May 2013
4 posts
4 tags
Wellness
Sorry for the silence over here. We’ve been dealing with a cesspool of germs that seems inevitable when you have a child.
Two weeks ago Henry had the worst cold ever in his young baby life. Really it’s the only cold he’s ever had, but it was pretty bad. Then, almost exactly one week later I got the same cold. It was awful. And of course, once I got over my cold Henry got some...
Sick Part II
So last week, Henry was sick. And this week I am sick. Not sure if it’s the same cold, but if Henry felt this sick then I AM SO SORRY BABY!
But in other news, we have moved back home. There is still loads of construction work, but it’s good to be home. After a day of intense cleaning our apartment looks almost normal. Except we sold our dining table so we eat all of our meals on...
Over It
We are over being vagabonds now. We want to go home. Soon. Thursday.
Poor Henry got a very nasty cold Thursday night and nothing is worse than a sick baby. But being a sick baby when you are away from home, that is not a lot of fun either. We are really ready to go home and if we have to be sick, at least be sick there.
But maybe he’s getting better? Lots of naps, steam sessions in the...
A Bit of This and That
Radio silence in these parts. Sorry about that. We’re still living out of a suitcase, trying to escape the renovations at our place. It is so noisy and dusty, it’s not exactly the nicest being at home with Henry when your walls are shaking from all the drilling so we moved down to Skåne for a few weeks.
Malmö is such a small city, we’ve been walking everywhere. We’ve...
April 2013
5 posts
Back Home
We arrived back to Sweden safe and sound on Friday afternoon. It was a long trip, but it was fine. Since then we have been busy. Unpacking, napping, organizing, unpacking some more, and just trying to get things back to normal.
But it’s not normal: The jet-lag going to Europe is killer and Henry keeps waking up around 22:00 and throwing a fuss-party until midnight. He then sleeps until...
A Little Bit of Texas
We leave on Thursday for Sweden. It feels like these last three weeks were a blur and we are just now starting to ease into the groove of American life. But it’s always like that, isn’t it?
It’s always bittersweet leaving Texas. I am excited to go home and sleep in my own bed but I will miss my family like crazy. I was telling my grandmother that I am homesick for Texas, but...
3 tags
Austin Day 3 and 4
On our third day in Austin we again had breakfast tacos and coffee- but this time it was too cold to eat outside. We barely packed any cold-weather clothes for our trip, so we were freezing most of the day. It’s ironic because we have scarves and sweaters galore back in Sweden…
Since the weather wasn’t the best, we holed up in our hotel room until a bit before lunch. We went...
5 tags
Austin Day 2
On our second day in Austin, I snuck out of the hotel early for coffee and breakfast tacos from Jo’s Coffee, which is right next door to our hotel. While Henry slept, Gillis and I had tacos on the patio.
After that we walked around the neighborhood and saw a lot of cute houses and amazing desert plants like aloe and cactus growing. I loved it. We decided to go to the South Congress Cafe...
10 tags
Austin, Texas
So for part of our big Texas trip we decided to take a mini-vacation down to Austin. I have only been here a handful of times and Gillis has been once, bit it’s a city that we both enjoyed.
After reading reviews we decided to stay at the Hotel San Jose, which is amazing. There is this lovely garden, which smells like wisteria and has a cute little pool and a large patio for drinks....
March 2013
4 posts
In Texas!
Photo taken at 5:00 am, Stockholm, Sweden on Thursday. This feels like it was weeks ago, but we are now in Texas! It was an almost 24 hour day of travel and everyone, even little Henry, did fantastically!
We will be here for three weeks and sometime, when Henry isn’t trying to help me type, I will share some of our experiences.
Until then, hej då!
3 tags
Six Months
Today my baby turned six months old. That’s half a year of Henry being here and half a year of me being a mom. Which basically means everything has completely changed since six months ago, heck everything has completely changed since the day I found out I was pregnant.
Let me tell you, the first three months are slow. They are slow and weird and foggy and emotional and you feel like this...
Our Day: A Picture Every Hour
7:00
Henry wakes up and the morning for him consists of an epic diaper change, a morning bottle, and playing at his baby gym. While he plays, I eat breakfast, which is usually a boiled egg (thank you Gillis), hard bread with cheese, and coffee… of course.
8:00
Usually Henry is ready for nap after being away for 2 hours, but this morning he was exhausted by 8:30. I watch TV series...
6 tags
Time
So in about two weeks we are heading to Texas. For three weeks. It’s a big trip and we are so excited (and a bit nervous about the 10 hour plane ride with Henry, especially for me- I hate flying!).
