Sorry for being so slack with the blog. I have nobody or nothing to blame, just myself.
The stay in Sweden was short and intense. Before I left we had a surprise birthday dinner for my brother who turned 40 the day before Christmas and we also celebrated mum who turned 65 on 21 Dec, the day before Isak and I left.
The fligt to Adelaide was long but went really well without any delays. The flight path was Lulea-Stockholm-Copenhagen-Bangkok-Melbourne-Adelaide and took about 46 hours including all the stops. Isak was amazing and I don't think he cried once in those hours but hey, it's tough travelling that far with a baby even if the baby is an angel like Isak. Don't think I would have coped if he had been sad or upset.
Seeing Jakob and Adam again was wonderful, especially Jakob who doesn't really understand what's going on and why I was away for nearly 3 weeks. After being in Adelaide just over a week he spoke nearly fluent English and it's getting even better every day. I can't get enough of listening to him, it sounds so clever and cute at the same time. He speaks very proper English and says things like: I will not have another drink etc.
Isak slept really badly at night for the first two weeks here in Australia. I even took him to the doctor because he has always been such a good sleeper and I was worried that he was in pain. The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with him so my conclusion to his sleeping problems are that he struggled with all the changes like: travelling between Thailand-Sweden-Australia within a few weeks, staying in different places with new people, me giving up breast feeding, new food and water etc etc. He also had a quite bad cold for a few days. Anyway, it is all good now and he is back sleeping from 7pm to 6-7am.
Isak is a very fast crawler now and he looooves climbing up on things. He can stand up if he holds on to something but he doesn't do it very often. He wants to feed himself now and it is impossible to put a spoon in his mouth. Or that's not quite true, it works find with porridge and fruit pure but nothing else.
So, what have we been up to since we got here? first of all we had to get through Christmas and the 3 days after were booked up with different friends which was great. New Years Eve Adam and I had dinner just the two of us at a Chinese restaurant in Gawler. It was really nice and exactly what I felt like, I wasn't up for a big party at all.
Yesterday we said good bye to Adam's brother Jason, his wife Karen and their son Hugo who moved to New Zeeland for a couple of years. It really brought back memories from when we left 2 years ago. After saying good bye at the airport we went for a drive past our old house. We asked Jakob to see if he could remember which house we lived in (he was about 21 months when we left) and we went past about 4 houses and asked is it this one... When we got to the right one he said yes straight away. Pretty amazing even though I know chidren remember more than I think.
In the next few weeks we will be quite busy which suits me well. I like having lots of activities planned in :-) Adam and I will also try to have a couple of nights away just us without children for a couple of nights. Lots of fun and lots to look forward to.
Hopefully I can download some photos in the next few days but if not I will do it when I get back to Sweden.
I will be back soon!
This is where I worked after I graduated as an engineer. The company was called Schefenacker when I started, changed name to Visiocorp after a few years and is now SMR. They make mainly car mirrors but also door handles and a few non automotive products. I really liked working there and it was fun to see the place and all changes again and to meet some of the people I worked with. I also went out for drinks one night with my old boss and some other work collegues.
Dave and Fiona came up to Gawler one day together with their Samuel who is only 9 days younger than Isak. He is so cute.
When Adam and his dad had a day playing golf and drinking beer with friends Jane and I took the train from Gawler in to the city. Jakob was very excited about the train ride...
Isak and grandma.
One of my favourite places in Adelaide is Gorge Wildlife Park. I don't really like zoos and the way animals are kept in cages but I can't help liking to watch the animals and see Jakob getting so excited. This place is a small family owende park up in the hills and just the drive to get there makes it worth going, it is just beautiful.
One day we were invited to Adam's parents friends that also live in Gawler. They had a real pizza oven and we made the best pizza!!
Our friend Caroline and her family used to live in Glenelg but bought a house up in the hills after we moved to Sweden. Adam and I and the kids spent an afternoon up there one day and we had dinner together. Isak and Carl got to meet for the first time...
When working with the Swedish club in Adelaide I got to know Yvonne. She was born in Australia but has Swedish parents, she looks very Swedish and speaks great Swedish. We were pregnant at the same time and had our boys with only a few weeks apart. She also had a second boy not long before I had Isak. It was great to see them again and Jakob had lots of fun playing with Erik and his cars.
As long as Isak doesn't take Jakob's favourite cars or destroy a game he is playing the two brothers have quite a lot of fun together.
I managed to squeeze in a quick visit to Ikea, my second home when we lived in Australia.
Jakob and I spent one afternoon together at an indoor playground and cafe. Even though it was nothing like Leos he really loved it. And the best of all, he got his first ever tattoo!
Jakob and Oscar playing together one day in Gawler. I wonder if they remeber each other. They spent a lot of time together when we lived in Adelaide so I am sure they do.
After a bit of planning we managed to find a night where I got to see my beautiful yoga mums again. We have stayed in touch via email but it is not the same as seeing each other face to face. 2 girls could not make it but the rest of us had a great night. Kristy and I stayed over at Mel's place and went to bed at 4 am in the morning!! that's right, 4am!! 4am is also when we stopped drinking so I guess I don't need to say that I felt shit the next day.
One night I got together with two of my old work friends Verity and Pamela for dinner and drinks.
Instead of giving each other Christmas presents Adam and I decided to stay in a hotel in the city for a couple of nights just the two of us. We had a really great time and spent the first day in Glenelg and the second day in the city.
I stopped breast feeding Isak on Christmas Day so after nearly two years off alcohol I treated myself with some nice red wine.
My plan was to take Jakob to the beach at least a few times when in Australia but it only happened once. We went to our old neighbour hood Glenelg and had a Strawberry Squeeze at Boost Juice (I love it!) and spent an hour by the beach.
Adam, John, Jakob and I went ten pin bowling one day. Thanks to a ramp and side walls Jakob could play as well and he beat me both times. I am extremly bad at bowling but still really like playing it.
Our friends Nathan and Tamara spent Christmas in Adelaide (they live in Sydney) and they came up to Gawler with their children Zack and Zoe to spend the day with us. Jakob and Zack had really fun together and Jakob spoke really great English the whole day.
Isak trying to get to know Zoe...
Isak and I arrived in Australia on Christmas Eve, just in time for celebrating Australian Christmas on Christmas Day. The kids were up early in the morning to open presents...
Isak with his cousin Hugo!
