10 Months of Magnus

Our "Little Crouton" has reached 10 months this weekend, and in the midst of this month's craziness reached a number of his baby-benchmarks.  Self-feeding lots of solid food?  Check.  In fact, little kiddo isn't so crazy about nursing anymore, which means my wardrobe is expanding to tops that aren't so "easy access".  Sorry Mattias.

Magnus is all about cruising, climbing, sleeping through the night, napping at the same time as big brother, and lots of laughter.  He also is starting to play with toys in ways that don't involve sticking them into his mouth.  He loves making his own music.

 We were also thrilled to get Magnus' new glasses.  They don't have corrective lenses, nor do they help dampen the nystagmus (not that it seems to affect his vision). 

 They're meant to protect his normal eye from a very real and present threat-- Linus.  With all the throwing/wrestling/running going on, it's common practice for kids with microphthalmia to wear protective glasses.  My tiny nerd is ready to melt some hipster hearts.

Next benchmark is this week-- first international flight!  Next blogs will cover our trip to Sweden and our huge family reunion.

Cacaphony

Back when I was studying for the GRE, I learned about the word "cacaphony".  For those of you lucky enough to have missed out on the GRE, here's the definition:

Noun: A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds: "a cacophony of deafening alarm bells"; "a cacophony of architectural styles".

That pretty much sums up my life.  Don't believe me?  Watch this video.

This past month has been one big obstacle course-- we had to find new tenants for our SF home, we prepared for (but didn't end up getting) a new roommate, we worked like crazy, got colds, dealt with extreme heat, and still somehow managed to keep our home in livable condition and put food on the table.  

 

How do I deal with all the craziness?  Well, sometimes I have to block it out by any means possible.  Even if it means locking my kids outdoors.  As a disclaimer, Linus knows that if he acts like a wild animal, then he has to be outside where the wild animals live. 

 

But seriously, we can't complain.  The Karlssons are on the up and up!  We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on 7/11/11.  I felt it was a particularly ominous day and convinced Mattias that we had to buy lottery tickets.  (We were in financial dire straights and were anticipating more lost income if we didn't find new tenants after all!)  And did we win?  You bet!  $102 cash in our pockets, and a new anniversary tradition for the books.

 Another way we cope with the crazy?  We escape!  Kerstin and Magnus are super troopers at taking the kids on a regular basis, and Mattias and I get to hang out like the kids we used to be.  This past weekend we strolled through Georgetown, ate sushi, gawked at rich white people on boats, and learned about the C&O Canal.

 

Now I am serious preparation for the big trip to Sweden, where we will reunite with Mattias' entire extended family.  Gotta go and pack...

 

Brothers Karlsson

Magnus is well over 9 months old now and his personality is really starting to shine through-- so much so that his differences with Linus are so blantantly obvious.  I know, you're not supposed to compare, especially when they really are like apples and oranges.  Or apples and bananas.  You get the picture...

In a nutshell, Magnus:

• is laid back
• but is extremely sensitive to noise (both while awake and sleeping)
• doesn't cry much or hold a grudge
• is not much of a talker (yet), and prefers to communicate with his sweet smile
• is a really good eater
• tans really easily (and is now a nice caramel brown)
• has curly dark brown hair with Mattias' hairline
• has a shorter, muscular body with my feet

Linus:

• has a temper like mine and can hold a grudge all day
• is a master sleeper and doesn't wake up with most noises
• sure knows how to throw a tantrum 
• has always been a talker/charmer/clown
• is a finnicky eater
• tends to have paler skin
• has stick straight chestnut brown hair with my hairline
• has a long, lean body with Mattias' flat feet

But because of these differences in personality, the Brothers Karlsson get along swimmingly.  I guess they get along as well as their parents do!  We already know that this is just the beginning of a lifelong friendship.  Photos courtesy of Kerstin.

Just look at how much Linus loves to entertain Magnus.

 

 In other news, Magnus' motorskills have really taken off in the past 3 weeks.  Not only has he learned to crawl, but he now sits, and goes from crawling to sitting seamlessly.  Now he's working on climbing and standing, before we know it he will be walking.  Check out this cute video of Magnus headbanging-- kid sure loves his music.

Independance Day

We celebrated our nation's birthday with our annual trip to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington, DC.  Both Mattias and I have been working like crazy, so we were excited about starting our 3 day weekend with a relaxed outing.

