R&R in Santa Pola

Our annual trip to Spain has come and gone and as per usual, we have zillions of pictures that capture our memories. The difference this time is that Lexi was a major photographer this trip. For some reason, she took a liking to my camera and insisted on taking pics of everything - especially all of the animals at the zoo. Don't tell her, but I have deleted around 100 pics that were not quality or redundant. Anyway, I have selected a few of my favorites to share below. We had great weather while in Spain and returned home to Norway to "summer weather". This means beautiful blue skies, warm temps (70ish) and no wind. We are trying to soak up every minute of it in case this week of good weather is our "summer" :)

Hitting the beach on the first full day in Spain - Lexi is modelling her new Hello Kitty bikini, compliments of Grammy and Pops

Yes, Lillian usually wore swimsuits at the beach, but this pic was taken before I could finish coating her with sunscreen and getting the suit on her. We love sand!

I truly think she would have run around naked if we would have let her...



Lexi modelling a summer dress that Grammy and Pops sent her - we are at one of the local zoos



Lillian LOVES animals. I just thought this pic was too great to share - thankfully, we were separated by a rather thick plate of glass.

Lillian's next love is playgrounds (sand, animals, playgrounds) and she attempts to do EVERYTHING Lexi does. This includes trying to climb up the slide instead of up the ladder and down the slide...

Pre-trip, Lexi requested a visit to see the dolphins again. So, we (of course) obliged. This was one of the highlights of her trip (and mine - I love the Mundomar dolphin show). After the dolphin show, she and I went and she got to "pet" a dolphin. They wouldn't let me take a picture with my camera; so, we bought the picture that their photographers took. I'll have to try and scan it to jpg. She was so excited to go to barnehage today that she got up at 6:15am. She was excited to wear one of her new summer dresses (from Grammy and Pops) and take her dolphin picture to show her friends. She was on cloud 9...

Here is Tim and the girls with Benidorm in the background

Like father, like daughter - Lillian LOVES her ice cream. In fact, I think this was Tim's ice cream, she allowed him a couple of bites.

A rare moment of sisterly love

A bit excited?

What can be better than eating popcorn (colored) and watching the sea lions and seals swim in their pool?

I can't figure out why some of my pictures get turned on upload. Anyway, here are L & L - eating a popsicle

This is one of my favorite pics that Lexi took - she had a few good animal pics from the zoo day, but this one is by far the coolest

Stylish as always

I love to watch Lillian walk - she can't quite run yet, but she moves it out with her little feet

OK, so we had a few moments of sisterly love - maybe not as rare as I think

Sorry it's a bit grainy - I downscaled it too much. I love this pic. Lillian is sitting in her chair at the dining table in the apartment after eating and is pointing at something (and looking like the rag-a-muffin child that she is...it is rare for her to have a good hair day whilst we are trying to grow out her do....)

The follow-up pic



We visited the Island of Tabarca. Tim and I hadn't been there in years and they have done some major re-building. The streets reminded me more of Greece than Spain. (This is the island that you can see from Santa Pola)



Silly face

Here is the old church on the Island of Tabarca

Tim and the girls sitting on the steps to the church

Lexi got a new dress on the Island of Tabarca and insisted on wearing it the next day.

All about Lillian Marie

Lillian is tough! She will be 18 months on May 10th and seems to be advancing far faster than Lexi did. She is one smart cookie and chaos often comes to mind when I think of her. Let me explain... Lillian has been mobile for so long now, she is so sturdy on her feet in a lot of different terrains, she is also a really good climber. She has an attitude of "I can do this" - and she often does. She loves to be outdoors and is often grabbing our hand to lead us into the hallway where the shoes and jackets are stored. She wants to go outside - in quite a wide variety of weather conditions (...Tim's genes). She is a fighter. She is learning to stand up for herself when she is steam-rolled by Lexi and she knows how to whine or cry to get her way. She is definitely smart. We have been constantly amazed by her ability to communicate with us (without words) and her understanding of what we say. She can do so much - throw away her trash, pick up her shoes and put them were they go, get her juice bottle, etc. Her language is slowly coming on. Like Lexi, it might be a bit slower than the average 18 month old due to the influx of two languages, but she will sort it out and start speaking at her own pace. She can definitely say Mamma, Pappa, Hallo (hello), Ha det (goodbye) and Mer (more). But, she understands sooooo much in both Norwegian and English. We are in awe. When healthy, she is a good girl with an extremely healthy appetite (she unfortunately has my sweet tooth) and plays well on her own. When sick, she definitely demands more attention. She sleeps fairly well at night, takes a 2 hour nap mid-day, enjoys barnehage (very routine-oriented) and LOVES water (bathtime is a must on a daily basis).

She is Little Sister, but she has to have EVERYTHING that Lexi has. We must have two of everything - whether it be a toy or juice box or food. There is no denying her anything. She started eating ice cream at 7 months, had hot dogs and chocolate cake at the age of one and has continued to slide downhill ever since. I think she has even had several sips of Tim's cokes and has had bits of chocolate on a few occasions. She has a very strong willpower....

But, I mentioned that chaos came to mind when thinking of Lillian. It is more a yen/yang effect - chaos and order rule with Lillian. She is definitely a destroyer - loves to knock down towers, empty the contents of everything and scatter stuff everywhere. She especially loves to throw food and her plate when she is done eating. Very frustrating... But...she can also pick up and put things back in their place. She doesn't always do it with her toys, but she does it with all else. She will put Tim's shoes on the shelf in the hallway (because that is where they belong), she will help me sort the laundry and load the washing machine, she will put away Lexi's bracelets after she plays with them. So, it is an odd sort of combination that she has. We'll see how it continues to develop.

