Torben's Tree House

Halloween Anticipation

2009-10-22T22:10:00.000-04:00

Torben on a two-wheeler

2009-10-07T22:02:00.000-04:00

Farm fresh eggs

2009-10-07T21:53:00.000-04:00

Torben

2009-06-02T23:38:00.000-04:00

Future point guard

2009-03-19T11:16:00.000-04:00

Torben is getting to be a very good ball handler and spends a lot of time practicing so he can be like his big brothers.

The Torbenator

2008-12-10T23:46:00.000-05:00

Since Torben was a baby his nickname had been the Torbenator. He is such a charming and delightful little fellow. He is full of quirks and loves ritual. He is now four and still takes a bottle at bed time. He just loves having his bottle to soothe him to sleep (if it aint't broke don't fix it). He even has a little corner of his bed that he puts the bottle in when he says his prayer before going to sleep. I thought he looked pretty funny with his batting glove tonight. He informed me that it keeps his hand warm when he sleeps. Will this be a new ritual? We shall see.

Torben's hair has not been cut in quite some time, but I think he looks great with his shaggy locks. We'll just keep letting them grow for now and see how he looks with them even longer. Perhaps he will catch up with his Norwegian cousins.

Out of the mouths of babes

2008-11-20T22:56:00.001-05:00

The other day Torben was mad about something and he was walking around kicking his foot at the ground and muttering to himself, "I am NOT like a star shining brightly and Jesus don't want me for a sunbeam." I thought that was pretty funny.

More Birthday Pic's

2008-11-16T17:32:00.000-05:00

Cake and presents.

Torben's Birthday

2008-11-16T17:26:00.000-05:00

For Torben's birthday we went to a place called the "All Aboard Diner". He was fascinated with all the train paraphernalia, and the best part was your meal is delivered by a train that runs around a track at the counter. After we ate the train also brought him a cupcake and all the waitresses sang "Happy Birthday". I think the older kids all really enjoyed it too.

Torben is Ready For Church

2008-07-23T10:12:00.000-04:00

The Torbenator Shows His Soft Side

2008-07-18T09:17:00.000-04:00

Irresistable

2008-07-17T10:35:00.001-04:00

Isn't Torben just a delightful child? He had such a fun day at the beach. He especially loved playing in the sand.

The Joy of Eating

2008-05-28T18:28:00.003-04:00

Today for lunch, I had to run a couple of errands and took Torben along with me. I made a stop at Oberweis to pick up some milk. While I was there I decided to get him an ice cream cone for a treat. Of course it is hard for Torben to enjoy a treat that melts faster than he can eat it and ends up all over his hands. All I could hear from the back seat was, "I don't like ice cream cones; they get all over my hands." The more the ice cream got on his hands the more he whined and the slower he ate his cone. Fortunately the trip was a short one and I was able to rescue Torben from the troublesome ice cream cone.

In an earlier post Cecilie pointed out Torben's distaste for messy foods. When my mother read it she told me that Torben came by this honestly. Apparently her father didn't like foods that were at all messy and as a result he didn't like to eat cinnamon buns because they were too sticky.

The cuteness of Torben

2008-05-22T20:31:00.002-04:00

Here are a few things Torben has been saying lately that deserve immortalizing:

"It's not bedtime. The sky's not down yet."

"It's not bedtime. The sun hasn't turned off."

Yes, they have been buying him a few extra minutes of play.

Brent Jr.?

2008-04-28T16:34:00.003-04:00

It's a challenge for Torben to do anything involving a mess because he gets so sidetracked by the mess aspect. For instance if he is playing outside and gets some dirt on his hand or pants, he cannot continue playing until he is clean again. If he spills a drop of water on his clothes he cannot rest until he has changed into dry ones. This cleanliness fetish applies to mealtimes as well. While eating Sloppy Joe's today for lunch, Torben kept losing little bits from his sandwich which would fall on his shirt or pants. He would get really frustrated and spent the majority of lunchtime trying to clean himself up rather than eat. He would take one bite, then spend the next 10 minutes fretting about the drop that had spilled, and so on. At one point Cecilie said, "I think I might have an idea of what your dad was like as a three-year-old." He finally gave up and said resignedly, "I don't like eating this lunch!" The upside is that he meticulously puts his clothes away every night (in the proper drawers) when he changes into his pajamas.

An Incredibly Cute Kid

2008-04-20T23:07:00.002-04:00

Torben is an incredibly cute kid. Everyday we are amazed at how wonderful he is. He is at that age where everything he does is so delightful. Lately he has become obsessed with the word poop and manages to work it into most every sentence he says. "I don't want to eat this food - its poopy." In the morning if you say, "Torben go get dressed," he respond, "I don't want my poopy pants, your a smelly poopy but mom." It is so great to be three and be able to use the word poop in such clever and fun ways.

New Set of Wheels waning gibbous Moon

2008-04-13T21:05:00.003-04:00

This has been a good week for Torben. For the past number of years we have had a big wheels type trike that has gone through a number of our children that was eventually passed on to Torben who is an avid bike rider. Unfortunately for him the trike was getting to be pretty worn out. The front wheel no longer resembled a full Moon, but rather looked more like a waning gibbous Moon as he rode along with a notable bump each time the wheel rotated. Cecilie and I decided the trike was long due for a date with the dumpster and we bought him a new trike. The new one is a low rider with real pneumatic tires, complete with a bell, and is a sweet ride. Torben spends hours each day riding his new set of wheels up and down the driveway with Abigail in tow as she speeds around on her (really Pyper's) bike. Now that Torben has round wheels that actually grip the driveway we can see why he would get frustrated trying to vie for some traction as he made his way back up the driveway in his old jalopy.

Torben Turns Two

2006-12-27T13:33:00.000-05:00

Big brother

2005-12-04T21:57:00.000-05:00

This is a summer picture, so of course Torben is bigger now.

Cute baby

2005-12-04T21:49:00.000-05:00

Casey, our resident photographer, snapped this picture of Torben. I thought it was pretty cute.

Torben Turns One

2005-12-04T19:28:00.000-05:00

Torben is thrilled to finally eat some nice sweet food!

More Chickenpox

2005-12-04T19:05:00.000-05:00

Torben has been very good with the pox. This has been a good age because he hasn't learned how to pick.

If Rohan were to get them now, who knows what his wounds would look like since he is loves to pick!

Chickenpox

2005-12-04T19:03:00.000-05:00

Torben looking his finest!

2005-06-17T19:57:00.000-04:00

Torben is really enjoying eating. He is a very serious eater like Rohan was.

2005-06-17T19:52:00.000-04:00

Torben up at Morfar's house. He is sure growing up fast. He is now sitting and starting to drag himself around a little.