Good songs

They speak!!!!

I could watch this a million times! Rio's face is so cute. He's trying to get his lips to do what he wants them to do! And Phoenix is just adorable. AND SO GOOD at saying "Rio". We're so proud of him!

Baby news

OK, I haven't given out too many details. But after the ultrasound I finally have a due date of July 25th. I hadn't gotten my period after Rio's birth so I didn't know before. Hoping for a daughter, Ben really wanted to find out the sex (it was a surprise with both Phoenix and Rio)...probably a boy! Good, because I have way too many baby clothes already!

The baby is moving around like crazy!!! Way more than either Phoenix or Rio. I have been feeling fantastic luckily. I was dog-tired the first trimester but since those first 12 weeks things have been wonderful. However, I already feel that I have to let go of my "status" as THE ONE AND ONLY in terms of Rio and let Dad take over. I'm tired after work and don't have the energy to horse around with them like I used to. Ben is better at that anyway! Just something that prepares us as mothers for the meeting the needs of a newborn. :)

I will post belly pictures soon for those of you who are asking!

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.

Changes

I really thought we'd be back in the US in the next year. We had decided that we were thoroughly DONE with "life in the arctic circle". I'm really gung-ho about raising Phoenix in the US, where there is so much support like Gigi's Playhouse, Special Olympics and access to all kinds of therapies. But with the death of Ben's dad a lot has changed.

I'm fine with that. I totally agree with Ben that we need to stick around until Ben's mom is back on her feet. We never even discussed it. We are both on the same page. We had felt the same way about my parents. That was an additional reason for us to move back to the US, to be near my parents who are in their late 70s.

Anyway, now that we're staying around here I'm so homesick! I realize that no matter where we are we will always miss where we have been. But for the moment I am dreaming of Chicago. I yearn for Foster Beach, Clark and Belmont, the beautiful homes of Lincoln Park, our old neighborhood Bucktown, a Cubs game, smelly Wrigleyville the day after, Tre Kronor, etc.

And one more thing...Ben has been on disability since January because of his shoulder surgery (it used to pop out of joint all the time). But in the mean time his boss told him that things are so slow at work that Ben will probably be let go. Which we were kind of EXCITED about! A good reason to move to south to Oslo (no more arctic circle snowstorms in April!). Ben has applied for four jobs in Oslo in the last week. But when he talked to co-workers today they said that they were overwhelmed with the amount of work. He'll find out tomorrow on his first day back!

So in the last month we've gone from moving the US to staying in Norway to moving to Oslo to staying here...and the place we rent is up for sale so we have to move no matter what!

:) ah, life!

Phoenix snowmobiles!

First ride!

Upset that the first ride had to end!

Ordo Valley, Easter 2009

Ordo by snowmobile

One of my favorite things in THE WORLD is snowmobiling in Båtsfjord during spring break. The weather is usually fantastic, meaning long sunny days, lots of blue sky and this amazing landscape.

On this trip the four of us piled on the snowmobile- Phoenix in front, then Ben, Rio (who only a couple days ago ran and hid at just the SOUND of the snowmobile) and myself on the back- and enjoyed an hour long ride through Ordo Valley, one of the longest valleys in all of Norway. We visited at our friend's cabin and did a little ice fishing, grilling and eating and mostly just hanging out living the cabin life for a day.