nathan at barnehage.

 We call them "tull og tøys" - 

 something similar to tweedle dee and tweddle dum.

These two are delightful to be around and I am sure it will only get better (and more chaotic) as we proceed toward Emily's second year.

New Years Eve

Since all of our closest friends were gone for the holidays, we spent New Years Eve with some of the local missionaries.  They came over early in the evening, played with the kids and then helped up get dinner on the table while Kjetil and I put the little ones to bed.  We had amazing rolls and a delicious beef bourguignon!  So delicious.

We played a few rounds of Phase 10 and then we pulled out the "fun" game.  

Bean Boozled  

It is basically Russian Roulette with jelly beans.  There is a combination of normal flavors and absolutely disgusting flavors.  The catch is that you can't  tell what you are going to get until you bite into it!  I bought it on a whim but after a few rounds, this was how I was feeling...

You spin that little dial and pick a bean and then the "fun" begins.  Is it peach or is it barf?  Is it chocolate pudding or is it dog food?  Is it buttered popcorn or rotten egg?  

Just give it a spin, take a bean and bite down...

 This poor man landed on buttered popcorn/rotten egg almost every single time.

 And, unfortunately for him,

it was ALWAYS rotten egg!

He suffered and he endured it like a real man!

This is how I felt when landing on juicy pear/boogers

 I bit down and I prepared for the very worst flavor I could imagine.

And then I realized...juicy pear!

But don't let the pictures fool you.  I tasted boogers, vomit and baby wipes.  My very last jelly bean was a buttered popcorn/rotten egg and it was DEFINITELY rotten egg.  I cried it tasted so bad.  I shoved cookies in my mouth and I begged for it to stop.  

Never again. 

 I will NEVER pay that awful game again.  

Never.

But what I will do again - 

 I will go and watch the beautiful firework shows that Norway puts on!  I haven't seen the show the few years so it was a special treat to experience the beauty of fireworks again. 

 We were literally standing right under the main show.  Enough so that our necks were starting to hurt from looking straight up!

 It was breathtaking!

 Another New Year is upon us.  We have had an exciting and wonderful 2016.  We are looking forward to what 2017 will bring us as a family, as a couple and as individuals.  

Let the fun begin...