Ting Ting Photo Dump

A few hours old

Regardless of what it says on the shirt, we are pretty darn happy

Hanging with dad

A couple months old and with a little more meat on the bones

Hammie and Ting-ting

Ting-ting poops a lot (seriously, a lot) so when carrying a naked baby you are playing with fire.  Hoping not to get dirty.

Hammie turns 5 and meets Ting-ting

Late with the birthday post once again.  Anyway, here it is.....

Yet another year has passed and Hammie can now simultaneously declare her age and give a high-five.  Things move along as they should with Hammie continuing to grow in both stature and intellect.  Physical feats are ever more impressive and Hammie is eager to show what she can do.  An incessant "look at! look at me!"  often proceeds displays of skill and I am in genuine awe at what she can do.  From "frog jumps" to scaling a 14 meter climbing wall (about 42 feet), Hammie is quite the active little girl.

Hammie has also officially entered the "princess phase" and often insists on being called sparkle/moon/butterfly/rainbow/pirate princess.  It's as if Disney has invented a pink glittery tractor-beam that sucks in our little girls and spits them out bejeweled and singing their latest theme song.  For those of you that don't interact with young girls or haven't walked within earshot of an elementary school, the song of the moment is "Let it go" from Disney's Frozen.  Hammie runs around belting out the chorus wherever we go and she quickly reminds me that I don't sing it right when I try to join in.  I'm just thankful my little princess isn't afraid to get dirty as she still likes to help her dad with building projects and and playing in the dirt.

Those that have spent some time with Hammie have surely encountered "Ella Mouse".  Well her imaginary rodent friend is still very much a part of our lives and while Hammie is quick to point out that "Ella mouse is not real" it doesn't stop her from having a spot at the dinner table or tickling her best friend.

The biggest news for Hammie is that she is now a big sister.  The buildup was pretty long as she saw her mom's belly grow in anticipation of having a baby brother for her birthday but as the due date came and went Nalani resorted to talking with the bulging belly and asking Ting-ting to come (Ting-ting is what Hammie decided we should call her brother until we settle on a name).  No amount of pleading would quicken the gestation period and Ting-ting kept us waiting all the way until August 3rd but Hammie forgives him and is a proud, loving big sister.

Balloons in the bed is a birthday tradition in the Kearney household.

Lina brings out this years cake with friends Noel and Lova ready to help eat.

Obligatory blowing of the candles 

Count 'em, five candles

"Ice-cream bomb" with fresh berries.  Even with a giant belly my heroic wife managed to whip up another amazing birthday cake.

 Hammie and Ting-ting.  A proud big sister and her little brother.

Gimme Five

Who's in there?

It has been awhile and I apologize for that.  Anyways, the big news for Hammie is that she is going to be a big sister.  She's pretty excited and has begun to acquaint herself with Ting-Ting (that's what Hammie decided we are calling the baby) by singing to Lina's belly.  She's going to be a great big sister.

 Hammie and Lina compare bellies

Ting-Ting gets a hug from his big sister

Belly kiss.

A few pictures from the road

Here are a few photos from our recent journeys in the States.

Hammie lays down a beat while Robert and I bust a move.  Taking jump photos via a 10 second timer can be tricky and rarely catches "jumping" but makes for some fun pictures anyways.

Hammie overlooking Darwin Falls in Death Valley National Park

Bacon, still our favorite vegetable and a staple of Dad Camp

Hammie showing off one of her "ugly sweater" cookies.  They might not look like much but they sure are tasty.

Happy New Year

Hope everyone had a great 2013 and that 2014 is even better.

Nalnai and Alyssa enjoying a New Year photo shoot.

Flying High

If you're a four year old and your father is an has an obsessive climber you are going to spend a good amount of time out at the crag.  The trick for me as the father is to try to make our time in the dirt fun and fortunately Hammie is a great "crag kid" as rocks, sticks, plants, etc provide endless amounts of entertainment for an active imagination.  And lately Hammie has even taken to climbing as she lugs her own pad around and seeks out problems of her own.  I've got my fingers crossed that the climbing bug will stick. but the important thing is that we have fun, and Hammie is certainly good at that.

When climbing with a rope the appeal is mostly to swing.  Here Nalani takes flight.

Heading out to the boulders with her own crash pad

Nalani geared up for a day of climbing with a good friend along for the ride.

Poppin' Tags

For well over a month I've been promising Nalani that I'd take her dress shopping when we got to 'merica.  So when we finally got to Grand Junction the Aunties, Nalani and I when to a sweet thrift store to see what we could find.  I tried to be hard but how could I say no to my little girl when the sparkly dress only cost $1.  After all was said and done Nalani got one new dress, two skirts, and two pairs of shoes.  And I got some stuff for me as well.  Nothing like poppin' tags.

