10 Months!

Isolde turns 10 months old today! She celebrated by having her favourite, raspberries.  Actually, she gets this "treat" quite often, but loves it every time.  She could eat an endless amount if we let her and as you can see in the film she seems to be looking for more berries under the plate and wondering why she can't have more but somehow accepting her fate :)



Last Two Weeks...

The count-down has started! 11 days until I go back to work and lots to fit in that limited time!

Past...
Mon 31 Oct: We came back from the US mid-day, unpacked (half of the stuff), did laundry, rested...
Tues 1 Nov:Peter went back to work while Isolde and I slept until 11 and didn't do much the rest of the day except for meeting up with Peter to buy food for our anniversary dinner.
Wed 2 Nov: (today): Away Day with work (quite exciting for me; I'm going to have an almost new job description, which is the challenge I was looking for). Isolde had a great time with her grandparents.

Ahead...
Thur 3 Nov: Roadtrip to Sandviken to meet and spend the day with Anki and E. Looking forward to seeing Isolde and E. play.
Fri 4 Nov: Lunch date with Malin and all three kids, dinner with Peter's parents and his sister and husband to celebrate three birthdays
Sat 5 Nov: Baby-sitting Wera in the afternoon and then staying for dinner with her parents Åsa and Rikard
Sun 6 Nov: Visit by my parents and brother including brunch at Villa Källhagen, dinner at Peter's cousin Sandra with husband to meet their newborn son Axel.

Mon 7 Nov: Quick work meeting in the morning for me while Isolde visit Peter's work, baby song and dance mid-day
Tues 8 Nov: "Open pre-school" (öppna förskolan) followed by walk with the mummy group, my last time with them for a while at least :( Show/Stand-up (Ljust och fräscht) for me and my friend H. in the evening.
Wed 9 Nov: No plans yet
Thur 10 Nov: Might go the Thursday baby song and dance group, as we missed one session when we were in the US, otherwise no plans.  Work reception for me in the evening.
Fri 11 Nov: Dinner with friends Maria, Daniel and Jenny AND Jenny's new boyfriend Mauro from Brazil - first time we get to meet him!
Sat 12 Nov: Fika at Suvi &Nick's to meet little Edward again
Sun 13 Nov: Probably going down to Södertälje to celebrate my brother's birthday and Father's Day, unless we go Saturday instead

And in between: sort photos, start making some photobooks, write in Isolde's diary (I'm so behind!), maybe bake some saffron buns for Christmas (before our kitchen renovation starts on 15 November), pack all kitchen stuff and more ahead of the renovation, take long walks (though Isolde doesn't like the pushchair at the moment...), and cuddle a lot!


- via Isoldes padda

Anniversary

Peter and I have been married for a year today! How fast the year has gone! Isolde is a lot to "blame" for that I guess! :)

Since we just got back from the US yesterday we celebrated in low-key style: at home with some champagne and food from Östermalm covered market. Isolde liked Norway lobster (havskräfta) too - she has expensive taste, that one!

We're still planning to have a big party, or our second wedding, soon, just need to set a date (looking at April/May next year)!

Layover

Now we're on our way home after a great vacation (more about it and travelling with a baby later). When we arrived to Washington D.C. (Dulles) around 1pm after a short delay, we picked up our luggage and planned to check in on our 9pm flight to Stockholm and then leave the airport and meet fellow Swedish blogger Annika (Life in the Suburb). Great plan! If only Iceland Air had an open check-in or ticket desk... No lockers to be found either, and I doubt they would fit two suitcases, a pushchair transport bag and three carry-ons anyway. So instead we had to haul our stuff around until check-in opened at 5pm, which meant we mostly sat around waiting, had lunch, had some Starbucks...

Now we're finally checked in and inside the terminal and Isolde can let off some steam. Luckily it's a pretty new terminal or at least the carpets look quite clean, or clean enough (but why no play area for kids anywhere?!).

Miami & South Beach

Our second full day in Miami was spent here in South Beach where we're staying (at Congress Hotel on Ocean Drive). We headed to the beach at 11 to try to combine nap time with beach time (she slept 12-13:30ish) and stayed until 3pm. It was very cloudy and at one point there was even rain drops but I still managed to get red even though I was using sunscreen and it was only sunny for 30-45 minutes out of the four hours. So no sun for me tomorrow!

