Friday Gallery: Evening

I think I forgot to mention last Friday that Désirée is hostess of the month and has picked this month's themes. This week's theme is evening and I've picked a selection of Instagram photos to illustrate what our evenings are usually like these days.

This is where we spend most of our evenings - in bed or on the sofa. 
 




And Isolde doesn't only watch Teletubbies, we read books too!

And sometimes these parents get to go out, like to a Lady Gaga concert!

Happy (but perhaps a bit tired) concert goers!



And let's finish with a beautiful summer evening pic!



Can't wait for evenings on the balcony to return in the spring!

21 Months (yesterday)!

Time flies when you're having fun!

Friday Gallery: Colourful

I'm on a business trip to Malmö (going back home tomorrow morning) so will have to make do with whatever I can find on the iPhone (have an iPad with me too but no photos on it) for today's theme.

Friday Gallery: Autumn Feeling

As I have most Fridays off this autumn and Peter's work hours are pretty flexible, we decided to head out to the summer house (which is really a year-round house) for the weekend already around 2pm (after a lovely lunch with friends). It's been one of those miserable autumn days with rain and with 12 degrees in the air, the house was pretty cold when we got here. But now after a few hours of working the fire (and the radiators) and cosying up underneath blankets with a cuppa, the house is starting to reach a decent temperature. Tomorrow I'm hoping for a bit of sunshine so we can go for a walk to look at the changing leaves, pick apples and get into that real autumn feeling.

Isolde at 19-20 Months

Double-whammy this time as I never got around to publish the 19-month report.  In bullets, in no particular order.  Right now (or lately rather) Isolde...

• is a bit obstinate (though in a cute way) and throws a lot of tantrums (terrible twos already?) with exaggerated reactions and behaviour.  Sometimes when she gets frustrated she sort of scratches herself on her face before she realises that the only one it is hurting is herself.  
• likes to draw with crayons and play with pegs.  She can sit for a while but soon it's more fun to sort the crayons or the pegs in boxes (or throw them on the floor).

 
• is talking a little bit more but not that many clear words still though it seems to be coming now when she's started preschool (as they don't understand what she wants as well as we do)
• has always liked to dance but seems to be in a dancing period including spinning around and doign some sort of tap routine.  Maybe time to teach her gangnam style?!
• is really good at some iPhone app games.  It's also amazing how she knows where to find stuff in the phone and recognises the icons even if they are so small.
• still hates to have her teeth brushed and it hasn't helped with an electric brush
• likes wearing a hair pin but we're losing them quickly and need to buy a new batch soon.  Her hair is getting really long but I want her fringe to grow before we cut it.  She seems to have inherited my type of hair: lots of it!
• climbs all over: chairs, tables, and at the playground, and is also getting more creative in getting to stuff by pulling up chairs or similar to get where she wants.  The other day she took her little children's chair and put it on top of glass coffee table and was about to climb up when I discovered what she was up to!
• likes a quite varied diet but could also eat pasta and sausage (falukorv) all the time if we let her.  She eats pretty well at pre-school but korv is probably her favourite there too.  The other day she ran and sat down at the table as soon as they said they were serving korv even though they hadn't set the table yet.
• likes playing with water, both at the dinner table and in the tub
• knows most animals even if she can't say the words.  Imitates some animal sounds but mostly the cat and the horse.
• is very attached to her clothes and dressing and undressing (but mostly undressing) is a daily struggle.  Sometimes when we've succeeded to get them off her she wants to cuddle with them.  My mum says it's about change she's going through having started pre-school.  What's good about her liking clothes is that she likes wearing shoes, jacket and a hat so so far we don't have a problem dressing her warm enough when we go out into the Swedish autumn.
• likes to kiss and cuddle a lot and she still likes picking on an ear when she cuddles.
• has a few favourite TV shows (Charley Bear, Shain the Sheep and Babar among others) but is sick of Teletubbies now
• doesn't like to sit in the pushchair too much but luckily she can walk quite far now
• tries to jump but can't do it yet
• is not interested in the potty but she tells us when she wants her nappy changes and as soon as she's done no 2
• likes to stand on a chair and watch (and taste) when we cook dinner
• plays with her kitchen and having us taste from the pot and the (soft toy) vegetables and also likes driving cars (that are actually Brio trains - we need to get her some proper cars) through her toy garage
• has slept a lot in our bed over the summer as we've been too lazy to get her to go back to sleep in her own bed again when she wakes around midnight or 1 am (or later).  We want to get back to the routine where she would only sleep in our bed in the early morning, if at all, but we'll wait until she's more used to preschool and the new "regime".  But I hope that's soon because I don't sleep very well with her next to me.  Peter is not as sensitive and she also sleeps more towards my side and kicks me as she constantly moves around in her sleep (as all children seem to do!).
• weights around 9.5 kg now but I have no idea how tall she is but maybe around 80 cm?

