I started working again today. What a day! Well, it wasn't so bad, I just have a lot of catching up to do. It's kind of exciting to be working again, although I would rather have stayed home a little while longer. Oh well, this is how it is going to be.

Linus (10,5 months now) started day care today as well. We went to visit the day care place three times before he started. I even went away for an hour or so, so he would know that I will come and pick him up - eventually... He did really well today, I was told. He took 3 naps, ate some and explored the place, trying to get to all of those little pieces of trash on the floor! Yes, I did tell the nannies to clean up a little better, because he will put everything in his mouth. :) When we went to pick him up in the afternoon, everyone was gathered around his stroller where he had been sleeping (outside) just a few minutes before. He had just woken up and was enjoying all those admiring faces around him. He was happy to see us, didn't cry or seem like he thought we had abandoned him... :D I was very happy that his first day went well. And it was a fairly easy transition, since we have the weekend ahead of us. On Monday we will go back, we'll see how next week goes.

Anyway, I am pretty tired, I did have to use my brain a bit today, it's exhausting. hee hee... I hope to have the energy to keep updating this blog even though I am working on a computer all day. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Oh, and please leave comments when you visit, it's nice to know who's been here. :D Have a good weekend!

My sister Pauliina had a baby girl on Saturday, March 7th, on my mom's birthday! She is sooo cute and small! They get to go home today. In Finland it's common for the mother and the baby to stay in the hospital for 3 or 4 days after the birth. Here are a few pics (sorry, the quality isn't the best...):

Linus turned 10 months about a week ago. He sure is getting to be a big boy. He's moving around the house, scooting around on his belly. He loooooves to play with his big brothers, and when they have their own plays to play, he likes to hang around and play next to them. Aleksi and Otso still have the patience to play with Linus and Aleksi especially wants to include Linus in their play.

Linus finally got his first tooth while we were in Kajaani for the winter break. The first tooth to break through was the upper tooth, but the two middle teeth in the bottom jaw are soon to pop out as well. Last night Linus was tossing and turning and whining, probably because he is teething (I hope). And the drooling - oh my god! :D Poor guy.

Here are some pictures of our boy. He is happy sitting up now as well. He doesn't fall over much any more. Sometimes he climbs on and over big teddy bears and gets into a crawling position on his hands and knees.

This post will be both in Finnish and in English. We are back home! It was a nice week in Kajaani, although Emett didn't get to take any vacation time. He was working on my sister Katriina and her boyfriend Teemu's kitchen the whole time. Well, the result looks excellent! See for yourself!

Kaapistot ja ovet tulivat Ikealta (ovimalli Ädel valkoinen), tammitasot Puukeskukselta, kodinkoneet Teknisilta. Saarekkeen kohdalla oli ennen valiseina, jonka Katriina ja Teemu purkivat pois. Saareke on n. 90 cm syva ja 160 cm levea ja siina on 6 isoa ihanaa laatikkoa! Olohuoneen puolella on n. 30 cm "lippa", joten jalat mahtuvat mukavasti, kun siina istuskelee. Saareke on 40mm paksua massiivitammea.

This is an Ikea kitchen, the doors and the countertops are just like ours. The door handles are different though. There used to be a dividing wall where the big oak island is now. The island is about 3 feet deep and a 5,5 feet wide and it has 6 wide full extension drawers in it. The living room side of the island has a foot deep overhang so you can sit there comfortably.

Tasot 40mm massiivitammea. Mikro on entinen, se vaihtuu rosteriseen. Laatta on 20x30 cm, jossa pienia "viirulaattaa". Kodinkoneet rosteriset, Rosenlev. Liesikupu Ikealta.

40mm thick oak countertop. The microwave is an old one, they are getting a new stainless steel one soon.

Ikkunan vieressa on jaakaappi-pakastin, jonka vieressa tosi kateva kaappi. Ovi avautuu normaalisti ja sisalla on taysin avautuvat laatikot/korit, aivan mahtava systeemi. Ei jaa taakse tavarat piiloon ja kayttamatta!

Next to the fridge/freezer combo is a wonderful pantry with full extension gliders in drawers/baskets. A perfect cabinet for any kitchen: nothing will be lost and forgotten in the back.

Astianpesukone on korkeammalla, jotta se olisi helpompi kayttaa (tayttaa/tyhjentaa).