This evening we checked out the shops in Lincoln Road, South Beach's "pedestrian mall" or "gågata" in Swedish, and ended up buying a few items at Banana Republic as well as Toms (shoes where for every pair you buy another pair gets donated) for Isolde and me and a pair of dressier sneakers for Peter at a shoe shop called Mixx. The street was well-designed but we thought it was going to have fancier stores as it's located near the posh hotels such as Delano. Where do the rich and famous shop in Miami?! Post-shopping we stopped by Jerry's Famous Deli for some dinner. It was approaching 8pm and Isolde was tired so we thought take-out was in order.

Yesterday, our first full day here, we drove out of Miami to the posh sticks; Coral Gables and Coconut Grove (though there are other much posher areas in Miami too!). We only drove through the latter but in Coral Gables we stopped at Biltmore Hotel where we had a really nice lunch by their super-sized pool, and toured (en voiture) the famous neighbourhoods planned and built by George Merrick in the 1920s, the first planned communities in the US, and had a quick peak at the neighbourhood's famous Venetian pool (which was overrated). Back in South Beach we stopped at Whole Foods supermarket for some baby food (and diapers, which didn't keep Isolde dry through the night so we'll try to return them - that has never happened before so it must be the diapers) and dinner from their deli and salad bar (our hotel room has a kitchenette so it's easy to heat up food or do easy cooking).

When we arrived from Key West on Wednesday it was 4pm already so our first evening here we just took a walk down to Joe's Stone Crab Restaurant where we discovered the waiting for a table was 1 1/2 hours but also that they have a deli/cafe next door where we could eat almost the same food in a more baby-friendly (but still designed and atmospheric) environment. Recommended!

Here are some pictures from the beach today (don't know how to insert pictures in the text where I'd really want them with the Blogger app?!):

Baby food

A while ago I joined Buzzador, a site for word of mouth marketing, and a few weeks ago I participated in my first campaign: I received a box of free baby food - Nestlé sweet potato and beef - to try on Isolde and also to distribute to other parents. Isolde actually liked it so much that she ended up finishing all jars herself, but I guess that's a good result if any!

Normally I'm not too keen on Nestlé's food, as I prefer to buy a Swedish brand and I also find Nestlé's food too watery once you've fed directly from the jar (like now on vacation) and want to feed the leftovers later. Instead we usually buy Semper and sometimes Hipp (German, so not Swedish, but organic). Semper also has several organic dishes, which I haven't seen among Nestlé's products (?). There's also a brand called Ella's kitchen (American I think, as I've seen it here in the US too; or British), which is organic and comes in really smart packaging, but it's a bit pricey so Semper "wins" usually.

Here in the US while on vacation we have bought the Semper equivalent, Gerber, and Isolde seems to like them almost as much even though they are a bit too much puréed for her (usual) liking and also has a lot more tomato then the Swedish (e.g. lasagna or spaghetti bolognese) kind. We've also tried a brand called (I think) Beecham Farms but they were so watery and not tasty at all according to Isolde.

Key West

A little update. Following Kristin and Doug's wedding on Saturday we left Dover* early Sunday morning and drove to Washington DC for our flight from National/Reagan airport to Key West via Miami. Even though Isolde's cold was still pretty bad she didn't seem to mind take-off nor landing. In Key West we have enjoyed the scenery and walking (otherwise we've mostly taken the car to go places) and today we first visited the Hemingway home and then went to the beach at Bahia Honda State Park. It was Isolde's first swim in the ocean ever and she seemed to enjoy it even though it was a bit cold (compared to what she's used to). After her bath she got a treat, her favourite, raspberries, and after that she tasted some sand :)

* Friday evening we did some more tax-free shopping by the way...

Tax-Free

Since we're in Delaware, the tax-free state (as in VAT; there's still income tax of course), shopping is a must. Including shopping at the outlets at the beach (Rehoboth). We were quite lazy in the morning but got to the outlets at a pretty decent hour - 11:30 - and had about four hours to spend before we had to drive back at 4pm. With Isolde in tow and fitting in meals and nappy changes we didn't do as much shopping as last time we were here (3 years ago), when we filled the whole trunk with bags, but we still managed to pick up (and spend) a decent amount.

