Saturday picnic

On Saturday morning the weather was fairly ok so we set off to a nature reserve called Paradiset (paradise). We grilled hot dogs, had coffee and it was really nice. After we had finished our food a bit of rain came but not that much. We could still go for a little walk in the forest. The place was really lovely and we will definitely try to go back soon!

Friday with Grandma Joyce

On Friday the weather seemed ok in the morning and we headed into town. We decided to take the boat from Slussen to Djurgården and then to go to Aquaria.


1. Waiting for the boat 2. Excited on the boat


1. Waiting for our lunch. 2. Looking at all the fish

We first had lunch and then went to the Aquarium. It was nice but a bit smaller than I had expected. Elias liked looking at all the fish but after a while I guess he had seen all the fish he needed for one day... When we were getting ready to leave the rain was pouring down though and of course we had forgotten the rain cover for the pushchair.

It was only a short trek/run to the bus stop luckily and we hardly had to wait at all. Once we got on it took about 2 mins and then Elias was asleep. In town we went to the poshest department store NK and had some coffee and cake and then had a look at all the lovely stuff. Joyce got Elias his birthday present as well. A cash register from fisher price that he really likes.

Summer party at nursery

On Thursday we had a summer party at Elias'nursery. After a few days of rain and misery we actually had some sun that day...



Don't worry if you can't see Elias among the singing children. He wasn't there. He stood next to me and listened instead.

Birthday pics

A bit late, but here are a few pictures from Elias' birthday.

Showing the balloons to grandma. Opening cards

Opening presents

One huge present. What can it be??

A bike! Card from his nursery group

Birthday report

I just realised that we haven't reported anything on Elias' birthday.

He went to nursery that day and we had bought strawberries and melon as a treat for his group. He came home with loads of strawberry stains on his t-shirt, two balloons, and a huge birthday card. I think it was a good day at nursery.

When I got home from work we opened presents and cards and he was quite into the task. He got a pretty good harvest I think and there is still more to come! He got clothes, books, money and a tricycle. We are waiting for a slide that we have ordered and auntie Juliet said there is something on its way as well. And as an extra bonus grandma Joyce is coming on Thursday and who knows what her bags contain! Nice with a never ending birthday!

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from the birthday but grandad Stig took some photos that I hope to get hold of soon so I can show you all.

Thanks to everyone for sending presents and cards!!!

A quick update

We have passed a big milestone here lately. Elias has had his first cup of tea!! A very milky one mind you, but still. He drank it but didn't ask for more... Squash is still the favourite.



Mum and dad arrived on Wednesday and it is so nice to have them here. Dad took Elias to nursery today and picked him up as well. Obviously a great help to me! And as a bonus we get a few things done around the house. On the weekend he moved a small tree and today he has been tidying the garden. Thanks!!

Yesterday we celebrated Mother's day and also celebrated Elias a bit early. Mum's aunt came by for lunch and my cousin came around for dinner. Elias got a very cute "puzzle" made of two cubes with half an animal on each side. When you pair them up they make the proper animal noise. A huge hit tonight! The cockerel and the dog were the favourites and when we were about to go down for his bath he kissed the dog tonight.

Zoo

Today we went to the zoo and apart from the weather it was great. I have added pictures in the May and June album

Yesterday we went to a birthday party and tomorrow we go to Leonard's christening so it is a pretty busy weekend. Lucky it's a long weekend!

Ikea

Went to Ikea yesterday afternoon. I thought it wouldn't be very busy at all on a weekday before "everyone" has quit their jobs for the day. It wasn't heaving with people but still quite a lot of people.

We had made a very detailed list of what to get and managed to stick to it even if we almost got sidetracked a few times. The main thing we bought was a new chest of drawers for Elias' bedroom. We started to build it last night. We are quite a team when it comes to building IKEA furniture, I guess we have had a lot of practise. I'm really pleased with the stuff we got but reading about my good friend Pernilla's project makes me feel not just a little bit bad...