The dish washer is set higher for user comfort. (It's still missing the white cover at the bottom.)

Keittio on aika kapea (n. 80 cm), mutta pienen perheen yksi kokki sopii sinne ihan hyvin. :D Tassa remonttimies ja Aleksi-apulainen.

The kitchen is pretty narrow (a little short of 3 feet), but is good for a small family with only one person cooking. :D

Next week is a winter holiday (called "x-country skiing holiday") at schools here in the north. We are going away to Kajaani for the week. We will pack up our skis and skates and hopefully will be able to go out a lot next week.

Emett will also pack all of his tools, because he will be remodeling my sister Katriina's kitchen while we are there. Hopefully everything goes well and the Ikea delivery was correct.

Well, we won't have the internet available to us for a week, so I will talk to you later!

Just a few pictures to share with you...

Aleksi and Emett went for a walk one day. It was a gorgeous day although it was pretty cold, about 0 degrees Fahrenheit. They went out into the woods and walked along snowmobile and tractor tracks. All of a sudden they found themselves close to Grandfather's place (about a mile from our home), although they were close to our own home. So they had to make their way back from there. They were out for a good couple of hours.

Linus has been sitting on the potty a couple of times, just for fun really. He likes to read books while doing his business.  He has peed a few times, because I can time it better: when he wakes up from his nap he is likely to pee soon. But don't worry, I'm not potty training him yet! Here's his first time at 9 months:

EDIT: Feb. 26th. We have caught two "number twos" and a few "number ones" so far, yay! :D

And last but not least is another picture of the happy brothers. They really enjoy each other's company (for now). Linus likes to just play around his brothers and watch them play. Unfortunately they are always on the move, hence a shaky Otso in the pic...

Last Sunday Finns celebrated the Christian holiday of laskiainen, also known as Mardi Gras in many parts of the world. This holiday prepares for the 40 day fast before Easter. On laskiainen people used to eat a lot of meat and fatty food, because during the following fast one was not supposed to eat meat (hence the word carneval from latin carne vale "leave the meat"). Also, eating greasy, fatty food was believed to make the cattle give lots of milk and to make the pigs big and fat.

There were other beliefs as well, many of which had to do with agriculture. People used to go sledding, and the farther you would go on your sled, the taller your linen would grow. When sledding, people called out for "long linens, fine hemp, rutabegas big as plates and swedes as big as ends of logs!". If women wore their hair down and brushed it often, the linen was to grow tall, clean, white and shiny. Today families still go sledding on laskiaissunnuntai (Sunday) or -tiistai (Tuesday). Many cities/villages organize winter carnevals with sledding, hoijakka (see picture below), snowmobile and pony rides for kids. A hoijakka is a sled that is attached to a long pole. A person or two are needed to push on the other end of the pole to give a fast ride for the other one sitting in the sled.

And to avoid going home hungry, you can treat yourself to pea soup, sausage and a special laskiaispulla, a sweet bun with raspberry jam (or almond paste, which I don't like) and whipped cream in the middle (yum yum).

We were in Kajaani last weekend and Aleksi, Otso, Emett and my dad went to the laskiais carneval in Kajaani. They were sledding pretty fast and far: there was a sledding competition to see who went the fastest. The organizers had brought a radar (like the ones the police use) and Aleksi went as fast as 20 km/h! Otso and Emett together got up to 25 km/h but you were not allowed to go together if you wanted to compete. Aleksi also went on a hoijakka and a snowmobile ride. They had a good time, although the boys got a little cold at the end.

Otso turned 5 years old on Monday, February 16th. I can't believe our little Otso is 5 already! Although, he really is a big boy. He has grown 2 inches from last year and he looks like a big boy now. Not so "chubby" anymore, like small kids. Hehe, as if Otso ever was chubby... Poor guy only weighs about 32 pounds!! (14.4 kg today at the nurse's check up) He is growing normally though, following his own curves on the charts. He's just a skinny little guy, strong but skinny. :D And we love him so!

We celebrated Otso's 5th birthday with family and friends on Sunday. Otso had invited a few friends over from day care and we also had some family friends come over. My mom came over on Friday to help with cleaning and kids while I was baking for the party. My dad and sister Katriina came from Kajaani on Sunday. Pauliina, who is 37 weeks pregnant (any day now!!), decided wisely to stay home.