Trying adult size bouncy chair

On the Fifteenth Day at Preschool...

...Isolde marched in, wanted to immediately take off her jacket and shoes and start playing, and just turned around quickly to wave to daddy. Let's hope for the same tomorrow!

Kitchen Generations

Read an article about Swedish kitchen trends over time from the 1940s onwards in the JM (home construction company) magazine written by Camilla Tollstoy that I thought I'd recount here.

1940s: Refrigerators are the latest thing The development of "homes for the people" (folkhemmet) leads to major changes in home design, and especially in the kitchen, and standardised measurements are introduced. Kitchens are painted in calm, safe colours following WW2.

1950s: Swedish design (Stig Lindberg and others) become popular. The freezer and frozen goods have their real breakthrough. Kitchens are functional with light, stainless counters and easily cleaned spaces.

1960s: Plastic is the material and if something breaks or get worn we buy new. Kitchens are designed in bright colours with matching tiling. Ikea opens in Kungens Kurva.

1970s: Collectivism affects kitchen design through home bars, lentil casserole and informal group dinners. Brown, orange and green are in fashion as well as rustic pine.

1980s: Sweden is inspired by Dallas and Wall Street and the yuppie era reaches the kitchen with glass tables, crystal lamps and high finish work tops.

1990s: Back to basics with environmentally friendly natural materials both on floors and counters. Birch and beech with cobalt blue for colour. Backdrops (painted or wallpaper) are the new trend.

2000s: The economy is on a high, interest rates are low and many use the money to renovate. White or vanilla yellow country style kitchens OR more modern style in oak or dark wood are trending.

2010s: White, white and a little "light and fresh". Kitchens can't be big enough. Home staging has come to stay. We are inspired by restaurant kitchens: stainless tops, luxurious fridges and freezes, cookers with gas, electricity and grill functions (she forgot to mention induction here).

Friday Gallery: Harvest Time

This year I haven't taken any pictures of any late summer/early autumn produce so I had to go into my 2011 archive to find these sun-soaked and delicious apples.  We were hoping to go to the summer house this weekend - where these trees have hopefully produced some apples yet again - but it's just supposed to rain and we have a one-year birthday party to attend tomorrow anyway, it will have to wait until next weekend. 

Nice Memories

Going through the summer photos and reminiscing about our week in the south of France and Italy.

Our favourite beach in Nice, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, a 20 minute-drive east of the city

Overnight trip to Italy - here in Camogli

A playground in Santa Margherita where we spent the night - this one had swings but in France we weren't able to find a single playground with swings, what is that about?!

Our accommodation in Santa Margherita, an old castle called La Vela

Play area at Nice airport

Friday Gallery: Daily Life

Not feeling that well tonight (hope it's just something temporary and not Isolde's slapped cheek) so today it's literally just photos and no text.

Slapped Cheek Disease

Isolde has now been back at pre-school for two days after her second bout with germs since starting in August.  The first week was induction, the second week she was sick for a few days and then attended Wednesday-Friday, and the third week she was there Monday-Tuesday and Wednesday they called at lunch time and said she had a fever.  We thought she would recover over the weekend but Monday she still had a temperature and Tuesday was needed as a "almost well"- day (they want them to have a fever-free day before returning if possible), so Wednesday was her first day this week.

