What I Did For Love

All the hippest American mommy bloggers have been raving about a Swedish invention called the NoseFrida, a snot-sucker that, in America, has adorable packaging that doesn't make me want to vomit in the least.  I was glad that we hadn't had a need for it, but curious if it would be called by its Swedish equivalent, NäsFrida, here and if it would be marketed with the same cute packaging.  Well, poor Jamie is all stuffed up and I have learned that it is, indeed, called NäsFrida here and no, the packaging is not cute, it is totally nasty.  I understand what usage of the product requires me to do, but I sure don't want to see a picture of it.  No one does.  So, yeah, sorry, readers.

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

Another Land

The holidays are over and all that we in Sweden have to look forward to for awhile is months and months of cold and darkness.  Unless!  Hows about a sunny vacation to break up the winter?  Ving understands our pain and has started advertising their all-inclusive vacation deals to the Swedes' favorite destinations such as Thailand, Greece and Turkey.  And the Canary Islands, of course, which called our names until we were forced to relent and book a trip.  So next week it's sandy diapers for us three and I cannot wait.  The only islands I've ever been on are Manhattan and Kelly's Island so I am understandably pumped.  But don't expect Jamie to be cuddling any giraffes like in this ad.  He eats giraffes like this one for breakfast.

Daily Jamie

Finally

Note to my sister who still lives in Montana:  our home state is WHERE IT'S AT.  According to H&M, anyway.

Daily Jamie

After Dark

When The Swede and I decided we'd spend New Year's Eve at the cabin with his folks and the Segerstens, I imagined a cozy, low-key family party.  Just some delicious food, maybe a little champagne and good company in front of a roaring fire.  And, yeah, I got that, sure.  But The Swede had something else up his sleeve.  After the sun had fully set, he sent his whole family - toddlers, infants, the whole clan - out into the woods with flashlights for a sub-zero scavanger hunt.  We followed a map all over our country neighborhood, setting off fireworks, fishing prizes out of a nearly-frozen lake, and taking a pit-stop back at the cabin for a warm cup of glögg and hot dogs cooked by The Swede himself over an open fire.  It was a fun way to kick off the celebration and it certainly made us more appreciative of the warmth of the food/champagne/good company portion of the evening.

Daily Jamie

December 30th

December 31st

Two Thousand Eleven

Holy cow, you guys, this has been quite the year.  Last year, with a couple of secrets in my back pocket, I wrote that I thought 2011 would top 2010 and did it ever!  It has surely been the most significant-event-filled year of my life so far and, provided I don't ever get married, buy a house and have a baby again all in one year, I think it will remain as such.  So, 2011, you were awesome.  Thanks for all the good times, especially the following:

In January, The Swede and I bound ourselves to one another, property-ownership-style, with the purchase of our new home.

In February, we finally let the cat out of the bag and made the big announcement that we would soon be a family of three.

Then, in March, the family really became official because we all got the same last name when I married the man of my dreams.

The excitement continued in April when we packed everything up from the Sundbyberg apartment and moved to Kungsängen.

Meanwhile, my belly grew.  In May, all settled in in our new home, we prepared for the baby's arrival.

Our June was super busy, with a surprise baby shower ,  visitors from London who celebrated midsummer with us, and the completion of the baby suite.

In July, life changed forever with the arrival of Jamie.

Okay, well, it didn't change that much.  In August, we took part in the traditional late-summer kräftfest.

I could hardly wait for September, when we travelled to Ohio and spent time with family and friends.

While we were in the States, Mama and Papa Swede repurchased their summer cabin.  It's a perfect meeting place for our family - midway between Stockholm and Söderköping - so in October we began spending most weekends there.

In November, Jamie and I discovered open preschool with Linda and Sukai and the family let me cook them Thanksgiving dinner at the cabin.

This fantastic year of excitement finished in December with even more: Jamie's first snow and first Christmas .

I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store and look forward to telling you all about it as it happens!  Happy New Year, team!!!

Daily Jamie

I feel like I spent more than my fair share of time at the changing table today.  This Day of the Diaper deserves its own photo to remember it by.

Party Planning

Linda and the babies and I headed to the mall today to check out the party supply store.  Linda's elder daughter is having a birthday in a couple of weeks and I wanted to check out what was available for an upcoming event that you'll hear more about later.  We had fun picking out items that we would have loved when we were kids and daydreaming about how sweet it would be to have a pinata.  (Sorry, I don't have a tilde on this Swedish keyboard and I'm too lazy to go copy and paste one from a website or something.  Not too lazy to write two whole sentences about it, though.)  Linda walked out with the makings of a sweet little girl's birthday party and I picked up a couple of ridiculous items that I can't wait to tell you about in a few weeks.

Daily Jamie

Christmas Number Two

The US Postal Service was particularly slow this year so even though my mom shipped our Christmas package weeks ago, I've still been checking the mail day after day and no package.  Then, today, while I was Skyping with Mom, the doorbell rang and there was The Post with the package in hand!  The timing couldn't have been better.  Mom got to watch Jamie open all of his presents and see me get excited over the loads of candy, toys, cookie-making stuff, Baby's First Christmas ornament and stockings for the whole family, among other things.  And that pug?  That's for Jamie, not for me.  Not at all.

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

Jumpin' Jamie

The Swede and I decided to take advantage of the sweet after-Christmas sales and headed over to the baby store to pick up a jumper to give our arms a rest.  He's a little too short for it, as the armholes are so high that they force him to raise the roof a bit while he's bouncing, but he loves it nevertheless. 

Daily Jamie

December 23rd

December 24th

December 25th

Jul With Jamie

Jamie, The Swede and I spent the former's first Christmas in Söderköping.  Despite the warmth and lack of snow outside, it was cozy as ever indoors.  Jamie got to play with his crazy cousins...

...and his two favorite grown-ups.

He got to take part in traditions like preparing a bowl of rice porridge for Tomten.  Santa Claus runs on cookies, but Tomten prefers porridge, so you do the math as to which culture's Father Christmas is the more sympathetic character.  Jamie's too young for math so he just went along with it. 

Then, the next morning, on Christmas Eve, Jamie and his cousins each got to open one present.  This is a tradition I'm pretty sure anyone could get down with. 

Later, the whole family went for a walk to the cemetery to light a candle for the departed...

...and then continued on to the center of town where we took a publicity shot for Mini.

Everyone was starving when we got home, so Mama Swede slaved away in the kitchen while we watched Kalle Anka.  She worked for hours to prepare a meal that was so delicious that everyone was stuffed with seconds and thirds within minutes.

Then the long wait was over and Tomten showed up to dole out presents.  By that time, Jamie had had just about as much excitement as a baby can take and was a tired crank-master.  He napped through much of the present-opening and screamed through the rest, but I do believe he was satisfied with the result.  And his mom sure didn't mind opening all his presents.

So with Baby's First Christmas under our belts, it's off to bed.  A Very Merry Christmas to you and yours from The Family Swede!

Daily Jamie