Tim's birthday party!

This morning I woke up feeling much better. Still not fully recovered but much better. Have had a very nice family day today, spent the morning at home. Adam got a little sleep in but as always he doesn't enjoy sleeping in the mornings as much as I do so he got up again at 9.
Tim at Jakob's dagis had his 5th birthday party today and he invited all the kids from dagis. The party was held at the skating arena (where Tim's dad work) and it started at 12 with the kids skating for an hour. I haven't seen Jakob skating for a long time and he was doing so well!! he looks so confident on the ice now and he can move forward without any problems at all, even though he is still not skating properly. Adam had a go too and he also did great! I was very impressed. After skating we all had fika in one of the conference rooms at the skating stadium. There were about 15 kids from Jakob's dagis and it was so fun to see how they were interacting with each other. I just can't believe that they could sit still like that all at the same time. Jakob doesn't sit still for more than a minute or two at home. Not sure what we are doing wrong...
When we were skating Jakob came up to me with a big smile and said: Mummy, Tuva said hello to me! Tuva is one of the older girls, I think she is 4 or 5. Jakob really likes older girls :-)

Show jumping!

Friday night Isak had one of his better nights and slept from 7 until 1am before he had his first feed. Not bad. The other good thing was that I gave Isak to Adam just after 7 in the morning and went back to bed. Fell asleep within seconds and woke up at 9! I was quite tired but also feeling a bit sick. After being around sick people (Adam, Jakob, Isak) for the last few months I have just been waiting for it to hit me.

The plan for the day was that Adam was spending the day with Jakob, and I was going to the riding club to watch show jumping. I haven't done that for a looooong time and was so excited. Isak slept most of the time but also had some awake time where he was in a good mood and looking at everything going on around him. I kept him in the cafeteria just in case he would start being noise, didn't want him to scare any of the horses. Nice to spend a whole day at the club and to catch up with lots of people that I haven't seen for quite some time. As always it makes me miss riding and especially jumping so much.

Adam also had a great day with Jakob. They went to the "pulka" (sorry Emma, can't remember the English word for it) slope and met up with some friends and they also did some shopping.

Adam had a dinner in the evening so I had the kids all by myself from 5pm. It went really well and they were both in bed asleep by 7pm. They were both tired so that always helps. While the kids were doing great I was starting to feel worse. My body felt sore and I was so cold, kept putting on layers of clothes but was still freezing. My temperature was 39.1 so that explained why I was feeling that way. Went to bed before 9 with lots of clothes on and a blanket on top of the quilt.

Busy Friday!

The last few months (after I started having Firdays off work) I have been going to baby song/play group with Jakob nearly every Friday. We go there around 9-9.30 in the morning and play and have "fika" for an hour or so before the singing starts at 10.30. I have had a few weeks break from it because of Isak being born but now we are back in business! Isak had his first baby song on Friday and he managed to sleep through it all. Quite impressive when you think about how loud it is with kids like Jakob running around like crazy playing on drums etc.

Zara and Helena with the kids are almost always there but this week Sara and Stina also joined us.

Normally we have lunch at Max after the singing but this week Zara suggested that we get some take away lunch and meet at her place instead. Great idea! The kids kept playing together all afternoon and I found the most comfortable arm chair I have ever tried! It felt like it was made for a tired breast feeding mum!

Dropped Jakob off at home and went straight to the riding club after being at Zara's place and took care of Rubin. Or that's not quite true, I cleaned the stable and fixed his feed and luckily Isak slept in the pram the whole time.

The boys!

Tonight Adam is at a pub in the city with a group of English speaking guys. He has organised it before and this is the second time, with the group growing, I think there is about 6 of them this time. Hope they can continue to have a drink together at times to gossip about their Swedish partners and complain about living in the north of Sweden ;-)

I am enjoying a quiet night at home even though Isak have been waking up crying every 20 minutes since he went to bed a 7. He has done it a couple of times before, not sure why. Trying to think about what I have eaten, could there be something that he is a bit sensitive to? not sure. Hope the rest of the night goes better.

Gerd

Today my plan was to take it easy but as always I manage to change my plans, I am not very good at just staying at home by myself.

Met up with mum after I dropped Jakob at dagis and we went to have a look at some sales in the city.

Had soup for lunch at my new favourite lunch place in the city, Smaka, with Emma. After that I picked up mum and we went to get Jakob from dagis. When we got there the kids had some music on and were dancing. Watching Jakob dance is probably one of the cutest things I have ever seen. He does it quite often at home and I can't get enough of watching it. If I dance with him he tries to copy me, which is not a good thing...

From dagis we went straigth to a home for old people to visit dad's cousin Gerd who had a stroke a few months ago and can't live by himself anymore. She got to meet Isak for the first time and see Jakob, who she hasn't seen for a long time, again. Mum had brought some fruit and other things to eat to keep Jakob entertained and he did quite well. Not the most fun place to be at for a 3 year old.

That's a smile!

Isak has been smiling for quite sometime and this morning I finally got a picture of it!

