Fall Fun

We've been celebrating the fall season and getting ready for the dark period here in Norway. The days have already gotten shorter and the sun goes down around 4:45pm! Although it's been a fairly nice fall it seems like the clouds, rain, and wind are rolling back into town now that the sun is gone. So we've been spending a little more time inside.

Xander enjoyed painting pumpkins again this year.

We also took a trip out to the local pumpkin farm. Thanks to our friends Darcy and Jason we got some great family pictures too! Xander was NOT in a great mood. I swear he has toddler PMS...cranky one minute then happy-go-lucky the next!

Happy Fall Y'all from the Stautzenbergers!

Halloween 2015

This was our first Halloween in Norway since we were in Texas for Xander's baptism last year (read the post HERE). Halloween is just starting to gain popularity here and most of the shops and grocery stores stock Halloween decor, candy, or costumes. However, we did not have a single trick-or-treater come to our door last night. Although I was a little sad about how quiet the night was it would have been frustrating to have the doorbell ringing constantly after Xander was asleep. So there are some advantages :)

We were still able to enjoy some Halloween fun here and went to a truck-or-treat at the international school.

We borrowed an astronaut costume from a friend at the last minute and his rain boots perfected the look! However, he was NOT a big fan of the astronaut helmet!

It took Xander a couple of trunks to get the idea but then he was hooked!

He took the task of gathering candy VERY seriously and didn't crack a smile the entire time!

He enjoyed throwing the candy into his bag too.

After being carried most the the event he was finally ready to walk and gather the candy on his own. I was surprised that he never seemed afraid of some of the really over the top costumes that we saw. He took it all in and barely reacted!

By the end he had a pretty big stash of suckers...which he was apparently intentionally gathering from each basket of candy he had been offered.

 The best part of Halloween...enjoying the CANDY!

It was a successful Halloween with our little astronaut! And our last Halloween as a family of 3!

Greece - Sept 2015

We visited Rhodes, a lovely little Greek island in the Aegean sea at the end of September. Geographically, Rhodes is actually closer to Turkey than mainland Greece. In fact, we could see the Marmaris mountains of southern Turkey from our hotel balcony, only 20 km away! It was a cold, wet, and dreary summer in Norway this year and we were all in need of a little R&R and some sunshine...especially Arthur!

We didn't want the hassle of making a connection so we booked a direct flight from Stavanger. It was nice to get on in Norway and off in Greece...but 4.5 hrs crammed in a small plane with a VERY busy toddler was a bit of a challenge. Xander did not have his own seat and the flight was totally  booked so we had to entertain him on our laps for the entire trip. Ugh! Exhausting!

But the nice thing about the direct flight was that we just spent a morning traveling, and by early afternoon we were in our hotel in Greece. We splurged and got a 2-bedroom room with an ocean view. We could put Xander to sleep in the other room and sit out on our balcony and enjoy the warm, salty air. It was worth every penny! We were welcomed into our room with champagne, roses, and fresh fruit. Oh yeah...and a breath taking view of the Aegean sea!

We usually take adventure vacations. Meaning that we're always on the go, sight-seeing and jumping around to different locations. We have never taken a sit-and-get-fat vacations...that's what I call all-inclusives :) But we needed a week of just rest! I was in my first trimester and not feeling so great. Arthur had been busting his butt at work for months without much of a vacation. And Xander is such a water-bug we knew he would be happy to play at the beach or pool all day.

For some reason, Xander attracted a TON of attention in Greece especially from the locals. I'm not sure if it was the blonde hair and blue eyes or just the fact that he's a pretty outgoing kid...but he was a star! Here he is at breakfast waving to all his adoring fans. In fact, it was sometimes awkward to eat because EVERYONE was looking at him and talking to him the entire time!

We enjoyed several meals at the beach cantina. Xander, the VIP baby, even got his own cocktail to enjoy.

Unfortunately, we didn't completely escape the rain. Rhodes had one of their biggest storms all summer while we were there. There was at least 2 days of heavy rain and lightening that resulted in mud slides and flooding all over the island.

