"You"

Aidan calls himself "you."
Very cute!
Since that's what we say to him when we talk to him directly ("do YOU want to eat now," etc), it does make sense when you see it from his perspective.
It's so cute when he says "don't kiss you" (yes, he doesn't like to be kissed as much as I'd like to kiss him!), or "you not like that nam-nam" in referring to himself and telling us what he likes and dislikes. He's starting to wonder why mom and dad call one another "you" as well, so it probably won't last long.
I love seeing the world from a 2 year old's perspective!

A little update

It's been so long since I've updated this blog. I've been wanting to post for ages, but haven't gotten to it. Since our last post, Sarah's got a new job that she really dislikes, and we've gone into major debt in buying an apartment in overpriced Oslo (one of the most expensive cities in the world for real estate!). It's been BUSY at our house!
Aidan, our little man, has grown so very much in the last six months! We've done so much fun stuff together. Aidan has:

come house hunting with us all over Oslo,
gone to the technical museum and explored old trains, planes and built fun stuff,
met John S and had a great time with him,
taken boat trips to and from Bygdøy-Aker Brygge,
walked on the roof of the new opera house and fed the birds there,
helped mom and dad walk dogs and feed cats,
learned to ride his tricycle and his mini-tractor,
swam at the beach at Bygdøy,
played lots at grandma Tone's house and is learning Norwegian,
visited lots of people and places, like Bo and Jenny, Sian, Tonje, Taylor and Kelly, Ketil and Eirik, and many more great people!

And wow, how he has developed and grown! Aidan's really tall for his age, and many people think he's 3. Aidan is energetic, strong and fun, and he loves to learn and understand how things work.

He's a sensitive, analytical child, and does not miss a nuance of anything going on around him.

It's fun to have conversations with Aidan. He really understands abstract concepts now, and it amazes me how sophisticated he's gotten in such a short time.
Today's conversation about the trampoline we jump on every day while we stay at Bo and Jenny's house until we can move into our own home:
A: "konalina's (trampoline) very windy."
Mom: "Yes, it's windy outside today!"
A: "Yeah, jump high with wind maybe?"
Mom: "Yes, maybe the wind will make us jump higher? We can try and see!"
A: Yeah, wind moves feet high!"
Mom: "Do you like the wind?"
A: "Yeah, wind not bright sun!"

Cute!!!! Fun!!!!

Aidan's Thomas the Tank Engine 2nd birthday!

Aidan had a wonderful time at his birthday party at Grandma and Pappa's house! Mommy baked 3 cakes, and we all played pin-the-number-on-Thomas while blindfolded game (which uncle Scot tried to cheat at, hehe! :), and had lots of fun!

Pictures!

Aidan with cousins Jacob and Madeline at Uncle Bill's firehouse! Aidan's in awe that he has a "Babu Man" as an uncle. "Babu" is the sound sirens make in Norwegians :)

Two years old and not too terrible!

After loads of adventures in NYC and KS, we're back in Oslo with our big boy. While we were in the USA Aidan's speech developed in leaps and bounds. He now can put 4 word sentences together, and has started describing things to us using adjectives.

It pleasantly stunned us when, after arriving at grandma and pappa Waters house, he said "Pappa's house," "BIG house!" We hadn't said anything to him about the house being big or small, but he used the word "big" on his own, as his own observation. Cool! It's neat that he's using what he's learning to think independently.

My big little man

Aidan, you're so yummy! You've learned to give kisses and hugs and are very loving and sweet. You pucker up for kisses often, and think it's so much fun to be a part of our family group hugs and kisses. You even try to hug Ricky the kitty, in a surprisingly gentle way. You love softly head-butting with Ricky, which is a cat's way of kissing and hugging. We're pleasantly surprised at how you and Ricky are with each other--you're very gentle, and Ricky's very tolerant. You're incredibly observant of everyone and everything, and I continue to be amazed at how much you understand. You're only 22 months old and have what seems a sophisticated understanding of emotions, technical things and a great sense of humor!

Christy and family

Our sweet friends Christy, Sam and Katherine are leaving Oslo tomorrow after 3 months here. They are from Texas and were here on business. Sam worked on a project here, and they lived not too far away from us. We met at "Åpen Barnehage," a playgroup for little kids in Majorstuen near Frognerparken. We were invited to a lovely Thanksgiving dinner at the International Baptist Church that Christy and her family attended while here, and had a really nice time. Aidan made an adorable arts & crafts turkey with the guidance of the pastor's wife, a lovely woman from Tennessee, and we ate lots of good home-made food.

Here's a great picture of Katherine and Aidan, all dressed up:



It's been lovely to get to know Christy and her family. They are wonderful. Christy's a fantastic person. In the short time we've had to get to know one another, Christy's depth and strength and fun have meant a lot to me. And Aidan loves Katherine. We're going to miss them!
Christy told me that there were a number of women here in Oslo, mainly expats, who did not take an interest in getting to know her (or any others in her situation) once they heard that she was only here temporarily. One woman explained that it was too painful to lose contact once people leave. I personally find it enriching to get to know people and connect, no matter how long or short they will physically be in your lives and I'm glad we got to know Christy and her family!