Yesterday

Yesterday I had some friends and their babies over. They all have older boys who go to dagis for 5 hours during the day so we get together with the babies when the older kids are not with us. I forgot to take photos from the day so this photo is from last night when Jakob and Isak were cuddling on the couch.

Tuesday

Today was the first day for me to take Jakob to dagis in the morning. Jakob was in a very good mood so it went really well and was no problem at all. When we got to dagis we were told that Jakob and a few of the other younger kids were going by bus in to the city to visit the library. I think it is great that they do trips like that with the kids sometimes!
As you can see in the photo Isak is getting bigger and is not so skinny anymore. He is still suffering a bit from a cold but he is eating and sleeping pretty well and is happy most of the time.

Today I had lunch in the city with Carina, Stina and Annika. Isak slept through it all but woke up at the end for a feed before going back to sleep again in his cosy sleeping bag (see photo). He sleeps SO well in the pram when we are outside. Who wouldn't? I would love being wrapped up in a pram and pushed around by someone :-)
Talking about sleeping I nearly fell asleep at the dentist today when I had an appointment to finish off a root canal treatment.

After my dentist appointment we went to my parents for dinner. Jakob (in his new t-shirt) helped mormor to set the table.

I don't think I have seen Jakob eat as much as he did tonight in a long time. It is nice to see him happy, not tired and not suffering from a cold anymore.

Morfar looked much better today even though he is tired and saying that he is still not feeling so good. No matter what he says, I can see that he is much better today than when I saw him on Sunday so he must be recovering from whatever made him so sick last week!

Jakob and Isak

Yesterday morning Jakob got up quite late in the morning and Adam, Isak and I were sitting on the couch when he came out of is bedroom. He looked really tired as if he woke up just seconds ago. In his hand he was holding a toy and the first thing he said to us was: when Isak gets a bit older he can borrow this toy from me to play with.

Jakob makes us smile so often and he has a very good heart I think (of course he can be very difficult at times too but it is just more fun to write about the nice things he does).

Mormor visiting

As we all know Jakob looooves cars and especially the red McQueen car. Mormor came over last night with two presents for Jakob, one top and a pair of track suit pants with the famous car on. Jakob was in heaven!!

Jakob and I having a nice moment on the couch last night.

A day at home!

Yesterday I had the first day at home by myself with both Jakob and Isak. From now on Jakob will only go to dagis 3 days a week (Tue-Thurs) between 9.30-2.30. Jakob and I had a very nice morning together. Isak slept and we played lots of games and Jakob even cooked me some yummy food (see photo).

Just before lunch time Sigrid came over with Elvin and Vina and they stayed the whole day! we had lunch, took the kids outside to play in the snow for a while, went back in again and Jakob and Elvin played great together all day.

While the kids were playing Sigrid and I enjoyed each others company as always. We started dreaming about doing a trip to Africa together in a few years time, maybe the year we turn 40? she also really wants to go back to Africa, and especially Zanzibar and to do that trip together would be amazing and so much fun. I would also like to take the family there one day and include a safari in Kenya or Tanzania, but I think that will be when the kids are a bit older.

Anyway, Sigrid and I, two weeks in Zanzibar in a few years time, is that just a dream or could we do it? I think we can!! better start planning :-)

Sunday afteroon

After a busy weekend we had a very tired boy (not talking about Isak) this afternoon. Karin and Andreas came over to see Isak for the first time and also to show their photos from safari in Tanzania and their stay at Zanzibar. I was there about 15 years ago and Zanzibar is one of my favourite places in the world. It is an amazing place I think and I hope I will get the opportunity to go back there one day.

Anyway, Jakob crashed on the couch at 4pm and when we woke him up after about 40min he was extremly unhappy and it took him nearly 2 hours to wake up again. Poor thing, it is not easy being that tired and not being allowed to sleep.

Smile!

Isak has now started smiling properly but I still haven't managed to get a good one in a picture. He gave me some nice ones this morning but as soon as I had the camera he stopped and this is the best that I got today.

This morning my brother's wife's parents came over to visit us. They brought some nice presents for Jakob and Isak and we all had a fika and Adam gave them a tour of the house.

After that Adam took Jakob skating and to McDonalds and I went over to my parents place to be with dad when mum had to go and see a doctor and do some shopping. Dad is not feeling very well at the moment but we all hope it will turn around and that he will start feeling better again soon.

Saturday night!

After our big day in the snow we all got together at Niklas and Sigrids house for dinner and snacks and to watch tv. Everyone was tired (apart from the kids, they seem to never run out of energy) but it was very nice to just hang out and spend some time relaxing, eating and just enjoying good friends company.
The kids played a lot and had some snacks upstairs...

...and the adults chilled on the couch downstairs...

Ormberget

After a long winter we are finally starting to get some nice spring weather and yesterday we had a great family day out in the snow with friends. We went to a place called Ormberget (=The snake hill) with some friends. It is a small hill for downhill skiing but there is also a little "pulka" hill which is for sliding down on bobs, pulkas etc (don't know the English words for them). I used to come here a lot as a kid both with my family but also with school so being here again with my own family brings back many nice memories.