On Monday we took her to the doctor since she'd had a pretty high fever except a few dips since Wednesday and it didn't seem to be going away (though that evening it was all gone of course), and they confirmed our suspicions (based on some Internet research) that she had the so-called fifth disease, also called slapped cheek disease due to the particular look of the facial rash that comes with it (its Hungarian name, butterfly pox, illustrates better what the rash looked like). 

We have never had to take her to the doctor before (except the regular health and development checks) and I was very happy to see that they did a thorough job.  In addition to examining her and listening to her heart and lungs, etc. they took a saliva swab test to make sure it wasn't tonsillitis (she seemed to have a sore throat) and also a blood sample (index finger quick one) to check for infection (sänkan, whatever that's called in English), but both turned out negative. 

Today Peter's mum picked Isolde up from pre-school as Peter's in Switzerland for work and I had a work thing until 6pm and when I got home Isolde was in a fantastic mood (and had been all afternoon according to farmor) and we had a really nice evening together until bedtime.  We were playing and cuddling and it seemed like she was trying to telling me stories - of pre-school perhaps? - in her way (since she doesn't have a big vocabulary yet).  She's been very impatient and throwing a lot of tantrums lately - probably partly because there's been a lot of change and she's also approaching that age and partly because she hasn't been completely well over the last couple of weeks - so it was wonderful to see a different little girl tonight. 

Considering she had only been at the pre-school for 5½ days before this week she's been doing reasonably well there.  She cries when I drop her off (and starts when we enter that strip of the street) and she's been spending a lot of time with the teachers and she gets upset if she wants to sit on their lap in between playing for a while and they are occupied with another child.  But she's napping and eating and I think it's a good sign that she wants to sit and cuddle with the teachers.  In a couple of weeks time teher should hopefully be fewer tears and more playtime.

Friday Gallery: Last of Summer

The new and revamped Show & Tell has been launched and I don't want to miss that, do I!  It's now called Friday Gallery (Galleri fredag) and it's a photo challenge rather than text.  So no long narratives needed which suits me with limited time on my hands right now. 

Annika is hostess for September (and then Désirée for October and Victoria in November) and she's chosen the following themes for this month:

7 September - Last of Summer (or Late Summer - Sensommar)
14 September - Daily life (or Everyday Life - Vardag)
21 September - Harvest Time (Skördetid)
28 September - Autumn Feeling (Höstkänsla)

All are welcome to join!  Just tell Annika and she will put you on the list so participants know where to come and read - or look since it will be mostly photos.

So, to my contribution to this week's theme!  What does late summer mean to me?

Going for that swim that is perhaps the last one of the summer.

Beautiful evening sun over the lake

Spending as much time as possible outside on the sunny and warm days

Having to wear sweaters (and probably a blanket) when having dinner outside and enjoying the sunset before returning home.



From now on late summer will also be "back-to-school" time.

No end-of-summer without crayfish!

Finding a pair of shoes on the end-of-summer sale and at the same time shopping autumn and winter wear for your child.

Lock your Bike!

Yesterday morning I witnessed a bicycle theft! Well, I didn't realise it at first even though I felt there was something suspicious about the whole thing.

I was dropping off Isolde at pre-school and I had just turned into the street of her pre-school on my bike (with Isolde in her chair behind me; the pre-school is very near but it saves me time going to work afterwards to take the bike rather than walk) when I saw a guy passing by the entrance to the building where the pre-school is located (which is a residential building where people live as well). I wasn't sure if he had come out of the building or around the corner but he turned around and backed a few steps and climbed up on a bike that was parked outside (that wasn't locked so there was no unlocking involved) and pedalled away past me and Isolde (I had just stopped at this stage and was just about to unbutton Isolde from her chair). I thought at first he had briefly forgotten he had the bike - I've done that on many occasions and started walking a few metres and then remembered "oh yes, I took the bike today" - but I had a suspicious feeling because he seemed slightly hesitant and I got that feeling of someone grabbing an opportunity.