New data

David took Elias to the clinic yesterday. To the right you can see the new height and weight data.

In the afternoon we went to the new dagis. I think it will be good there! Elias seemed to like the playground, we could even leave him there for a little while when we were looking around indoors.

Birthday wishes

Book: Nöff nöff, Benny
Book: Den silvriga barnkammarboken
Puzzles
Trains
Bath toys
Tools
Clothes (size 92)

good and bad

Sunday evening and we look back on a really nice weekend. Yesterday Elias and I went to the forest group (normally on Sundays, but on Saturday this week). I was debating whether we should go or not since it had been raining all night and we forgot his waterproofs at dagis, and we had quite a list of things we wanted to get done. Anyway, I decided to go and it was as nice as ever. Elias is such a little star in the forest! Makes his mummy very proud. Also, I realised that one of the girls in the group is the daughter of one of Dave's colleagues. Nice!

After his midday nap we went to see Anna, Patrik, Jacob and their little baby girl. She was so cute and tiny (3 weeks old). Elias thought it was very strange I think with such a small baby. After a lot of fika and chatting we went to a play park near by. It was great and we had loads of fun until Elias did a dump and we had to go home.

Today we met up with some other friends and had a bbq. It was great fun! The family we went to had LOADS of toys and Elias loved it. It was great to see all of my friends again but unfortunatelly I got some really bad news. One of the girls in the group (she wasn't there today) just had surgery because they found out she had breast cancer. It is so awful! Especially since her fiance had lukemia a few years ago. So unfair that this horrible disease hits the same family twice!!!

First harvest

Yesterday we had the first harvest of the season - rhubarb. Elias thought it was very interesting but didn't quite like the taste of raw rhubarb.

Later at night we made a scrummy rhubarb crumble.

Sweet weekend

On Friday we had a bank holiday in Sweden so we have had a long and nice weekend. Luckily the weather has been great as well! (It is raining today)

On Friday we were mainly pottering about in the garden and went to the park with Elias. We thought we should all have an ice cream to celebrate the spring. Elias seemed to really enjoy it and he did not make a fuss when it was finished. Not like a year ago. Mind you, it was a pretty big ice cream so he was probably stuffed when it was finished...



On Saturday we went to Maya's birthday party. Elias was quite shy at first but soon warmed up. He was very interested in all the people using sign language and soon started to try to sign himself. At the end there was a little treasure hunt and the treasure was a small bag of sweets. Elias got his bag, looked in it and said "Blä!" (yuck). He really didn't want to try any sweets. In the end he had one but didn't seem to be very impressed. Good!

Yesterday we went to Uppsala and saw the parents in our parent group. It was so much fun! Elias had a blast

Nursery news

Yesterday we got a letter saying that Elias can go to the nursery closest to our house as of end of August. We are a bit surprised since just a few days ago it seemed like the queue was still pretty long.

I'm really happy about this because it will mean that the friends he make at nursery will be living closer to us and it will be a lot more convenient for us as well with the dropping off and picking up. Still I can't help but feel a bit worried. I really like the staff where he is now and as David pointed out yesterday, it seems like a lot of the older kids really like Elias and look out for him. I'm sure it will be good in the new place too, but it is always a bit scary with the unknown. "You know what you have but not what you will get"

I will try to call them today and see if we can arrange a visit to the new nursery.

Another weekend is coming to an end. Yesterday we were mainly pottering about in the garden and my cousin came for a visit with little Leonard. It was lovely to see them! Leonard is growing so fast, I can't believe he's 4 months already...


Today Elias and I went to the forest-group again and it was lovely. The weather was great and Elias really enjoyed the walk in the forest. After that I went shopping for clothes for Elias. I would have much rather stayed at home out in the garden enjoying the nice weather. But the boy really needed new clothes and there was a few presents I had to sort out. Unfortunately I have just realised I forgot to sort one of the most important ones out. %!#&%#! I guess I'll have to go back one evening this week.