This evening we had dinner out with (my aupair host mother) Karin and (her partner) Steve, made a quick diaper and baby food stop at Walmart and are now watching telly. Isolde played with the rocking chair and befriended the cat before she fell asleep. The cat also cuddled with Peter and slept on his lap before it suddenly threw up a hair ball on Peter and the sofa :)

Tomorrow we're going to hang out with Kristin (my aupair daughter, the real reason we're here right now as she's getting married on Saturday) and the check out the shops at the mall.

Fly Report

First morning in the States this time around. We stayed at a hotel last night but for the next few days we'll be staying with my old aupair family in Delaware. We figured it was better to stay at a hotel the first night instead of arriving after midnight. Now I'm very happy we decided to do that since our flight (to Dulles, Washington DC, via Iceland) was almost one hour late and immigration took a while (and the drive to Dover would have taken two hours).

Isolde did so well on the flight! She was her usual happy-go-lucky self and she slept at least four hours plus a couple of power naps. She even slept through some heavy turbulence that made me cry a little - did not want my little family to perish yet! We had a free seat in between us where she could either sleep or sit and play. So the adults could even enjoy the in-flight entertainment!

After the flight I was more worried about Isolde's jetlag, something I hadn't thought of beforehand, but I managed to get her to sleep better that I thought last night, even if I didn't sleep as much as I wanted, and we slept until 07:30 US time (and 13:30 Swe time). We'll see how the day goes. I think getting the meal routine going will be the trick to also get her to sleep when she should.

Family Friendly Flying

Pushchairs for loan at the airport. Things you don't know before you have kids and travel with kids. Now we don't have to use the BabyBjörn as much.

Isolde at 9 Months

And here's the 9-month post!  As we're busy packing for our US trip I don't have time to post any photos.
Right now, Isolde...

• is a fast crawler, but still flat on her tummy and not on her knees though she uses her feet and knees; she looks like she's in military training (or been injured in action). She easily crawls over doorsteps including a pretty high one to our bathroom.
• walks with the walker wagon (toddler wobbler/gåvagn). This means busy times for this mum now (so happy Peter will take over soon hehe!) because in addition to the wagon she stands up against anything she can find and walks along some furniture.  She's rather capable on her own now but I still want to be nearby just in case.  She easily entertains herself with crawling, "climbing" furniture and generally exploring, so now I have to be there for safety and not necessarily because she wants me there :)
• still can't move from horizontal to sitting up unless she first pulls herself up on her knees, then to standing and then sits down.
• has no more teeth since her first came a month ago and there are no signs of a second one coming. 
• continues to be easy-going and easy to bring to cafés and restaurants.  I have however noticed that while she sleeps well in the seat during the day she doesn't sleep well in it in the evening.  So we bought an extra Bugaboo frame (second-hand) to reattach the bassinet so we can easily switch (otherwise it's a hassle).  Not sure why I didn't think of it earlier.  Since she's pretty short she still fits in the Bassinet.  The first time we tried it she slept very well for several hours. 
• likes being read to more and more and has a few favourite books, e.g. Stina Wirséns Aj
• is interested in holding and chewing on the spoon when being fed, though not necessarily trying to feed herself.  Sometimes letting her hold the spoon or the sippy cup is the only way to get her to eat.
• is quite outgoing and forward in our mummy group but at the baby song and dance we go to when there are 20 babies she's not as "brave".  But last time we went she actually crawled up to Lotta and tried to stand up against the drum like some of the other babies do but when the others were in the way she looked a bit unhappy and came crawling back to me.  She's pretty tough though and doesn't mind if another baby comes close or tries to crawl on top of her or wants to touch her.  Instead she pushes them away if it's too much but doesn't cry.
• is still a very happy and content baby.  People are always telling us how harmonious she seems to be.  Only really cries sometimes during the night, when she's very hungry or very tired, especially if she's in the pushchair and she wants to be out and home.
• eats all the time!  Or at least it feels that way.  She eats oat cereal for breakfast (between 8 and 9am), then lunch at 11-12, snack (before crackers and fruit, now more fattening stuff such as Greek yoghurt) at 1330-1430, dinner at 4-5pm, oat cereal at 6-7pm.  If Peter's is alone with her she can go to sleep on oat cereal but if I'm at home (most evenings) I also nurse her before bedtime around 730pm (though we're planning of making her bedtime around 7pm as she's pretty tired by then.  She probably eats 75% jar food and 25% home-cooked but that will change gradually. She seems to like most food though she was a bit sceptic when there was too much dill in the fish dish I made. I rarely cook just for her but try to think also of her when I cook for us. She doesn't like broccoli and is not keen on banana anymore but she loves raspberries!
• makes lots of noises and "talks" a lot but she hasn't said a "real" word yet.  I read that some babies say "mum" and "dad" now but she doesn't seem to call out for us yet.  Except maybe at night sometimes.  She does say something sounding like "hej" (hi) sometimes and sometimes she waves at the same time.
• tinkles on her toy piano; sometimes hard and sometimes soft and slowly on one key, as if she's really trying to listen to the sound she makes.
• does well with baby-sitters.  Our friends Maria and Daniel sat for the first time last Friday, otherwise we've "hired" the grandparents.  She still has shown no "only mummy (or daddy) will do" tendencies yet or fear of strangers or separation anxiety. She likes cuddling, mostly in the morning and in the evening and tries to kiss me (which is mouth wide open and wet), but no kisses for dad yet.
• has mastered the "pincer grip" now even if it sometimes is with the thumb and the two first fingers.
• has taken off her socks for a long time now but now she also attempts to put them back on sometimes.
• used to just flop happily in her bed when we came to take her up but now also reaches out her arms and shows she wants to be picked up sometimes.
• starts games, such as making specific sounds and shouts and wants you to make a noise or shout back.  She also likes playing that game where she drops stuff and we pick it up...
• still tries to eat and chew on everything!  When does that stop??

