Milestones

We have a lot of exciting things happening in our house. Our kids are hitting some big milestones. Graham will be turning 1 next week. He is starting to learn to walk. He has a walker that he uses and is very good with that. Here is a video of him with the walker trying to stand on his own. He is so proud of himself. In this video below you can see that Olivia likes to have some attention too. Then she starts chasing some imaginary fly or something and just looks pretty insane! 

Graham is still the most easy going baby! He is just so happy!

An exciting thing for Olivia was that we took the front off of her crib so that she is in a proper bed. She was so excited about it. 

We have had a lot of visitors and it has been so great! Since we had to many visitors I put off two important milestones for Olivia- turning her crib into a bed and getting rid of her pacifier. We started thinking about it last October when she was 2.5 years old. Rod and Paul came around then and we wanted to wait until after they left. If there was any drama around these changes we did not want them to have to deal with it! Then Ann told us she was coming for Christmas (which was awesome) and so we waited until after that. And then Anna came in March and we decided to wait until after she left.  Finally, my parents came in April and we waited until after they left! My friend Jenny has already booked her ticket to come in July and we figured we better just make these changes or they may never happen! Olivia will be that weird 6 year old walking around with her paci! She only gets her paci at night so I guess that wouldn't happen either but you get my point...

In Copenhagen there is a huge, amazing park called Frederiksberg Park. The weather is so amazing right now- high 60's, low 70's and sunny. Every Dane is outside grilling and picnicing. Everywhere you go people are laying out in the sun. There is a pacifier tree in the park where little Danish kids go to hang their pacifiers on the tree- never to see them again! We went and saw that tree a few months ago and talked with Olivia about hanging her paci on that tree. She started getting excited about it over the months until she started asking to go hang her paci on the tree and be a "big girl now". We decided to make a day of it. We packed a picnic lunch and got on the bikes and rode down there. It was about a 20 minute bike ride, if that.

We grabbed some bread from the bakery a few doors down from our apartment and brought some butter and cheese. We had some pear saftevand (juice) and some watermelon. It was a simple but tasty picnic.

Graham with his first taste of watermelon

Olivia showing what a big kid she is because she is about to give up her paci

After we ate we walked over to the paci tree

They clear out all the pacifiers every once in awhile so we were really hoping it was a full tree when we got there because it looks so pretty. It was a full tree!

Olivia's excitement for the tree started to wane but she was brave and took a couple of last sucks on her pacifier

I can't believe she is so old now. Matthew and I were both a little sad to see the paci go because she loves it so much! I think Matthew had a harder time with it than Olivia!

Matthew put Olivia on his shoulders and she clipped her pacifier onto the tree all by herself. 

Hers is the orange one in the middle of the picture with the colorful striped tie

Matthew put her down and she was a little upset. Fortunately she had just farted on Matthew's head while she was on his shoulders so that broke the mood a little bit!

We decide to vacate the vicinity of the tree as soon as possible so she can't think about it too much. She looks back a little sad...

and then moves on!

We played at the park for a few minutes afterwards

Then we rode to the toy store, BR, and told Olivia she could pick any toy she wants because she gave up her pacifier. We actually told her that on the way to the park. She has been asking for a piano so we found one there and she was so excited about it.

She played it for almost 2 hours after we got home

She asked for her pacifier a few times when we were getting ready for bed and I just said, Oh we gave your pacifier to the paci tree and you got a piano instead, remember? And then she says - Oh yeah! And that is it! She did not give us any trouble about it that night nor has she this night. She is so great! I can't believe how big she is now. We have a break on Olivia milestones for awhile, I think. 

You Threw Away Our What?!?

As I mentioned in my last post we bought a bike wagon (above) to pull the kids in about a month ago. The Danes call it a wagon or a trailer. We were storing it downstairs in the locked basement where you can put bikes and stuff for our building. It had been sitting there for about 3 weeks before we really used it. We were trying to find a bike helmet for Graham before we took it out. Last weekend we went out in the wagon a few times on Saturday and a few times on Sunday (we found Graham a helmet). At one point it was parked in front of the building for a bit and in the back for a bit as we loaded and unloaded the kids. When we were done with it, Matthew stored it in the basement. The next evening he went  down to the basement to look at something and our wagon was gone! We were so upset. We just assumed that someone had seen us riding it or saw us lock it up in the basement downstairs and decided to steal it. Who steals from kids!? We said that a few times. We were just fuming! We figured that the person who took it lives in the building and then took the wagon to someone else because whoever took it had a key to the basement. I was determined to spend the next day looking around our very large complex and maybe a few near us for our wagon. We are already so tired of the location of our current apartment and this was the last straw! Matthew stayed up late that night looking for apartments and put an apartment app on his Iphone so we could know as soon as a new apartment like the one we were looking for were posted. He even emailed a few available places. We went to bed annoyed and angry and just sick of our current location (our apartment, not Copenhagen!). 