Otso got really cool gifts. He was very pleased with all the gifts and even pointed out how his guests had known to pick out cool wrapping paper as well! :D Here are some of the presents:

A board game and long underwear with crazy cool skulls from Aila-mummu.

A Wall-E back pack from Sanna and Jarno, Otso's godparents. A big hit!

Playing with the new Transformer, Dark Crumplezone, a bad guy! From Ukki and Katriina.

A snow sled Walrus and a Cars activity book from Otso's friends Lauri and Ahti.

Otso also received the junior version of Taboo (called Alias here in Finland), a Wall-E activity book, a Moomin book, and a cool Lego car.

The party went well: the kids ran around and stuffed themselves with treats (Aleksi so much that he got a stomach ache. Again.)

Otso selected a Transformers theme for his b-day, so I made him a Transformer cake with the Autobot symbol on top. He was very happy with such a "rad" cake.

"Congratulations" spelled in a Transformer font, hehe :D

Five candles!

Blowing hard!

There were no Transformer paper plates or cups available in stores here, so we had to improvise. I printed out pictures of Transformers, which I then taped onto the cups. The paper plates were red and the napkins were blue. Easy. Hehe.

Eating goodies with the guests Ahti and Lauri.

Ahti and Otso digging in. The tool shaped gingerbread cookies (in the foreground), decorated by Aleksi and Otso, were a big hit among the little boys. And the big ones as well. :D

Aleksi and Lauri.

Auntie Katriina and Ukki.

We had a sort of a treasure hunt, where the kids were to find puzzle pieces to make up the autobot symbol. After all the pieces were put together, each kid got a bag with a Transformer book mark (self made again), a sticker and some candy.

The boys listening to treasure hunt instructions on the couch.

Aaron, Elsa, Miska and Celia Bergdahl. Eljas is missing from the picture.

All and all we had a lovely day, Otso enjoyed being the center of attention, he liked all of his presents and had a good time playing with his friends. We had a good time, too.

Valentine's Day is a new holiday in Finland. It was only introduced here in the 90s, I think, and is not as big as it is in the US. We also call it a "friends' day" and thus it is not so much celebrated by couples as it is by friends in general.

The kids made Valentine's Day cards at kindergarten and day care. Aleksi made each of us a card, which he secretly delivered to our mail box for us to find. The cards were very nice and thoughtful. At home he made Valentine's Day gingerbread cookies to his teachers and friends (all boys). For some reason the boys hadn't wanted the cookies (???) so he was a little upset about that. I would have been too! Strange...?

Otso had made a card for Linus at day care. The teachers had asked Otso (and the other kids) to say something about friendship and so Linus' card read: "About friendship: Linus is small and cute. Otso". :D It was very cute. Otso also received a card from his best friend Anton. Anton's card read: "Friendship is being able to play together. Let's be friends!" :D

Aila-mummu (grandmother) was visiting us on Valentine's Day weekend, so we made a card for her as well. I also made cards for the kids, because Aleksi especially was expecting to receive some cards in the mail... We also had some Valentine's Day muffins and heart shaped candy. I received a nice bunch of white tulips from my wonderful husband.

Yesterday, February 5th, was Runeberg's day. Johan Ludvig Runeberg was a Swedish speaking Finn, a poet and a writer, who lived in the 1800's. He wrote many books that are considered Finnish national classics. Our national anthem got its lyrics from Runeberg's poem.

Anyway, Finns usually treat themselves to a specific pastry on the poet's birthday, namely the "Runeberg's pastry". It is told that the recipe was created by his wife, Fredrika Runeberg, and the poet used to have a pastry with his morning drink (yuck..). I made some for us to enjoy as well. They were tasty. Yum yum. :D

Wow, it sure has been snowing a lot these past two days. This winter has been nice, we have more snow than usual, which is great, and it hasn't been too cold or too warm. Just perfect.

Yesterday was a really windy day and it blew snow everywhere in big dunes. When you were done shovelling the driveway, it had filled up again. Today it is snowing still and we are expecting a couple more days of the same. I guess this is the same storm that closed down London.