At least I managed to buy loads of stuff for Elias and it looks like most of it fits (trousers are the worst to buy!). Here he is all geared up in some of the new stuff:

Haircut

I have been very fond of Elias blond curles and refused to get him a haircut. I've been saying that I won't allow it being cut until he's 2 at the earliest. Lately he has been looking more scruffy than cute though and I realised we did need to cut it. I tried to hold him and Dave did the cutting. What do you think of the result?

Before:

After:

As promised

Pictures of the wallpaper:

"Done"

Yesterday we put the wallpaper up in Elias' room! Yeez, it is so difficult! This is the sort of stuff they should teach you in school!!!

Anyway, we managed but it took pretty long even though it is a really small wall. Will take a photo tonight and let you see the result.

Now we just need to tidy up the basement and move back down. I hope Elias will like his new room!

Hilarious

I find this really funny. Can't help it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_B5UrI7nAI

Words

Elias is learning loads of words at the moment and he's getting better and better at copying what we are saying. At grandma Inger and granddad Stig he started saying "tackförmaten" (thank you for the food), and he says quite a few short sentences. One thing that I find really sweet is that he has learnt the word "sova" (sleep) and says it all the time. He lies down on the sofa, the floor, in our bed and says "sova!". He says everything with an exclamation mark...

Even in his eating chair he tilts his head back and says "sova!". The sweetest thing was last night though when we actually were about to put him to bed. He was sitting in my knee and had just had his evening drink and then he said "sova, sova, sova". I guess it was time to go to bed...

Weekend report

It's Sunday evening and we are absolutely shattered. It has been a great weekend (I think anyway) but now I'm almost looking forward to going back to work so I can get a bit more of a rest.

On Friday I picked Elias up from dagis as usual. They were outside playing and he didn't want to come home with me. After letting him go down the slide like a 1000 times I finally dragged him to the car. I'm really happy that he likes nursery but it would be nice if he came home without a fight... Oh well, Elias ate dinner and then we put him to bed normal time and then Dave and I had dinner together. It's so nice to have an "adult" dinner together sometimes.

On Saturday Dave started painting the roof in Elias' bedroom while Elias and I went grocery shopping. Later I gave the walls the first lick of paint too. It's so nice to finally have started with the room.

This morning Elias and I joined an activity for small children where you meet up in the forest and look at plants and animals. I was a bit worried because he had had a pretty bad night and woke up before 6. Also the other kids are a bit older but it actually went really well. He seemed to love it! We will definitely go again next weekend!

Apart from starting to do up Elias' room we've also started working on a flowerbed. Today we went and bought some earth to put in it and hopefully we'll finish the flowerbed and Elias' room pretty soon.

We also bought a lamp for Elias today. What do you think?













Now we're going to have a sauna and then it's off to sleep! Can't wait!

Pictures

I have added some photos to the March&April photo album.

Here you see him crawling through a tunnel David dug.

We're back

After a great week in Luleå we are now back at work (all 3 of us). The weather wasn't quite as good as we have come to expect at Easter but we had a lovely time anyway.

When we left Stockholm it was + 15 degrees and sunny and spring flowers were blooming in the garden. In Luleå it was about 0 and loads of snow. It sure is a pretty big country...

I will try to upload some pictures ASAP.

Off we go

Today we fly up to Luleå so don't be surprised if the blog will be fairly quiet the coming week. Unfortunately Elias has gotten a bit of a cold (again) but he hasn't had a temperature so hopefully it will pass quite quickly this time so we can play in the snow up north.

It was great fun seeing Anki and Bacon again. Anki and Elias hit it off straight away and Bacon really liked all of Elias' toys... On Saturday we went to see a friend who had her third child two weeks (!) ago. She (the baby) was so tiny! It is amazing how fast they grow...

On Sunday Anki and I went for a small shopping trip and then we picked up great-aunt Lilly on the way home and we all had dinner together.

