from across the Atlantic…

Phew…after a Saturday of moving, and some wonderful friends and family…we (and all of our belongings) are finally in the new house!  Just a few knick-knacks at the old apartment that I’m going to pick up next weekend.  It is SO incredible to see our things in the new house!  Just to see our sofa, bookshelves…our bed.  Let me tell you, there is no bed like your own bed!  We had been sleeping in the bunk beds (seperated, so they were next to each other) and had bought a used sofa to have in the apartment downstairs (for the renter) that we had been using…so its like a dream having our own things back!

I might not be posting much now until after Christmas…but I’ll try to keep you posted on things.  The downstairs and the storage room look like a disaster zone, so I’ve got to get cracking on putting things away.  And I have quite my work cut out for me!

It is just typical that there is this super contageous flu going around right when we’ll be travelling for the first time with Nell!  We have gotten mixed opinions on whether or not we should travel with her during the outbreak…but we’re going for it!  Figure all we can do is take the percautions that they’re recommending and hopefully we’ll be just fine!  Plus, we’re travelling through Iceland, which is a pretty small airport…so I feel safer doing that than travelling through the Nederlands, for example!

So we’ll soon be flying high with our little Birdie for the first time!  I’ll let you know how that goes!!  Ha, ha!  As for other Nell updates…we’re 99% sure that theres a tooth coming in before long, as Nell is knawing away on her fingers and always on the same side.  We have used some chilled teething rings too, and she loves them!

Alright, have to run!  Company coming for dinner!  All the grandparents want to see little Nell Bell before we take off with her!

Seattle here we come!

bless⋅ed [bles-id; especially for 3 blest]

So this weekend its just me and Nell…Lars and his dad went up to the mountains to do some fishing, so birdie and I are holding down the fort.

Not too much news…took it easy yesterday and now today just gearing up for a walk.  Nell has a hard time taking a good nap in the afternoon (when she goes down about 1430), so I find its best to get out and go for a long walk at this time.  She sleeps fantastic in her stroller…and wakes up whenever I stop!  So shopping is out of the questions, its got to be a constant stroll.  Too funny!  But if she doesn’t get a good snooze in at this time of day, then she’s ready for bed about 1700…and hour too early.  So we’ll see if I can get a good hour and a half walk in this afternoon and then keep her up until 1800 or so.

Our "routine" is a fairly good one too…something that Nell has fallen into on her own, actually.  Here’s an example of an average day (-ish of course, all of these times flex by an hour or so depending on the day!)
*0600 up for a feed, then straight back to bed
*1030 awake and feeds, then she plays for about an hour and starts showing signs thats she’s sleepy again
*1200 Nell takes about an hour snooze on the sofa, in her little cozy corner that we have set up for her
*Feeding again about 1300
*Nap time at 1400
*After this nap (which is about an hour and a half if I’m lucky), Nell has a feed and then has a very active period where we play pretty hard
*Bedtime about 1800
*Then after she goes down, Nell sleeps until 0600 the next morning when I give her a "dream feed", which is a bottle (of pumped b.milk) at 2300. 

She’s been on this "routine" for quite awhile now and I feel soooooo lucky to be getting so much sleep at night!  And fabulous that Nell goes back to sleep right after her first feed…it gives me time to shower and get my day started before she’s up at at’em!

This week doesn’t bring much action…we have a physical therapy session for Nell tomorrow, so will be interesting to see how that goes.  Her neck flexibility has gotten so much better and she now turns her head to both sides without a thought, so this is just a follow up to check that she’s still doing great before we go on vacation.  Then on Tuesday I’m picking up Henriette and bringing her out to Drøbak for a few days…so we’ll have some time together before she takes off for her year of studying in Seattle!  Of course we’ll see when we’re there…but she won’t be back to Norway until next summer!  Too much fun!

Alright, going to get ready for our walk before long!  Hope you had a lovely weekend!

As you can tell I have not been blogging regularly lately…and I will defintely try to pick up speed again once we get back from Seattle at the end of the summer.

Things have cooled down here, so we’ve had a bit of rain and no extreme heat like we had a couple weeks ago.

