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!

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.

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

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!

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...

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.

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.

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