Happy New Year!

As we greeted the New Year (miserable colds and all), I was surprised to take a look a back at 2008 and see how many FIRSTS we had - notable moments that made our 2008. Some big, and many more small, fragments of our day-to-day lives. Norah and Emerson will both begin 2009 as brand new four and two year olds, respectively. Here is a look at a few of their FIRSTS in 2008.

NORAH

• First concert – James Taylor http://skogenfamily.blogspot.com/2008/07/james-taylor-norahs-first-concert.html
• First ballet recital – Teddy Bear Picnic
• First camping trip http://skogenfamily.blogspot.com/2008/07/our-first-family-camping-extravaganza.html
• First slumber party
• First day of preschool http://skogenfamily.blogspot.com/2008/10/norahs-first-day-of-preschool-aka-how.html
• First Beaver football game
• First Norwegian Dance performance
• First ballet – La Boutique Fantasque with Gramma and Grandpa
• First Nutcracker performance
• Norah decides what she will be when she grows up - an astronaut and a face painter (when she’s not flying through space, yes – that’s what she said). http://skogenfamily.blogspot.com/2008/05/when-norah-grows-up.html
• First train ride
• First Pi Phi philanthropy day
• Portland Art Museum visit – The Dancer, featuring Degas, Forain and Toulouse Latrec http://skogenfamily.blogspot.com/2008/04/dancer-portland-art-museum.html
  First signature http://skogenfamily.blogspot.com/2008/04/milestones.html
• First trip to the Enchanted Forest
• First Library card
• First Syttende Mai celebration
• First summer reading program at the library
• First sled ride

EMERSON

• Master of many signs and many more words
• First sentence – Momma, boompa bake (momma, balloon broke!)
• First Haircut http://skogenfamily.blogspot.com/2008/08/emersons-first-hair-cut.html
• First camping trip
• First trip to the Enchanted Forest http://skogenfamily.blogspot.com/2008/05/enchanted-forest.html
• First Snow
• First phone chat
• First hike where he was able to walk himself
• First Trick-or-treat on his own
• First Easter egg hunt
• First VANS, a Skogen family tradition
• Reading first letters – T, K, B and C
• First train ride http://skogenfamily.blogspot.com/2008/07/mt-hood-railroad-grammies-birthday.html
• First run through a sprinkler
• First Syttende Mai celebration http://skogenfamily.blogspot.com/2008/05/syttende-mai-norwegian-constitution-day.html
• First fireworks display
• First trip to Powells Bookstore http://skogenfamily.blogspot.com/2008/08/powells-bookstore-portland-oregon.html
• First ride in a Jeep
• First sled ride