Nell is growing up right before our eyes, even faster than we could have imagined!  She is now 14 pounds and 24 inches long…just over 3 months old!  As for a quick list of her latest accomplisments…she has rolled over several times from her back to her stomach, she is desperately sucking her fingers and thumbs (when she can get ahold of them), and she is babbling up a storm!  My mother-in-law is shocked at how much Nell and I "talk" during the course of a day and she thinks that its very early for a baby to carry on the way Nell does.  Its pretty hysterical.  We’ve been video taping some of it and once I figure out how to get it on the computer and online, I’ll share it.

So we’re having a TON of fun with our girl!  More pictures to come too, I’ll try to do an update before we leave for Seattle…

XOXOXOXO to you all!

Really…how much information is too much?

I have caved an signed up for twitter…I have heard a lot of buzz and have been wondering what all the commotion is about.  Between e.mail, facebook, twitter and blogging…how much information is just too much?  How many different ways can we share information about ourselves?!  And how can we even start to keep track of updating all of them?!  Ha, ha!  As you can see by my lack of blogging lately, I am having a hard enough time without twitter!

But I promised a friend that I would try it for a month…and I think I’ve found out the "secret" to making twitter interesting…its sharing news and pictures.  People can’t seriously be interested in me updating twitter every 2 seconds with what I’m doing right that second…but posting interesting news that I have found online, or pictures of Nell might be fun.  So I’m going to give the occasional update and will try to share interesting tid bits that I find in the news!

Enjoy my updates and let me know if you use twitter so I can follow you too!  Going to give twitter a decent chance to see what I think!

Phew…its is toasty over here!  Just too hot to be sitting at the computer, so you have to excuse the fact that I haven’t written since before mom and pappa left for Seattle!

We had a wonderful time together creating soooooo many beautiful memories that I carry with me every day!  I only wish that they lived here so we could spend a little bit of every day together like we did in June.

Thats all for now…just wanted to let you know that alls well…but HOT!  I’ll start writing more again as things cool down…I owe you a LONG update on Nell!  She is growing and changing so fast!  We have a real angel on our hands she must be the perfect baby!

link to more pics

Mom and pappa got here on the 29th…

Started out with them "losing" their bags since they had to run for their connecting flight from Denmark to Oslo!  Luckily their bags came on the next flight…so they just had to wait around and bit and ended up getting all 4 of 4…phew!  Lars picked up the folks at the airport while Nell, Sissel and I waited anxiously at Sissel’s place! 

FINALLY they arrived and it was soooooo much fun to introduce them to Nell!  Nell was SUCH a good girl…she smiled right away at mom and pappa when they talked to her, and she was so content in their arms the entire night!

Yesterday we had beautiful weather, so we threw Nell in the stroller and walked down to Drøbak.  Had an icecream in the bathing park, bought some fresh shimp from a boat in the harbor, fresh bread from the baker downtown…and then headed home for a seafood dinner!  Too much fun! 

Today the weather is just as nice, but we are at home re-grouping.  Mom is helping me with laundry and the baby, pappa is helping Lars fix our awning…and now Lars went out to play in a golf tournament.  Nice to have a day at home just relaxing together!  Nell is snoozing as I write, but should be up any minute!  Mom and I are setting up her bathtub on the kitchen table as bestemor is anxious to get her sudsy hands on Nell Bell!

Not making too many plans…just taking the days as they come!  As I said, the weather has been beautiful (up toward 90F!) but now they’re saying that we should expect some rain too.  We’ll see!

Will fill you in more in a couple more days!  Don’t forget to check out our pictures from time to time!

This was just toooooo funny not to post!

Here is the article from Celebrity Baby Blog.com

Funnyman Will Ferrell is used to making people laugh, and now he’s lending his comedic skills to a good cause. The 41-year-old father of two recently partnered with Cancer for College to launch ‘WILLPOWERED’ sunscreen in three giggle-inducing varieties: Sexy Hot Tan, Forbidden Fruit and Sun Stroke. Sold in 6 oz. bottles, the sunscreens are PABA-free, alcohol-free, mineral oil-free and fragrance-free, offering UVA/UVB broad spectrum protection in a light, non-greasy formula enriched with aloe and Vitamin E.

For Will — whose former fraternity brother at the University of Southern California Craig Pollard, a two-time cancer survivor, founded Cancer For College in 1993 – the opportunity was too good to pass up. “The bottle says it all,” he quips. “I’ve always dreamed of owning a lotion company.” Will adds,

“Honestly, I’m proud to be associated with such a great charity. I’ve watched Craig and Cancer For College help hundreds of cancer survivors realize their dream of a college education. The stories are so inspirational. I’m just happy to help any way I can.”

