Daily Jamie

Lids

My mom ordered a bunch of hats from Sarianne and Mama Swede's kids' clothing company (you can find them on the Facebook page "Mini- mössor och annat fint") to donate to the children's hospital in Cleveland.  The hats are super soft and the fabrics so fun and colorful that I almost hate to send them away, but I'm sure they'll be even more appreciated by the kiddos who get to wear them.

Daily Jamie

October 29th

October 30th

Animals

 I can't decide which I want to cuddle more.

Göteborg By Stroller

The Swede had to go to Göteborg for work this week and since Jamie and I are on a year-long vacation, we tagged along.  It was rather short notice, but I had hoped that we might be able to get together with Isa and finally meet little August.  Luckily enough, they are also on a year-long vacation and were able to pencil us in to their schedule.  We walked all over Göteborg while Isa filled me in all on the fun stuff to come (August is a couple of months older than Jamie) and imparted some great mama tips.

Later in the evening, The (Poor) Swede was still at work so Jesper and Isa hosted Jamie and me for a taco dinner.  August dragged himself all over their apartment while Jamie looked on, surely longing for the day when he will be able to scoot himself, and the grown-ups filled up on as much guacamole as a girl could ask for.  

It's a shame they live so far away because this family is awesome, but I have a feeling the boys are going to be great friends regardless. 

Daily Jamie

October 26th

October 27th

October 28th

Daily Jamie

Heaven In A Bottle

Last week at Kista Galleria I got super thirsty so I took a swing by the juice bar.  I was so thirsty, in fact, that I didn't even really make a decision about what I was going to drink, I just pointed at the first thing I saw and passed my kronor over the counter.  And boy, did I get lucky because what I got just happened to be the most delicious non-coffee beverage ever to cross my lips.  My enjoyment was short-lived, though, as I soon realized that I had never, ever seen Sanpellegrino Aranciata Rossa in a store or restaurant before.  "Oh, grrrrrreat," I thought, "I've just discovered beverage nirvana outside of Starbucks and I'm never going to find it again."  But guess what?  They have it at a coffee shop right in my very own neighborhood!  Hot dog!

Daily Jamie

Just A Little Off The Top

My husband, who missed his calling as a lumberjack, if his recent obsession is any indication, celebrated the glorious autumnal weather yesterday by clipping the hedges.  He has an electric hedge clipper, which, as you can imagine, is a joy for him to use, but there's no power tool for the second part of the job: the clean-up.  So he's out there this evening, gathering up the clippings with his bare hands (well, gloved hands, but you get the idea) and it just doesn't look like fun at all. 

Daily Jamie

Three months old and cute as a button!

The Nicest Kind of Sunday

Holy cow, what a beautiful fall day!  We slept in this morning (minus a couple of mealtimes from the littlest Swede) and then headed out for a walk in the sunshine.  Despite the loveliness of this day, winter is still just around the corner so it was time for Papa Swede to take the boat out of the water.  The Swede helped out while Jamie and I continued our walk.  It went quickly and smoothly as usual and now we're at home; The Swede is outside clipping the hedges and Jamie is napping and life couldn't be better.

Daily Jamie

Starting Late

Pretty Swedish waffles with real Vermont maple syrup found in the American food section are my idea of an awesome weekend breakfast.  Nevermind the fact that we didn't start eating them until 2:00 in the afternoon.

Daily Jamie

I don't know what it is about being on his tummy that makes him make this face, but I think it's hilarious.

Getting To The Galleria

I just love Kista Galleria, but I haven't been since before Jamie was born because it requires a ridiculous trip to get there from our new home.  Bus, train and bus again make an hour-long trip that doesn't usually feel worth the trouble.  Today, though, with some extra time on my hands since The Swede was going out to dinner and the theatre with work, I decided to go for it.  And wouldn't you know it, the commuter train is shut down on our side of town for a few days so Jamie and I ended up taking not one, not two, but three busses and the subway instead. It was totally worth it, though, because they have everything you could want from a mall plus awesome diaper-changing and nursing facilities.  We spent the entire afternoon and Jamie is totally wiped out from all the people watching.  Oh, and P.S. It's apparently Christmas.  Åhléns had a whole section of decorations and they were actually playing Christmas music.  Insanity!

Daily Jamie

Even though you can't see Jamie's face, I'm pretty sure this is exactly what it will look like in about thirty-four years.

Crisp

Okay, I was a little depressed about fall the other day.  The leaves were pretty, but they were getting me down and I think I know why.  See, the other day the sky was lame.  Today, however, the sun was shining, the air was crisp and the sky was about as blue as Jamie's stroller.  That made all the difference, and being outside, taking a walk with my boy with my boots and coat and scarf on was just about the least depressing thing I can think of.  Oh, and that latte didn't hurt either.

Daily Jamie

This Is Love

Dudes.  Last night we saw Crazy Stupid Love.  Wow.  Best movie in a long, long time.  And good in a very specific way; not like Inception, which was the last movie I felt absolutely amazed by and which blew me away because it was so original and the special effects were jaw-dropping, but good because it made me feel incredibly happy to be alive.  Like Amelie, my all-time favorite.  Anyway, we finished the movie around 10:30 last night and wanted to watch it again immediately but decided to do the responsible thing and go to sleep.  But then we couldn't sleep because we just kept chatting about the movie and how awesome life is and how glad we are that we found each other and so on.  So what I'm saying is, watch it.  Preferably tonight.  We are.

