Christmas Morning

As is the Kvenild family Christmas Eve tradition, the kids got new pj's for Christmas, which of course they wore to bed that night. In the morning they were still too busy playing with toys from the night before to notice that Santa had come and filled their stockings with goodies. Don't worry, they soon noticed the treats.

Christmas Eve

We got the best picture we could of Ike in his Christmas suit (thanks for the jacket, Annelise) and Elle in her dress. Here are just a few pics of our quiet Christmas Eve. The kids were so tired by the end of the day that they fell right to sleep and didn't even here Santa come!

Horseback Riding

Isaak went to the horse farm this afternoon with our neighbor (by himself). He had so much fun riding and walking the horses! We have never heard Ike talk as much as he did today. "Animals, horses, goats, feed, pig, horses, goats, walk,....." and on and on....

Krumkake

These pics are for my mom and Andy's mom. Today I spent 2 hours making krumkake. Of course, there were the usual "first 10" that didn't turn out, but the rest turned out pretty good. Thanks, Mom, for teaching me, and thanks, Barbara, for the krumkake iron!

A Sleigh Ride???

Okay, not exactly a sleigh ride, but as close as we'll get to one here. The farm has an ox cart that we got to ride in. We just pretended there was snow all around!

A Day at the Farm

Today we went to a Hakka farm with our language tutor. It is a popular field trip destination. Ike was in his glory because of all of the animals! His favorites were the goats! Elle enjoyed the morning riding on Dad's back.

How old is that sweater?

Thanks to my mom, Grandma K, Noelle is wearing a Norwegian baby sweater that I had when I was her age. That sweater is almost 30 years old, but is in great shape! I love it because it is red, and judging by her smile, she loves it, too (except for the hat, that only stays on for a few seconds)!

Heat Rash in December????

Okay, so I know that this picture is a little fuzzy, but... It is the middle of December, and Ike has heat rash! I never knew that it could happen, but it was rather warm last week. Today ,however, it was in the low 60's and rainy (like the previous 3 days).

Christmas pics Take 2

After our first unsuccessful attempt at taking a Christmas picture, and a week of colds for all but Kris (who now has it), we finally took another shot at it. Though these pictures look unsuccessful as well, we did get one good shot. Finally!!

Christmas Pictures

This past week we tried, unsuccessfully I think, to take Christmas pictures of the kids. Here are some of the shots that you probably won't see on Christmas cards from the Larsen's.

Lefse time!

Sunday afternoon Ike napped, Elle played, and A&K made lefse. Yummy! Part way through Andy realized that it was the 1st time he had made lefse wearing shorts. He wanted to share the experience with all of you.

Thanksgiving

This was our first Thanksgiving in Taiwan. It was a peaceful & warm day. We were fortunate enough to even have turkey (something that you don't see in the stores the rest of the year). We are thankful for many things this year...family, friends, health........ but most of all for our Savior. We pray that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
PS-There are no football games here (except Monday Night on Tuesday morning), so the guys resorted to taking naps after dinner!

Isaak's new friend

This weekend our neighbor's niece brought her kittens to his home. Ike spent a lot of time there playing with the kittens. Too bad mom's allergic or it might be a fun pet for him.

Do I Have Something on My Back?

Noelle was crawling around and "picked up" her shoe. She didn't seem to notice for quite awhile!

Watch out, she might bite!!!

Today, Tuesday, Elle showed off her first 2 teeth! Now she thinks that she can have all the ice cream she wants!!

Don't worry Mom, I'll Get Her!

This is the scene many mornings in our house. Ike will hear Elle in through the monitor and is quick to run up to her room and "get her". His only problem is that he hasn't quite figured out how to get out of the crib!

Look at me Bapa and Grandma

Ike went for a walk with our neighbor up to a nearby construction site. Turns out he got to sit in the backhoe (I think that is what it is????). He was in his glory up there!

Halloween....kind-of

Halloween isn't really "celebrated" here, though you can find lots of costumes and decorations. This mom did her best to make the day "Halloweeny" for the kids (okay, they could care less at this age, so it was more for her than them). We carved pumpkins, made pumpkin shaped pizzas (they looked better in real life), and sort-of dressed up. Ike was a hunter (since he was mad about not being able to go), and Elle wore a cape that someone gave us. We thought she looked like Little Red Riding Hood. Oh, and for you Andy fans, he made it into one of the pics just for you guys!

Elle's new trick

A, K, and I were eating supper and E got awfully quiet. We looked over and saw that she had pulled herself up so that she could dig into her basket of toys. She is getting too smart. Next thing we knew, the basket was tipped over and she had her favorite toy out!

On a side note, Andy forgot to snap her onesie. Cute, huh?!?!?

Mom, she's thirsty

Ike's new favorite...sharing his juice or water with Elle. How can we discourage sharing? Besides, she likes it! So far she hasn't gotten anything from the straw, but she sure likes drinking from the cup.