Priced at $12 each (or order all three and they’ll throw in a t-shirt for $40), 100% of the net proceeds from WILLPOWERED go directly to Cancer For College’s scholarship fun, which provides scholarships to college-bound cancer survivors. The good times will only continue; In September, Will has signed on to host a golf classic and live auction in Rancho Bernardo, California to benefit the organization.

I just have a quick second…as Lars and I are desperately trying to clean up the house and put Nell to bed….

We are expecting my parents tomorrow afternoon!  Yipee!  The first time that they’ll meet Nell, and that she’ll meet her besteforeldre!

We’re so excited to have them visit…and it seems that they’re bringing some fantastic weather with them!  Should be a heatwave this weekend and next week…will be interesting to see how Nell handles the heat!

I figure I’ll take a break from my "friday’s favorite things" and will use that time to write updates on the Bentsen’s journey through Norway and pictures from our adventures. 

Make sure you check out the link (on the right, under categories) titled "visitors from abroad" to find all the postings about their trip!

So check back!

My latest motherly discovery is an interesting, but useful one…

We have a relatively small to average sized 2nd bedroom so with the bunk beds, Nells crib, the closet, and all of the rest of Nell’s goodies we just don’t have room for a rocking chair…something I had always envisioned having in a nursery.  We do however, have a "left over" office chair in Nell’s room after clearing out our desk and stationary computer to make room for baby!

And the office chair has proven to come in very handy indeed!

When I have trouble getting Nell to sleep for naps or in the evening…I take her into her room, where its dark and cool (I always have the shade drawn and the window open)…and we settle into the office chair…and then we swivel! 

Nell loves the side to side movement…and the sitting and full back of the chair really helps save my back.  My back and shoulders are seriously spared by holding Nell while sitting and leaning back against something…instead of curling my shoulders forward like I usually do while standing and cradling her.

Just a little tip to moms and pops out there…I’ve found swivelling to be just as effective as rocking!  Swivel away!

Just got home from my Tuesday afternoon with mom’s group!

I think I mentioned this once before, but the healthstation pairs moms up with other moms that have have babies around the same time…my group is made up of 6 of us (me included), 4 with children from before, 4 with girls and 2 with boys.

Our group has met twice now and its so great to have some girls to chit chat and toss ideas around with!  The 4 that have kids from before are excellent resources for tips and experience, and the other mom who has her first baby is fun to visit with since we’re both going through this for the first time.

Last week when we met, we walked down into Drøbak and sat outside and had lunch at a café after a long walk.  This week we met at one of the girls houses and then walked from there for an hour and a half…then went back to her place for lunch.  We visited over lunch for another two and a half hours.  It was a sunny afternon (after a little rain), so the walk was fantastic!  And it was pretty fun to sit to lunch and listen to the "choir" of babies grunting, groaning, wimpering and crying in the background!  It seemed that once one started, the others chimed in!  Nell was a picture perfect baby this afternoon though…she slept the entire walk in her stroller, woke up to eat when we got back to the house, and went right back to sleep and laid in her stroller bag without making a sound.  I got to sit and enjoy my lunch and coffee completely uninterrupted!  Aahhhhhh, it was a lovely afternoon!

Now I’m home and have just transferred a sleeping Nell from her car seat to her bed…and I’m now going to throw on some dinner for my honey.  Hope you’re having sun where ever you are…

Happy 17th of May!

Norwegian Independence Day…and Mom and Pappa’s anniversary!

A day filled with Norwegian pølser (hotdogs), icecream, sunshine, parades, family and friends!  We’ll be headed downtown to stroll Nell around and show her off!

Make sure to check back for pictures!

Thought this article was interesting and fun to read…check it out for more info on each topic, you can flip through the pages and see them one-by-one.

1. my baby’s head looks strange
2. my baby’s so jumpy
3. my boy’s so big down there
4. my baby’s always hungry
5. my baby’s hands and feet are cold
6. my baby has blood in her diaper
7. my baby has a blister on his lips
8. my baby’s poop looks like diarrhea
9. my baby sneezes all the time
10. my baby’s skin is flakey
11. my baby’s breathing strangely
12. my baby’s cries all sound the same