It's always funny to us when other countries have to close schools when they get a snow storm. It's just not possible for them to get to places. Here we are always prepared for snow, since we always will have snow in the winter (I hope!). The streets get plowed early in the morning and winter tires are mandatory, even in foreign cars. The kids wait for the school bus to come pick them up at the normal time, which it does. They are brought  back home like always. Recess and outdoor play won't be disturbed by a little bit of snow. Well, if it gets below -15C (or -26F) the kids are allowed to stay indoors for recess. Everyone wears a winter jacket and winter pants, a warm hat and a pair of warm gloves (like skiing gloves, not mittens). Boots are warm and water resistant. Not too shabby at all! If you don't know how to dress for the climate, you are screwed.

Aleksi making his way from the bus to the porch yesterday.

Linus turned 9 months old a few days ago. He is now mobile and scoots around the house, getting into trouble... I took him to his regular check-up and he hadn't grown that much in the past two months. Just about a pound in weight and a half an inch. So now I am adding vegetable oil in his food to give him more calories. He eats pretty well, but since he is no longer nursing at night, that cuts down some of his calories.

Speaking of not nursing anymore, I am sleeping worse than ever! Linus has been waking up every hour (literally, every hour!), just whining a bit before falling back to sleep. That, of course, wakes me up, depriving me of any continuous sleep. He will often wake up at 4.30-5.30 to nurse, sometimes falling back to sleep, sometimes not. I hardly ever fall asleep after that. In the morning I am very very tired and cranky. It was much easier when I was nursing him: at least I was able to go back to sleep right away and he only woke up a couple of times a night. *yawn* I am hoping that this will pass, otherwise I don't know what I will do. Well, besides go crazy. But about the waking up and all... Maybe he is finally getting his teeth? I have blamed teething too many times, I don't think this is it either. Might be his new skill, too. He has to wake up and practise at night.

Other than that he is doing well: he's happy like always, looooves his big brothers and likes to explore our house. :)

Linus and Aleksi watching tv.

We have started having a game night every Friday, since we all enjoy playing board and card games. This way we will definitely take the time and spend it with our kids, playing the games they enjoy. We have been playing "Go fish!", Uno, Tower, Operation, Snakes and ladders, and other fun games.

The boys, especially Otso, likes to play games and he doesn't really care whether he wins or loses. Aleksi on the other hand gets a little upset if he loses a game and that's why sometimes he says he doesn't want to play at all... We have tried to tell him it's okay to lose in a game, because it's just a game! One time we were playing Snakes and Ladders, Aleksi was well in the lead, all excited about that of course... When all of a sudden his luck changed: he had to return almost to the very beginning.. oh the look on his face... Anyway, as games go, we all got our ups and downs and eventually Aleksi won that particular game. He was very surprised and excited. Maybe that will show him the uncertainty of board games, the ones involving no strategy...

Well, I will start making pizza for our game night dinner!

Well, finally! :D We have been waiting for Linus to start crawling. He is about 8,5 months old now. Before he's only been rolling around, turning from his back to his belly and again to his back. That's a fine way of getting around, too! Now he has figured out the way to scoot himself forward and is exploring new areas of the house. He is enjoying himself, although sometimes he still forgets how to do it and extends his arms waaaay back, pretending to fly.

Linus has been weened off the night-time nursing, so I get more sleep nowadays. He still wakes up when he's turning onto his stomach at night, and I have to roll him back over to his side. Other than that he sleeps pretty soundly. He still sleeps in our room, because I don't want to go all the way across the hallway to turn him over.... It's easier to have him right next to me. At some point he will move into the kids' room with Aleksi and Otso. Thank goodness the boys' room is big enough for all three. For now.

Anyway, congratulations on your new talent, Linus!

I uploaded a few more pictures of the boys and of a cake that I made for a friends' daughter. Here are the links:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51949&l=2384d&id=837062295

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51951&l=04c60&id=837062295

EDIT: Well let me try if I can add some of them here... Last time it took so long I was about to go crazy!

Otso and Aleksi at our barn door. Emett made a nice wreath.

Santa paid us a visit!

My beautiful boys!

Linus enjoying the fire place

Elsa's birthday cake (our friends Miska and Aaron's daughter)

Hi everyone!

