Daily Jamie

May 4th

May 5th

Seeing Stockholm

Selah and Andy are arriving here a week from Friday and it's all I can think about. I bought us Stockholm cards so that we can ride public transportation as much as we want and get into any museum, gallery, palace, and attraction we could want to visit (except for the ABBA Museum, which is a must but is unfortunately not covered by the card) with a simple swipe. And I tell you, I cannot wait to swipe the heck outta this town with those guys. 

Daily Jamie

Axel's Party

Jamie's best friend from school had his third birthday party, a much-anticipated event in our family. Jamie had been talking about the balloon and cake potential for days and was not let down as there was plenty of both. The best part, however, was all of his buddy's new toys that he got to help break in, including the Disney Cars tent that Jamie got him. 

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

April 30th

May 1st

The Tick Bus

One thing that truly sicks me out is ticks and I'm sorry to say they are a problem here, particularly in this  region of Sweden. Since Jamie spends so much time outside at the cabin and basically his entire body is exposed to tall grass where ticks hang out, we're really overdue in getting him the TBE vaccine. The good news is, they make it super easy. Throughout the spring and summer, a bus parks in various communities around Stockholm and it's as simple as filling out a sheet of paper, paying a fee, and stepping inside the bus for two minutes to get the shot. I was nervous that Jamie wouldn't handle it well since he hasn't had an injection since his immunizations when he was a baby, but he was a total champ. It didn't hurt that he thought the nasty tick appliqué on the bus was a cool spider (which he calls"spiderwow" - apparently we're very enthusiastic whenever we see them) and got a fish sticker that he carried around the rest of the day. 

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

April 27th

April 28th

Fresh Air People

Yesterday was a good day. It was warm and sunny so we spent the morning on the playground then, after Jamie's nap, took Papa Swede's boat onto the Mälaren. Since we live so close to the water, we were really just cruising around our neighborhood, just from a different perspective. 

It was Jamie's first time on a boat and he LOVED it, especially when Papa turned the motor down super low and let him steer. They did a little fishing, too, which was also a first for Jambo and it was likely his lack of experience that dragged the whole team down because they didn't catch anything.

 

We all loved being out on the boat and Jamie was especially enthusiastic about his life vest and the whistle it came with, as well as the nest full of eggs that a mama bird had made on the beam next to our boat at the harbor.  Hopefully we'll make a habit out of this kind of day.

A Day With Jamie

 

I hope you're ready for Jambo overload because today I plan to gush over him even more than usual. The Swede was busy with fishing club duties so the boy and I spent all day together doing normal things that were made a thousand times more fun by his enthusiasm, humor and curiosity. First, he had a haircut right when the mall opened and after a few tears he settled in with his paci and lollipop and just let it happen, which is great because he was starting to look like a bit of a troll.

Afterwards, we cruised around the mall a bit, trying on hats and playing hide and seek at H&M, riding the escalators and doing an extremely thorough appraisal of every toy at the toy store. When we sat down and ate a burger at Burger King he wore a paper crown and said, in the middle of the meal, "Thanks, Mama!" without being prompted. I doubt I'll ever forget how great that moment felt.

There was a bit more playing at the mall before we headed home for Jamie's three-hour nap during which I read a good book. See what I'm saying? He's the best!

Later, we drove The Swede over to his friend's dudes-only housewarming party and Jambo and I decided to stay in the neighborhood and play at this awesome playground we found since it was still warm and light. I thought I'd have a tough time getting him into the car to head back home, but he just said good-bye to all the giant wooden ants that he'd been balancing on and raced me to the car. 

We got home too late to make a real dinner so we split a quarter of a watermelon and snuggled on the couch in front of Scooby Doo until he told me he was tired and wanted to go to sleep. I love this age and the fact that he has the language now to hold a conversation. I asked him, when we were laying in bed before he fell asleep, what was his favorite part of the day and he said, "The ants."

Daily Jamie

April 24th

April 25th

Speechless/Sockerbit

Yuck, I thought I was having allergies all week since I've been coughing had gunk in my throat but no other symptoms but in the middle of the night it kinda turned into something even gunkier and I can't really speak. I stayed home from work today and took it easy so hopefully I'll be back to my chatty self tomorrow. In the meantime, I wanted to post this link mostly for my Swedish readers to the newest candy craze in the States: Sockerbit, a Swedish candy store in New York and LA. I'm seeing it all over the Instagram feeds of the hippest bloggers. The smågodis culture has caught on stateside and they've got all our favorites.

Daily Jamie

Spring In Stockholm

I just got back from choir rehearsal, where we practiced a couple dozen songs strictly about spring -  birds, flowers, long evenings and sunshine. The five-day weather forecast is filling me with glee and Linda was wearing a skirt today, my cue to do the same starting tomorrow. I don't have to dress Jambo in a ton of clothes before we head to school and I don't have to wear boots to work and just those two things have somehow lifted a weight off my shoulders. It's true again. Spring 2014 is totally putting me in an awesome mood just like all the ones before it. 

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

Washing Up

Today, with another day off from work thanks to Easter, we did a little spring cleaning. I did the windows while The Swede power-washed the front and back terraces and Jamie got sweaty and rosy-cheeked under the sun. The whole neighborhood had the same idea and lots of folks were out in their yards planting and fixing while kids bicycled and charcoal warmed in grills all around the block. 

Daily Jamie

April 18th

 Oops, I accidentally deleted the 19th!

April 20th

The Geocache Pack

Today we got back from a lovely Easter and The Swede's birthday weekend at the cabin. Beyond the usual (i.e. The Swede and his parents and Sarianne working while the rest of us relax, good food, afternoon naps and a lot of child-induced chaos) we did some geocaching. It was super fun when we did it around home last fall and even better with more people and when the treasure is hidden deep into the woods. If I get my wish, we will do this every time we're in Molsta this summer. Just as long as it's not during my nap time.