Everything went very quickly so I didn't have time to react. I'm not sure what I could have done anyway - perhaps asking "is that really your bike?" - especially with a small child with m, but afterwards I felt like I should have stopped him somehow.

Literally less than a minute after as I was still getting Isolde out of her bike chair and getting her stuff out of the basket a guy comes out of the building and starts looking around and looking confused. So I ask him "do you happen to look for a bike?". "Something strange just happened" and I tell him the story. He asked which direction the guy went and what he looked like and I tell him. He sets off to look for the thief while Isolde and I go inside. A few minutes later when I come back outside the guy, i.e. the rightful owner of the bike, comes back still without the bike (the thief probably got quite far in a short amount of time) and we chat again. He had literally been inside the building for a minute to drop off his child in one of the older age groups and he didn't think it was necessary to lock it for that brief moment. I have often thought about not locking for the same reasons and because it's a generally safe area of town, but I guess bike theft in one of the most common crimes and one that doesn't get solved very often either. I usually don't lock my bike when I stop at 7Eleven on my way to work but I certainly will now.

Weekend Fun

We've just had one of those busy but fun weekends.

• Lady Gaga in Globen on Friday night with some colleagues from work (Isolde stayed with Peter's parents). It was a great show! She's such a talented musician and she has some good messages (well, when she talks in between songs, she does; the story that goes with her music is a bit weird) even though one or two too many clichés.

• Crayfish dinner with good friends on Saturday evening including some play time for the kids before dinner (including a walk to look at the sheep where Isolde fell head-first in a huge puddle and was a bit shocked but didn't even cry; she's a tough cookie that one).

• Swim lesson for Isolde in the morning (Peter took her while I was getting ready at home) and Isolde's cousin Olivia's Christening in the afternoon (with the reception at their new flat where they just moved in earlier this week).

And tomorrow work for us and pre-school for Isolde. The past week went very well, hopes it continues that way!

Pre-School Report

For those of you following me on Facebook you will have already heard that Isolde unfortunately caught a cold at pre-school and missed two days this week.  But otherwise her pre-school start has gone well.  Here's a little report.

Welcome!

The first three days last week I was there with her throughout but tried to keep a little bit of a distance so she could explore the facilities and get to know the other children and the teachers.  But I was still the one who dressed her, changed her, helped her at mealtimes and put her to sleep after lunch.  She was quick at connecting with the other children and trying out all the toys and wasn't afraid to approach the teachers or the other parents present for their children's induction.  On Friday she was a bit cranky though, probably a mix of being tired after the two first days and the cold coming on.


Rocking hard!

Monday was supposed to be her first real day as in being left alone there (well, alone as in without parents), but due to the cold she had to stay at home Monday and Tuesday (and Peter and I had our VAB première with one day each).  Today she was well enough to attend but since four days had passed since she was last there I didn't just want to leave her right away this morning (even though she started playing right away) so I stayed for the first hour but kept a bit of a distance.  I then said a quick goodbye whereby she cried out a little bit but apparently it didn't last long after I had closed to door to the yard (they were outside playing).  I went inside to use the bathroom and get my handbag and just when I was about to leave one of the teachers came in with Isolde to find one of the other children's pacifiers.  I hadn't told the teacher I was going inside so she was a bit surprised but Isolde seemed to take it well even though she saw me and didn't seem to mind that I left (again).  I guess searching for the pacifier was more fun!

Peter picked her up at 3pm and was told that the rest of the day had gone well except for nap time when she was crying a lot and didn't want to sleep.  But eventually she and another child who was also upset (or couldn't sleep for some other reason) fell asleep in a different room from the other children.  She didn't eat much either but that could also be due to her cold because yesterday she didn't have much of an appetite either.

Tomorrow I will drop her off around 9 am and leave for work right away and hopefully she won't mind too much and also sleep better at nap time. 

