Mom Mom and Pop Pop’s yearly trip to New Smyrna, Florida was delayed this year, so we visited in mid-January while Dad drilled with the Navy Reserves in Akron. There was a Steelers game that Sunday, so Alice wore her Steelers bib and watched the game with Pop Pop and Daddy.
Taking a stroll around the national mall on a beautiful 68 degree Sunday in February.
She might not look sick, but we’ve spent the past two days at home in our jammies, playing in bed and nursing goopy eyes. Caused apparently by the bad cold she had right after Christmas. Tomorrow back to daycare again.
Alice started eating brown rice cereal this week!
Doesn’t she look excited!
Worried expression aside, she actually likes the cereal a lot – opening her mouth up wide and trying to grab the spoon! Next up: sweet potatoes, oatmeal and peas.
Yesterday Steve sent me a link to a story about a new Norwegian reality contest that will feature Norwegian-Americans traveling and experiencing Norway for the first time…a fish-out-of-water kind of show.
Growing up between Mt. Horeb and New Glarus I’ve been seeped in my Norwegian and Swiss heritages from a young age, but it would be interesting to compare our traditions with theirs, and see how Americanized ours have become. Not to mention how Norwegian traditions might have modernized in the home country over the past 70+ years since my great-relatives immigrated over here.
Other than our food customs, though, I’m not sure that my family celebrates any Swiss or Norwegian Christmas traditions outside of the typical Christian ones, so maybe my pondering is a moot point.
I’ve been thinking about our traditions more due to the holidays and how to make Christmas as special to Alice as it was to me growing up. I believe it’s the people, not the traditions, that make holidays special, but, traditions are fun and connect you with your past. I’d like to incorporate both old and new traditions for Alice, as did my parents for me and Katie. I imagine we’ll have a Christmas or two in Florida – maybe on the beach. Going to the movies on Christmas day could become a tradition. Steve wants to order Chinese food for Christmas dinner at least once. We’ll have Christmases in Wisconsin, Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Steve and I aren’t religious, so many of the traditions my family celebrated won’t be incorporated into our home celebrations with Alice – I might have to get our mothers involved in changing that – such as the chocolate kisses and countdown to Christmas day, lighting of the Advent candles and the telling of the Christmas story, the Nativity plays and programs at church, singing Christmas songs in the choir and the Christmas Eve candlelight service. That leaves us with late night trips to the barn Christmas Eve to try and catch the horses and cats talking, all of the wonderful traditional cookies and foods – lefse, bratzles, stroll, rommegrot – Christmas Eve fondue, decorating the Christmas tree and making ornaments, big family dinners, presents and stockings Christmas morning, and of course visits from Santa Clause.
Alice’s Christmases will be different than my Christmases, but hopefully will be equally as special.
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