The Rest Of The Trip

The Swede's Leadership-and Compliance-Lovers Conference began last Sunday, so I spent last week running around visiting with family and friends in between hanging with my mom and Jamie.  Since I hadn't gotten a chance to chat with Austin at his concert we met at Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Bob's to catch up.

I had lunch with my old work family, Julie and Kelly, and then brought the baby over to Swagelok to introduce him to the whole gang.  It felt great to see everyone again and it was particularly special to share him with a bunch of folks who have known me since things were, well, not bad but definitely not this good.

We didn't get to see much of The Swede during that week, but the time we did spend together was extra cozy and much appreciated.

Jamie met my friend Katie's sweet baby Ashley and they commanded their little baby space ships while Katie and I talked teething and the like. 

One of the best moments of the trip was the family party that Mom and Ray hosted.  I got to see my Uncles Larry, Jim and Scott, my Aunt Mary, Cousins Marissa, Grace and Keith, and got to meet Keith's step-daughter Laylah and new baby Linkoln, plus Scott's chihuahua puppy Rudy.  Grandma and Grandpa were also there, of course.  A few people were missing, including The Swede, who had to spend the evening at a work event, but it was wonderful to see the folks who were able to be there.

On our last full day in Ohio, Mom and I drove a couple of hours to see Kristen, my best friend from college.  I got to meet her husband and baby Tyler and see her parents, aunt and uncle, and grandma, who I hadn't seen in years.  I didn't know until this visit when I would ever have the opportunity to see Kristen and her family since she lives in Virginia.  They made the drive from Virginia to see us, so even though it was only a couple of hours it was extra special.

I always feel like I don't get enough time to be with the people I want to see when we're in the States and this time there were a few people who I wasn't able to meet with at all, unfortunately.  Mostly, though, I wanted to spend as much time with Jamie and my mom as possible and while it will never feel like enough, I'm glad we got the time we did.

We're Back

The Swede, Jamie and I landed in Stockholm this morning and have slept all day long.  Jamie was a prince on the plane and it feels great to have the trip behind us, but I miss my family and friends like mad.  I can't wait to get unpacked and settled back in to our real lives and, of course, regular blogging.  So I'll catch you 'round the 'net again real soon.

Daily Jamie

September 23rd

September 24th

September 25th

Daily Jamie



September 20th

September 21st

September 22nd

Daily Jamie

When Your Baby's Baby Has A Baby

Today began with an early-morning, four-generational breakfast with Mom and Grandma Joyce.  It was much earlier than last year's breakfast, which you might expect would devastate me, but see that baby there on the table?  The one sleeping soundly because he's been awake since 4:30 am?  Yeah, he's slowly but surely coaxing me over to the dark side of the early birds.  We had our typical deep and meaningful conversation, peppered with comments about Jamie from the many ROMEOs at the restaurant.  And for those of you not in the know, a ROMEO is a Retired Old Man Eating Out.  Thanks for enlightening me, Grandma, and for the two egg combo, as well!

Awesomeness

Need I say more?

The Wickhams

A few years ago, my mom married a wonderful guy who has an equally wonderful family.  Ray's granddaughter Jazmin's birthday party was this evening so I got to spend some time with them and introduce them to Jamie.  The Cleveland Browns had played and won, so everyone was in a great mood and dressed in their orange and brown.  Jamie got passed around while I enjoyed the buffet, and Jazmin especially enjoyed some quality time with the little guy.

Mom and Ray's grandson Nick, while not quite ready to shoot any actual hoops, was pretty awesome at dribbling.

Ray's daughters Denise and Cindy both have a few kids apiece so we chatted about mommyhood while watching all of our sons be adorable all over the place.  The best thing about Ray's people is that even though I've seldom spent any time with them, they all make me feel like part of the family.

The Latest

We've been mighty busy here in Cleveland these past few days so I hope you'll forgive my recent blogging laziness.  The Emmy's are on and there's a sweet baby and his grandma who I want to cuddle with, so I'm going to keep it short, but I wanted to update you on the goings-on stateside. 

My cousin Austin has an awesome band called Roscoe who played to a packed house on Friday night.  The Swede and I listened to their last album on repeat for three days straight on our roadtrip to Montana last summer, so we were super pumped when we found out that they were having a concert while we're in town.  We were a little nervous that Jamie was going to freak out at the loud music, but he was fast asleep the entire time.  Not that he was bored, of course.  I think he just wanted to make sure I could enjoy the concert as much as possible.  He's considerate like that.

On Saturday I met up with Jamie's aunties Katelyn, Cary and Kate for Mexican.  They showered him with love and kisses and gifts and even though there weren't any margaritas and I was carrying a diaper bag, it felt just like the old days.

Daily Jamie

September 16th

Oops, I missed the 17th!

September 18th

Greetings From Niagara Falls

Daily Jamie

September 14th

September 15th

Daily Jamie

Snug

As you know, I've been wild about my Fisher Price baby carrier but have found it to be a bit cumbersome to get Jamie in and out of as well as uncomfortable on my shoulders after wearing for awhile.  Enter the Moby sling, which I've been coveting for weeks but waited to buy till we came to the States because of the major cost savings.  I finally got it today and it took a bit of time to figure out how to wrap it, but he loves it already (probably because it feels like the old days) and I feel like a total hippie-Earth-mother-type carrying my baby around on my person.