I don't know if anyone is reading this anymore, now that I haven't been updating the blog in a month... Well, I was busy with Christmas and New Year's and you know, time just flies! I have added some pictures from our trip to NM here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38049&l=2ad28&id=837062295

And some Christmas pictures are available here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=49566&l=0ebc8&id=837062295

We settled in our normal life and routines fairly well, although it took us about a week to get back into normal time schedule. We just couldn't get up in the morning, it was terrible! But eventually we had to get back into the rhythm, because Aleksi had to start kindergarten again.

What happened next was that Aleksi broke his wrist on his second day of kindergarten. He fell off of a climbing "thingie", a jungle-gym or whatever you call them, in school. It was icy so he just couldn't hold on. He had a cast for three weeks. It didn't really bother him, just the fact that we couldn't go cross-country skiing or he couldn't go to the sauna was a bit sad. Now his wrist has fully recovered and he's skiing and skating like everyone else.

Linus has been happy sleeping outside in the stroller again. He naps for about 2-3 hours at a time. Indoors he seems to get only about an hour. Lately he has had to sleep inside, for it's been so cold, -18 C which is about 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Otherwise he's doing well, growing, getting more hair, eating a lot. I started using cloth diapers again when we got back home. It sure is nice not to have to buy so many diapers. Linus is still not crawling or sitting up on his own, the will is there though! He is always on a carpet, because our wooden floors are so cold, so that might have a little bit to do with not crawling yet. He still has no teeth either. Oh well, he's only 8 months old.

Otso has enjoyed going to day care twice a week, playing with his friends. He sure picked up a lot of Enligsh in NM, which we are very happy about. He now speaks English with Emett most of the time. Him and Aleksi love playing with their Wall-E robots and micromachine cars etc. They always have to have the "good guys" and the "bad guys" involved in their games.

Emett's been working on his dad's house. They are putting sheet rock upstairs. I have been busy doing ... um... nothing? well, taking care of the kids and the home. I also had a great time preparing for Christmas, baking, cooking etc. I will have to write more about our Christmas later. Now I have to go and put Linus down for a nap.

Huomenna aamulla lahtee lento klo 7.10. Olen tosiaan laittanut poikia aina pikkuisen aikaisemmin nukkumaan ja kiskonut ne ylos sangysta aina pikkuisen aikaisemmin. Eilen menivat nukkumaan klo 18 ja heratys oli klo 5. Tanaan nukkuma-aika oli jo klo 17 (ja menivat kaikki kiltisti) ja aamulla heratys klo 4.

Viimeinen jenkkipaiva meni kivasti, kaytiin kirkossa (!!), kun Donna halusi. Heidan seurakunnassa jarjestetaan aina kerran kuussa nyyttikestit sunnuntaikirkon jalkeen, joten tehtiin sita minun bataatti-sipuli-paistosta (nami) viemisiksi. Amerikassahan tosi monet kayvat kirkossa ahkerasti, mutta se ei ole ollenkaan samanlaista kuin koti-Suomessa. Meidan kirkko on aika jaykka juttu, taalla meininki on rennompaa. Tosin ei tama Donnan ja Jamesin kirkko (New Life Fellowship, baptistikirkko) ole mikaan semmoinen mustien sirkuskirkko. :) Enivei, tama kirkko kokoontuu semmoisessa rahjaisessa varastorakennuksessa (minun mielipide), joka muistuttaa jotain surkeaa koulurakennusta. Enivei, sama kai tuo, missa sita Sanaa kuuntelee. Mina ja pojat skipattiin koko jumalanpalvelus ja oltiin lapsille varatussa leikkihuoneessa leikkimassa. Linus jopa otti puolen tunnin tirsat siella pinnasangyssa. Emett siella karvisteli sitten tunnin verran kirkonpenkissa (=tuolissa). Jumalanpalveluksen jalkeen oli sitten ruokailun vuoro n. klo 12, joka oli poikien paivallinen. :) hehe, siis tasta minun aikataulun muutoksesta johtuen. Ruoka oli hyvaa ja sita oli paljon.

Sitten ollaan pakkailtu, pojat riehu ulkona viela viimeisen kerran ilman takkia ja lakkia (kuvitella, joulukuussa...) ja pakkasivat omat aarteensa sun muut rojut mukaan. Kaikki maaliman "kristallikivet" ja simpukankuoret piti saada raahata mukaan. oih. No, itsepahan kassinsa kantavat kentilla.