But our Norwegian baby is used to bad weather and was still very happy to play on the beach despite the high winds.

Finally, the weather cleared and the warm weather returned to the island. Xander loved walking everywhere bare-footed and "ooooh"ing at all the flowers around the resort. He even picked a few to give to his momma....and my heart melted! :)

We didn't take many trips out of the resort (remember my "sit-and-get-fat" motto?) but I'm glad we made a day trip out to Tsambika Beach, a short 15 minute drive from our resort. The water was crystal clear, the sand was soft and white, and the beach was very shallow out for at least .5 km. It was a perfect beach for kids. We rented a few lounge chairs and spent the day alternating between the water and playing in the sand. When we got hungry we walked up to one of the open-air restaurants and ordered a couple of gyros.

Xander enjoyed wandering around the restaurant and getting more attention.

It was a wonderful day and although we kept Xander out way past his nap time he was a perfect child. He fell fast asleep, still covered in sand, before we even got out of the beach parking lot.

Our last evening in Rhodes we went to a hill top restaurant in Afantou. The service was TERRIBLE but the view was lovely!

The 3 hours it took to get our food (!!!) gave us time to watch the sunset and the moon rise over the quaint little city.

I woke up early our last morning and captured one more beautiful sunrise over the ocean. Our trip was WONDERFUL and just what we all needed! We came back to Norway rested and probably a few pounds heavier!

20 Weeks - Small Fry #2

Check out my 20 week post with Alexander HERE

How many weeks: 20 weeks and 5 days (halfway there already!!)

What size is baby: banana, 6.5 inches and 10.6 oz.

Movement: Just like Alexander, I first felt #2 start moving around 14 weeks. It's been pretty consistent movement ever since. It seems like we've got TWO active boys in our future! Arthur hasn't felt him move yet but it's only a matter of time.

New symptoms: Although my nausea was much better this time than it was with Alexander, the exhaustion has been much worse. The nausea faded after the first trimester but the exhaustion still lingers. Could it have something to do with the fact that in addition to being pregnant, I also have a very active, very demanding toddler? Perhaps. My back is doing OK. I know not to push my limits and try to limit my walking to no more than 10 minutes at a time.

Cravings: As with Alexander, I haven't really had any CRAZY cravings. They seem to be more about what I can't get here in Norway...cheddar cheese, spaghetti squash, candy corn, to name a few.

Sleep: Not so great. It's not that I'm making trips to the bathroom, I'm just not sleeping very deeply. The same thing happened with Alexander but once he was born I was so exhausted for so long that I think I slept deeper those first few months than ever in my entire life!

Rings on/off: on

Best memory of the week: We have the sonogram pictures on the fridge of Baby #2. Xander loves to point them out every morning and "oooooh"s every time. We try to then show him that the baby is in mommy's tummy but I'm pretty certain that concept is WAY over his head! He'll probably be surprised when the baby arrives that he's not black and white!

Looking forward to: getting past week 25. By that point last time I had really started to decline a LOT physically. I am really anxious to see if I'm going to be as bad. I feel like these next few weeks are going to be very telling and I'm praying that my body can be stronger this time!

Alexander - 15 months

Xander turned 15 months old in Rhodes, Greece and there have been so many changes in the last 3 months since I've updated. I figured since he's over a year old now I would switch to quarterly updates rather than once a month...momma needs a break!

One of the major developments is that he is now walking. He took his first steps around his first birthday, but it wasn't until we spent time with our cousins in England that he decided that walking was a whole heck of a lot better than crawling. He is now very sure-footed and can walk almost at our pace.

It is such a joy to hear his little footsteps pitter-patering around the house and he loves to explore. We've had to kid-proof all over again (especially in the kitchen) as he is very skilled at reaching way above his head.