Daily Jamie - One Day Late

Cozyin' up with Grandma.

Daily Jamie

Guess where we're going tomorrow?

See Ya When I See Ya

Hey, team!  It's been a crazy weekend and tonight we're packing up for our big American vacation so I'm just popping in to say that the blogging may be a little light around here in the next few days, but I'll at least try to keep up with the Daily Jamie.  So take it easy and keep it real.  Per the usual, of course.

Daily Jamie

Chick Magnet

We took off for the medieval festival in Söderköping rather early yesterday morning.  I knew that we had planned to pick Elin up after school and that we were meeting the rest of the family and friends when they arrived on the train later that afternoon, but even so we left home much earlier than necessary in my opinion.  And here's why: my man, The Swede, World's Best Husband, had secretly booked a facial for me at a swank salon in Söderköping.  It was magical.  So I luxuriated under masks while a professional literally massaged my eyelashes and contemplated how lucky I am for a whole hour.  Afterwards I stumbled, drunk off of relaxation, back onto the street where The Swede and Sarianne were waiting for me.  We walked to Elin's school where we brought Jamie up to her classroom to show off to her friends, one of which had never seen a real life baby before.  It was surely just the first of many times that Jamie will be surrounded by chicks in his life.

Daily Jamie - One Day Late

Daily Jamie

A Little Privacy

Thank goodness for dressing rooms.  With a baby who eats every other hour around the clock it's important to plan mealtimes ahead when we're going to be out and about.  Today, for example, we went to Sundbyberg to meet up with my friend Davida and right around 2:00 the little guy started slobbering all over his fist and I knew it was time to try on a dress (wink, wink) at Lindex.  If you work in retail and this is against the rules, please don't tell me.  It's just too good a solution to give up.

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

Too Legit To Quit, Part Two

Remember when I got my Swedish ID card?  I was pretty pumped back then, but this is even better.  I am, with this card, a permanent resident of Sweden.  Which is great since my husband and son live here, you know?  I no longer have to apply for an extension of my permit on a yearly basis so I'll save about $200 a year in fees, and it came just in time for our trip to the States next week.  Best of all, the permit is somehow linked to my fingerprints, which doesn't mean anything really, but is still pretty sweet in my book. 

Daily Jamie

If he could talk I bet he'd say, "This outfit is BEE S."

Daily Jamie

Peek Into The Past

Almost thirty years ago, The Swede's family sold the property where they had spent summers when my husband was just a little boy.  And now, all these years later, Mama and Papa Swede happened to be browsing the net and found that the folks they sold it to all those years ago had put it back on the market.  So we all packed into the car this afternoon and took a drive out into the country to meet the Segerstens and check the place out.  It was a stroll down memory lane for the Family Swede, and fun for me to imagine The Swede there as a kid.

Daily Jamie

That Darn Cat

This afternoon we were laying around on the sofa, napping a little, watching some TV and cuddling with the baby.  I had nodded off and woke up to The Swede sniffling on the other end of the couch.  He was watching something online with headphones and basically sobbing.  Intrigued, I asked what he was looking at.  He showed me, and I was touched that he had become so emotional over Christian the lion.  That is, until I realized that the reason he was so moved was that he recognized the emotions as the same ones he feels every day when he comes home and Nelson and Saba greet him at the door.  Lame!

Daily Jamie

I'm pretty sure this is the definition of "bundle of joy".

Win, Win

For anyone out there who's pregnant or thinking about being pregnant one day let me just fill you in on a little secret: don't even bother getting excited about eating whatever you want again after you give birth because there is a whole batch of new dietary restrictions if you're breastfeeding.  I plan on that being the first and last time I use the word "breast" in this blog, by the way, Grandma and Grandpa.  Okay, so it's not like when you're pregnant and eating the wrong thing could potentially damage your baby, but rather eating the wrong thing when you're breastfeeding (oops, I lied) will just make your life a living hell.  Which is why I'm avoiding coffee, chocolate, shellfish, onions and soda - yes, basically all things delicious - in order to spare little Jamie's tummy and, consequently, my sanity.  The thing is, though, that I really like soda, so in order to cheat my way into a refreshing beverage I'm opening everything carbonated so that it loses that sparkle that Jamie hates so much.  Innovative, right?  I feel more Swedish already.    

Daily Jamie

Jamie is not awesome at keeping the pacifier in his mouth.  He's good at other things, though, like keeping it in his neck.  Nine times out of ten when I lift him up out of his crib at night to feed him the thing is stuck in between a couple rolls of chub.

McSwede

McDonalds is having a campaign right now that I find most intriguing.  It's Swedish classic burgers, whatever that means, and this week's is the McBengt.  Next week is the McLeif.  I can't make this stuff up.  I don't know what makes them especially Swedish and they don't sound particularly delicious or anything, but I requested McDonalds for dinner just so that I could have the experience.  And then blog about it, of course.