Merry Holidays To You!

We wanted to wish all of our family and friends, as well as Kjell's many admirers a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We appreciate having all of you in our lives and Kjell has enjoyed hearing about and meeting so many of you already. He looks forward to those of you he may meet in the new year.

Kjell is now sitting up (as of today), babbling like both his parents, and showing a pretty keen sense of humor. He loves eating and listening to music. His favorite foods so far are green beans and applesauce, even when they are eaten together. He is now drinking from a sippy cup pretty competently and is perhaps the world champion of drooling.

Thanks for being a part of our lives! Love and hugs from all four of us (Moose too) to all of you!

Christmas Is Coming

We are really looking forward to our first Christmas with Kjell. He likes the tree and lights when he notices they are there. Of course, he gets the fun of seeing them each time he looks at them as if it was the first time. Kjell is really loving reading stories and, especially loves the ABC books by Dr. Suess and one called The Napping House.
On a related note, he is also napping (lest I jinx myself). I've discovered that if I'm disciplined enough to put the kid down at the same times every day, he'll happily fall alseep for me. Go figure. So simple, yet such a hard lesson to learn.

Kjell likes slapping his presents in their boxes under the tree. We're pretty sure this will actually top his enjoyment of the presents themselves. He likes Mommy to whistle Christmas tunes as well. He has forgiven her for not being able to sing on key, but she is okay with the whistling. Daddy invented a song for him recently that gets a grin every time. It goes something like... Kjelly Kjelly Kjelly Kjelly Kjelly Kjelly---BEAN, you're the cutest baby that your Dad has every SEEN!

He is growing to anticipate things more and more every day as well.

Holiday Fun With The Fam

My New Friend Elephant

A Few More Of Cousin Cade

Kjell is now rolling both directions and can make it back off of his tummy to his back. However, he doesn't do this in the middle of the night. That is frustrating to both Kjell and to his parents who want him to be able to solve this problem on his own, especially if it happens at 3 a.m.

We really enjoyed our visits with Sara and Bob. Sara accompanied us to our friends Bill and Cheryl's wedding in Maryland, and Grandbobby got practice wearing Kjell in the bjorn carrier as well as walking endless tracks around the house to keep Kjell interested in the scenery.

We wish all of our friends and family a very happy Thanksgiving. Grandma Judy and Auntie Anna will be here in just a couple of days to celebrate with us as well. We are looking forward to baking some Scandinavian holiday treats with Grandma Judy and Kjell can't wait to see his auntie again.

Bath Time, Friends, and Family Visits

We hope you enjoy the new pictures.

Cousin Cade and Pumpkin Hunting

Not Just Another Pretty Face

So, Kjell now is a man of many accomplishments. Among his finest to date are the fact that he can now roll over in both directions left and right as well as from front to back and back to front. He is also a fan of great literature. He giggles with glee when Mommy reads Five Little Monkeys to him. When she gets to the part where the doctor says "NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED," Kjell wiggles in excitement and anticipation and then chuckles loudly.

More pictures will follow, but we had to focus on the substance of our little guy today, not just his adorable little face.

Hugs and Rice Cereal --My Favorites!

This is good stuff. I am loving hugs and kisses and even try to give some of my own now. Rice cereal isn't too bad either. I did better this time, so it may be more of a permanent part of my diet soon.

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Time with Daddy

Kjell got some new big boy duds. He is already wearing 6-9 month clothes. He was quite fond of the new outfit and celebrated wearing it by spending some time with his pops. They watched football together. Later we tested out how warm the pants really were with a little stroll and stroller ride around the neighborhood. Kjell thought it was great until just after six o'clock when he decided that it was time for bed. He does this now very suddenly. He'll be very jovial and good-natured one moment and then turn into a little cranky pumpkin the next moment. Mom and Pops have had to become experts at rollin' with the punches. Bed time is now usually long before the sun goes down. But it seems to suit him and he wakes up quite cheerily in the morning.

The Only Kitty Allowed in Moose's House

Kjell has been trying out some new things, namely his high chair, and testing out costumes for Halloween. We haven't decided if we'll actually take him trick-or-treating this year. It seems mostly like a transparent ploy to get candy ourselves. That, and I think we'd both miss holding Moose back as he strains at the collar while all the little ghosts and goblins of the neighborhood come begging for sugar. We don't hold onto him after 9:00 when the too-old teenagers come a knockin'.