Before Henry was born we planned to go to the States for Christmas, but how silly we were. I know some people can easily travel with a 3 month old baby, but at that time it seemed beyond...
February 2013
4 posts
Today
The sun was shining. Henry was happy. Gillis was happy. I was happy.
Henry spent about 10 minutes trying to eat Gillis’ nose today. We laughed. Hard. So hard, Henry got spooked and started to cry. Oops. Too much fun.
6 tags
Four Years Ago
o
Four years ago we were married. It was an exciting, tense, and completely nerve wracking day. I remember so many details, but it also went by in a complete blur. Above is a picture from right after our wedding.
A day before we tried to make a pear and chocolate cake, I guess it was supposed to be our wedding cake?! It was the worst cake ever, we threw it away! Our wedding was not our dream...
Kill Your TV! Or....?
Do you let your kids watch TV? For how long and how old are they?
We’ve heard that TV before the age of two is a big no-no and I can totally understand why, but pretty much every parent I have ever met has also said, “yeah, we try to limit TV but it’s a GREAT baby sitter.” And YES, they are totally right.
When Henry was first born we watch A LOT of TV. A LOT. That...
Our Mornings
Our mornings go a bit like this:
Gillis kisses me goodbye and heads off to work and I am still asleep. Maybe 30 minutes, an hour, or sometimes even two hours later Henry will start stirring in his crib. (Yeah, we moved him to his crib a few weeks ago, we all sleep so much better and longer!)
And so around 7:00 I wake up, make him a bottle, bring him to our bed and he eats, we cuddle, he...
January 2013
4 posts
5 tags
Henry, lately
Henry, lately you have been struggling at bed time. Nothing has changed about our routine, it’s been the same since you were 4 weeks old, but lately you just cry and cry and cry. Lately it takes over an hour to put you to bed and we have to do it in shifts. Right now your pappa is in there, holding you and you are screaming. And my heart feels like it might break, because I hate when you...
4 tags
bohemian
Gillis and I were at IKEA the other day, picking up some small CHEAP things and we talked about getting this yellow bedding. It appealed to us both. Probably because we haven’t seen the sun in days…
But in the end I told him, “I don’t think I can do it, I’m not so bohemian.” And then he laughed at me. I’m so happy we’re sticking to our plain white...
4 tags
It must be so frustrating
It’s 3:30 in the afternoon and I’m tired. I’ve been tired since 8:00 this morning when I laid Henry down for some diaper free time, went to go make coffee, and came back a few minutes later to find him happily squirming in his own poop. Awesome.
He’s grown so much these past few weeks. He can now support his head (!!!), he sits with assistance, and tries to communicate...
7 tags
Back to Reality
We are now back from our long and lovely Christmas vacation. Gillis informed me that I’ve been slacking at my blog, so sorry about that! But the rest has been much needed and oh so wonderful.
We spent first few days down in Skåne with my in-laws, celebrating Christmas, drinking homemade glögg, and playing with Henry. To say that he is wrapped around his farfar and farmor’s little...
December 2012
7 posts
5 tags
Santa Has A Tattoo? And It's Christmas Already!
On Friday we travelled down to Skåne to celebrate Christmas with Gillis’ family. I can’t believe that it is my fourth Christmas in Sweden! There are so many different traditions than how I celebrate in the States, but I’m starting to adapt them and find them just as normal as my own. The biggest difference is that Sweden celebrates Christmas on the 24th not the 25th, so...
9 tags
Friday Fika over at Sthlm Mama Diaries
After Henry was born I made a decision to get out and meet people, other moms, babies, really anyone who had the time for a latte. Before that I had a hard time making friends, I think making friends as an adult and in a foreign country is kind of hard- but motherhood can be pretty lonely and it’s so important to have a strong community of support around you. I also want Henry to meet...
5 tags
The Best
Everyday I fall more and more in love with this little baby. Every day. Every day he makes me laugh and wow- what joy I feel from him. What joy.
I love babies because they are just so emotional. When they are happy- they are REALLY happy. When they are mad, my goodness they are mad. Every time that Henry gets mad he scrunches up his whole body and turns so red and boy does he scream! I...
14 tags
Christmas Wish List Part Two
There really isn’t anything that I want for Christmas. Really. I have a fantastic husband, an incredibly cute baby, great family, and fun friends. I have a roof over my head, food in my belly, and a quality winter coat- so what more could I ask for?
And I’m not just saying this to be cheesy, I pretty much have everything that I could ever want or really hope for. BUT (there’s...
