Farfar Came To Visit

Farfar and Nene (Irene) came yesterday and hung out for a few hours. They snuggled this little guy who has grown a lot since they last saw him.

Farfar surprised Enzo at school. Enzo was one happy boy to see Farfar poking his head into his classroom.

Thanks for coming to visit. See you guys again soon.

A Cake

Some good friends of ours had a baby and it was time to come up with something different and creative. Especially since they didn't need much and didn't want much....limited space. So, we created something that can be consumed thus not occupying any space for a longer period of time. A diaper cake. Enjoyed making this...can't take all the credit myself, hubby helped. Super easy and a great gift for someone who is having a baby.

Randomness

Here's some pics of what my boys have been up to.

Aleksander after our attempt to get handprints. I think the key is doing handprints when they are first born because now his reflex is to automatically close his hands when something is put in there. Not the prettiest handprints but we did our best, not to mention, we got paint everywhere.

Enzo holding up the "E" pappa made. I am always amazed at Mattias' ability to create Lego images. He did E, Z and O and got stuck on how to construct the N.

Enzo looks like he is ready to go fly fishing. He's at school getting ready to go out and play in the schools new yard which is a wooded area filled with many fruit trees.

Mattias and another creation... a lego hat.

A pappa on the go...such is life when you are paternity leave or as the Swede's call it: Pappaledig.

This is what him and Aleksander do when Aleksander is awake and not doing tummy time.

And here's a pissed off Aleksander, ready to go to sleep.

Little Munchkin

Best Of Friends

I feel like one of my jobs as a parent is to teach these boys to be there for each other through thick and thin...to be the best of friends!

Freedom Of Choice

This can happen sometimes when Enzo gets to chose what he's wearing for the day. I hope this is not an indicator that he will be a hopeless dresser one day. Well, I actually doubt that being the son of Mattias.

On Sunday we were headed downtown to run some errands and this is what Enzo wanted to wear. Mattias wanted to crawl under a rock at the sight of this. I said, "oh who cares, let him wear what he wants". Mattias thinks it's a reflection of us as parents and on some levels I agree but anyone who has kids knows that when they reach a certain age they want to chose what to wear and I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I believe he needs to be able to chose (sometimes) and feel confident in his decisions. I am more of an advocate for this because I am rather indecisive myself. Not sure if I was hindered at some point in my childhood from making decisions but it drives me nuts at times that I can't decide on some simple things. Anywho, this isn't about me this is more about me wanting to empower my son to be a decision-maker. So, he got to wear his chosen outfit with headphones and all. Not sure why he wanted the headphones, maybe it was just in case there were any loud noises along the way.

Afraid

Enzo is getting so big. We notice it even more now when we have an infant on our hands. Enzo's conversations have become more advanced. The things he says sometimes makes me do a double take...I even ask him, "who are you?". He usually looks at me strangely and says, "oh mommy". He is growing right before our very eyes and I can see it in front of me. Highschool, girlfriends, parties etc. I am afraid but also curious to go on that journey with him. I think I am mostly afraid for the day when all the kisses and hugs will not be a frequent activity. When he no longer wants to dance around naked. When he no longer wants me to crawl in bed with him or he crawls in bed with us. When all the innocence goes away and instead I have a young man who is trying to grow facial hair. Yikes! I know it will be amazing and rewarding to see what kind of young man he will turn into, I am just scared for all the other things to disappear. Hopefully he will continue to be a good kid. We love him that way :)!

With all that being said, I need to remember to live in the moment and enjoy every moment with him even when he is on my last nerve and has said "mommy" for the gazillionth time because truth be told these days will be over sooner than I would like.

Love you snuggle-bugs! You will always be mommy's love bug!

A First Sleepover

Enzo had his first "psuedo" sleepover. Our goddaughter Liv was here with here parents and they stayed late. So, we put the kiddos to bed. This was the first time Enzo has had someone sleeping in his room.

He wanted to sleep on the floor like Liv. So, we put his mattress on the floor and he was one happy camper.

Poor Liv, she rolled off the cushion and ended up sleeping mostly on the floor.

Rolling Over: 09/03/2010

My little bumble bee rolled over today! Yep, at 9 weeks he has rolled over from his tummy to his back. The whole movement was so slow motion. I was stoked that I got to witness it. I was just saying to a friend of mine earlier today that he will be rolling over very soon and sure enough it was today.

