{Weeks in Review}

I haven't shared a Week in Review in a while. Actually, I haven't shared anything in a while. The end of summer (but not the end of the Texas heat) and return to a more regimented schedule took me a bit by surprise, but I have been taking an occassional photo now and then when I remember! Here is a random rundown of a few things we've been up to lately. 

A couple of weeks ago we were in a slump, a stuck-at-home-doing-the-same-old-thing-every-day slump. And if your kids are anything like mine, a slump like that quickly leads way to boredom, with misbehavior close behind. So, armed with a random potato discovered in the pantry, a kitchen knife, and a few craft supplies, we decided to make potato stamps. 

Anders had fun, but I'm pretty sure I had an even better time than he did. I was just so impressed at how quickly and easily the activity came together...and so enamored with the results. The bold colors and geometric shapes were so eye-catching!  There is just so much potential with a project like this. You could practice colors, letters, shapes, and so on depending on your knife skills and your child's age. We will definitely do this activity again, maybe on a canvas to create wall art for Anders' room or even with fabric paint on tea towels to give as gifts!

In other news, Aksel has been doing his very best to keep me on my toes. He still strongly prefers his belly over his back, always lifting his head high to observe whatever action is worth his attention in the nearby vicinity. 

And while I typically enjoy watching his yoga sequences, I started to freak out a little bit a couple of weeks ago when he began to show early signs that he was getting ready to crawl. 

These days he is definitely scooting around. I wouldn't exactly call it crawling, but if a toy is enticing enough,  he can make his way across a room without a problem. 

Aksel absolutely loves attention from his big brother. I cannot wait to see the bond that these two develop as they get older. I pray that they would be blessed with friendship rather than rivalry! 

I can already tell parenting is about to get a lot more challenging as Aksel gets more mobile. The most appealing toy is always the one someone else is playing with, amiright? But those sweet moments of joint play are so special to witness!

There are a lot of other things that have kept us busy the past few weeks. We started potty training Anders, which deserves it's own post entirely. At this point I'll just say that in this situation - this child, these parents, this schedule, etc. - it's going to be a process. He is making great progress, and I'm doing my best to celebrate his successes. Anders also experienced his first full-blown stomach bug. Thankfully, it was extremely short-lived, and he handled it like a champ. I think he was actually quite amused by the bedside waste bin, insisting it stay for several days and making sure to frequently inform me that he 'spit up' (he hadn't), at which point he would emphasize his point by spitting into the trash can. I swear we don't model this behavior. We also started feeding Aksel solids. Sadly I haven't taken any pictures yet (parenting fail!), but fear not, there will be plenty of baby-covered-in-produce-purée photo ops ahead. 

Between all the kid-centric activities, we did manage to enjoy an incredible adults only evening celebrating Andreas' 30th birthday. It was a perfectly festive night, and I know Andreas felt loved. 

Thank God for that wonderful man. There's no one I'd rather do life with.