Wow, long time no post... So we are back to our regular life again (feels so good!), which is busy, and suddenly it is soon time for Christmas, just a short break for Thanksgiving first. One of our coops finished last week and the other one has one more week left, next week, before Christmas break.
Noah has made some impressive improvements being more independent. He still wants to be with me while at the coops but I can leave him in the classroom with others for a while without any problems and he is more engaged in the activities without me needing to sit next to him. I am so happy to see this!! On Thursdays he has been over at a friend's house while Marlee has coop and he has done great! She has a daughter his age and they play good together when Marlee is not there. He has a tendency to take over when he is with them. I believe it is good for Noah to have some time without Marlee since they are always together.
Noah at the Friday coop. He is doing so good! Showing such patience when coloring and doing school work.
We have sent four boxes with toys with an organization and they will go to four children somewhere in the world. It will be possible to track the boxes to see where they go and the boys sent a letter in each box writing about themselves. So exciting!!
Writing the letters for the boxes
Packing the bexes
The last day before Christmas with our Friday coop. Pajamas Friday :-) Thanksgiving craft activity.
It is exhausting for little ones to be at coop. Gabriel always nap in the stroller in the afternoon.
And this little guy naps, too. Had to be in the car seat this time :-)
Relaxing with pappa watching TV :-)
Just being sweet
I took the boys to the beach the other day to try to take a Christmas picture. I am not sure we will use any of the pictures, thought. It was impossible to get a picture where they all look at the camera and look normal!
Probably the best picture I got...
Probably not the best picture I got...
I still have the most adorable objects to take pictures of :-)
Chilling at the beach
We have talked about harvesting our sweet potatoes for a while, and now we finally did!! So yummy!!
Simply being a cutie!
November 23 this little booger turned two months!!!
Yesterday was Thanksgiving!! We were lucky to have Aunt Jackie staying here with her grandson Nick and his two sons. The boys had a blast with his third cousins!! We all had a great dinner at farmor's and farfar's house with delicious food and good company! Aunt Peggy build a ginger bread house with the kids, which has become kind of a tradition now. They had so much fun with her!
Concentrated!
Gabriel having so much fun with farfar
Rafael relaxing with farmor
The weather now is absolutely gorgeous and I hope to be outside a little more now.
We have had some trouble with the chickens lately because they escape. However, Jackie helped us to cut their wings so hopefully they will stay in our back yard now!
Lice are gone, everyone are getting use to little brother Rafael, Hurricane has passed and the Chickenpox is gone. Wow! I think we might be back to a normal life soon, but, knock on wood, I do not dare to say that...
When Alex is on a business trip and the chickens should go into their house, this is where they hide!!
Visitor in the chicken coop! (turtle)
While Marlee was at coop and PE, and Noah had to stay home because of Chickenpox, we made "Lussebullar" with the fresh yeast mormor and morfar brought :-) Noah was really good at rolling them!
One of Noah's Lussebullar
We have a new "round" of building forts in the house. This time they took it a little further and are now making them in their bed at night. They tent to break during the night when they move around in the their sleep.
Noah in his bed fort
Marlee in his bed fort
Some cute pictures of Rafael and Gabriel. Unfortunately the focus is more on the clothes than on the faces but I still think that they are very cute :-)
No fort for Rafael...
I don't remember what he was sad about but he was so sweet when he came and laid down on our bed <3
I let Marlee and Noah sleep in our bed when Alex was gone, but where is it room for me!?
Just got some clothes from a friend. Look at this cute train conductor!!
Hold on to moments like this!!! I could sit like this forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Having fun taking selfies with my favorite boys, I mean with all but one! ;-)
The chickenpox has kept us home for the most part and kept us away from some of our weekly activities, but since the chickenpox kids in this family has not been feeling sick we have been able to do school work as normal. We have actually been able to do more than before and it feels like we are finally getting as much done as I want! With all the stuff that has been going on we just never were able to get any good routines but maybe this is the time!?
Anyways, Marlee and Noah have had a "Reward snake" each where they get stickers when school job gets done. This last week they both finished a snake (Noah's first and Marlee's second) which means that they get a surprise. It can be a thing or an activity. Marlee got some well needed tennis shoes (that he got to pick when only the two of us went shopping) and Noah Lego.
The new snakes that we hope to finish before Christmas! This time each square is related to a specific task, except for the question marks that are open for any kind of work/activity etc.
Tomorrow we are all going to coop for the first time in several weeks!!!! Oh, actually not, Noah and Gabriel are actually going to a friend's house, which will be more fun than being in the nursery at the coop, but still, we will all be out of the house!
Almost forgot, a little video of Rafael. He smiles now, but not much in this video..
Marlee and Gabriel had the Chickenpox for a little more than a week last week and could clear them both and Marlee could attend the coops again. Neither of them have felt sick and they have just wanted to leave the house and see their friends. Well finally we could and we had a great weekend with no one being sick! Until Sunday night... I was out with a friend and had dinner and did not see it until this morning, but now Noah has the Chickenpox!!! So we are back to stay in the house. At least I can let Marlee and Gabriel out because they are not contagious.
Gabriel is sooo sweet with his baby brother and I am almost certain that Rafael is smiling deliberately :-)
This guy likes his new furry friends
Since no one really felt sick we have tried to be creative while being "looked" in the house :-) Apart from doing school work we have also baked, carved pumpkins and done arts and crafts.
One of the math books mormor brought
Marlee got a few of them, too
After the squirrels found our pumpkins...
Making Swedish Gotlandslimpa with fresh yeast
Since Marlee had the chicken pox when we went to the corn maze with mormor and morfar he got to go with pappa now when he was all well again. That gave me and Noah the chance to do something only the two of us, while Gabriel and Rafael were napping. It was so nice! We started building a monster truck that he got for his birthday from a friends.
We have finished building it by now but still need to paint it and put on stickers
Making fall trees with tissue paper (never through away tissue paper if you have kids!!)
Birch trees in the fall
Aunt Cindy and Uncle Danny came to visit us the other night and they brought bear and dear meat that they have caught themselves. We had bear chili for dinner which was very exciting! I could not really tell what it tasted like when being in the chili but it is supposed to be a little sweeter than beef.
Gabriel liked the bear chili and put some in his hair...
October 23 Rafael was 1 month old!! We got the monthly stickers as a gift, one for each month :-)
Is it just me or are they making the same face here!?
The whole gang!
Still no teeth...
We made it to the beach with friends yesterday!! So nice!!
I found this picture on facebook of the beach by us before and after the hurricane. Thought it was interesting.
This morning one of the chickens had escaped from our back yard, but it seemed to be missing home because she was waiting outside the fence when we found her :-)
