Just Call Me Coach!

Spring is here---maybe, and Kjell is up to no good.

Kjell is growing and picking up new words like crazy. The last few weeks have been all about language development at our house.

These are a few photos from the last couple of weeks. Kjell is getting really full of personality. He tells jokes that keep us laughing. These ususally consist of a funny word that Kjell says at the wrong time. We laugh, and then it is the new joke of the week.

This weekend he decided he was into being wee little baby again. He wanted to carry the pacifier around--something he rarely did even when he was very little. He was giggling and laughing about being a "baby." He also got a charge out of clapping his hands up to his cheeks and looking surprised. We thought it was too cute to miss for a picture opportunity.

The photos outside were from an unseasonably balmy day. We decided to "grill out" North Carolina style and enjoy the brief respite from the rainy weather. It was lovely and Kjell and Daddy played the game where Kjell tries to bounce on Daddy hard enough to make him revisit what he had for dinner. Kjell is also very much into wearing hats, especially Daddy's hats.

New Photos of the bean

Snowy Day after Christmas

More recent Kjell photos

Kjell hanging out under the table at Gram and Grandbobby's house.








Kjell at the playground at our neighborhood school.








Kjell realized that he loves the slide. Daddy just held his hand and Kjell had the time of his life.

Kjell in November

Kjell at his second Ducks' game









With Uncle Jon








Uncle Jon and Raiza










Too sick to go to school, but not too sick to be cute.








Kjell's new thing last week was that he loved wearing multiple bibs. I think he is wearing 6 in this photo. Not sure why he is roaring like a lion with all the bibs on.







Jake may be hurt and they may be struggling, but Kjell still loves his Panthers.











Post Thanksgiving dinner. Kjell and Jamie with Kjell's buddy Jeffrey and Jeffrey's Daddy, Brian.






After Thanksgiving, with his buddy Jeffrey










With the Jude!

In OR, but still rooting for the Panthers

Kjell loves his Panthers.

Ducks at the Big House

The Wolverines of the University of Michigan were great hosts to the Oregon Ducks during week #2 of the college football season. Not only did they roll over and let the Ducks walk all over them, but most of the fans had left Michigan Stadium by the end of the third quarter, which left us with plenty of leg room. Go Ducks!

Kjell walks

Our son may be 14 1/2 months old, but until today, he wasn't a walker. That all started to change last night and officially changed in earnest today. See the video for footage of some of his first steps!

Visiting Great Grandma, Crouching Kjellybean Hidden "Nuuu", Lounging

Kjell is very busy now. You can see him crouching here. He also does a lot of walking around the furniture, and then needs to rest--in this case with a little CareBear circa 1984 or so.

The Busy Bean

The Blurs Called July and August

So, July and August have really gotten away from us. I can hardly believe that Jamie starts school to begin his MAT program next week and that I begin school inservice days the following Monday. We have meant to do a better job keeping this page updated. However, the move and settling in, as well as our many trips up and down Oregon's highways have kept us hopping and mostly away from real computer time.

Kjell has taken three steps, but no real repeat performances of that feat have occurred in the last two weeks. We did get to introduce Kjell to his Grandma Georgia. She is ninety now and recently moved to a foster care facility where she seems to be doing very well. She looked pretty in her favorite color the day that we saw her and even remembered Kjell's name during our conversation. Short term memory is her biggest struggle right now, but his "beautiful blue eyes" made quite an impression.

Kjell also is making some more sounds and noises. He is starting to mimic us much more. He makes quite a few animal noises, though sometimes he pretends that he has forgotten them. I think he just likes hearing Jamie and I moo and oink. We just finished up with two nice visits with Grandmas. Sara was here to give me time to work in my classroom. Many thanks, Gram! Then we went to Astoria to visit Grandma Judy where we enjoyed some seafood and the local farmers' market.

We're also mostly installed at our new place. We are accepting visitors. So, book your reservations soon. We miss all of our other coast friends and family. In our "free" time we've been exploring Salem a bit and becoming reaquainted with it. Kjell rode the carousel at the riverfront park and seemed to be wary of all those horses. He didn't cry exactly, but was very vigilant like he was with his first swimming lessons. His most recent lessons have demonstrated much more comfort with the water. However, the local pool is too cold. He prefers Gramma Sara's country club pool with it's almost bathlike water. We make do with what we've got in town, but sometimes we have to leave the pool early since our skinny little guy ends up with a blue quivering lip before the end of the half-hour.