Even though the pulka hill is not very high, it's extremly hard pulling Jakob up on the bob. Adam did it lots of times, I did it two times and were exhausted... Think I need to start doing some exercise. I made Jakob walk up a few times and Micke also helped pulling him up.

Isak slept in the pram pretty much the whole time. He woke up once and I had my first "breast feeding outside in winter" experience. I have been wondering a bit if it is possible but now I have the answer: it is and it was no problem at all. At least not this time. I don't think I would try it if it was very cold but yesterday was a nice sunny day with tempeartures close to 0 degrees.

Jakob wants to do everything himself, as always, and of course he wanted to go down the hill by himself. He did it once with me (only becaue I said that I was too scared to go by myself) but after that he went solo every time. I was scared that he would hit other kids but it went well. Puh!

At Ormberget there are bbq places set up for people to use and the council also provides wood so it is a great place to go for a winter bbq. We all brought hot chocolate and sausages and as always it tastes 10 times better eating outside than at home.

All kids had a great time and were really happy and after 3 hours playing Jakob still didn't want to leave.

Lucas Birthday Party!

Today Lucas turned 1 and we all went over for his birthday party. Jakob was very worried that he wasn't going to be allowed to help Lucas open his presents, but luckily him and Moa got to share the opening. Not sure what will happen when Lucas is old enough to open them himself...

At the end of the party Jakob was getting quite tired, and so was Isak. I hope both kids will sleep well tonight.

The riding club

Today I had my first trip out with both kids and it went pretty well. We went to the riding club and had a look at the horses and also had some lunch in the cafe at the club. Stina and Lova also came for a while.
After lunch Adam came to pick Jakob up and Isak and I stayed a bit longer.

The boys bonding

Jakob got up at 5.30 for the third morning in a row now. Don't know why he is waking up so early! Adam gets up with hime and I stay in bed with Isak but I can never really go back to sleep when I hear Jakob.
It snowed all night last night so Adam had to go out in the morning before going to Swedish class to get rid of the snow. I had a nice morning home with both boys being in a very good mood and Jakob looking much better.


Jakob is very proud of Isak and talks a lot about his little brother when he meets other people. Sometimes I wonder how much he actually understand about things. Today when we were in the car he asked me: Mummy, has Isak come out yet or is he still in your belly?

Jakob often says to me: Mummy, when the baby was in your belly, we didn't know that his name was Isak. He thinks it is so funny and laughs a lot at that.

New computer

My cousin Andreas gave us a new old computer today!! Thank you so much!
Jakob is doing pretty well. He was happy tonight and had no temperature but still coughing a bit. He had an accident today just 15 minutes before going to the doctor. He ran in to a door, you can see the bruise on his forhead.


Adam told me that Jakob did so well at the doctors. He told her everything about his scratches and bruises on his hands and arms and legs and did everything that she asked him to do.
Maggi gave Isak some really nice clothes today and she also had a present for Jakob, a plastic glass with a straw that goes around it. Jakob loves it and drank from it all evening before going to bed.

Meeting Maggi

After our city trip we went to mum and dad's place so that I could use the internet and also to wait for Maggi. We now have a new computer so these are photos from this afternoon.

Fika in the city

Mum looked after Isak for a while when I went to a few shops. Since we couldn't get the pram out of the car and had to carry Isak I didn't want to run around with him on my shoulder.

Adam and Isak

Adam and Isak relaxing at mum and dad's place on Sunday afternoon...

Winter

After a week or so with very cold weather, it is now much warmer but snowing and snowing and snowing. Not the greatest weather to be out in, but at least we will have a lot of snow to ski on in the next couple of months when it gets warmer and the days are getting longer.

Yesterday Isak and I had a very nice day. We went to Kvantum for some grocery shopping. He was awake when we got there so I was a bit worried that he would start crying in the middle of shopping, but he just went to sleep half way through the shopping so no problems at all. He stayed asleep when we got home so I did some cleaning and not long after Stina came with her little Lova and later on Eva with her Malte.

Jakob is sick again, after nearly a week of feeling good, he got his cough back and a runny nose. He went to dagis yesterday but was very tired in the evening. This morning (and yesterday as well) he woke up at 5.30 so we kept him home today. He doesn't have a temperature and seems quite happy but still not 100%. Adam took him to the doctor this afternoon and they took a blood test and will call later today if his throat has a bacterial infection. Apart from that she just said that it is very common with these colds when they go to dagis and that after a few years their immune system gets stronger and they normally don't get sick as often.

I was home with Jakob and Isak all morning today while Adam went out to do some shopping, and when he got home Isak and I picked up mormor and went in to the city. Now we are back at mormor and morfars place so that I can use the computer and also to wait for Maggi who is coming soon to meet Isak for the first time.

Isak is doing great and after two nights of bad sleep he had a very good night last night!