He has been such a world traveler in his 15 months and has now been to 6 different countries...France, Spain, England, Greece, England and the U.S. We've seen a lot of beaches in all our travels this summer but Sola Beach (just a short drive from our house) certainly tops of the list of the most beautiful. It's not warm, but the pure white sand and clear blue water was a lovely way to enjoy a lazy Saturday afternoon together.

As usual, Xander picked our trip back to the U.S. to pop out 4 new teeth. He has a grand total of 14...maybe more since I don't dare stick my fingers in his mouth anymore to check. It was a rough 4-5 week of drooling and crankyness. I saw this deadpan look way too much during those trying times.

Xander started barnehage in August. Overall it has been a great experience with one major drawback. All those kids together mean lots of germ swapping and September was a rough month for all of us. Xander would bring home a bug and then a few days later Arthur and I would catch it. No fun!

The best part of our new house (and that's saying a LOT because I LOVE this house) is Xander's playroom. It's right off the living room and full of beautiful natural light and probably the room we spend the most time in. Sometimes Xander will even go in on his own and play for a while!

Of course one of his favorite "toys" is a box that we cut and decorated.

Another big development in the last few months is that he has officially weaned. While I was prepared to nurse throughout my pregnancy I certainly wasn't looking forward to it. He was only nursing twice a day (before nap and bedtime) and my body was already going through the hormonal changes that come with pregnancy, so he wasn't getting much anyway. So one night we stopped, cold turkey, and he never asked again. And that was the end of that. 14 months in the books! Somehow just that change made him seem much more grown up.

Although I don't want to admit it, he's definitely a toddler now! He's chatty (now says up/down, yes/no, bye in English and Norwegian), opinionated, helpful, silly, and downright adorable.

Alexander, you're such a fun little guy! It makes me excited to add another little boy to our clan. Happy 15 months!

Baby Stautz #2

When we finally decided we were ready to have a baby nobody was more surprised than I! But finding out we are having a SECOND so soon? Well, that was a total shock. I think Bob Ross expresses it best...

Arthur and I knew we wanted more kids...for sure! I mean, Xander is pretty much the most amazing thing to happen to either of us. And hes just so damn cool! But I was still very much recovering from his pregnancy. My back pain had finally reached a level that I could function without it being a constant distraction and I was looking forward to easing into a more active lifestyle this fall. But the pregnancy and the recovery afterwards was such a terribly traumatic experience for us both that we were seriously looking into and praying about other ways of having another child...either surrogacy or adoption. But my heart wasn't in either.

So while I was back in Texas I did what every expat does...I LOADED up on cheap stuff. Stuff I didn't really even need but that I might have a use for down the road. For some reason, in the middle of all the junk food and clothes and medicine I also bought a few pregnancy tests. Just because they're so expensive here in Norway. And a few days after returning from Texas I had a funny feeling...so on a whim, I took one.

Now picture this...I've literally got Xander balanced on my hip, we've just moved into a new house (...more on that later) so we're all living out of suitcases, Xander and I are both jet-lagged to the max...and the test comes back positive. Um...? Huh? I take another one. Positive. At that point I'm shaking, I text Arthur a picture and tell him he needs to come home NOW! Poor guy!

It took us a good 48 hours, a lot "oh my gosh"s, some tears, and prayers to process the new road we were now on. But we both immediately knew that this child was a result of God's plan because it certainly hadn't been ours. And all we had to do was look at Xander and we both KNEW that this was right for us.

I am now well into my second trimester I still can't believe that there is a perfect little life growing inside me. Especially when I thought I would probably never experience it ever again. Now, there are certainly days that I don't want to be pregnant, that I'm terrified what having two children under two will look like. We are both scared about what this means for my recovery...so far I am doing OK. But I'm so incredibly thankful that God is the writer of our life story. I have so much faith that this new road we're on is a million times better than what we had planned for ourselves...no matter what happens to my back. We will have our babies. Our family will be complete.

So we are so excited to announce that we will be bringing a baby BOY into our family next March! We ask that you continue to pray for my health and the health of this little boy.

Welcome Baby Stautz #2!