Saa nahda, miten lennot menevat. Dallasissa on reilu kahden tunnin vaihto, New Yorkissa vain tunnin. Matkalaukut eivat varmasti ehdi Helsingin koneeseen, joten olemme varautuneet siihen. Helsingissa pitais odotella pari tuntia ennen kuin Blue1 kuskaa meidat Ouluun. Steve ja Alison tulevat hakemaan meidat kentalta. Onpas kiva tulla kotiin!!!

Eilen torstaina kavimme Grammien ja koko meidan perheen kanssa Albuquerquessa elaintarhassa. ABQ:n elaintarha on tosi kiva paikka, tama oli varmaan 4. kerta, kun kavin siella. Se on melkein kokonaan ulkoilmatarha, saa taalla on niin lammin ja vahasateinen. Talla kertaa meille osui aurinkoinen, joskin vahan viilea ilma. Oltiin melkein ainoita koko elaintarhassa, muutama muu lapsi vanhempansa kanssa osui "tielle". Oli oikein mukavaa ja kiva reissu. Jotkin elaimet vaan eivat olleet ulkona, esim. melkein kaikki apinat ja simpanssit olivat jossain muualla, en tieda missa. Nahtiin paljon muita elaimia, kuten jaakarhuja, leijonia, lumileopardi vauvoineen, virtahepoja, villisikoja, gepardeja ja muita kissaelaimia, vapaana kassastelevia riikinkukkoja, flamingoja, hylkeita, merileijonia ym. ym. Pojatkin olivat innoissaan reissusta. Linus oli tapansa mukaan liinakyydissa. Han otti pienet tirsat ravintolan poydalla silla aikaa kun me muut soimme lounasta. :)

Elaintarhakaynnin jalkeen meilla oli tarkoitus menna viela Pauletten ja Jimin luo, mutta Pauletten selka vihoitteli, joten siirrettiin kylareissua lauantaille. Jos nyt ehditaan menna... Ollaan hulluna osteltu jotain viimehetken juttuja (kuten matkalaukkuja, joissa tuoda kaikki tavara takas Suomeen) ja tanaan pitaa jo vahan pakkailla ensimmaisia juttuja. Huomenna pitaa yrittaa herata viimeistaan klo 6, sunnuntaina viimeistaan klo 5, jotta maanantaina osataan herata n. klo 4! Meidan lento lahtee aamulla klo 7.10 ja kentalla pitaa olla n. klo 6. Eli meidan pitaa lahtea ajamaan taalta pikkuisen klo 5 jalkeen. Huhhuh!

No me tietenkin jatettiin kaikki shoppailu ihan viimetinkaan, kuten tavallista. Emett hengaili Ronnien kanssa viela maanantain, Ronnie tuli meille yoksi. Tiistaina eli eilen vietiin aamulla Ronnie takaisin vanhempiensa luo, josta han sitten lahti takaisin Alaskaan kotiinsa. Oli tosi kiva nahda Ronnieta pitkasta aikaa.

Sitten mentiinkin taas shoppailemaan. Linus oli mukana ja koko paivahan siina melkein meni. Kaytiin Babies 'R Us:issa ja sitten taas ostarille. Emett loysi vaatteita ja hienomman takin ja ostettiin me leluja pojillekin. Joululahjat pojille on siis paketissa. Sanna - lautapeli on enemman kuin tervetullut Otsolle! Han tykkaa kovasti pelata Viikinkiseikkailua, jonka Pauliina osti pojille viime vuonna joululahjaksi. Muita lautapeleja meilla ei oikein olekaan. Unokortit vaan, joita Otso myos rakastaa!