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

Foreshadow

The trees around here are so beautiful right now that they take my breath away.  The coming winter that they signify also takes my breath away, though in an altogether different, not so nice way.

Daily Jamie

October 15th



October 16th



Play

It was another relaxing weekend at the cabin, with lots of cousin love and lots of logging.  Sort of.

Let me explain.  You see, these guys, my husband, father- and brother-in-law, just love to cut down trees.  It's necessary, of course, but the necessity sure as heck doesn't negate the macho draw of the task, does it?  No.  So, with the-previous-owner's-half-busted-chainsaw-they-found-in-the-tool-shed in hand, the guys set out to cut a gigantic birch out of the way of our sunlight.  Which they did to approximately 93% completion before the last half of the chainsaw pooped out and they were forced to drive in to town to buy a new one.  Meanwhile, we ladies and baby were under strict instructions to stay indoors as there was basically just a toothpick-worth of wood holding a several-hundred-pound, hundred-foot-long tree from crashing down on one of us at the slightest breeze.  And wouldn't you know it, while they were gone a slight breeze came and the birch came tumbling down across the yard.  There was no damage to person or property, thank goodness, but they didn't know that.  Heh.  Sarianne came up with the brilliant idea to drag the tree closer to the house and really give the boys a spook, so she and Mama Swede and I headed out and learned how weak we really are / how heavy a gigantic birch really is.  After our initial plan failed we elected to knock over a bunch of nearby lawn furniture so that it looked like it had fallen closer to the house and we had then dragged it away.  We then waited in anticipation of their return and Phase Two of the plan.  When they finally arrived, we acted like we were totally ticked off, as though we felt like we were in danger.  I tried to work up some tears, but it's been too long since my theatre days.  I cursed instead.  And, yeah, they didn't care.  Which actually did tick me off a little bit, but whatever.  They were the ones who had to spend the rest of the day sawing it into firewood.  

Daily Jamie

The Scale, A Year Later

Okay, this may fall under the category of too much personal information but it's my blog, so I can write about whatever I please and this pleases me.  Of course, I've covered up the number because I don't want to get that personal, but I will tell you that it is a number that I haven't seen in a very long time.  About fifty-two weeks, to be exact.  This morning, the day before Jamie turns twelve weeks old, I stepped on the scale and was back to my pre-pregnancy weight.  Don't ask me what I did because I have no idea, though I suspect having a baby who loves to be held and bounced and living in a country with far fewer one-handed food options than America may have something to do with it.  So thank you, Jamie, because even though you were the biggest disaster my waistline has ever seen, you've also been the best diet.

Let The Games Begin

Miracle of miracles, The Swede has said that I can redecorate our living room!  By redecorate I mean, of course, decorate as it is really just a rather boring white box that we keep our sofa and TV in since we moved here.  I don't want to go too crazy and lose my priviledges here, but I do want to introduce some color.  JUST SOME, Babe, if you're reading this.  Anyway, I wanted to find a piece of art that moved me to kind of kick things off and, after trolling around Allposters.se, couldn't find any fine art that I liked enough to show to The Swede.  So, just for the fun of it, I checked out the sports-themed offerings and found this sweet Olympic Games poster.  It was on sale for, like, $5 so naturally I placed my order.  And, you know, I think it's going to be perfect.  The Swede even (says) he likes it.  So far so good!

Daily Jamie - The Movie

Daily Jamie

Cuddle Bugs

Today Jamie and I went over to Linda and Sukai's place for lunch.  The little guy and I picked up some Thai food to go, then met the girls in the center of town and headed over to their place.  I was hoping the babies would interact more, but all either of them wanted to do was eat, which Jamie did to the extent that I barely got to eat myself before we had to head out for another appointment.  Even though it wasn't a long visit, seeing Linda made me feel back in the swing of life here (nearly three weeks after returning from the States, I'd say it's about time), and seeing how much Sukai has developed has me looking forward to Jamie's future.  Not too much, though.  They need to stay as cuddly as possible for as long as possible.

Daily Jamie

The Writing On The Wall

We have received a bunch of cards from family and friends since Jamie was born and I hated the idea of just tossing them into a drawer so I've been trying to come up with a way to display them that wouldn't take up a lot of space.  Then a few days ago I popped into the craft store and found some green velvet string and tiny metal hooks with clips and made this little number.  Nothing too fancy or polished, but I like it and when Jamie gets older we can hang his drawings there.  And then, later, his straight-A report cards.  And, finally, his Nobel Prize.  That's paper, right?

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

October 7th



October 8th

October 9th

Out In The Country

We spent our first weekend at the summer cabin this weekend!  Our little family, along with The Swede's parents, drove down on Friday and spent the evening cleaning, rearranging furniture and warming the place up with a cozy fire while the Segerstens arrived before I even got out of bed the next morning. 

The guys spent the day outside chopping down a couple of trees that were blocking the sunlight while the modelling continued indoors.

We roasted marshmallows and spent some time in the sauna, sat around the fire and got to know the neighborhood.  Again, that is, for some of us. 

It was great to get away for a couple of days and it's going to be even better next summer!