When Enzo rolled over for the first time (from back to tummy), at 4 months of age, I was at Costco. Mattias witnessed the ordeal and had the nerve to call me to brag.

This time I was here and I saw it for myself. I was so proud of our little guy. He had no idea what he just did or why we were so happy, and rolling him back over so he could repeat the act. He indulged and rolled over again and again.

And since I am bragging about him I have to just add how sweet Aleksander is. He really makes it easy to take care of him. Thank you Aleksander! Kisses my little bumble bee!

Back To School 2010

Enzo and I have started school again. Enzo has started at a new preschool, which is about a 15min walk from our house. I think I have mentioned this before but they do a phasing-in process when a child is starting school. They allot two weeks for the child to be completely phased in.

Since I was starting school the same day as Enzo, Mattias was in charge of this. As the summer was coming to an end it was evident that Enzo was ready to go back to school and was completely understimulated at home. Needless to say, the phasing-in process was a breeze. After day 1 Enzo was ready to be at school alone. He cried when it was time to go home. Day 2 came and the teachers felt that it was still a good idea that Mattias hang around there for the 2 hrs that they were to be there. And again, Enzo cried when it was time to go home. Day 3 they decided that Enzo is definitely ready and that he could be there a 4 hrs alone. It went great. The teachers had no complaints and neither did Enzo. Day 4 came along, this time he stayed 5hrs alone. Same report as day 4. Day 5 and he stayed 6hrs, same report as day 4 and 5. He absolutely loves his school and wants to be there all day everyday. And he has a new friend there, his name is Axel.

When I went on Day 3 to pick Enzo up from school I couldn't help but have a huge grin on my face that went from ear to ear. It warms my heart to see my baby so happy.

Unfortunately, since Mattias is on paternity leave Enzo can only be at school 3 days a week which is a bummer but it's better than nothing, right? However, in a month when my mom gets here Enzo will go full time. Hopefully he is still excited about his "new" school then.

And then there is me. My first two days of school I took Aleksander with me so that Mattias could give Enzo his full attention at his new school. Aleksander was his sweet self as usual. He slept most of the time and when he didn't he sat in my lap looking around and cooing. I actually tried shhhshhh-ing him at some points because his "talking" was rather loud. But everyone just thought it was so cute. He melted hearts!

Looking back, the week has gone great and having Mattias at home makes things a little bit easier. Needless to say, it eases my load. It has been really hard for me to leave Aleksander so early (at two months old) but the things that get me out the door is the simple fact that, a) he is at home with his father, b)I am not at school all day everyday...sometimes it's only a few hours and c) the sooner I finish the better for the whole family... I really don't want to fall behind. So, what Mattias is doing is really huge for our family and not only that, this opportunity might not ever present itself again. So, we're taking it day by day and when I am home I am soaking up love from my kiddies and smothering them with hugs and kisses.

ps
I must note here that we have started a "Back To School" tradition...going out to dinner as a family. This is cool because it isn't often we go out to dinner so this will be much appreciated!

Enzo sitting in the Bumbo chair that we got from Mattias' work colleagues.

Aleksander with me at school...day 2.

Mattias loving his new life as Mr. Mom

Aleksander just adores Enzo, I see it in his eyes and Enzo just loves his brother.

Enzo wearing the purple hoodie that I got him for his first week of school. I also got him two pink shirts, since pink is his favorite color. However, this hoodie has become his favorite piece of clothing so much he has insisted on wearing it for the past three days.

5 Years

I don't know how I could forget to post about this but on August 20th, Mattias and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. I cannot believe we have been married for 5 years already. It has been an amazing 5 years and our adventures have been many. Looking forward to the next 5 with you babe!

Mattias surprised me with tickets to the musical "Singin' in the Rain". It was fantastic. This is by the way, our anniversary tradition...going to a musical.

We had a fantastic afternoon and evening together. We were so fortunate to have Uncle Al and Auntie Carmen here, it allowed us to go out and have an afternoon and evening together. Since we don't live close to family it isn't often we get a moment over for just us, besides the evening after the kiddos have gone to bed. This was priceless.