Wintertime fun

The weather finally did turn cold at the beginning of December, and when it did, we didn't feel so bad. Maybe because we were prepared (compared to last year) or maybe because of the mild Fall. But it could also be because we had a lot to look forward to, like decorating our Christmas tree, making gingerbread cookies, and cuddling to keep warm.

Here Linus helps put the lights on the tree.

And here I am admiring the results.


Some of you may have heard about the record breaking blizzard that hit the DC area last week-- over 24 inches in 24 hours! There really wasn't much we could do besides sit inside and wait. Luckily our good friends Matt and Andrea, who live down the street, came over for Snow Day fun. We watched a movie, played video games, baked cookies, drank adult beverages, and oh yeah, took care of Linus.


Midway through the storm we had to take Gus out to pee. It's hard to see in the picture but he was horrified-- I'm pretty sure his little weiner was in the snow.

By nightfall the snow still hadn't let up, so we went up to the roof to assess the damage. 10 hours of snow and not a single plow in sight. Lots of cars were getting stuck!

None of this bothered Linus of course, and that night when we snuck in to check on him (like we do every night) we caught him in this position. I like to think he's keepin' tabs on his junk while he's sleeping. If only we could all sleep as deeply as a toddler...


The following morning Mattias took the little dude out to experience the snow. This is what he looked like: he didn't move an inch.


Even though the blizzard brought the entire area to a halt (the federal government closed down the following Monday, Metro cut most of its service) we were still glad to have experienced the worst blizzard of the decade. It gave us a white Christmas, and a good 48 hours of forced, much enjoyed, family time.

Catastrophe!

Not all is well in Linus' world-- especially when vehicles collide.



More to come. Merry Christmas to all!

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving this year was a low key event. There was good food, a little shopping, followed by our annual Christmas tree hunt. We started out the day with a walk to the park.

Linus is always trying to take over the world.

While Kerstin and I got the food ready, Mattias and Magnus kept Linus occupied with his favorites-- books and computers.

Then the feast was served.

We of course gave thanks for all of the wonderful people in our lives, our health, and our jobs. We do feel like the luckiest people in the world ;)

The following Saturday we drove out to Manassas to hunt for a tree. It was a gorgeous clear day.

Linus got real excited because you have to ride on the back of a tractor to get to the trees. This boy really loves tractors.

Then the hunt was on. Kerstin and Magnus, and Mattias and I could be heard arguing "Too short! Too tall! Too skinny! Too wide!" The dogs ran around marking their favorites too.

We finally settled on this little tree. Small, but tough and spikey-- just like me.
Linus was pleased with the days events.

Farewell Minners

Some of you may have heard the very sad news that Minners/Minnow, our 4 1/2 year old cat died very suddenly early Sunday morning. While we do not know the exact cause, we suspect it was a heart condition that often goes undiagnosed and causes sudden death in cats. Mattias and I are both shocked and heartbroken to have lost a family member we were sure would be with us until her 20s, but take comfort in knowing that she didn't suffer one bit. Here's our tribute to her.

Minners was born in the summer of 2005, and I met her at the Peninsula Humane Society straight out of vet school. She and her family were being fostered by a volunteer, when she was brought in for being severely stunted. At 13oz. she was a third of the size of her littermates, with a ratty tail and a little potbelly. I felt sorry for her and feared she would be put to sleep, so I took her home to give her time to grow and to continue her medical work up.

Needless to say, by the time she was spayed and ready to go back to the shelter Mattias asked "Can't we keep her?" She fit in to our family perfectly.



I like to think of her and Guster as "Best Frenemies." The pictures explain it all.



Our love for Minners grew to new dimensions after we had Linus. She was the sweetest, most gentle feline-- never a scratch, hiss, or growl.



They even figured out how to play with each other.

Some may think she was "just a cat" but this beautiful creature had so much spunk and quirkiness. She kept us complany and kept us laughing-- popping up whenever we were on the toilet to steal a few pets, attacking us ninja-style from wherever she could hide, and beating the crap out of any dog or cat that came through our household.




Minnow's life was a story of second and third chances-- if she had landed in most other shelters she certainly would have been euthanized for being too young and needing too much medical attention. But I also like to see her death as a reminder to us all: that life is precious and unpredictable, not a day guaranteed to be ours.


That was our Minners, and we will never forget her.

To infinity and beyond!

In addition to signing "hungry, more, food, and water" Linus has also learned the signs (and sounds effects) for "airplane, car, helicopter, rocket, motorcycle, and firetruck." So what better way to expose him to the things he likes best than to take him to the National Air and Space Museum out near the Dulles airport? A certified big boy, Linus spent most of the time on his own two feet "oohing" and "aahing" at all the planes hanging from above.