There are really lots of things happening now both in terms of physical development and personality wise.  Fun times for a new parent!

Isolde at 8 Months

Isolde turned 9 months one week ago so this is perhaps slightly overdue but I want to keep it for my records :)  9-month report can be found above!

   

At 8 months Isolde...

• started crawling tummy-style (not up on her hands and knees). She was very frustrated around 7½-8-months before she cracked it.

• started pulling herself up against the coffee table and tried to walk along it but was quite unsteady still. I wished then that we had that padded playpen at the Children's Library!
• was able to go to sleep without being breastfed, on oat cereal alone, but when I was home (most of the time) I'd nurse her before bedtime in addition to oats. I think she can benefit from mummy milk a while longer.
• slept 1930-2000 to 0500 but sometimes woke up at 02, 03 and/or 04.  This is still her routine at 9 months. Most nights it's easy to make her go back to sleep (after 1-5 minutes) but sometimes I have to revert to nursing here before 5am, if we've tried unsuccessfully for an hour or more to get her to fall asleep again.  If I feed her at 5 or 6am she sometimes nurses for 30-60 minutes and I doze off 50% of the time.  But then she's wide awake and wants to play.  So we're usually up from 6 or 7 am and then she (and usually I) sleep again from 9 for 1-1½ hours.  She sleeps again after lunch for 30-45 min, maybe an hour.
• had not shown any sign of separation anxiety or "only mummy will do".  She had a period of frustration around 7-8 months when she wanted me to play and be with her all the time but it felt it was more because she needed help to do things than she was afraid that I was going to disappear.
• first showed her love of raspberries!  Since they are so soft it's a great dessert/snack for her with no risk of choking!
• laughed a lot  - proper laughs and giggles. She played games with you, usually imitation of faces and shrieks, whereby she'd start and we'd imitate her and then she'd imitate us in turn.

• was really studying people, both adults and other children.  She'd crawl up to the other babies and stare at them, sometimes scaring a few by making some sort of sudden noise.  She'd also sit for a long time studying a toy; she seems like an investigative girl.
• she also started (or maybe it was even at a younger age) tilting her head to the side to get contact with another person, adult or child.  Very cute!

• got her first tooth.  Her first teeting experience was a couple of days of bad sleep.  I noticed on a Tuesday that she didn't want to eat crackers (smörgåsrån) and thought maybe a tooth was on the way but didn't see anything.  But the next day her lower gums were swollen and you could see one was definitely on the way.  The following day it was through and she could eat crackers and was sleeping much better again. This was around 8 months and 1 week.
• had another phase of blowing/spitting out her food when she was being fed, again not because she didn't like the food but because it's fun.
• loved the mirror (like all babies?) and found it curious that mum could be both in the mirror and next to her at the same time.
• liked the BabyBjörn a lot even though we don't use it very often at all since mum prefers the pram, which can be piled with lots of stuff!

• remained a calm and content person; she seems very even-tempered.
• still loved water and swimming.  She'd want to play with the water and touch the taps when washing her face and hands.

