Zen cars

In mid-December, I posted the following comment about Leif and his obsession with Matchbox cars on Facebook: "Watching Leif slowly rolling his Matchbox vehicles around (and around and around and around) on a tabletop is like watching someone rake their mini Zen garden. He is totally serene and at one with his kahs, kucks, and vans." A few weeks later, I finally managed to get a video illustrating this (which was easier said than done, since if Leif notices that he is being videotaped he often stops doing whatever he had been doing and stares at the camera instead). I'd estimate that Leif has spent at LEAST an hour (in total, spread out over the course of each day) most days of the week for the past several months doing exactly what you see in this video, and to my amazement, he has yet to tire of it. I envy his single-minded dedication to his favorite pastime -- it is more than I can muster these days!

Giggling climber

Leif has continued to earn his reputation as a little monkey boy (both an avid climber and a great lover of bananas) this winter. First he figured out how to climb up from the floor to the top of his changing table without any assistance, and not long thereafter he discovered that by grabbing onto the sheet or blankets on top of our bed he could pull himself up just enough to get a toe-hold on the bed rail and from there, push up until he could get a knee up on top of the bed. Needless to say, he found this new skill very satisfying, not to mention entertaining, and it required quite a bit of joyful repetition that night when he first figured out he could do it (which is when this video was taken).

Toddler bowling

A while back, Auntie Sarah gave Leif just about the most fun toy ever: a plastic bowling set. In Leif's world, bowling involves first throwing the ball at the pins (while standing almost directly over them), and then immediately running toward any pins that may remain standing and kicking them over with your feet. As you can see in this video, it's a VERY fun game that merits many, many rounds of "Again, please!" Thanks again to Auntie Sarah for all the good times bowling (past and future).

Mid-winter ducks

We've been enjoying the abnormally warm weather this winter -- a stark contrast to last winter, when there were something like seven snow emergencies declared in Minneapolis and Leif and I spent what felt like six solid months indoors. One afternoon in early February, usually one of the most bitterly cold weeks of the year, we enjoyed a two-hour walk outside, making the full circuit of the neighborhood, first down to Lake Harriet to see the ducks swimming in the patch of open water near the shore and then over to Pershing Park to play on the non-snowy playground. We topped it off by meeting Aaron at the bus stop on our way back from the park just as he was arriving home from work. Nothing more exciting than seeing Dad get off the city bus!

Christmas Day

Our new tradition (started last year...two years in a row qualifies as a tradition, right?) is to host Aaron's in-town family members at our house on Christmas Day, which is also Granny G.'s birthday. Granny, Grandpaw, and Auntie Sarah came over around 3:30 and played with Leif for a few hours while I puttered in and out of the kitchen, finishing getting dinner ready. Since Granny G. has a history of showing up to babysit with a Matchbox car or two hidden in her purse, Leif had a *hunch* that some of the presents piled in the corner of the living room might possibly be car-related. Smart kid. Suffice it to say that Leif's collection now contains just about every variety of Matchbox car, truck, and van under the sun, and he is happy as a little clam -- that is, if there are any clams out there that go "Vroom, vroom, honk, honk, honk!" all day long. I am truly curious to see how long this car obsession lasts and what (if anything) will eventually displace it. For now, it makes him happy and keeps him occupied, so I am all for it!

Once it came time to sing "Happy Birthday" to Granny later in the evening, we discovered what a good device singing that song was to make Leif pay attention and smile for pictures. He LOVES the song and consistently grins, claps, and exclaims, "Yaaay! Again, please!" after every time it is sung. We probably sang it a dozen times over the course of the rest of the evening, either at Leif's request or for a photo op. I hope he still likes the song this much by the time his own birthday rolls around at the end of February!

Leif with the birthday girl


Hug for Auntie Sarah


A happy boy with Auntie Sarah


"Happy birthday to you..."


"Yaaaaay! Again, please!"


Trying out his big-boy trike from Auntie Sarah


Thank you again to Granny, Grandpaw, and Auntie Sarah for joining us for a wonderful Christmas celebration!

Christmas Eve

Per tradition, we spent Christmas Eve with my (Amy's) side of the family at my parents' house. Conveniently, Leif picked that day to start enthusiastically saying "Cheese!" and smiling broadly for the camera (or at least he picked that day to try it out a few times). He had lots of fun climbing on Grandma and Grandpa's living room furniture and playing with the extended family who had gathered for the occasion: Uncle Erik, Aunt Tami, Cousin Vivian, Great-Uncle Timo, Great-Grandma B., Grandma, Grandpa, and Great-Aunt Mirja. Although he was still not very interested in the process of unwrapping presents, he was very pleased with the contents of several packages, most notably the new set of Matchbox trucks from Auntie Mirja. Since he happened to have opened those before anything else, we ended up enlisting three-year-old Vivian (an adept and enthusiastic unwrapper of presents) to open the remainder of Leif's gifts for him while he sat nearby, totally absorbed in rolling his trucks around on the rug.

Leif in Matchbox truck heaven


Leif and Vivian awaiting the Christmas Eve smorgasbord




Refrigerator clip magnets: a versatile toy popular with both the under-2 and the over-3 crowds


Upside-down elf in training


Vivian attempting to sign "I love you" with her left hand while her parents smile for the camera


Christmas guests from afar: Great-Grandma B. (Buffalo, NY) and Great-Uncle Timo (Chisholm, MN)




Our gracious hosts: Grandma and Grandpa B. and Great-Aunt Mirja




Thank you, everyone, for the great gifts for Leif, the delicious food, and the fun time!

North Carolina

On Thanksgiving Day, we drove the five hours from Aiken (SC) to Durham (NC) to spend the remainder of our trip with Leif's Cousin Vivian, Uncle Erik, and Aunt Tami (a.k.a. Viv, Uncle Eck, and Aunt T). You'll notice similar themes in the photos below as in the South Carolina blog entry -- entertaining toddlers seems to be all about zoos and children's museums! The Museum of Life and Science in Durham was a big hit, as well.

Leif and Vivian hard at play in Erik and Tami's living room


Riding the nifty train at the Museum of Life and Science


Aaron and Leif getting their cars on in the "Go Zone" at Marbles (the children's museum in Raleigh)


A breakthrough for Leif: While at Marbles, he voluntarily put a hat on his own head for the first time EVER! And he proceeded to walk around with it on for at least five minutes before getting tired of it -- this from the kid who would not keep a hat on for two seconds all summer. We were stunned. Guess next summer we will just have to get him a big, plastic fire fighter helmet and we will be all set.


Tami, Erik, and Vivian -- what a nice family picture, and what a nice family!


On the last full day of our trip, we drove to Asheboro, about an hour and a half from Durham, and spent several hours with Erik and Vivian at the North Carolina Zoo. Aaron, Leif, and I then proceeded to Charlotte to catch our flight home (the next morning), while Erik and Vivian drove back to Durham. A good time was had by all at the zoo, and the rain we had been fearing might dampen our fun thoughtfully waited to begin in earnest until the very moment we were pulling out of the parking lot.

Communing with the plastic animals at the zoo






Erik later reported Vivian's take on our visit (which she declared while they were still in the parking lot at the zoo, just after we had left): "I'm afraid Aaron, Amy, and Leif will have to come visit us in North Carolina every day!" Fortunately, it's only a few weeks until we will be seeing each other again...albeit in Minnesota!