Matthew Medley

Matthew continues to try out new things. He has started to enjoy a bath after brunch every day. He mainly likes to make big splashes with his legs.

Scary Christmas

Sophie made the fairy to go on the top of the Christmas tree this year

This fella popped out of door 10 on the advent calendar

Oh how angelic

Second School Photo

Spoilt Beast

What's this? Caviar on fresh salmon? The Beast definitely got lucky in the latest fridge clear-out.

Music and parcels

Sophie takes control in a game of musical statues. It's a good job the camera wasn't pointing in the other direction. Her favourite music is currently Vampire Weekend.

Every day Sophie checks the mailbox at the end of the drive and once in a while there's a parcel with her name on it. Way to go Nana!

Chillin'

Matthew is learning new skills. He can roll over and his dexterity is constantly improving. He's now taking more of an interest in toys ... in a chewing kind of way. At the moment he likes those squashy books best. Unlike his sister (when she was his age) he does not have a regular daytime sleeping habit and often refuses to sleep at all (... poor mum). Here he is chilling out on the sofa.

Bonfire Night

Food

...is something that Matthew enjoys.

Swimming Progress Report

We've been doing a lot of swimming recently. It's fast becoming the highlight of Sophie's week. Her confidence in the water has grown quite a lot recently, helped largely by the fact that her new swim buddy, Adam, is a good swimmer. A few weeks ago she started to put her face in the water. Then she started to enjoy jumping off the diving board (... I wish she wouldn't insist that I follow her). Now she has discarded her arm floats and can swim underwater and pick up objects from the bottom.

Dilemma

Most friends and family who started blogs at around the time we set this up have long since stopped doing it. I have been thinking of ending this one for some time. There's not so much free time these days. However, we will keep adding new pictures of the kids albeit less frequently. We'll try to update things here 3 or 4 times a month. I'm not convinced anyone reads this blog anymore but we like to look through it ourselves so will endeavour to keep it going. By the way, TV is being watched in this picture.

Sophie update

Sophie is getting more and more involved with school and its various after-hours clubs and activities (ballet, music etc). She is currently learning her letters which she is very proud of although she's not entirely keen on doing her homework. I think it's maybe a bit early to give a four-year-old homework to do but I was never really one for extra-curricular activity myself. Her confidence in water is really good now. She is happy to go down the adult flumes and jump of the 1.5 m diving board. She's started asking difficult questions about death and would like more information on exactly when herself and her parents are going to pop their clogs. If anyone has good answers to these weighty issues please let us know.

The Many Faces of Matthew

Matthew is growing fast. He has started on solid food now and is very keen to try lots of new things. He sleeps quite well at night and often sleeps all the way through although refuses to sleep much during the day (... which means he's a bit tetchy by bedtime). He's also becoming a bit of a chatterbox and likes to let out little whoops and squeels at random intervals. Most people seem to think he looks just like me but I can't see it myself. What do you think?

Sophie and the Skateboard Dudes

Sophie was very impressed with these skateboard dudes. They seemed to spend most of the time simply looking cool, but she soon joined in with that too.

Newsflash: Matthew is now sleeping through the night!

Baby pics

With Sophie back at school, Jo has the opportunity to take lots of photos of Matthew. He's four months old now.

Two dogs

Turning a corner

Matthew is now settling into more of a routine with (semi-)regular naps during the day. He rations sleep to his parents (...he currently allows us about half a night). He's at the stage when he starts to take more of an interest in the world around him. He's beginning to reach out for things and also likes to stare at the TV although is less selective in his programme choices than his sister.

Getting an education

School term starts early here in Norway. Sophie has been back for nearly two weeks now. She's now out of Pre-School and in, er, School. Her old Pre-School class has been split into two so she's missing some of her old friends. However, she's very enthusiastic about school and being grown up in her new uniform.

Back in Norway

Returned home to Norway this weekend after 3 weeks away in the UK. It was a good rest in a "not-really-a-rest-but-away-from-work-anyway" kind of way. Discounting the usual highlights of an expat returning home (e.g. going to the pub, eating fish and chips, pork pies etc) Sophie enjoyed visiting her Nana and Grandad and going to Blackpool and Chester Zoo. We also had a nice week at (you've guessed it) Centerparcs. The camera didn't come out much, probably because the weather was horrible and also, with two kids, there are fewer hands spare to take photos.

Summer Holiday

We're off tomorrow for a 3 week long holiday in the UK.

A walk around Melsvatnet

Last Sunday we had a lovely walk around Mosvatnet, a lake near Stavanger. Afterwards there was a barbecue and paddling in the lake. Can you spot Simon and Sophie in the last picture?

Correen and the Rich Lady

Correen has been helping to entertain Sophie for some afternoons over the past few months. We are very grateful for it! Sophie is dressed up as a rich lady and has a bag full of money.

Grandma and Grandad Tony's Visit

A few days later Grandma and Grandad Tony came to visit. We went on a fjord cruise to see Priekestoelen, known as the pulpit tock. It was a bit rainy but Sophie had a nice fairy cake. The highlight was having a drink of water from a waterfall. We also had a nice day out in the Troll woods. Matthew slept throughout.