 Nalani presents the pile of dresses to try on

 Nalani's favorite dress of the day

 She wasn't as psyched on this on left it for some other lucky girl

 One of the skirts

 and the sparkly party skirt

We weren't feeling this one

Thanks to Auntie Dut Dut for all the help

What other cool stuff can we find at the thrift store?

What we do when we get to the boulder.

This is a little video that Aunt Autumn (aka Dut Dut) took last winter and I'm now posting after threats from the other aunts.  Hope you all enjoy.

Back in "merica

Our annual trip to the States happened a little earlier this year and started in Tennessee.  After shaking off a little sickness (and passing it on to her dad) Nalani has been enjoying the southern hospitality and exploring the many sandstone boulders.

In the airport heading to 'merica

Layover 

Once in Tennessee we began exploring the boulders.   Nalani found a nice cave at Little Rock City

Nalani and her dad, ready to take on the Dirty South

It's a good think she looks like her mama

 Mormor busted out some old pictures of Lina as a little buckaroo.  I guess it was never really in doubt but now we know for sure where Hammie gets her cuteness from. 

Who's cuter?

A Shot of Bravery

Perhaps nothing is more harrowing to a 4 year old than getting a shot.  Hammie seemed ok with the idea in the days leading up to it but on the morning we were to go in for the shot her bravery faltered.  In the doctors office no amount of assurance and comforting could get Hammie to calmly accept a needle in her arm so we had to resort to holding down a very angry and sad girl.  It is not the easiest thing for a parent to do but that's what is required sometimes.  For awhile after the incident Hammie declared between sobs that she was angry with us.  My heart breaks a little seeing our little girl so upset.

Fortunately a band-aid, little toy elephant and a lollipop helped sooth the tears and when we dropped Hammie at daycare she was herself again.  Among her friends she proudly displayed the band-aid as a mark of her bravery.  The other 4-year olds  were very impressed.  We haven't yet broke it to Hammie that her bravery will be tested once again next week.  We'll see how it goes.

Hammie post shot and her badge of courage

A happy Hammie and her new toy.

The Belated Birthday Post: The Big Four

Here is the annual "better late than never" birthday post.  

Hammie has officially turned 4 and I'm more certain than ever that she is the greatest girl that has ever been born (yes, I may be a bit biased). Hammie continues to grow as children tend to do and her ever lengthening frame is becoming ever more capable. Jumping, running, dancing, climbing and other activities are increasingly fluid and I can foresee the day when Hammie's skills will surpass those of her old-man (my dancing title may already be in jeopardy).

Hammie's intellectual prowess, like her body, is growing by leaps and bounds. Her command of English and Swedish and ability to transition between the two impresses me and I'm certain I've got very limited time before Hammie will be correcting my Swedish. Her math skills are still pretty basic but she has invented a new number (“eleventeen”) and conveniently counts really high when it correlates to the number of M&M's she gets to eat. Her artistic skills are prodigious and while her early years consisted mainly of abstract works she now specializes in portraits. If you ask her for one I'm sure she whip one out in no time at all.

Hammie has reached that age where “kid intuition” magically kicks in. Out of no where she realized that cracks are not to be stepped on and a casual walk suddenly looks like a game of hop-scotch. Also, when we ran out of bacon she suggested we plant a “bacon tree” to remedy the problem. You can almost hear the gears turning as Hammie makes a quite logical conclusion based on what she's observed in her short life and then quickly alters it as new information comes forward (if only politicians could be so reasonable); Hammie is now aware that bacon doesn't grow on trees but I don't have the heart to tell her it can't really qualify as her favorite vegetable.

Hammie deftly uses her powers of reason to lobby for issues important to 4 year olds everywhere and whether it's icecream on a hot day or staying up late during the sunshine of Scandinavian summers, she is a shrewd negotiator (she also uses “cute appeal” to her advantage). Persistence is also one of her gifts and she'll ask the same question countless times if she hasn't gotten the answer she wants (it doesn't work as well as she'd like but you can't blame her for trying).

There are so many little quarks that make Hammie special and Lina and I proud parents. We wish we could spent more time with all are friends and family but the logistics of being an international family has it's down sides. Here are a few pictures from Hammie's birthday.   

"I'm this many years old"

Lina once again makes any amazing birthday cake.  Homemade ice-cream, fresh strawberries and chocolate. Hmmmmmmm

The birthday girl gets her cake

Making a wish

Who's excited for cake?

The first slice

Delicious

Summer girl