Smooching

Isolde took a real liking to little friend Adrian who came to visit today. Unfortunately I was too slow with the camera for the kisses but here's some hugging :)

Little Gardener

We're at the country house over the long weekend (Valborg, the celebration of spring's arrival, followed by May Day), our first time time since autumn. I'm so happy we could go because a few days we thought chicken pox was in the house and that we'd have to stay home. But looks like it was just a reaction to the MMR vaccination a week ago and today she's fever free (and we've learnt how alert children can be despite 40.3 temperature). Today was a sunny albeit a bit chilly day and Peter helped his parents with the spring cleaning of the garden while I took care of the little helper (?) and read in the sunshine while Isolde was sleeping.

Where to Put All that Shopping

Hey, I need some help!  I've been looking at wardrobes for Isolde's room for ages but haven't been able to take a decision.  I have ruled out my favourite due to cost, as well as the copy due to mainly size (too small) but also cost, and am now choosing between some Ikea options.  I think I like the big Hemnes best but I'm not sure!  What do you think?!

Hemnes - Is this my new favourite? 

Birkeland - Not too sure about the glass and the fact that the clothes will be visible...

Stuva - The more modern look.  This comes in all-white, which would be my choice, or other colours too.



Smaller Hemnes wardrobe that I think would be too small for our needs.

First Vocabulary

• mamma, but usually mimmi or memmy or memme (mum)
• pappa or bappa or babba (dad)
• där (there)
• än or jen = igen (again) (when we read a story or do something else she wants to repeat)
• noo noo = I want; at least we think so, and usually related to food, so could mean eat or food too
• ju ju or jo jo = I want; related to other things she wants, e.g. the iPhone (every morning when she wakes up, if she's in our bed, she sits up in an instant and then points to the bedside table and says "jo jo"
• ätt = god natt (good night)
• ja, a or ä = ja (yes)
• ej or nej (no)
• ej or hej (hi)
  
• e de? = vad är det? (what is it/that?
  

And lots of other sounds and babbling together with pointing :)

Bad Hair Day?

A Night at the Post Office

Time to tuck in at the new Clarion Post Hotel in Gothenburg. I'm here for work event which will consume most of my time tomorrow before I get on a train back to Stockholm in the evening. Tonight I went out for dinner with a friend and colleague and we ended up at Bishop's Arms where we had fish & chips and was convinced to participate in their weekly quiz night. The food was so-so - but I liked the traditional packaging - and we didn't fare too well in the quiz (let's blame it on those Gothenburg questions...) but the beer was good and the company lovely.

Isolde at 15 Months

Our busfia

• Tells us that she wants her välling in the evening by going to the kitchen and pointing and similarly in the morning when she wants her oatmeal.
• Pees on the potty several times every day and at least every morning and every evening but we have to put her on it, she doesn't warn us yet.  She has still only done a poo twice on it though.  When she's done no 2 (in her nappy) we'll ask her if she has and usually she says yes and starts walking to the changing table.  Lately she has started walking to the potty instead and we tell her it's too late for the potty.  So she's not really getting it yet (which is normal of course).
• Runs away and tries to hide in a corner - hasn't realised a corner is not a very smart and strategic location - when she doesn't want to get dressed.
• Likes being read to over and over again, sometimes the same book.  At the moment her favourites are "Lilla gumman" and "Kråkes förskola" and song books.  She has started to sit and flip through pages herself too, especially these little Pixie books from when I was little (at least that's where I think they come from)
• Knows the names and location of several parts of her body, including nose, ears, eyes, tongue, head, hands, feet and tummy.
• (Tries to) sing when she's playing and pottering about.  And also sometimes when she is trying to tell us that she wants us to sings.  For example I sing the Pippi song with a Pippi doll and a "Små grodorna" version about a hippo using a stuffed animal, and she'll bring those to me and make sounds like singing.  She also does some of the gestures to Itzy Bitzy Spider.
• Is playing more and more by herself, and it's more and more role play - cooking, taking care of soft toys/dolls and other games.
• Is pushing around my old toy pram (and has also started climbing into it, see picture).  The pram is pretty light and in the beginning she was always falling over with it but now she knows how to "work" it.

• Is not really a climber yet (and her parents are grateful) but she's beginning to get interested.  Last night at some friends' house for dinner she took a real liking to a children's armchair that she climbed in and out of and sat in reading.