Tanaan kaytiin Donnan kanssa jalkahoidossa! Siis kuvitelkaa, jalkahoidossa! :D Oli oikein mukavaa, en olekaan ennen kaynyt. Istuttiin hierovassa nojatuolissa ja tati rapsutteli jalkoja. Sai minun kamalan kuivat kantapaatkin oikein pehmoisiksi! Ja teki jotain hienoa kynsille ja lakkasi ne sievalla varilla! Harmi vaan, kun nyt pitaa laittaa sukat ja sisatossut jalkaan, pitais oikeesti kulkea hienoissa sandaaleissa ja naytella uudistuneita varpaita! hehe

Taalla on vielakin aurinkoista (milloinkas ei olisi...) mutta ilma on nyt hieman viilentynyt. Tuuli on melkein navakkaa ja aika vilpoisaa. Toivottavasti Suomessa on viela lunta, kun tulemme kotiin ensi viikon tiistaina. Voi olla vahan outoa tulla sinne pimeaan, taalla kun tosiaan on paistanut aurinko ihan joka paiva kunnolla. Aurinko nousee taalla joskus ehka klo 6.30 tai 7 ja laskee siina 16.30-17. Aurinko muuten nousee ja laskee taalla oikein salamannopeasti. Viuh vaan ja on auringonlasku nahty, mita sita suotta pitkittamaan! hihih

no nyt pitaa taas laittaa Linus nukkumaan. Linus muuten taytti eilen 7kk. On jo iso poika. Hampaita ei ole edelleenkaan kuulunut. Lattialla mongertaa mutta ei viela oikein ryomi. Eilen ja tanaan yhden kerran taisi vetaa itseaan hieman eteenpain, lieko ollut vahinko. Kaantyilee jo selalta molemmille puolille mahalleen ja takaisin selalleen. Linuksen vauvatukka on nyt melkein kokonaan lahtenyt ja uutta tukkaa pukkaa vauhdilla. Takaraivon kalju pitaa viela sinnikkaasti pintansa. Kovasti herra aina karjahtelee ja kiljahtelee ilosta/suutuksissaan ja isoveljet ovat edelleen aivan sikaihania. Uusi temppu on kielen nayttaminen ja sen "pureminen". Ruokia maistellaan ja syodaan ja ihan kivasti menee se puoli. Yolla heraa vaihtelevasti 0-3 kertaa yleensa, vahan riippuu kaikesta. Silmat ovat jo ruskeat ja tukka vaalea hento. :) Mutta nyt siis nukuttamaan pikkuherraa.

Tanaan oli Grampyn synttarit. Muistaakseni 58 v? umm..  pitanee tarkistaa. Laulettiin Happy Birthday ja Grampy sai kaikkien allekirjoittaman laulavan kortin (ou jee) ja jonkun tietokonevekottimen, Emett sen oli hankkinut. Tais olla joku USB-porttijuttu, johon saa 4 USB juttua kiinni. Olihan hyvin selitetty, olihan? :D hehe Kaytiin sitten iltapaivalla syomassa Los Lunasissa (toinen pikkuinen kylapahanen tassa ihan likella) Ribs-ravintolassa. Siella saa kunnolla lihaa, jos mieli tekee! Linus oli hulluna kaikkeen, mita poydassa nakyi. Maistoi Grammien papusoossia, kun kuolasi niin kovasti sen peraan. Hihkui ja kikatti ja kiljahteli koko ajan. Han on ilmeisesti "loytanyt aanensa" ja nyt harjotellaan kovasti sen kayttoa!! Huhhuh!

Emett lahti nyt viela illalla Ronnien kanssa Albuquerqueen elokuviin ja hengailemaan. Huomenna Ronnie mahtaa tulla kaymaan taalla Belenissa. Ehka. Taalla on muuten tanaan tuullut ihan sikakovaa. 50 mailia tunnissa, eli mitahan se tekee metreina sekuntissa... no, kovaa puhaltaa kuiteski! Otso raukalla jai sormet screen door -oven (eli se pikkuovi ennen varsinaista ulko-ovea, jos ulkoapain katsotaan) valiin, kun tuuli niin kovaa. Eika se raasu saanut ovea kiskottua itse auki, kun tuuli niin kovaa, ja sormet oli vaan valissa. Auts! Onneksi olin lahella ja sain oven auki ja sitten piti puhaltaa pipiin kovaa.

Viimeinen viikko alkaa huomenna. Meidan lento lahtee takasin pain ensi viikon maanantaina joskus aika aikaisin aamulla, nain muistelen. Aikaerosta johtuen Suomessa ollaan kuitenkin vasta tiistain puolella, Oulussa muistaakseni joskus iltapaivalla. Saapahan nahda, millaisia tauteja tuodaan sitten Suomeen mukanamme, oivoi... Ei passaa viela alkaa murehtimaan niista. Nyt koisaamaan!