So far we're very happy with the pre-school.  I got a really good impression of the teachers and I liked the atmosphere there.  They seem genuinely nice and warm and they could answer all our (as in me and the other parents) questions in a clear way.  They seem confident in their profession and their work (both the pedagogy and the care) with the children.  The other children that started in the spring (two children; the only ones left after the others have moved up to an older age group) and the two that started last week seem to feel at home and safe and have a close relationship with the teachers. 

Isolde's will be a small group for the next few months at least.  In addition to the four who started in the spring and the week before Isolde, there were five children who started at the same time as her and one who started this week.  That makes it 11 (4 girls and 7 boys) and in September or October another girl will start.  They have two more places to fill (they usually have 14 children) but they don't know yet when they would start.  They are three staff which is a pretty good teacher-child ratio.  The youngest children are 12 and 13 months and the oldest turns two in October.  Most are around Isolde's age, i.e. 1½ years old.

On a typical day at pre-school they will go to a nearby playground or park in the morning for an hour or so (or just stay in their own yard) and return back by 10:30 for some brief indoor playtime (and nappy change and similar) before they gather for song time (and downtime) around 10:45-11:00 ahead of lunch at 11:15.  After lunch at c. 12:00 it's nap time until 13:00 or 14:00 depending on how long each child sleeps.  Then it's play time or other activities like painting or crafts or story time the rest of the afternoon with a break for a snack around 14:15-14:30.  Snack is usually yoghurt, porridge or bread (or pancakes or hot dogs on Thursday when they get soup for lunch).  In the morning they are served fruit or rice cakes as a snack while they are out in the park or in the playground.  When they go out they have small wagons the kids ride in until they are old enough to walk longer stretches. 

Look out for the next report in a couple of weeks' time!

Pre-School

Big day tomorrow!  It's Isolde's first day at pre-school (förskolan)!  If the induction days count, which I think they do.  Otherwise, the real day is next Monday when she'll be there sans parents for the first time).

Induction is three days - Wednesday-Friday this week - and I will stay with her throughout the day 9:15-15:00.  Then on Monday I will drop her off at 9 and hopefully not hear anything before pick-up time.  The second week is technically induction too so she can only attend 9-15 (later she will have a bit longer hours) and I will be on stand-by if it's not working for some reason.  

This "three-day induction" is the method most pre-schools seem to be using nowadays instead of two or three weeks' induction where the child gradually spends more and more time at pre-school, such as 10 minutes the first day, 30 minutes the second day and so on.  While the "quick method" may not work for all children - and those children get more days - it's believed that three days is what is needed to adjust to a new environment and situation.  Especially if those three days are spent with a trusted parent who shares the first meeting with the teachers and the other children and is with them throughout all the activities and routines and shows them this is a fun and safe place to be.

I'm really excited about tomorrow!  Isolde is still rather oblivious even though we've been reading Kråkes förskola :)  She's a very social little girl so I think she's going to love it.  I also expect the induction will go well - fingers crossed - and if she has any difficulties it will come in a few weeks' or months' time when it's not new and exciting anymore.  Will keep you posted!

It was quite difficult to pick the pre-school and I hope this one will be right (although it's always possible to change of course).  Where we live in central Stockholm there are so many pre-schools and even if we tried to narrow the search we had around 25 pre-schools on the list to start with and had to get it down to five.  Five is the maximum number you can apply for through the central waiting list system in the municipality of Stockholm and those five have to be put in order of priority.  There's a really good comparison tool on the site to compare for example teacher-children ratio, number of teachers (trained, qualified) as opposed to other staff (non-qualified, without teaching degree), pedagogy and results from the parent questionnaire.  Most were however quite similar so in the end we very much ordered them on the basis of the parent questionnaire and especially key questions we thought mattered the most.  There are both municipal and private (independent) pre-schools in the central system, but many private ones have their own waiting lists so we also applied to many of those.  However, as both types are equally - and heavily (parents pay only 7-10% of the real cost in fees) - funded by the public purse, the City of Stockholm is planning to "force" the remaining pre-schools into the central system, albeit still allowing them to apply different admittance criteria, for example parent co-ops require parents to help out in different ways.

