Daily Jamie

That Time We Walked Out On The Boss

Okay, this is a bit touchy and I don't want to offend anyone. On Saturday afternoon The Swede and I embarked on a date that would culminate in the much-talked-about Bruce Springsteen concert. We aren't fans per sé, but had heard great things about the last two shows he did here last weekend and were looking forward to it. Then we had a lot of fun leading up to the concert, enjoying an al fresco early dinner and bar-crawling our way toward the arena on a gorgeous day. So when we got into the arena and didn't recognize any of the songs and noted a less-than-enthusiastic crowd (despite the fact that there were tens of thousands of them, they're still Swedish, after all)... well, when faced with the prospect of not talking to each other for the next three or four hours we felt forced to leave. Apparently we've started a pattern.  After we left, Bruce played the entire Born in the USA album and I guess we should feel bad about missing it, but our date continued with a trip into the city for drinks at the top of a tower and a late-night pizza and I couldn't be happier with the way the evening went.

Daily Jamie

Sunday Surprise

Today we got a surprise visit from The Swede's friend Andreas and his two boys, who we haven't seen since before Christmas. I dragged out a bunch of toys, including Jamie's airplane, which was a hit, into the yard and mostly the three of them just circled each other, playing on their own. When this moment happened and they all began to play with Legos together I pulled out the camera. Andreas and The Swede became friends when they were kids so I imagine it will be fun to look back at this if the same becomes true for these boys.

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

Impressionists

While everyone else was working on the garage the past two days, I was tasked with redecorating the Segersten family playhouse. Naturally, instead of doing it myself, I decided to delegate and regulate and put the kids to work. We bought three canvases and some paint and brushes at the dollar store and they went to town. Despite my best efforts, paint ended up precisely EVERYWHERE but they seemed to have fun and we got some nice, original art out of it.

Daily Jamie

Ice Cream Cousins

We're in Söderköping for a couple of days and are already making the most of it. As soon as we arrived we took the girls to the ice cream shop. They've been doting on Jamie and playing with him and he is beside himself. It's going to be a fun visit.

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

Kosläpp In Instagrams

Photo by Instagram user Majamyralindmark

Photo by Instagram user Ceciiilia

Photo by yours truly, Instagram user dailydamara

Photo by Instagram user Mailtillmagnus

Daily Jamie

May 3rd
Jamie, Farfar, and the most practical baby food I've come across.

May 4th

May 5th

This Weekend In Rättvik

So, we've been hearing about this huge market a few hours north in beautiful Rättvik for years now. The Swede's parents go every spring with family friends Ingvor and Roland and last year even their son, Per, who The Swede grew up with, came along. This year they added us to the roster and started pumping us up about it several months ago. Per, for example, raved that there was anything you could want at the market. "Socks... everything possible!" he enthused. We were skeptical. If there was everything possible, why were the socks the first thing that came to mind? Turns out we misunderstood. It was more like "SOCKS (and everything possible)" as in socks for sale right and left, literally as far as the eye could see, and some other stuff in between. Jamie got fourteen pairs for twelve dollars courtesy of Mama Swede. I think we're set for awhile.

As for the everything possible, there was lots of fried food to be eaten, plastic toys for placating ones child, and one I LOVE JUSTIN BEIBER hat to be purchased for someone by his less-easily-humiliated American wife. Oh, and a carnival train ride that was so fun that I had to pry a hysterical Jamie off of it one finger at a time.

We also snuck out of the market for a bit to go to a nearby dairy farm's annual spring cow release. See, the cows are indoors all winter and they get really excited to come out when the weather warms up. So excited, in fact, that they do enthusiastic kicks and dances that nobody would want to miss so the dairy invites folks to watch and provides milk and cinnamon buns and plenty of other farm animals to pet as part of the event. It rained a little but even so we loved it and decided then and there to make it a family tradition. In fact, the whole weekend was unforgettable and I'm pretty sure we're going to have to do it again next spring. If for no other reason than Jamie's feet will surely grow between now and then.

Daily Jamie

May Day At Skansen

Okay, I went a little nutso with the Jamie pics yesterday but listen, if you're expecting something other than a constant stream of photos of my awesome kid then you've obviously come to the wrong place. We're all Jambo, all the time up in this.

Daily Jamie

A Day At The Park

Today was a holiday here in Sweden so with the day off of work, Linda and her girls and I went to Skansen outdoor museum and Nordic zoo where we met up with another colleague and his kids for a whole day of fun. The weather couldn't have been better - a couple of degrees either way would have been uncomfortable - and everyone was in a great mood. No meltdowns, a couple of attempted hightails, and relatively few falls considering his speed made for an especially pleasant day for this mamma. I brought the fancy camera, too, so there will be more pictures tomorrow.

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

Violet

Inspired by the potted flowers on my office windowsill, I am painting my toenails purple. And, I am a dork.

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

It's Finally Spring In Molsta

Today was Molsta's compulsory spring cleaning day but since Sarianne was sick it was just us and Mama and Papa Swede. It was a fabulous day and we got a lot done, despite our lower-than-expected head count. We were so efficient, I fact, that we actually spent much of the day playing football, grilling, and just sitting around and enjoying the gorgeous day.

Daily Jamie

Just A Little Haircut

Daily Jamie