• had a few favourite books.  I thought she tried to close the book all the time but then I realised she tried to turn the pages.  But chewing on the books were second-best.

Stuck in the Toy Box

And mean mum takes photos before helping...

Books Etc.

Finally I have had a chance to play detective and find out who my secret book friend is (I participated in the book exchange Pocket & prassel in case you don't remember) even though the package arrived over a week ago. I think it's Mrs E who's the culprit!

Look at the lovely content!  In addition to the book - which sounds really good - and a film that I haven't seen either, I got some tasty licorice (all gone already!), chocolate (almost gone!) and tea, a shopping list note pack, ribbon and a little gadget for curling ribbon (can't wait to try it!) and a nice card.

Thank you!

9 Months!

Today this little Miss Charming turns 9 months old!  9-month-old report coming soon (and the 8-month report which is way overdue...)!

Kavat

Of course Isolde had to sport her new shoes when we visited work (only 5 weeks or so until I go back for real) today for fika.





Via Anna's iPhone

Toddler Wobbler

Busy times for this mum now (so happy Peter will take over soon hehe!) because Isolde's new favourite is the walker wagon and standing up against anything she can find (she's done that for a while but only against "easy" furniture but now she's getting braver and braver) and trying to walk along furniture.  Luckily she's pretty careful and she has also understood that she needs to adjust her body in the right position before she pulls herself up or take care when she moves from e.g. the coffee table to the sofa.  And she's a pretty tough cookie so falling and/or bumbing her head once in a while doesn't seem to perturb her.  In the video she gets a bit annoyed when the wagon doesn't move forwards but we have tightened the screws for a reason...  In the video you can see that she also uses her mouth for extra grip.  I don't particularly like that but it's difficult to stop her...

(Unfortunately I don't know how to rotate the video around so you'll have to turn your head a little bit.)

Water Girl

Here are some videos from Isolde's swim lessons that I thought I'd show you.  She really loves swimming, and water in general.  She's taken two courses so far, one lesson a week for 7x2 weeks, and at the end of November we'll start Babysim 3.

1) A simple dive, that we have practiced many times:

2) This particular day Isolde was a very reluctant diver; it was more interesting just watching what else was going on.  But be patient, she jumps in eventually!:

3) In the third video, Isolde dives from the edge of the pool and then we return her to the edge so she can practice holding on.  She's getting pretty good at it now!  Eventually, maybe during the next course (no 3, which starts at the end of November), she'll learn how to turn around and swim back herself!

4) She has also learnt how to float and swim a little with the balance/rubber ring:

5) This water game is called the merry-go-round or the helicopter:

6) In the last video of the day Isolde tries the arm rings for the first time and it was not a hit.  It was mostly the fingers under her neck that she didn't like.  But they say the rings take a few tries to get used to.

Wednesday Morning

No sleep-in today as Isolde had her monthly check-up (we go every 4-6 weeks now) at the Children's Health Centre. Today's numbers were 7,410 gr, 66.5 cm and 45 cm (if anyone is keeping (head) count). She's proportionate but the nurse recommended we feed her a bit more at snack time and include high-fat products such as Greek yoghurt and also add a teaspoon of oil in her food at mealtime. That will give her a better reserve if (when?) she catches colds this winter. And since she's very mobile (she's crawling but still flat on her tummy, not hands-and-knees style) now she needs lots of energy.

Now this mummy is enjoying a coffee and a gossip magazine at a café while the baby is sleeping. Next on the agenda is shopping presents for my friend Suvi's little newborn son (who arrived on the 26th) and buying some more winter gear for Isolde, before we meet my cousin's wife Kristina for lunch.

Via Anna's iPhone

Blog Date

This morning Isolde and I met Marianne from Nya äventyr (New adventures), previously in Kairo and now in the metropolis Älmhult (or thereabout) for fika (coffee and cake) before she had to catch the train back to the birthplace of Ikea. I'm so happy we were able to see each other 'cause it's been a while since last time!




Via Anna's iPhone

Little Pianist

Future concert pianist in the making?

Thanks H, T, E & H for the piano (christening present)!

Can't Complain

Peter had the day off today (compensation for on-call duty) so we decided to "hire" a babysitter (the grandparents) and treat ourselves to a nice breakfast at the Zink Grill (recommended) and a spa visit including massage at Raison d'Etre at Grand Hotel (highly recommended; our third visit).

