Sightseeing in Stillwater

Since we did a longer outing with Maggan yesterday, we decided to stay closer to home today. Kai took quite a lengthy morning nap so it was almost lunchtime by the time we were ready to get out of the house. We headed to downtown Stillwater (Minnesota's oldest town) which is beautifully located on the St Croix river. Our first stop was the Malt Shoppe where Maggan treated us to sandwiches and delicious milkshakes. Then the boys and I put Maggan on a trolley so that she could get a tour of the town and learn some of its history. Meanwhile, we strolled along the river and watched the old lift bridge in action - Noah, in particular, was impressed by this. Then we made a stop at the Pioneer Park playground for some swinging and sliding before it was time to head back to the trolley stop to pick up Maggan. Now Kai is napping again, and Noah is playing with Maggan. I am going off to run some errands all by myself - what a luxury!!

Noah was quite awed by the lift bridge!

Visit to the Zoo with Aunt Maggan

On Monday afternoon, the boys and I picked up my aunt Maggan at the airport. She arrived here from Sweden via a quick stopover in New Jersey where she caught up with Johan and his family. Yesterday we ventured out to the Minnesota zoo and had a great time. We managed to visit all of the exhibits, played on one of the playgrounds, ate lunch and had ice-cream. Kai loves animals so a visit to the zoo was perfect for him. He looked attentively at many of the animals and was particularly excited by the farm animal section. Whereas Noah didn't want the animals anywhere near him, Kai was more than willing to pet them and was just thrilled to be in such close proximity. (It's the same way with the neighborhood dogs - Noah is terrified of them, but Kai can't get enough of them.) Noah was much more interested in seeing the animals than at any previous visit. Usually, he just runs from one exhibit to the next, but this time he actually took time to stop, observe and comment. When I asked him which animals were his favorite, he said, "Pandas and elephants" - we saw many, many animals, but there are no pandas or elephants at the Minnesota Zoo! One funny moment happened when Noah was looking at a lynx; an older child was telling his dad that the lynx was male. Noah said, "No, that's not mail!!" and when the child insisted that, yes, the lynx was a male, Noah got quite agitated. So I explained to Noah that there is the mail we get at home in the mailbox and there is the male that means boy which seemed to deescalate the situation. Next time we go to the zoo we'll bring a change of clothes and play in the water sprinkler area!

Noah and Maggan check out some playful seals

Lunchtime!

Noah thought the giraffes were "enormous"


Kai loved the goats at the farm

Walking with friends

Since Phil had the rare opportunity to play golf today, the boys and I took a hike over at Lake Elmo with some of our neighbors. We opted for the longest trail and even made a wrong turn at some point, so ended up covering over 4 miles. The hike took us around a lake and was at times quite hilly. Much of it was along prairies but there were also some nice wooded areas that provided some much needed shade. We did not meet many other walkers (where are all those outdoor-loving Minnesotans hiding?) but did cross paths with quite a few horseback riders which the boys thought was pretty neat. We also got to see quite a large snapping turtle that was busy digging a nest on the side of the trail. The boys really all did a terrific job of walking for a large chunk of the way - except for Kai who snoozed happily in the stroller. Eventually, they just couldn't move another step - fortunately, there were enough strollers and backpacks to push/carry them back to the cars! Now, both boys (yes, even Noah) are napping and the house is so quiet and peaceful!

Stopping for refreshments

Noah and Ollie found some reserves of energy for the last 1/2 mile or so and decided to abandon the strollers. They spontaneously grabbed onto eachother's hands - sweet!

Chiropractor & Physical Therapy

A few weeks ago, I decided to take Kai to my chiropractor. I had talked to him about Kai's physical therapy and he suggested that some adjustments might be helpful. (This chiropractor is one of our neighbors and I really trust him - he has worked wonders on my knee.) As soon as he felt Kai's spine and neck, he said that there were some extremely tight spots. After just one adjustment, Kai started doing things that he has never done before! His physical therapist (I didn't tell her that I had gone because I wanted to see if she would notice anything) immediately noted that Kai seemed so much more limber and able to move his body in ways that he usually resists. It truly was amazing what an immediate change we all saw. I only wish I had gone many, many months ago! Kai is now getting up on all fours, in crawling position, but then does kind of a controlled belly flop forward. He is much more mobile and figures out ways to get himself to whatever toy it is that he wants. Kai is also getting himself into more jams:


It is so exciting to finally see some real progress! We will continue our weekly visits to the chiropractor for a few more weeks along with twice-a-week physical therapy. Kai is such a trooper with all of this and is working hard!

Reputations

Noah has developed quite the reputation in our neighborhood...as a stripper! He just loves to run around in his birthday suit. I'll be chatting with some moms and all of a sudden he shows up with nothing but his sandals on. Guess it feels liberating. The other kids are so used to it that they don't even seem to notice - everyone just keeps on doing whatever they're doing. Yesterday, one of the neighbors dropped this shirt off for Noah:


She just couldn't resist buying it! Now the challenge will be to get it on him and keep it on!

Picky Drinker

Kai is a very good eater - he'll eat pretty much anything that is put in front of him, including non-edible items (paper being a real favorite). As far as drinking is concerned, however, he has been very picky. Basically, the only thing he has wanted to do is nurse. We've tried all kinds of things in his sippy cup, but he just hasn't wanted to have anything to do with it. It's not that I mind nursing, it's just nice at this point to mix it up with a few other options. Well, we finally found two things that Kai loves. A Swedish friend of mine here gave me some "välling" about a month ago - it basically is a kind of formula/cereal mix that you add to water that is made for kids over the age of one. The first taste was rejected, but then I tried it when I knew Kai was really thirsty and he just guzzled it down. Luckily, my aunt Maggan is arriving from Stockholm in about 10 days and will be replenishing our supply. The other beverage that Kai now loves is smoothies which is a lot more convenient since it doesn't require trans-Atlantic transportation. Noah frequently asks for one for lunch and I just throw in pretty much anything (including leftover steamed veggies) - as long as there is a lot of blueberry in it, Noah doesn't seem to notice anything else. A couple of weeks ago, I poured some into Kai's cup and he just loved it!

Nightmares....About Food!

Noah is a very sound sleeper at night - thank goodness since he doesn't nap! Every once in a while, he does wake up from a nightmare. Usually he is just barely wakes up and settles right back down. A few nights ago, I heard Noah crying so I stumbled into his room. He was crying and repeatedly saying, "We forgot the quesadillas, we forgot the quesadillas...." I assured him that we would remember them next time and he quickly fell back asleep!