2011 Recap

Happy New Year!  A bit belatedly perhaps but I haven't managed to post a new year blip until now.

This year's...
...happening
Becoming a mother

...project
Moving before the summer and renovating the kitchen at the end of the year

...song
Blinka lilla stjärna (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star), Trollmors vaggsång, Sov du lilla videung, which are the three songs I sing to Isolde every night

...trip
Nice, France in April and the US (Delaware and Florida) in October

...hip hip hurray!
My grandfather turned 90, my dad 60, my cousin 40 and we attended one wedding (Anna and Richard)

...person
Isolde

...toil
Giving birth!

...garment
Nursing top

...best book 
Read a grand total of four book :(  But of those, I enjoyed "Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann" by Jonas Jonasson the most

...worst book
Not applicable

...purchase
Our new car, a dark blue Passat 140 TDI, which runs on diesel and is a green car according to the Swedish definition

...TV moment
I follow very few series except for sitcoms so difficult to choose a moment.  Maybe the British royal wedding?

...change
Becoming a parent and being home with a baby instead of working

...film
Never Let Me Go was the only one I gave a 5 (list of all viewed films coming)

...daily joy
Waking up to baby babble and laughter

...gratitude
To have a healthy baby and as a bonus, a very content baby that is seriously one of the happiest babies I've ever met (I don't lie when I say that she very rarely cries)!  And I'm grateful every day for my little family.

...greatest expectation
Isolde's next development leap as well as moving to a new home

...greatest disappointment
Can't think of anything.  Perhaps that I had planned to change jobs during my parental leave but time flew and I didn't even try.  But when I did return to work, I had the opportunity to do almost 100% new stuff so going back didn't end up too bad after all.

...greatest joy
Isolde and Peter as a father

...greatest "I wish more had happened this year"
Before I went on maternity leave I had great plans about how to spend the leave (besides taking care of the baby); I was going to bake sourdough bread, plan our wedding [party], scan all my old photos, etc. but I have done none of that...

...most wonderful weekend
Maybe not wonderful as such since it involved 30 hours of gradually increasing pain...but the Saturday and Sunday of 8-9 January when we were about to become parents is probably the most memorable weekend.  It was such a fascinating experience and despite the pain (which I have in many ways forgotten - it's so true what they say) I have only good memories from the delivery room and especially from our room at the ward afterwards.

...ponder
How come time flies?

...restaurant
Pontus (like last year) where we had a big dinner the evening before I went into labour

...hardest and saddest
My grandfather and two friends still having health issues.  I also still think a lot of a friend whose mother passed away in 2010 already - my friend had a baby this year and I think about the fact that her son doesn't get to meet his grandmother and my friend doesn't get to share what I do with my mum.  But she has her dad of course but becoming a mother is perhaps a time when one's mother becomes extra important.

...best party
We haven't thrown any parties this year except for Isolde's christening but I promise that next year we'll finally have our big wedding celebration!

...gadget
The iPhone.  Still.  Again.

...personal greatest success
Being the best mother Isolde could have! :)

...memories
So many, especially with Peter and Isolde of course.  The birth feels like it just happened and at the same time so far ago.

...forgot to do (deviance from normal behaviour)
Didn't hug and kiss Peter as much as I should.  It's like you're both so pre-occupied with the baby that it's 3 o'clock in the afternoon before you realise that you haven't said "good morning" to each other yet!

...greatest lesson
Carrying around a baby builds really good arm muscles and you can't really complain about not sleeping when you should have really gone to bed when the baby did at 8pm instead of at midnight when you ended up going...

...spending
Buying and renovating a flat, buying a new car, baby clothes...

...new people
The mothers and babies of my "mummy group"

...most romantic of the year
Peter continuing to make me breakfast every morning - during my maternity leave when he got up to get ready for work and now when I'm the one working he gets up and makes me breakfast while I shower and get ready even though it should be me making him breakfast now!

...New Year resolution
Even though I lost all the pregnancy weight I still have some excess around tummy and thighs which will need to go this year.  So go to the gym (that I'm actually paying for every month)!  And read more books!