When we left the spa at 3pm we walked home through a sunny Stockholm filled with people enjoying a rare 20-degree warm autumn day. After picking up our daughter we stopped by the sushi place for some take-out late lunch/early dinner and the bakery for a treat, and got home just in time to devour both on the balcony before the sun disappeared behind the building opposite. After that we packed the car (with way too much stuff but that's what happens when you have kids) and drove out to the summer house.

And here we are, half asleep on the sofa in front of the fireplace and the TV, baby asleep upstairs. Only thing I can complain about is that there's never anything to watch on telly, most days but especially Fridays (no, not particularly interested in Idol).

Via Anna's iPhone

The World in a Magazine

Before the summer we switched our daily newspaper subscription from Svenska dagbladet (SvD) to Dagens nyheter (DN).  Not for good but for a while, until we jump on an offer from the competitor again, as you do.  SvD is really too conservative-leaning for me but I like their (neutral) reporting and layout otherwise and think it's better than DN's.  At least until now because I really like DN's new look.  At first I though the layout and the font and everything looked really strange but after just two days I could see past that.  There's a new focus and style of reporting and I also really like the Stockholm edition.

But that's not what this post was going to be about.  Instead I was going to tell you about the monthly magazine DN Världen (DN World) that DN launched almost a year ago now.  It's has really good in-depth articles as well as shorter interviews with people and snapshots from around the world.  For non-subscriber it's for sale at newsagents or on the iPad (or equivalent). The edition below was a really good one featuring a long articles about Central and South American refugees trying to get to America, and an recent edition with a special about Thai berry pickers in Sweden was also great journalism.

"Hej hemliga bokvän!"

I decided to join En bok om dagen's book exchange Pocket & prassel 6.0 even though I've been a very, a very, lazy reader lately (not just this year but especially this year. This is the second time I'm participating in a book exchange; my first time was in May.  It was a lot of fun, both to figure out what to send my recipient and to wait for a parcel from some other blogger and reader out there.

So this post is primarily for my secret book friend but, who knows, it may contain some interesting information for my regular readers too!

En bok om dagen has provided some helpful questions, see below, and my post from the last book exchange also be useful.

About books
* Which genre or author do you like the most? No particular author.  General fiction including both drama and feel good (but not too much chick lit) and crime/detective, but not fantasy or science fiction.  Lite horror à la Låt den rätte komma in but no real horror.
* Which genre or author are you curious about?  A bit sceptic about the vampire trend but maybe, maybe... Haven't read that many Nobel laureates so that's an idea.
* Is there a list of what you have read over the years? In the post from May there are links to lists from 2008 onwards.

* Anything else literary, worth knowing?  At the moment I have a little one disturbing my reading so perhaps no 1,000 page-book...  Books in Swedish and English are equally welcome.

About goodies
* What kind of sweets do you eat?  All kinds!  But prefer sour, licorice and chocolate:)

* Tea or coffee?  Both!  As far as tea is concerned I prefer black or red but not too fruity or sweet flavours.  My favourite tea is Sir Williams and my favourite coffee (or chocolate) flavour is cardamom.

Other
* Hobbies?  Blogging, magazines, film, interior design, embroidery

* Favourite film? Can't choose one but here are some lists of what I liked and didn't like in 2010 and 2009 and how many of the classics I've seen.

* Favourite music?  I like almost everything except perhaps hard rock, heavy metal and Swedish "dansband".  Not too much of a classical music listener either.
* Sign? Not an astrology fan... Favourite colour?  Currently blue and coral red (and regular red)

* Do you collect something? Not really (except books that I don' read at the same pace :)  Maybe wrapping paper and ribbon because I always save old gift wrapping.  Also like to have a stock of gift cards.  I used to "collect" shoes and handbags but now I have significantly reduced my "collection" :)

Hope that provides some inspiration!  Exciting!

The Weekend

What a lovely weekend it was! Sunny gorgeous weather and time with family and friends. Saturday we took a long walk with our friend Jessica and had lunch at Blå porten.





On our way home we stopped by the swings in Humlegården. The playground was sooo crowded but the swings located outside the main play area were free just after a short wait.