Kjell's gramma, Sara, will be here to see him soon. She is excited to see him, as well as anxiously awaiting the birth or Cory and Leslie's baby, Cade.

A Few More Photos

Little Buddies

Jeffrey and Allie Arrive!

Kjell has a new buddy---well at least now they have met in person. Jeffrey Kato-Dilks came to visit. Although you can't tell from this picture, they really were taken with one another. They smiled at one another, held hands, and shared slobber and toys. It was great to see Jeffrey again because Jamie and I haven't seen him since he was two weeks old. He has changed quite a bit since then. He now moves gracefully and practiced his new tricks at our house. He crawls and pulls up to a standing position. We got a quick preview of what we need to do to baby ready the house.

Naps Two Days in Row? Dr. Visit and More Shots

So, we are (knock on wood) going on two days with actual long naps. Weird. Great. We'll see what happens next.

Dr. Spell said that we haven't yet spoiled Kjell or ruined his sleep habits---yet being the key word. These doctors, they don't mind making poor, sweet baby boys cry. Mom is a little softer souled. Dad is on the fence only because mom is softer souled. He's a smart man.

Really though, sweating profusely and flailing arms and limbs are actually good for a little boy? OkayDr. Spell, I'll give you a week to see if we can tame this "temperament issue." Probably the good doctor is right, and it will be only Mom crying and flailing when all is said and done. Dad got nervous when doctor spell mentioned that Kjell's propensity to want to be held and have constant attention paid to him (and the subsequent crying and flailing when it is not) was mostly just his temperament showing. Mom, who has a tendency to enjoy attention and cuddling, wasn't bothered as much. Go figure.

Kjell no longer has a wee dinosaur head (though his arms cotinue to be more in T-rex proportions). He is up in the ranks of respectable head size as of today's appointment and continues to lead the baby ranks in height. His showing in the weight category is also nothing to sneeze at.

As far as shots go, it was not as smooth sailin' as at the two month visit. Kjell decided he now does not like the flavor of Rotavirus vaccine which he gulped down with great zeal at the last visit. Maybe they changed flavors.

MORE PICTURES...
Kjell is loving being outside these days. He has been kept warm by his hand-knit sweater from Gramma Sara. We also wanted to inlcude some pictures with Moose and the rest of the family---as if anyone is actually still interested in us.

Maija Turns 30, Grandma Judy Visits, and Kjell Enjoys the Fall

It's been an eventful couple of weeks.

Kjellybean Chronicles.....
Kjell continues to grow at an exponential rate. He has enjoyed meeting his new playmates, Addison L. Smith, and Lucy Pearson Dyer. Both are lovely ladies. Kjell's Grandma Judy visited from Oregon for Maija's 30th birthday. It was the first time that she and Judy have been able to be together on the actual birthday in years--maybe since her first year at Willamette.

Kjell has made some big progress on the way to growin' up right. He tried a little cereal and seems to like it. This was indicated by his lip smacking and the fact that he cried bitter tears when the spoon was eventually taken away. The jury is still out on whether or not Mom and Dad will continue this or wait a few more months. Dr. Spell will provide some more help in deciding. Kjell also seems to be getting some teething signs--drooling like a bull mastiff who has caught scent of a pork chop, biting EVERYTHING in sight and gum range, etc.

Coming Soon...Gramma Sara and Granbobby Return and Cousin Cade's Long-Awaited Arrival

Photos, Photos, Photos

Cutest baby ever?

Tailgate Anyone?

Kjell is ready for football season. He donned his Panther gear for the pre-season game this evening with Mom and Dad. He consistently amazes us with how big he is getting. He's the size of some of the smaller members of the Panthers already. His good friends "Uncle" Gray and "Aunt" Heather think he is starting to look a little more like his mom.

This week Kjell has learned that spoons coming out of the dishwasher magically become great instruments when Mommy is unloading the dishes. She is also one whale of a good musician and can use an empty bottle to make quite a nice little song. His hands, when clapped together (with help from Daddy), make him smile wide as well. He also has decided that it is easier to feel objects with an open hand than with a fist. To top off a big couple of weeks, he also is getting pretty good at blowing spit bubbles and shaking his toys.