• Still likes the swings at the playground but has discovered the slide and can slide down on her own without help.
• Has moved to only one nap a day (most days) and she also wakes up much earlier in the morning even though she goes to bed at the same time.  I guess she doesn't need as many hours of sleep anymore?!
• Is quite "naughty" at the moment.  She tries to do stuff she knows (?) she shouldn't and also scratches and pokes us, and just laughs when we tell her off.  Testing us already it seems! 
• Is not shy at all with other adults or children and can be quite tough with other children, which is good if they are older but not always with the ones who are the same age.  Hope she doesn't turn into a bully!  But it's mainly the really shy children who gets upset, not the ones who are more like her in personality. 
• Doesn't talk that much yet but says "mamma" (more like "mimmi") and "pappa" sort of and "ja" (yes) and something like "joo joo" (for "I want", "I'm excited" and "noo noo"(but it means "food" or "I want" and not "no") and this morning she imitated "bu" (boo) when Peter read to her.  "Joo joo" and "noo noo" really are her signature words at the moment!
• She might not talk much but she definitely understands a LOT and most instructions.  It's amazing how much little ones understand and how fast they learn!
• Has THREE teeth now!
• Weighs around 8.7 kg and is 74 cm tall (or short ha ha) I think - we'll find out when we see the nurse next week for her MMR vaccine ahead of our trip to France (usually at 18 months but it's recommended to take it earlier if visiting certain countries and France is one of them because of the prevalence of measles).  We looked at Peter's and my old records and it turns out she follows Peter's growth chart almost to the gram and centimetre! 
• Had a "daddy" phase for a while but lately there hasn't been much of a difference in who she wants to go to and be with, or maybe a little bit of a preference towards me.  So I guess it really varies from time to time.  I was a bit worried when she had that daddy period that it was going to be that way forever, since Peter is home with her for so long and has been since she got to a more "conscious" stage. 
• Throws food that she doesn't want on the floor or as her way of telling us she's full.  We try to tell her "just tell us you're done" but she's not listening yet :)
• Is not afraid of the hoover or other loud machinery anymore.
• Often plays talking on the phone but goes dead quiet if there's actually a person on the line.
• Is just being so cute and funny right now!  And she has a fantastic reportoire of facial expressions and little things she do.

Skyr

A great breakfast or snack for little ones (and big ones too of course) is Icelandic yoghurt skyr. Could have had more fat for Isolde's sake but contains lots of protein. I hadn't heard of skyr until I read about it over at Västmanländskan a few months ago but now most shops seem to stock it.

What's In a Name

When I posted the pictures from Isolde's christening I forgot to write about her three names.

Isolde, which I thought I had written about before but maybe not as I can't find the post (?), originates from the story about Tristan and Isolde (or Iseult), an old Celtic story, that I read for the first time in secondary school.  I didn't think much about the name then, more than it was pretty, but a couple of years later (I think I was still in school) I read that the actor-chef Per Morberg* had a daughter named Isolde and I realised it was a proper name, as opposed to some names from history or legend that are just plain strange, such as Zantippa or Cleopatra (apologies if I'm offending someone). 

And the name stuck with me - like no other names have done - and it's been very difficult for me to seriously consider other names for a girl.  There are lots of other girl names I like but they have always been for a second daughter.  When I searched for posts about Isolde's name here on the blog I found an old post from 2005 where I wrote: "When I have children one day, I'm going to have a girl called Isolde, otherwise it's not happening!"

That said, I seriously tried to think about alternative names since Peter, like most people, was sceptical when I first mentioned Isolde a few years ago.   He gradually got used to the idea and in the hospital he was the one who started calling her Isolde.  I didn't realise how strong opinions people have about names - and they don't hesitate to express them** - and towards the end of the pregnancy I had stopped telling people what names we were thinking of.  Our families were also sceptical (especially Peter's) so once Isolde had been born I wasn't sure what to do.  I hesitated about naming her Isolde but at the same time I couldn't imagine choosing another name.  So it probably took me the full three days at the hospital before it felt normal to call her Isolde, two days after Peter started using it.

Now we - and probably most of our family and friends - cannot imagine her as anything other than Isolde of course.  And most people we meet usually spontaneously say that it's beautiful and unique.

Elise comes from my mum's first name and my middle name Elisabet. I first wanted Edit, my mum's middle name, but Peter wasn't too keen on it (I didn'y like it at all when I was growing up and was glad my dad had vetoed it as my middle name, but now I think it's pretty). I've always liked Elise so we settled on that to represent my side of the family.

Julie is a name from Peter's side and from both his mother and father's sides. We pronounce it the French way, to continue family tradition. We both like Juliette but it rhymes with our surname so that sounded a bit silly and we prefer the French sounding Julie over Julia mainly for those family reasons.


* Though when I read about him now I can't find Isolde among his five daughters?  Maybe it's the one who now calls herself Liza instead??
** And I've been guilty of that too, though I usually don't say it outright but don't lie and say a name is beautiful if I don't like it either.

Isolde Went Shopping Again...

...and bought a dress, a skirt, a shirt, three trousers/tights and four (one not in the photo) hats/bonnets. Most of it from Mini Rodini and Modeerska huset. (Malin and Anne - This is the result of my visit to Oiidesign last week.)

Happy Easter!

Glad påsk!

(No sweets in Isolde's Easter egg yet though.)

Look What the Easter Bunny* Brought Me!

* aka grandpa morfar

Isolde Elise Julie

Today it's one year since Isolde's christening and I realised I never posted the photos here (only on Facebook). So here they are, better late than never!



Getting dressed in farmor's old Christening gown and a 19th century bonnet that's also from Peter's family.




Gustaf Adolfskyrkan




Guests just before the start of the ceremony




Wera spent most of the service in the play area




Peter was growing a beard then, but this is probably the longest it ever was.




Our daughter's three names




Parents and Godparents




Godmother H sang a beautiful version of Melanie Gardot's If the Stars Were Mine




Reading by Godfather Thomas



Mini Godmother Filippa poured the water




There was a little misunderstanding so Isolde was christened with her bonnet on, but luckily it still counts :)




Back to dad





Thomas lit Isolde's candle





Poem reading by Godmother Maria




Isolde fell asleep in Filippa's arms as soon as the commotion was over.





In farfar's arms




Family picture




The happy and proud parents




Guests at the drinks reception




More guests




With mormor




Three generations of women




Wera likes Peter




Peter likes Wera




Presents




Thank you!