Our plan was to visit the five on our (central) list (there was no way we could visit 25 before narrowing it down) but I was recommended to wait until the spring before we wanted her to start.  By the way, the earliest you can apply through the central system is at 6 months while the private ones accept applications as soon as the baby has been born.  However, before we had got around to booking visits we were offered a place at our no 1 choice and we only had four days to reply.  So instead of visiting five pre-schools we just visited one.  Even though in an ideal world I would have wanted to be able to compare firsthand and I regret that we didn't visit all five pre-schools earlier in the process, it felt fine accepting the offer and I think it is the right choice (although since I haven't visited the others I can't know for sure...  I remind myself that in some parts of Sweden people just have one or very few choices and I guess I shouldn't complain). 

We were there for about an hour on the visit and visited both småbarnsavdelningen, Nallen (age 1-2 where Isolde will start) and the two older groups (age 3-4 and 5-6).  The pre-school is located in an early 20th century building and Nallen is on the first floor in premises that were in all likelihood a flat once upon a time (same for the other groups on the second floor, where they occupy the whole floor).  At first we were struck by how small it was, perhaps 60-70 sqm, but then we remembered that 14 little one-two-year-olds (and three staff) don't need that much space, especially since they spend most of the mornings outside and after 3pm the little ones usually join the older children upstairs.  The premises were a bit worn and torn (e.g. window sills and doorsteps could use a coat of fresh paint) but my friend the pre-school teacher (and my mum, also a pre-school teacher) had told us to look beyond such things (and in a way you can see it as fin-de-siècle charm) and focus on the staff and the teachers, the atmosphere (including how the children seemed to feel and behave) and the pedagogy and ways of teaching.  And we liked what we saw and felt.  They are not a pure Reggio Emilia pre-school but they are inspired by Reggio (as is the Swedish pre-school curriculum but to what degree varies from pre-school to pre-school).  They have a very small yard/outdoor play area, as many pre-schools located in the city (and some don't even have one at all), so instead they go to parks nearby (Humlegården, Tessinparken), other green areas (Gärdet, Djurgården) and the woods (Lill-Jansskogen) at least three or four days a week, rain or shine. 

But I'm sure I will have more to tell after tomorrow!

Meanwhile Peter started working yesterday after nine months parental leave and really had mixed feelings about it (as did I back in November when I returned to work after ten months leave) but is already back into the swing of project planning and meeting.  No soft start there. 

Flower Sitter

I think we must have the best blomvakt - "flower sitter"/plant waterer -  there is.  We were only gone for a week and it rained a lot the second half of the week, so Peter's friend K. didn't have to come more than once.  But he returned a second time a couple of hours before our homecoming to set our table with a delicious little buffet.  It was the perfect surprise for a crumbling tummy at 10 pm after a 2½ hour flight.

Thanks K!!

Isolde at 18 Months Old

Isolde is approaching 19 months so this 18-month-old post is really overdue.  But for the record...

At 18 months, Isolde...

