Lily's Norwegian words

One of the common worries of moving anywhere, especially to a new country, is whether or not you'll have friends and other children for your child to play with. I have been SO lucky in not feeling lonely since we moved and have not only been welcomed by many people, but am actually often busy planning playdates. Two people in particular have helped with this. One is my landlord who lives upstairs and has twins that are 19-months. She enjoys going out of the house so often invites me places or even just upstairs to play. She also introduced me to the amazing Åpen Barnehage in Norway. Most young children go to barnehage during the day while their parents work, but open barnehage is there for the stay-at-home moms and they have several rooms and an activity each day (gym activities, baking, dancing, singing time, etc.). I try to get there at least once a week and it is great. Here is Lily playing with Malene and Mathias upstairs.

Most Norwegians go back to work when their child is 1, but occasionally you have a couple who stay at home so they like other stay-at-home moms to get together with. Carrie is in my ward and has two children a little older and younger than Lily (and a brand new baby last week) and we've been getting together with them about once a week. Plus they're all in nursery together. Here's a couple pictures with Nathan and Lydia.

As a result of playing with Nathan, Lily has learned the word "nei," which means "no" in Norwegian. She is definitely in the toddler stage and says "no" a lot, but this turns into "nei" after she has played with Nathan or been to nursery. Ha ha! It's actually quite funny hearing her tell us "nei" all the time. In fact, makes me feel more legit when I'm in public. The other day I was waiting at the bus stop and she was saying "nei" somewhat loudly, I can't remember why, and this older, ragged man laughed and started talking in Norwegian to us for quite some time. I just smiled and was happy when the bus arrived.

She has also learned that "bye" in Norwegian is "ha det" (pronounced with no 't' on the end). I caught it on video as we were walking home from the store one day. The cashier said it to me and I said it back so she kept repeating it on the way home.

I LOVE Lily's little voice anyway, and she's talking a lot now, but it's even cuter when it's new Norwegian words. Now if only I could find the motivation to learn more Norwegian...