Monday 30 July 2012

Malo, malo!

That Little H is no stranger to bruises and scratches is nothing new. For a time we were so worried that she had poor eyesight since she kept falling over and running into things. The nursery staff and the doctor told us calmly that that was not uncommon in very active, curious 2-year olds.

So when we come to pick up H at the nursery and a member of staff takes us aside and needs to tell us what has happened before we see Little H, we’re calm as cucumbers. What is the worst that can happen? As long as she is not pulling other kids hair or giving them bruises, a bit of “self-harming” can only make her stronger.

Little H is now an expert (she thinks) at walking the stairs, and since her mantra these days are “I can do it myself / klare selv”, and due to her robust nature we let her climb up and down while we watch her with ice in our tummies.

The other day she fell down the front door stairs. It is only two steps down, but they’re made of concrete and stone with gravel at the bottom. I did not see it happen, but heard Little H cry, and it was not a pretend-to-be-hurt cry as it usually is. It was more of an I-am-in-pain-and -shock cry.

I was the first on the scene and swiftly picked her up from the ground. I started scanning her body for outwards injuries and what I found was some scratches from the stones and a rather nasty cut on her temple.  She was bleeding, but rather quickly soothed by all the attention she got from myself and her grandparents.
I cleansed her cut with cottonwool and water and soon she was very into cleaning it herself and the cries of pain had transferred into the moany sniffering she can be so good at. All clear.
Ouch, ouch 



When we got back out in the drive-way, Amama Socco was stamping her ballerina shoe clad feet on the place where H fell and saying: “Malo, malo, malo, malo (malo = bad/ naughty)” to the gravel.  It was rather like a native American  rain-dance for me unknown to such a ritual. Little H quickly got into the game of blaming the stairs and the gravel by shouting the same: Malo, malo over and over again. 

So apparently it was not H’s clumsy feet which caused her to fall, but the stairs and the gravel. It now gives her great satisfaction of stamping her feet and repeating malo every time she enters or leaves the  house. 

 
 
Malo gravel and nasty stairs





Friday 20 July 2012

The in-laws are here

Every summer (the last three) since Little H arrived, we have been getting visitors / helpers in July. Amama Socco and Aixite Sebas flies from sunny Spain in the middle of the holiday season to visit for a couple of weeks.

The first summer they helped us tend the garden and carry around a colic-suffering little baby. Last year, they were life-savers when the nursery was closed for two weeks in July, taking H to the playground, to the beach, to feed the ducks etc. etc. etc. while Pappa Kas and I were working. Plus that they were helping around the house. And not to forget that Amama Socco also took charge of the kitchen and my tasks were solely to bake cakes for desserts.
Telling secrets with Aixite

This year they are here again and so far they have: planted in our garden, sanded and painted garden furniture, helped paint the hall and been to Ikea to get more stuff for Little H’s bed. In addition they have of course spent a lot of time with Little H.: walks, visits to various playgrounds, strawberry picking in the garden, playing football, preventing her from eating green tomatoes from the tomato plants, watching Sesame Street in Spanish with her (Pappa Kas has episodes from 1984 and they are a pain to watch – at least after the 20th time)- basically they have joined in on many of Little H’s favorite things to do.







Having fun
So what if she gets a lollipop, once in a while, an ice-cream a day (we did not think that she even liked ice-cream), a sweetie for breakfast with her milk and goes to bed an hour later than usual?
It is a granparents priviledge to spoil their grandchildren and when it only happens a couple of times a year, we are only happy to see how she enjoys being with her Spanish/Basque grandparents who lives far far away.


As for me, I am just hoping that they will come back next year, but they might not be so eager with two little Castro-Nyhus ladies on their hands. 


How do you survive July? 

Monday 9 July 2012

From 3 to 4


Little H will no longer be the littlest member of the Castro-Nyhus clan from October onward. She is getting a little sister, and we’re all excited and a bit scared.

Like my mum said: “another baby, this will be interesting…”
I am sure it will. So far we have not really started thinking about the everyday life with two kids, we just know that it will be stressful with two toddlers, but if others can manage, so can we. A positive attitude, that’s important.

I do not really think that Little H understands what is going on. She can see her mums belly getting bigger, she is fond of babies and likes to stroke their hair and hold their tiny hands. And when we ask her where the baby is she points to my tummy and often hugs it. She has also taken to feed the baby by placing strawberries on my bellybutton. It can become quite messy.

What we are doing is to prepare Little H for being a big girl. She is getting a new and bigger room, just now it is just a room with white walls and a window, but she knows that it is hers, runs in there every day, turns on and off the lights and pretends to go to sleep in one of the corners.

We’d better get a move on and buy that bed. 

Thanks to Pappa Kas and Aixite Sebas for the wallpapering job



Monday 2 July 2012

You know you’re a grown-up when…



You are invited to a concert and you ask “Where will we go for dinner before the concert?”
You arrive early at the airport to enjoy a glass of Chablis before departure
You have hand-cream in your handbag
You wear flat shoes (or trainers) on your way to work, for then to change into heels just outside the door
You don’t leave the house without wearing mascara
You start sentences with “When I was young...”, or “I remember the time…”
You switch from reading Elle Magazine to Red or KK

These are a few of my examples, and I am sure that some of you have others.
Do you have some to share?





PS: I love this blog: http://crabbyoldfart.wordpress.com/ The problem with young people today
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