• weighed 9,160 gr and was 76 cm tall (or short).
• displays many kan själv ("I can do it myself") tendencies, especially dressing herself.  A few times she has managed to put her trousers on, almost all the way.
• is very into Teletubbies and In the Night Garden.  Good thing she'll start pre-school soon and there will be less time for TV temptation. 
• has had a real daddy period again but if Peter's not home she doesn't seem to care.  Usually she doesn't mind him leaving but starts crying when he comes back - it's kind of cute.
• has had a major teething period with difficult nights and massive drooling for a week - but the results are unclear?
• is like a little child now and definitely not a baby anymore.
• still doesn't talk much but understands a lot and can follow most instructions.  But she says at least 8 (?) words which is apparently something they ask about at the 18-month check-up.
• has a lot of energy and can't sit still too long at story time. 
• sometimes does want to sit in her pushchair and hassles herself out of it and climbs into it and sits down when she wants to go out or leave the playground.
• is very frustrated at times. 
• still just laughs at us when we tell her no.  We try to look very serious and sometimes she's almost getting it but not quite.  But I've read that laughing is one of their actions when they don't know how else to act.  And they say it's about repetition, repetition, repetition. 
• is climbing much more than she did before.  She can get up on children's size chairs, the sofa, our glass sofa table, etc. but luckily she's still too short for big furniture but has managed a few chairs as well.
• likes us helping her to somersaults. 
• really likes shoes (ehum, wonder where she gets that...) and especially these little pink sandals from H&M she's been wearing most of the summer.
• does not like having her teeth brushed at all!
• likes riding her rocking chair, Bobby Car and tricycle but doesn't reach the pedals on the tricycle so we still need to push her around on that one.
• likes playing with dolls and teddies and to dress and undress them (well, she tries to)
• can build a tower with bricks (she hadn't played with bricks that much but she did it without difficult at the 18-month check-up).
• doesn't have a cuddly toy or a comfort blanket still; she likes her thumb and that's enough it seems.
• picks at one of our ears when we're putting her to bed or when she's tired and wants to cuddle for a while.  One early morning when we were all asleep in our bed she and I were sleeping close to each other and she was apparently picking at my ear in her sleep.  Peter was going to take a picture but I woke up just then and ruined the photo :-/
• can run and is getting pretty comfortable walking up and down steps and climbing at the playground though Peter who spends most time with her knows much better what she can do and what she can't and doesn't get as nervous as me.
• can unlock the iphone and skip to the page with "her" apps (she finds the right group of apps) and she can also find GPlayer on Peter's phone and turn on Teletubbies.  She also knows that Teletubbies at home comes through the computer connected to the TV which has a different remote than the TV.  Modern kids are such techies!
• doesn't like if her nappy gets too wet and also usually tells us right away if she's done no 2. First step to potty training eventually I hope.
• can do proper kisses now - she pouts her little mouth and doesn't kiss with a wide open mouth anymore - and she's gives them often at her own initiative.

Olympics Etiquette

Found this etiquette guide for Olympics visitors that the Guardian has compiled sooo funny!  Full list below or on the link above.

How do you hire a Boris bike? Why are Brits always saying sorry? Do you look a bit like a terrorist? Find the answers in this guide for foreign visitors

The 8,000 volunteers who will welcome international visitors to London 2012 have been issues with a 66-page instruction manual, covering everything from foreign etiquette to uniform care and advice on dealing with journalists.  But what of the visitors themselves?  Could they not do with a manual outlining the customs, manners and practicalities of the islands they are visiting? We hereby present a simple guide to UK etiquette for the 2012 Olympics.

