Moving out into the fresh air

There's something magical about starting to be outdoors more, with out all the snow suits, gloves, hats, wool socks, boots, fleeces and scarves. Ahhhh. Last night we ate outside, and had strawberries for dessert in the late day sun. PS notice the new hair cuts (thanks to farmor)

Good morning

So this is the position I woke up in this morning...

Tennis!

Sunday morning tennis, always a blast!

Night Night

With the "new" iPhone having a flash, I was able ot take these photos of sleeping Minis in a completely dark room.
And this is what they look like in the morning. If they wake up relatively early, we make "välling" (which when i translate to english becomes gruel but i have no idea what that is) and go downstairs and watch Pippi. Since I was alone with them this morning (Tom out of town) this is what I see when I start to head down the stairs and both want to be carried down. It's not easy carrying two heavy Minis who are in turn holding their bottles, Mijam (the cat) and Sison (the polar bear) and Sigge's 45 binkies (nappar).

hugs and kisses from the hammar family

the Playhouse

twins?

you'd be surprised at how often i get the question "are they twins?"

- um, yeah, they sure are (i reply)

Random Moments

Sigge happy as a clam at breakfast

Cuddles with pappa

Access = power (Max)

Sigge chasing my lens

Sigge shares his raisins with Lion

Max loves a good blueberry smoothie (nice 'stache)

technological genius (how many apple products do you see in this shot?)

this my friends is the definition of happiness (Sigge) - Pappa's "voo-vooma"

it's heavy!

Just a few moments I wanted to share with you. I can report that the new day care is working out really great and we sometimes have trouble getting them to go home. Max and Sigge are learning new words every day and starting to share thoughts and ideas, it's so amazing and funny.

Let it snow, finally!

So if you read the fine print at the bottom of the welcome sign at the new day care (thanks farfar for the eagle eye on that one) you will learn that they have had a case of Scarlet Fever (Scharlakansfeber). When I looked up the English word for that I almost expected a villain with a mustache to kidnap us and tie us to a railroad, but I digress. Well, the boys got it, the "fever" (which by the way is small red dots all over their bodies, excpet their faces). But we all need to get out into the fresh at least for a little bit every day, and thankfully we have this wonderful winter weather.

New School!

This week our little monkeys have started at a new day care! We have had a couple of visits where I have been there with them and we have played and gotten to know the place and the wonderful teachers, but today I left them there for the first time. I didn't break down and cry like I did at the last place. In fact, I barely had a chance to say good-bye because Max and Sigge ran in to the play room so fast. Of course I am wondering how did lunch go? where they able to get them to sleep? can they tell them apart (something I know they can't yet), but I think they are doing ok and in an hour I will go pick them up and get the full report. Here are a couple of shots from the days when I was there too.

we feel very welcome there

snack time with fruit, all the tables and chairs are tiny and the whole place is designed for small kids!

one toy that has quickly become a favorite

A short text about Mopntessori (from Wikipedia):

Montessori education is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori. Montessori education is practiced in an estimated 20,000 schools worldwide, serving children from birth to eighteen years old.

Montessori education is characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological development, as well as technological advancements in society. Although a range of practices exists under the name "Montessori", the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and the American Montessori Society (AMS) cite these elements as essential:

• Mixed age classrooms, with classrooms for children aged 2½ or 3 to 6 years old by far the most common
• Student choice of activity from within a prescribed range of options
• Uninterrupted blocks of work time
• A Constructivist or "discovery" model, where students learn concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instruction
• Specialized educational materials developed by Montessori and her collaborators

In addition, many Montessori schools design their programs with reference to Montessori’s model of human development from her published works, and use pedagogy, lessons, and materials introduced in teacher training derived from courses presented by Montessori during her lifetime.

Home improvements

it's not always easy to get things done around here but it sure feels good when we do, check out the Minis room, made just a bit cozier and more play-friendly :)

Seeing the light..... at the end of the tunnel

I am going to be honest, these past 2 weeks have been hellish. It all started with sore throats and pink eyes. Well 12 sleepless night later (yesterday) we were back at the doctor's office for the 3rd time in 12 days and finally got some REAL penecillin, since they had fevers, coughs, sore throats, eye infections, were't eating, and weren't sleeping. Our one ray of sunshine in this miserable story was that Mormor Mary Poppins came for a visit... what a blessing that was! Thanks to her for taking her chances and coming to help us out.

It's always nice with a little help in the kitchen. Thanks Max.

Pancakes is comfort food for sick little monkeys

Sigge gets some fresh air with mormor

Max the tool-man Hammar

The silver lining to all this is when they fall asleep in my arms after a rough night, and I can kiss them all I want without their protests. That's ok, right?

Happy New Year

wishing you all a good start to the new year! love, the hammar family

2 squared

So our little boys just turned two, and I thought I would share some photos as well as some random things about each of them. It's now very clear to us that we have two physically similar little boys with two very different personalities and dispositions and it is so fun to get to know them better for each day. Not to get all sappy here, but Max and Sigge are rays of sunshine in our life, constantly making us laugh and reminding us of what's important. Almost exactly since their 2^nd birthday, their speech has exploded and we are now enjoying actually conversing with them, albeit with very few words. Tom and I were both moved to tears the other night when we all laid in bed before bedtime and talked about the sounds we heard outside the window, when the wind was howling and we thought it sounded like a truck. Most of the communication is still with facial expressions and sounds, but mixed in with some words it is amazing how much we can understand each other. Both Sigge and Max are generous with cuddles and laughter, but here are some more specific personality traits and passions that they have.

SIGGE

• a go-getter
• a little dare devil
• loves his napp (binkie)
• extremely sensitive
• enthusiastic
• loves to cut things with scissors
• hums and sings a lot, very vocal and loves to call after his Pa!Pa!
• always points out stars and makes a little hand gesture when he does so
• sleeps with at least two stuffed animals and at least 3 binkies
• shows affection by hugging and gently petting our cheeks and looking deeply into our eyes while doing so
• loves to eat
• impulsive
• LOVES tools like the ones pappa uses
• a good little helper
• our little angel-face
• loves sweet things
• can be such a little rascal
• loves to be chased and tickled
• intruiged by things that go Vrrrroooom

MAX

• Laid back
• loves music
• loves to dance
• enjoys writing with a pen (holding the pen ever so delicately and writing with small strokes)
• loves to honk the horn on the tractor,
• adores trucks
• always points out the moon if you can see it
• says kicko-kicko (”twinkle twinkle”) when he sees stars, real or not
• is generous with kisses
• takes his time eating, often sitting long after Sigge has left the table
• LOVES tools like the ones pappa uses
• our little chipmunk
• loves to trick us and then giggle
• loves things with buttons
• scared of the vaccuum cleaner, but kind of loves it too

Signing off and wishing you a Happy New Year! With love, Jenny