She now weighs around 10kgs (22#) and hasn't grown too much in height. She is around 78cm (31"). She is tracking about the same as Lexi did. She loves music and dancing and hopping. I must get the video camera out soon!

All about Lexi Lynn

This post is dedicated to Lexi. What a beautiful smile she has! It is truly amazing how quickly 5 years have past. Lexi is every bit the sassy five year old I envisioned when I (er, um...we) chose the name Lexi. She is still our number one princess, prima donna and drama queen. She has a strong case of first child syndrome which means that she has to be the center of attention and constantly craves attention. She loves to go to barnehage and play with her friends. They are a group of 6 - her closest friend is Leonora, but she gets on pretty well with Tyra and Kristin as well. She does seem to love to play outside at barnehage, but lacks the motivation to play outside whilst at home. She would prefer to play games. She is killer at Memory, loves Zingo, Candyland, Chutes and Ladders and a couple of other games we have. Her standard choice is Memory and she truly has an amazing ability to remember and match the pairs. She kicks Tim and I's bums several times over. (I am, of course, better than Tim, but you would expect that?) She also loves to write, draw, color, bead, etc. When she isn't dazzling us with her gaming or creative skills, she is annoying the heck out of her little sister. She truly fills the Big Sister shoes. It borders on being nice and helpful to treating Lillian like a baby doll to be carted around. Lillian is learning to fight  back and stand her ground (see Lillian's post). If I am in the kitchen (or another room) and hear Lillian start to whine/cry - Lexi now immediately says "I didn't do anything!". This is either bad or worse... Bad because Lexi naturally has a guilty conscience or worse because I immediately assume Lexi is the cause of Lillian's grief and this isn't always the case (shame on me). Lexi has a magnet chart - her four daily goals are: (1) Be nice to Lillian, (2) Obey Mamma and Pappa, (3) Make a happy plate and (4) Dress herself in the morning. We are making some progress...

Lexi continues to grow (mainly taller). She is around 110cm (3ft 7in) and weighs around 18kg (40#). The other day, she asked me how long until she turns 6. I explained that it was quite some time away and explained all of the different things that will happen between now and then. So, she goes around counting down (first Feda, then Spain, then Dyreparken, then Legoland, then America, then Lillian's birthday, then Christmas and then Lexi's 6th birthday!)

Lexi's nose battled the gravel at barnehage one day and the gravel won. You know how she reacts to the slightest bit of blood or scratches - it was such a tragedy!

Goodbye to March and April!

Yes, I have been a delinquent blogger. Did you blink? March and April are now gone! A lot can happen in two months, but I feel that ours can pretty much be summarized in a few words... being sick, getting well, work and barnehage. As you know, I started back to work on 1.Feb and tried to hit the ground running, but sickness prevailed. February and March were pretty much "sick" months. Either Lillian, Lexi or I were sick. Tim managed to steer clear and nurse us back to health. However, over Easter, he fought off a cold which meant that Lillian and I fought it off too (our immume systems are the weakest of the four of us). Praise the Lord, we are finally well. Lillian had a touch and go cold in April with a bit of a runny nose, but the fever and cough (and everything else that went with it) seems to be gone. Of course, it helps that the sun is shining more and the temperatures are slowly rising. On the work-front (for me), it has been super, super, super busy (to put it mildly). I survived April and all of its challenges and (thankfully) May seems to have more breathing space. All of the sick leave in Feb and March didn't help the fact that April was going to be a busy month.

So, I haven't had the camera out as much as normal, but I still have a few good pics to share. Some blogger functions seems to have changed which means my pics got uploaded in date-reverse order. So, we will work our way backwards from today to the beginning of March. (The picture captions are now under the pics...)

Here is beautiful Lillian out on a walk today (in Feda). She loves to be outdoors and walks sooooo much more than Lexi ever did at a similar age. (Lexi always demanded to be carried...Lillian loves to walk and explore on her own two feet.)

Out on a boat ride today. The wind was a bit brisk!

Captain Lexi

Captain Tim and First Mate Lillian

Beautiful Lexi playing dress-up at Mormor's house

Lillian sitting in the babydoll stoller, Lexi pulling her and Lillian laughing her head off - at home in Stavanger

Baker Lexi (Lexi and her nose had a scuffle with the gravel at barnehage - hence, the scabs)

Wearing a tutu and pushing Baby around the house - what else would you expect her to be doing?

Winding down after the Easter celebrations at Lajla's house

Gorgeous Samuel will be one in June

Sorry that this pic turned - it is a great pic of Lexi and Luna on Easter Sunday afternoon

Lexi is climbing up the mountainside above Lajla's house

Tom and Lajla on Easter Sunday

I think we had 25+ people at Lajla's house for the tradtional Easter Sunday hot dog roast and Easter egg hunt. We had gorgeous, milder weather. Tim even put up his new tent.

So proud of how many eggs she found on the egg hunt!

Roasting hot dogs

Proof that I don't always stand behind the camera

Lexi and Lillian were happy with their Easter eggs on Sunday morning

Out for a walk in the beautiful sunshine

Luna and Lexi's eggs are drying

Lexi and Luna coloring eggs

Poor Lillian didn't get to play with the dye or hard-boiled eggs, but she got to paint!

Beautiful 17 month old

Playing up in the forrest where Pappa is clearing and cutting trees

Lillian MUST do everything that Lexi does. So, she insisted on eating her breakfast at the bar next to Lexi whilst watching TV