• Welcome, and before we begin – please accept our apologies. Your four-hour nightmare wait at passport control should not be taken as a symptom of Britain's contempt for foreigners.  It is merely a symptom of a woeful lack of spending on a key aspect of travel infrastructure in the run-up to a hugely important event.  In other words, it's the government that hates you.  Don't worry, they hate us too.
• Canadians: I'm afraid that while you are here you will be repeatedly mistaken for Americans and blamed for all sorts of stuff you had nothing to do with.  Unless you can think of a quick and simple way to distinguish yourselves at a glance – flower in lapel?  Saddle shoes?  Maple leaf eyepatch? – then you are just going to have to suck it up.
• Americans: While you're here, why not pretend to be Canadian?  Very few Britons can tell the difference, and it will allow you to rescue yourself from awkward conversations about the death penalty.
• Under no circumstances should you ask your taxi driver how excited he is about having the Olympics in London this summer.  It's not that he will be reluctant or embarrassed to offer a personal opinion on the matter.  That is not the problem at all.
• You will repeatedly hear that the East End of London, where the bulk of the Olympic events are being held, is an "up and coming" area.  You may wonder what this odd English expression means when applied to your immediate surroundings.  You are quite right to.
• Nobody here can answer any questions you have about fencing.  Google it.
• Pay no attention to those bow-tied etiquette experts you sometimes see on CNN International, telling you how to behave while in Britain.  These people are generally of dubious provenance, normally live in California and tend to peddle advice that is either irrelevant or out of date.  For example, they will often say that Britons love queuing and are so fond of apologising that they will often say "sorry" even when something isn't their fault.  In reality, Britons are just as likely to jump to the front of a queue and then punch the person behind them for coughing.  It all depends on how muggy it is.
• British people may seem to apologise a lot, but it doesn't quite mean the same thing here.  In the UK, "I'm sorry" actually means either a) I didn't hear you; b) I didn't understand you; or c) I both heard and understood you, and I think you're an idiot.
• You might expect locals to be, in the circumstances, a bit defensive about the weather.  But it's true: it really doesn't rain like this every summer.  This is exceptional, which is why it's so cold in your hotel room.  There aren't normally this many soldiers in the streets either.  No, honestly.
• Britons love bleak humour: that's why all the hire bikes are branded with the name of a bank currently being investigated for fixing interest rates.  It's supposed to be funny.
• London's bike hire scheme couldn't be simpler, by the way: just go up to the terminal at any docking station, pay by card and take away one of our so-called "Boris bikes".  When you're done with it, simply throw it into the nearest canal.  They're disposable!
• If you have arrived early, you might just be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the final leg of the Olympic torch relay.  Or you might be at a riot.  Ask yourself the following questions: are there lots of people holding flames, or just one?  Is everybody running in the right direction?  Does the nearest branch of Foot Locker appear to be having the craziest sale ever?
• None of us is officially allowed to speak to members of the foreign press.  We have all been instructed to avoid eye contact while referring your queries to a team of dedicated information managers who don't really exist.  The same policy applies to ministers from totalitarian states and anyone who turns up at the airport holding a Pepsi.
• Do not ask a policeman the best way to get to the West End or how to use an Oyster card.  He wants to help, but he's from the West Midlands.
• Please aid the Olympic authorities and organisers by demonstrating at all times that you are not a terrorist.  Do not perspire, take off your shoes, smile in a weird way while texting someone, or point and shout: "Hey! Look at all those missiles on that roof over there!"  In fact, if you're not using your hands for anything, it's probably best if you keep them in the air where everybody can see them.
• We here in the UK want nothing more than to provide you, our guests, with a fantastic experience this summer, combining the best in international sport, brilliant facilities, fantastic entertainment and a cultural legacy that draws on centuries of excellence in art and architecture.  If you ended up with four tickets for the wrestling at the ExCel Centre, well, better luck next time.

We Meet Again

Fellow blogger Anki with family was visiting Stockholm today and stopped by our hoods (also familiar to them from their student days) at the end of day for a chat and playground time for Isolde and E. Last (and first) time we saw them was in November when Isolde and I visited them, so it was so great to see them again! And fun to see the kids play together. Hope to see you again soon!

Pea

Isolde stuck a green pea up her nose today. Luckily I noticed it when I was brushing her teeth and we were able to get it out. Peter had noticed that she seemed to have a stuffy nose and was cranky but figured she had a cold coming on...

Now she's asleep and thinking about makes me laugh and think of Madicken and when Lisabet did the same thing :)

Today's Wants

Soft leader moccasins for Isolde and a wooden watch for mum!

Sunday Breakfast

American pancakes with strawberries, blueberries and melon, and butter and maple syrup of course. Tea and orange juice for drinks.

Happy 18 Months!

Today this little rascal is 18 months old!

Animal Fun...

...with Malin, Filippa, Hanna, Elvina and Jack at Eskilstuna Zoo. And I realised most of the photos are not of animals but all the other fun we're having too.

Water fun at Parkenbadet

Making friends at the camping area

Turtles

Pettsson & Findus as evening entertainment at the camping (but neither kid was really that interested).

With three kids and as double the energy we didn't think we'd ever get them to sleep but soon after this photo was taken they were all asleep in separate beds.