28 tags
Apartment Progress: Getting There
So! I feel like we are finally in a good place with our apartment. We moved in late June and made sure to have everything in it’s proper place before Henry joined us in September. To be honest, this apartment was in pretty good shape when we moved in. We didn’t have to completely gut the kitchen like we did with our last place and the bathroom wasn’t a swampy mess like the last...
November 2012
8 posts
11 tags
"Off" Days
That is a really cute face, right? I am incredibly lucky that I get spend so much time parenting Henry during his first year, incredibly lucky that Sweden has such fantastic maternity leave (and paternity leave too!). I couldn’t imagine it any other way and would be heartbroken to put my baby in daycare while he is so young. Yet, I know this is something that a lot of moms have to do or...
6 tags
The Fun Has Just Begun
Two months. Wow. We made it two months with this little one. Right now his hanging out in his bouncer, sleeping, and muttering to himself. Kid loves to talk in his sleep.
I’ll save the list of his utterly amazing accomplishments for 2 months and instead tell you this: he’s awesome. Being his mom is totally exhausting and sometimes I just stare at him thinking “what am I...
6 tags
Eight Weeks with Henry
It’s hard to believe that I have now been a mom for eight weeks. Eight whole weeks of being in charge of this little person and falling more and more in love with him every single day.
Almost every night when I fall asleep I think to myself, I can’t wait for tomorrow. I can’t wait to see what happens next, what he will do- because every day is different.
But that’s...
4 tags
Photos from our walk the other day
Chilly almost-winter days with hints of sunlight against grey skies. We arrived in Skåne and have taken many walks, but this one was by far the most magnificent.
We love being the in the country.
October 2012
7 posts
9 tags
Six Week Update
I can’t believe that it’s been six weeks since little Henry joined the world. Time really does fly, except when you are trying to get your baby to sleep- then time slows down.
Last week Henry started smiling and playing a little bit. And by playing I mean that he waves his arms and legs around frantically while grunting. Sometimes a “laugh” or a “coo” can be...
11 tags
Things that make my life easier
Right now I am sitting at a coffee shop sans baby. Gillis has Fridays off from work so we made a plan that I would take a few hours to myself and get out of the house. It’s a weird feeling being away from the baby, no one here knows that I am a mom- yet it is the most important job I have ever had. So strange.
This week has been pretty rough as far as motherhood goes. Henry refused to...
5 tags
One Whole Month
Today this fool turns one month old! We made it a month. Let that sink in for a second.
It still feels pretty surreal and I wonder when that feeling fades?
You already know my thoughts on the past month, and I’m excited to see what happens next. He is growing like a weed (started at 7.1 lbs and is now 8.8lbs!) and maybe laughed a bit the other day.
Looking forward to getting to know...
6 tags
The first month, Motherhood is..
Not what I expected it to be. In some ways it is, of course, but to be completely honest- it’s HARD. You have this little, wide-eyed creature that is completely dependent on you for everything. Every little thing. And then it turns dark red, almost purple, when it cries and screams, which is pretty dramatic- and for the parent completely traumatic. When your kid is wailing for some unknown...
September 2012
6 posts
8 tags
7 tags
Any Day Now
So I’m due this week. This baby could pop out at any moment and WE ARE SO READY. It feels like it was just a few days ago when I posted THIS (in denial that I could be pregnant), and THIS when I knew I was pregnant (just a few days later!), and then THIS when we finally told everyone our good news.
So much has happened these past nine months, but the main focus has been on this baby and...
16 tags
Quick Snapshots of the Nursery
With less than 10 days till my due date (!!!) I thought I’d share a few quick pics of our nursery before a little baby takes over and causes the inevitable chaos in our household. :)
It’s a REALLY tiny room, but we managed to make everything work. It will need some tweaking as baby gets older, but for now it’s the perfect little room for our kid.
The big light is from IKEA...
9 tags
Apartment Progress
We’ve been in the new apartment now for almost three months! We’ve done some big changes such as buying new closets and transforming the former office space to a sweet nursery. Of course it’s not perfect yet, in fact, far from it- but I really like how things are starting to shape up.
Above is the most recent picture of our bedroom. We bought a poster from Moderna Museet...
August 2012
9 posts
17 tags
Filling Up The Days
It’s now Week 37, which means I’m full-term. Way to go me and way to go baby! But I’m getting anxious and I’m ready. Yes, I’m savoring all of the time I get with Gillis as just us, but I’m also excited about meeting this kid. And now that I’ve been at home for what feels like forever (well over a month now!) I’m running out of things to do. So what...