Today my mum, my friend Malin with kids, and I (and Isolde of course) went to a children's bazar in Södertälje. I didn't find shoes in Isolde's size but some other things I was on the lookout for, e.g. a toy mirror and a baby snow sleigh. In terms of clothes I only bought a knitted sweater and a hat - Isolde has inherited about three wardrobes full from Malin's Elvina and Helena's girls and I've done my fair share of shopping so... The rest of the day Isolde and I hung out at my parents. My dad and brother had been out mushroom picking so they were busy cleaning them while my mum was playing with her grandchild and I got a well-deserved rest :)





Via Anna's iPhone

Friday

• Window shopping (and a few minor errands) downtown - check.
• Plan and buy tonight's dinner - check.
• Enjoy sunny autumn afternoon on the balcony with a coffee (Anna) - check.
• Pick and try to eat flowers on the balcony (Isolde) - check.
• Water plants on balcony (Anna) and play with water can including scratch nails on the metal (think blackboard) (Isolde) - check.

Via Anna's iPhone

Twins?

Isolde plays with her best friend who lives in farmor & farfar's (Peter's parents) wardrobe :)





Via Anna's iPhone

Isolde on Tape

Just thought I'd show you some recent videos with Isolde, as I realised I haven't shown much moving image of her. The first video is from our second visit to the children's library that I told you about a couple of weeks ago and the second one is from our friends' house when we visited last weekend.

Fun Day

Isolde tries the trampoline for the first time and the swing for the second time. Both are a hit.




Via Anna's iPhone

Silly Walk

Wonder if Isolde will walk like this once she starts walking?


-Via Isoldes padda

This Week

Monday: Second week of baby song and dance. The "class" is about 1 ½ hours long with a main 45 minute session, followed by fika for the adults and playtime or food for the babies, before a 10-15 minute session with softer/calmer music. Isolde loves it so far. First time she just sat there for the first 15 minutes with her mouth open but last time she was participating more actively almost right from the beginning. Lotta, who runs it has eight (and a "bonus" child) children and has worked full-time with baby rhythmics for almost 20 years so she knows how to captivate the little ones.

Here's a picture of Isolde on top of the toy pile at break time.



Monday evening featured some baby free time for me, as I went out for dinner and a movie (Bridesmaids) with some girlfriends. I haven't been out much at night as Isolde has rejected the bottle (but would've taken it eventually if we had insisted harder, I'm sure) and besides time has flown and I haven't felt the need to go out without Peter yet and I've wanted to spend time with Peter and Isolde. So most of the baby-sitting by the grandparents for example has been during the day. But now she's able to go to sleep on just oat cereal, though when I'm home I breastfeed her before bed. So Peter put her to bed her regular bedtime and when I got home at 23:30 she was still sound asleep.

Tuesday: Tuesday is the standing mummy group day. We always meet at 1pm and walk somewhere where the kids can play and we can have coffee. During spring and summer our regular hangout was been Rosendal garden (or lately, The Museum of Etnography) but with autumn and cooler temperatures on the way we'll have to move indoors. Yesterday we started with coffee at Mocco, then walked to Room for Children/the children's library at the Culture House where we hung out for a while. Isolde got her first library card and borrowed three books!

The padded play pen at the library is great!



Wednesday: Today we took a drive to the Södertälje area to visit Malin and meet little Jack (11 days old today) for the first time! He was so tiny! Can't imagine now that Isolde was ever that small but in fact she was smaller! Isolde tried to steel Jack's dummy even though she's a thumb sucker :)



Next stop was my friend Maria and we made a spontaneous visit her cousin and her boys, (almost) 5 and 1 years old, something we've been talking about doing for ages. Isolde was not at her best though because she's about to get her first tooth! Exciting! That's probably why she was cranky yesterday too and didn't sleep well last night. But when I checked for any signs of teething yesterday there was nothing but today there are clear signs!

What about the rest of the week?

Thursday: Tomorrow we have a quick "trade" meeting to pick up a harness for the high chair - it's through the Facebook group I told you about earlier. After that we're having lunch with Peter's cousin Sandra who's expecting a baby next month but is on sick leave for pregnancy related difficulties. Thursday is also Isolde's swim lesson at 5 pm.

Friday: No plans so we'll just take it easy, do some chores at home and the like.

A (work) week in the life of a baby and her mum!


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Must Have

Isolde just had to get this at H&M today. Even if she won't be able to wear it until next autumn (smallest size was 86). She insisted.



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Sweet News

Just heard that my blog (and now also IRL) friend Petra has given birth to a baby boy today! Sweet Pea is finally here! All children are little miracles but some are a little more longed for because they took a bit longer in the making.

