Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Pee dance

OK, so the video is out, on limited release.

Due to the, ah, sensitive nature of the content: send us a mail - use the envelope link below, or email us directly- and we'll send you the link to a restricted webalbum which should provide some entertainment...

Trip to the Aquarium

My boys checking out the sharks
Cecilie found Nemo!
The best dolphin trick of the day
Nilsen kids hanging out at Chipotle (our most favorite Mexican)

Lars got hungry whilst we were upstairs getting aquarium-ready. Points for initiative, more points for looking so cute that you convince your sister to clean up for you. You can see the void in the sea of Rice Krispies where his bowl was - he was ultimately successful in securing his snack, and when we discovered him he was calmly spooning up the good stuff.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Chipped Beef - in the canon

I have spent what amounts to an unhealthily large amount of time lately, on trying to remember the details of what, in my mind, is simply astounding craftsmanship: the number one top passage from any book ever written.

Last night I dug it out and here I am, sharing it with you:

"...the reverend insists that we occupy the first pew. He rang us up not long ago, tipsy -he's a tippler - saying that our faces brought him closer to God. And is it's true, we're terribly good-looking people. They are using my mother's profile on the new monorail token, and as for my father and me, the people at NASA want to design a lunar module based on the shape of our skulls. Our cheekbones are aeronautic and the clefts of our chins can hold up to three dozen BBs at a time. When asked, most people say that my greatest asset is my skin, which glows -it really does! I have to tie a sock over my eyes in order to fall asleep at night. Others like my eyes or my perfect, gleaming teeth, my thick head of hair or my imposing stature, but if you want my opinion, I think my most outstanding feature is my ability to accept a compliment."

I can remember not being able to sleep the first time I read it, it was Christmas '98 and Uncle John Who Plays the Organ had given me a book called "Naked", by David Sedaris. Little did I know that I had been touched by greatness by this simple gift and I didn't open it for a few days (having more important things to do...). Then, when I was prompted to read it, this is what met my eyes on the very first page; move over Beethoven and Shakespeare too.

So yes, thinking of what book to buy next? - think no further!

Thursday, January 4, 2007

Potty Time

Lars has been standing naked in front of the grownup toilet purposefully, yelling 'me Daddy! me Daddy!' So we dragged the little potty down from the attic, just to sort of humor him.

Well lo & behold, Lars has mastery of the old 'stop n' start' method, and his greatest joy before bathtime is to pee 3 drops, look down to check it out, and then run circles around the bathroom proudly whilst we all cheer for him. He then runs back to pee another 3 drops, and do the whole victory dance again. We do this about 6 times in a row before we all get bored and throw him in the tub.

Cecilie is SO encouraging - she gives him huge hugs every time he does his 3 drops and brought a GIANT stack of books into the bathroom for him to peruse while he practices sitting. (This was all that was required for our book worm to potty train: 26 books later, she was bound to produce something!) So far, Lars won't stay on the potty long enough to get through one page, much less one book.

So I am quite convinced that this is a fleeting novelty, and if we got serious about it he'd lose all interest. So we'll let the potty sit there, and let him do his victory dance when he feels like it. But he IS hilarious.

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

New Years Resolutions

What was yours?

Calling home is my big one. But one that I think is more worth sharing is to start giving to charity again. Due to financial constraints I am going to start carefully but I have found my first project: The Delmarva Photo Big Year

Jim Brighton is going to try to take photographs of 700 species of birds, mammals, reptiles & amphibians, butterflies, dragonflies, and damselflies found on the Delmarva Peninsula (that would be the peninsula DELaware MARyland and VirginiA share between them; a place Jim calls home, and the rest of us call the Eastern Shore, or just "The Beach").

While he spend his (NOT YOUR) money on getting around to the bird watching sites, he has asked that you make a pledge to the
American Bird Conservancy to save the Junin Grebe from extinction. Big industry, government and meaner (not to mention FLYING) birds are out to put an end to this bird that only can be found on one lake in Peru, for more details on the bird and its plight, check this site out...

$20, even $30 I can find, I think, and you can once more call me good ol' philanthrope.

The sweet thing is of course if all of us does that we can build them Grebe lake front condos and maybe even arm them to to blow their enemies to smithereens. (I think what they are planning is to buy the lake and protect it from development...)

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

Present time

Never did a tea set seem so mighty fine...
Dump truck for the dump truck hero
...but best of all: TOOOLS
Snow white couldn't find a better home... "How did Santa know exactly what I wanted for Christmas?"

Stockings and waiting at Grandma and Grandpa's

Inspection of stocking content
Sugar cereals is the way to go to keep children's minds off the gifts under the tree
Early morning nosh with auntie Chichin
The pastoral scene as the children gracefully lets the adults get their sleep

Christmas Prep

Trouble is my middle name...
Cecilie's first proper stage production (the angel on the right). Her line "Don't be afraid" was mercilessly drowned out by enthusiastic actors and spectators alike, which left us all a little bit exhausted, and daddy slightly insane looking

Striking a pose with a Christmas project, later eaten (the marshmallow rim, that is...) by an undisclosed (out of concern for his life) treat-loving elf. [See first photo.]
A Sugarplum Fairy and The Smallest Reindeer
Mr Lars shaking his tail feather...

National and Natural Costumes

As God intended it
My favorite ornament
Bringing Norwegian Yule Cheer to the neighbors
The angry elf
What happens when you give your children too many sweets prior to attempting to take christmas pictures
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