The next morning I went to the office of the supervisor of our building to tell him that our wagon had been stolen and see what he could do to help me. As I told him what had happened. He got this weird look on his face and was all awkward and embarrassed and then said that he had thrown away our wagon!!! I was so shocked I did not know what to say other than " You threw away our what?" I was trying to be cool so I just listened. He said that about a month ago another wagon had been in the complex and it was broken and no one claimed it and he threw it away then. Then he saw ours down there and thought it was the same one- that someone had taken it from the garbage area and reclaimed it. So, he decided to wait until the morning of the garbage pick up and walk it right down to the curb as the garbage truck came to pick up the garbage. I just could not believe it! We bought a used Winther Dolphin wagon because it is a really nice, safe brand. The bottom is hard and the wheels are covered. The cover on the wagon was a little worn and I was going to fix it up a bit, but it still looked fine. It has an extra bike connection in there (which are like 200 Kroner alone) and the rain cover (another 400 Kroner). So our Super said that one of the tires was flat and he was sure it was the same one he threw away before so he threw it out. He asked how much we paid for it and I said 600 Kroner (just over $100). I thought he was going to give us money for it but then he unexpectedly said- I am going to find you another one. I will find one. I was, again, quite surprised. Uh, okay. That seems really weird. We don't just want some random one he picks. I was very nice about the whole thing though because it was just an accident and I was honestly so relieved that it had been thrown out instead of stolen. It just made me feel so much better. More sad instead of angry. 

So I went and told Matthew and he had a similar reaction. We did not want to be without bike transport because now that Graham is old enough to be on the bike, we avoid the bus as much as possible. So, we went and bought Graham a bike seat- which we were meaning to do anyway. Olivia has had one for a long time on my bike. Here is his new seat:

And our set up below with one kid on each bike (you can see Olivia's seat on my bike though she is not in it):

So we bought the new seat and rode that for a day or two until Matthew saw a really great deal online for another wagon that was in even better shape and even a little cheaper than our last one. So he bought it! Here is our new one- looks pretty similar- same brand and etc.

Below it is hooked up to Matthew's bike with mine next to it.

 We locked it up downstairs again and then in the morning I went and told the Super to please not throw away our new wagon! He was really good natured about it, as was I. He gave me 400 Kroner and said he was sorry. I was totally fine with it. This one is nicer and it all worked out in the end! So we are back in the wagon! We have been riding it nonstop since we got it. I love riding bikes! I am not great at navigating the heavy Copenhagen bike traffic yet- not a pro like Matthew- but I am getting it! Graham and Olivia love riding in the wagon together. They hold hands. And sometimes Olivia tortures Graham but what can you do?

Ride

We took a little bike ride yesterday to a nearby park. It was so nice outside and the kids were dying to get out. I am so excited how nice the weather has turned!

Mama and baby geese on the side of the trail

You can see Grundtvigs Kirke at the very end of the row there- this is that old, awesome church just around the corner from us. You can see it here too.

We are hoping to ride to the beach this weekend and take along our little barbecue. I can't wait!

My Folks

 We had such an amazing time with my parents here in Copenhagen. They flew into Copenhagen on April 23 and were here for a week- including on my birthday! The last time we saw them was at Ellen's wedding in Arizona just less than a year ago and we have missed them! We did so many fun things and everything was geared around spending time together as a family. Olivia had the best time! She got so much attention from her grandpa and grandma and we really only did kid centric things. It was so nice to just have my mom and dad around and to talk to them and just be around them.

The first thing we did was to go on a boat tour out of Nyhavn. Always a favorite!

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After the boat tour we walked around Stroget. Olivia and Grandpa taking a rest on a stoop!

 Matthew had to work one rainy day and we decided to head up in Northern Denmark to Hillerød to go to Christiansborg Slot. My parents really wanted to see the Carl Bloch paintings there. It is an amazing castle with artwork inside. It was very rainy outside so a good day to be touring a castle!

                                                     
                                                  

                                          Large fountain outside the castle

                                                                   
                                              Inside the castle

When we got back to my apartment we played a little and then got the kids to bed.

On one of the days we went to Tivoli- one of the oldest amusement parks in Europe. Olivia and Graham both had so much fun! We had ice cream and watched the kids play. It was a pretty nice day, too.

A couple of days before my parents left, we rented a car and drove to Sweden. We met Lars and Ulrika and family at this really cute and cozy restaurant that was about halfway between Copenhagen and Ale Stenar (near Ystad). It was such a cute place! We had brunch there.

Then we drove another hour or so to Ale Stenar or the Swedish Stonehenge. It is just on the coast and it is beautiful! Lars and family led us up there and we walked around and then came back down for ice cream.

We had such a nice time with my parents here! We wish they could come more often. It made me feel so good to spend time with them and see them interact with Olivia and Graham. Pop and Mom were so generous with their time and money on the trip and that was very appreciated too! Hope to see them again soon!