We like to call the following series of pictures "McLinus" since they were taken during his first ever meal at, that's right, McDonalds. Mattias wanted me to add a disclaimer stating that we fed him a yogurt before offering him a toxic Happy Meal, and that's milk he's sipping (not soda.) Also, McDonalds was the only restaurant at the museum.

That said, look at the pure joy in his face after getting a taste of french fries. He's so excited he's crashing them together like he does his toy trucks!

Then he savors a little chunk of McNugget. I don't even know if they're made of chicken anymore?
He must concentrate while he demonstrates his straw skills. Again, it's milk not soda.

Mesmerized by this piece of jet engine. Linus also spent a lot of time next to WWII missiles. When did he become such a boy? It must be in part due to Mattias' and Magnus' engineering genes.

Such a simple outing, but one of our most memorable days as parents. There's nothing like taking your child out, exposing him to something new, and seeing the wonder in his face after he's made some kind of connection.

Appalachian Weekend

A couple of weeks ago we drove up to Shenandoah National Park for a little R&R. It is a new tradition we started last year when we were first blown away by the beautiful fall foliage. But this year, we were lucky enough to stay overnight at the Big Meadows Lodge-- a historic lodge built in the 1930's.

Linus was at the tail end of a bad cold and was a little out of sorts. Here he is after he fell asleep on Mattias lap, on a rocking chair in the Great Room (complete with a view of the Shenandoah Valley.)

We spent a little time at the playground, where Kerstin and I did most of the playing ;)

But Linus loved to look at sticks and such.


Just for comparison, this is his photo at Shenandoah last year. He was still a little baby (said in super-nostalgic-Ellie-voice.)

Before dinner we head up to a lookout with Linus in the backpack, to catch a glimpse of the famous Blue Ridge Mountain sunset.

Pure magic. And in Karlsson-style we got there just in time to see the sun slip below the horizon.


The next morning we took it easy. READ: Kerstin took care of Linus after he woke up screaming at 5:30AM while Mattias and I slept in. Then we decided to take on the Appalachian Trail. That's right, we can say we hiked the Appalachian Trail... even if it was just for 45 minutes :)


Here in Arlington we were able to squeeze in an afternoon of walking, and Mattias took these fabulous pictures.

Linus found this ginormous leaf.

You know it's a big leaf when it covers the entirety of Linus' head.

Halloween!

Mattias and I are known to be Halloween celebrating types: I love making costumes, Mattias loves eating candy, and Gus and Linus both are good victims for dress-up. And the fact that Linus was old enough for trick-or-treating made the holiday that much more exciting this year.

But first things first, Linus needed to inspect the goods. Which, by the way, he had never eaten until Halloween day. Nothing like a huge pile of candy surrounding you.

But these things are so hard to open! Later on in the afternoon while we all sat and relaxed in the living room, we realized that Linus was being awfully quiet and still. Upon further investigation we discovered that he had tore in to a fun sized Milky Way bar! His actual words were "Mmmmmm" and "More?"

Gus again fell victim to Halloween. He was by far the biggest hit at our building Halloween costume party for the picture below. He was my "ugly child" and rode around in Linus' sling for the majority of the party.


This year was a record for me in costume making-- 4 crow costumes for me, Mattias, Mel, and my mom. Below we were on our way to "Night of the Living Zoo", an adults-only party at the Smithsonian Zoo. We were able to enjoy a lot of the exhibits sans children, and even watched a sword swallower!

Here's right before trick-or-treating. Linus is Our Dear Leader Kim Jong Il.

The cool crew of kids posing for a picture before we hit the pavement. It is really hard to get that many kids in costumes to 1)keep still and 2)not cry.


And we were off!

See the anticipation and excitement in his eyes?

After it got dark we walked over to Jackson Street, a street in our neighborhood where it is a tradition to go all out on decorations and make haunted houses. The streets were filled with people and it was almost like the Castro party in San Francisco minus the naked people, and the gay people, and the booze.




It started to rain a little but we just had to hit up our last stop for the night: a bonfire at Lyon Village Park.


Someone was mesmerized by the flames.


Compared to living in the Bay Area, I will have to admit that celebrating holidays is a lot more exciting out here. It's a combination of the change in weather that makes things festive, and our dreaded anticipation of the winter to come that forces us to go outside and do things while we still can.

This weekend we are headed to Shenandoah National Park to enjoy the last of the beautiful fall leaves and colors, relax at the lodge, hike, play board games, and maybe even visit a cave. Because we know, pretty soon, there will be no greenery outside at all.