Going early has its advantages, it's a bit cooler and the water lilies are still open.

It rained heavily the night before so there were pools of water settled in the large lotus leaves- beautiful!

Kerstin packed a picnic lunch that we enjoyed on the boardwalk.

And we even had time for a family picture.

Living near the Capitol gives the Fourth of July new meaning.  People really relish in traditions here, and it's easy to feel patriotic when you see the Washington Monument and the Capitol building every day.  We passed on the large crowds and opted for a neighborhood parade here in Arlington. 

We parked ourselves on the corner with snacks.  Linus was so excited for his very first parade.

At 10:00AM sharp the band came marching down the street, followed by floats, kids, a fire truck and an ambulance.

Linus loved all the candy being thrown out, and watched the entire parade intently.

Let's not forget the most American of traditions-- BBQ!  Mel came over later that afternoon for some slow cooker ribs and minor pyrotechnics. 

When it comes down to it, I feel like our little family is the embodiment of what is American.  Our parents immigrated here to pursue their dreams and give us a comfortable life.  Mattias and I met in a little melting pot of a town, worked hard in school and eventually landed the jobs of our dreams.  What we have is modest but secure, we know as a fact that this country is still a place of great opportunity.  Our biracial kids will know both their Swedish and Filipino sides, but will be in the end, American. 

Linus Turns 3

Last year I made the mistake of throwing Linus a birthday party that included both a homemade cake and pinata.  We all know that setting standards high from the get-go only creates more work in the long run, but I went ahead and did it anyway.  After deciding on a dinosaur themed party, I had my heart set on making Linus a volcano cake covered in plastic dinosaurs.  I watch enough "Cake Boss" that I could just figure it out, right?  After baking the cakes in pyrex bowls, I used lava-red buttercream frosting as filling, stacked them high, and secured the layers with skewers.  After a nice crumb layer, I slathered it with chocolate ganache. 

Cue Mattias, my creative director, who is the vision behind all my creations.  Mattias dressed up the cake with dinosaurs, trees, and textured it with cake crumbs.

Here we are hard at work, and with the final product. 

The big event was the next day, and we prepped and decorated the house while Kerstin took the boys to the park.  During the week Kerstin worked hard on all the dinosaur silhouette decorations you see around the house.

 

Then it was party time!  Magnus worked hard grilling all the kabobs.  We made hoisin glazed pork kabobs and flank steak kabobs with peanut sauce (in case you want the recipes, Mom!)

We finally got around to eating and drinking, but it wasn't long before the kids wanted to open the pinata.

We don't have pictures documenting the creation of my triceratops pinata, but it was more or less the same as last year.  The main difference is that I used even less paper mache (it was quite soft) and added a head and appendages.  Gracie and Israel sang the pinata song while we all took turns whacking the triceratops.

After several rounds we decided some adult assistance was required.  I took a turn with lille Magnus, which weaked the poor thing, then big Magnus worked with Linus to deal the final blows.  They hit it so hard poor Linus might have gotten whiplash!

 

 After the big kids took all the candy and toys, Magnus had his way with the carcass.  Look at that happy kid!

 

Then onto the cake!  Linus was very serious while we sang (even though he was so excited about it during the week before) and refused to blow out his candles.

 Linus' friends were kind enough to bring a few presents, which he loved.  He got his first T-ball set from Maben, washable sidewalk paint from Sam, a collection of dinosaurs from Elizabeth, and a funky monster building set from Finn.  It was a fun party and glad that Linus' friends could be there to celebrate.

The following Tuesday was Linus' actual birthday, and we woke him up with presents and a song in Swedish tradition.  Since Linus takes after Mattias and is the grumpiest morning person ever, he threw a tantrum and kicked us out of his room.  It took a few presents to convince him this tradition was a good thing.

 We all decided to go into work a little late, so that we could open presents at a relaxed pace and enjoy Mattias' specialty Swedish pancake breakfast.

 Lola sent Linus a real firefighter suit, complete with water spraying backpack!

 

We're pretty sure Linus didn't have a real appreciation for all the hard work we put into his celebration.  How we stayed up late wrapping gifts, decorating the cake and pinata, or all the time spent cooking and cleaning.  But then again, he's only three years old. 

All I know is that he's sure that he's loved.