We've had a few days of amazing weather, sunny and +15 so it will be a bit of a change to go up north and have winter again. Hopefully we will have a few sunny days, you can't find much that is better than a beatiful spring-winter day in Luleå!

Guests

Today Aunty Anki and Bacon (her dog) come to visit. Yippie! It will be so nice to see them. I have tried to teach Elias to say 'Anki' and I think he is getting pretty close (mind you, it is pretty close to the swedish word for duck and he does seem to confuse them a bit)

I'm sure Anki will be very impressed with all of Elias new skills. Especially how he tries to trow up a football in the air and then kick it on the way down (like goalies do).

The weather forecast for the weekend is great so I hope it will stick to that. I'm wearing my leather jacket instead of my winter coat today. Spring is here!

A few pics

Elias with his beloved spade and new gloves.

Elias and Grandma Joyce

Elias and Max

Looking at fish (camera lens a bit steamed up)

Out for a walk in Hagaparken

More pictures can be found in the March&April album

Ready for spring

I thought if I give the blog a spring-inspired look, maybe spring will finally come...

What do you think? Better, worse?

Bye bye grandma

Today Grandma Joyce and Max go back to England again. It has been great to see them. Unfortunately Elias got ill on Thursday afternoon and he was pretty miserable on Friday. Luckily he got a lot better on Saturday and had loads of energy to play.

On Friday Joyce and Max went in to central Stockholm while we stayed at home with Elias. On Saturday we went to Hagaparken and the Butterfly house. It was really nice, but very hot and humid. Elias mainly liked a big tank of huge fish (carps) and he found it a bit too hot in the actual butterfly house. He did point to a few and shouted "fäjil" (butterfly in Swedish, sort of). We had lunch and then went for a walk while Elias slept. I thought the park was pretty nice although it looked a bit dreary at the moment. I'm sure it is lovely in the summer though. The café had great looking cakes so I definitely want to go back for one of them (we only had lunch there, no fika).

As soon as I have emptied the camera I will upload some pictures!

Amazing!

In 2006 my parents came to England to meet David's family. While we were there we also made a trip to Portsmouth to see the HMS Victory. Dad wanted to go there because he had started to build a model of the ship. While there he found some blueprints for the ship that were much more accurate than the ones he had at home. When he got home he decided to start over with the correct blueprint (he had worked about 1½ years by then I think).

Now, almost 3 years after he got hold of the correct blueprints the ship is finally finished! Amazing, don't you think!?





I should be clear about the fact that pretty much everything is hand made by dad . Maybe I should also point out that dad is retired ;-)

Real parent?

Tonight I am going to a parent meeting at the nursery. My first parent meeting ever! When I was little and my parents went to the parent meetings at school I was always so curious as to what they were talking about. Now I will finally find out. Does this mean I am a real parent now?

Mine!

Kisses

Another thing Elias really likes to do at the moment is to give out kisses. He kisses us, he kisses his bunny. He makes bunny kiss other stuffed toys and us. We have tried to teach him how to blow kisses as well and he relly tries hard even though he struggels a bit with the order in which to do things. It is so cute!

Favourite games

It feels like Elias has changed lately, but it is hard to explain how. He seems a lot older and playes differently it seems. It is loads of fun! At the moment he is really into drawing. The other day I could hardly get him to come home with me from nursery because he was having so much fun drawing!

Pictures of some of the favourite games at the moment:
Crawling under the coffee table
Playing with water at the sink
Drawing

On Sunday we had some lovely "spring-winter" weather. It was pretty cold and crisp but the sun was shining and giving off some heat. Lovely! Hopefully we will get loads more of that when we go up to Luleå at Easter...



We went tobogganing on a small slope near the house and Elias seemed to quite like it. When we do stuff we think he 'should' enjoy we quite often make a weeee noice, and he did say that quite a lot. Not always enthusiastically, but still....