Congratulations!!!


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Summer Remnants

We're spending the weekend at Peter's family's country house and today felt almost like summer with sunshine and shorts weather, even though autumn has definitely arrived; the evenings are chilly, the nights cold and the leaves will start turning soon. We spent most of the day on the grass with books, magazines and toys - and adults and child fighting over the iPhone... - except for a nice walk in the forest (didn't find any mushrooms though). Peter went for what's probably the last swim of the year - the water was 17 degrees. Actually he didn't spend that much time on a blanket compared to Isolde and me as he cleaned the car (mum - tell dad!) as well as the pram and cut the grass.




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8 Months Old Today!

Two of Isolde's favourite pastimes/toys right now: standing up against furniture and hogging all the remotes. Another favourite - but not with mum - is screaming and roaring at a very loud volume, sometimes because it's just so much fun, but more often out of frustration because she wants to crawl but hasn't really figured it out yet.



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Child at Heart

Peter's dessert at Pont Nouveau tonight. I had strawberry compote with goat cheese ice cream, which was tasty but definitely not as well presented.



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Homemaker*

I've been quite the little housekeeper lately. Last night I made spaghetti bolognese that was a suitable meal for all three of us (Isolde has mostly been eating ready-made baby food except for the first introduction to food - more on that below - but I have always planned to make my own) and today I finished painting the chest of drawers (needed four layers!) and started a batch of sour-dough (another plan for my parental leave but never got around to it before the summer) and pickled some beet root.

As I said above, the aim has been to make home cooked food for Isolde and I did start her off on homemade purées but when we were still struggling to get her to eat more than a couple of spoons after almost two months of trying I started buying jars (in addition to reducing breast-feeding). That way I was able to try different dishes (I never bought the simple first purées but the complete meat, fish or vegetarian meals). It was a relief to see her eat and it's also been convenient during the summer when I've wanted to be outdoors instead of inside cooking. But now when she's a very good eater and the post-summer routine is back it feels like a good time to start making my own food. I have also grown tired of constantly carrying home jars from the shop and also seeing how much glass it generates (though we recycle, I know many who don't and that makes me both angry and sad...). I will certainly still buy ready-made food too but I will try to serve more home-made than bought meals. In terms of home-cooked, it's easiest to give her whatever we're having, if it's suitable of course. I used my regular recipe for the spaghetti bolognese but didn't add any salt and pepper (added it when we were eating instead). But soon-to-be 8 months old can eat onion, garlic and herbs!

Isolde was a bit sceptic at first but then munched on as usual. She didn't eat as much as when she eats ready-made food but apparently jar food has a lot of added (unnecessary) water. She drinks water from a sippy cup now so she doesn't necessarily need that much fluid from the food she eats anyway.

First ever attempt at making sour-dough. Will keep you posted on success or failure!

First ever attempt at pickling beets - but I've pickled herring before - but it's not difficult at all, just a bit messy with the red colour.

* Though I don't like the expression "homemaker". Just call it what it is, housewife or stay-at-home-mum, instead of using euphemisms trying to make it a professional category. It's not that I don't think being a stay-at-home parent is hard work but it's not a profession as such.

Sack 'N Seat

Our newest baby related purchase is a Sack 'n seat, a foldable baby seat for use when there's no high chair around - which is often the case when visiting friends who don't have children or going to less baby friendly cafés or restaurants. We used it for the first time on Sunday (except for a trial session at home) and we can definitely recommend it. It folds into a small sachet that's easily stored in the nappy bag or underneath the pram. The bag it comes / is folded in, is part of the chair so it can't be lost. This chair is considered much safer than other portables fitted/hung onto the table and it also fits most types of chairs. The price is very reasonable, 199 SEK, and we got it on sale for 149 (Jollyroom.se).



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New Buddy!

Isolde's little friend Jack has arrived! Congratulations to happy parents Malin and Ronny and proud big sisters Filippa and Elvina!


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Insomnia

Can't sleep even though I don't have any reason not to. I.e. I can't blame the baby because she's sound asleep. Think it was the coffee after 8pm that did it, though usually it doesn't affect me so I don't know... Maybe the combination of coffee and a long to do-list? Luckily I have a pregnant friend (due any day now) who also suffers from insomnia, resulting in many text messages back and forth. And I just read that we're not alone.


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