HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY ALEKSANDER!!

Rise and Shine...We came in saying Happy Birthday! I think he was wondering what is going on...
Breakfast time. He had a yogurt and then pancakes topped with his favorite fruit, raspberries.

Time to open gifts. We stuck to the little rhyme from Katey; "Something he wants, Something he needs, Something to wear, Something to read." It really makes it a lot easier to buy gifts based on those four things.

Hmmm...what am I supposed to do with this?! He looks perplexed.

Ribbon! That's always a hit. ("Something to read")

The hat = something to wear

The sword casing Enzo gave Aleksander as a gift. It belongs to the sword Enzo got at the Disney on Ice. Funny thing is, is that casing is by far Aleksander's favorite toy. He drags that thing all over the house. I asked Enzo if he could consider giving Aleksander that for his birthday since he couldn't buy him a dog, which he really wanted to do. He thought giving him that was a great idea, so he wrapped it. Sweet. I think it's even sweeter that he honestly wanted to get Aleksander a dog because he knows how much Aleksander loves dogs. And he is hoping that Aleksander will buy him a cat for his birthday because Enzo loves cats!

Ready to go out on our walk around the neighborhood and then to the playground for some swinging.

We had originally planned to take Aleksander swimming but then us parents got lazy and opted out. Poor guy, but fortunately he doesn't know the difference.

His birthday cake. Stumbled upon this Raspberry Tarte... had to make it for him since he loves raspberries. It was perfect, hardly any sugar added, except for a tblsp in the whole recipe. Loved it. Simple and delicious. I'll tell you how simple it is, it's a frozen butter dough, rolled out, homemade vanilla cream, topped with raspberries and then a warmed apricot marmelade drizzled over the top. Light and delicious...just ask Mattias, he had 4 pieces.

Yes, that is a tea light you see. Us, lame-o parents forgot to buy candles and didn't realize until it was time for the cake that we didn't have any bday candles.

Anyway, here we are singing happy birthday to the birthday boy.

He finally gets pissed at me because I won't let him touch the burning candle. Crazy kid! Make a wish, baby!

Yum!

Mr. Attitude!

We've made it to the one year mark! Wow, this time has flown by. His first year has been packed with a lot of first and many, many adventures.

Aleksander has grown and changed tremendously in the first year. He went from being my calm, sweet baby to my strong willed, opinonated baby! I am not sure how this all happened and honestly I didn't see it coming but I guess they both can't have the personality of their father. I guess it is safe to say that Aleksander is a little bit more like his mother...whoever that may be ;)

Let me just say some things about Aleksander; he loves being outside. When we leave the balcony door open he cruises out there every opportunity he gets and chills. He loves climbing up and down stairs and when isn't free to do so he'll let you know what he thinks about that. He loves dogs, at least it seems that way. And it's even so that he says doggie, or better yet "daaaw-yee" too cute! However, this morning I noticed when I took him out on a run with me this morning that he was calling the geese "daaaaw-yee" so I am not sure if he thinks all animals or doggies or what. But I kid you not, he lights up when he sees a dog. It feels like a crime that he didn't get a dog for his birthday.

He loves pointing at things and sometimes even nothing but I am sure he thinks he is being specific in his pointing. He is a picky eater, making it well known when he doesn't like something or doesn't want more of something. He does this by either purposely tossing the food directly onto the floor and looking at it land, smack down on the hardwood floor, or he'll swing his arms at the spoon that you are trying to put into his mouth or he'll just turn his head with his lips sealed shut. And let me just tell you, the first two signs just pisses me off. As soon as he starts tossing food on the floor it's time for him to get down from his chair.

He loves browsing through books. He loves nursing...still. He nurses about 3 times a day...morning, midday and evening. He loves exploring new surroundings. He loves his bed.

He's a good boy and we adore him. Even though his personality is strong and puts us to the test, we love it! We are eager to see the kind of boy he'll grow in to. But in the meantime we are enjoying him just the way he is.

Oh yes, he is still crawling away and not showing much interest for walking. He cruises while holding onto things but never attempts to find his balance without support nor is he too fond of walking while we are holding his hands...he'd rather crawl.

Aleksander still sleeps twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon...which ends up being anywhere from 3-4hrs total. He usually sleeps with a pacifier and in his own bed and occasionally in the cargo bike if we are out all day. At night he goes to bed between 6:30-7pm and sleeps soundly (sometimes) until 5am at which point I'll either nurse him or ignore him and then he'll wake up for the morning at 6am. Phew...

He had a immunization appointment today...poor guy. Two shots on his birthday! He was NOT happy about that. We took the opportunity to weigh him, he weighs; 10,713 grams (which is about 23.5 lbs) and is 74 cm long. He's following his own curve perfectly, he lies right above the median.

Happy Birthday Munchkin! I hope you had a fantastic birthday! We love you and look forward to many more years with you! Kisses!

Fruitarian

He loves fruit! Loves, loves, loves fruit! And I love that he loves fruit. I like going to the grocery store to see what new fruit he can try that is reasonably priced, that is. For his birthday I will be making him a raspberry cake...he loves raspberries.

Starting School/Dagis

Last Wednesday we were invited to Aleksander's school/dagis/daycare. Whatever you want to call it. We went gladly. Eva, one of his teachers, showed us around, informed us of their routines, offered me the security that I needed. Aleksander seemed to like the place and offered me the peace that I needed, that he'll be just fine when he starts the end of August. I am not worried about him. He is social, forward and looking for new things to explore all the time. So, this will be good, I know it.

After we visited his school we went to the playground for a bit. He loves being outdoors and climbing and exploring the playgrounds... he is growing up way too fast!

Fika Turns Bad

8 days ago, two Sundays ago we were at a cafe having fika with The Rosenquists...that would be Henrik, Jessica, Liam and Enya. Enzo and Liam were playing in the kids corner while us parents were chatting away. After noticing that the kids corner was well beyond under supplied I had the boys clean up so that we could go outside and really let them play. Well, they cleaned up rather quickly as this kids corner was a sorry attempt at a kids corner but it was a nice attempt at acknowledging that kids need something to do as they get restless when out eating with parents.
Anyway, as they are waiting for us to get ready they are playing around, in and out of the empty booths. Enzo runs into the booth right behind me and next thing I hear is a gasp and then some crying. It wasn't that high pitch, frantic, I'm in pain cry but more like, something happened I am not sure, I think I hurt myself cry. I get up causally to look and of course blood is gushing from his face. I come to the conclusion that he must have fallen off the bench and landed with his face on the sharp edge of the radiator which is at the end of the bench. OUCH! Enzo sees blood and his soft cry turns into panic cry, which is incessant and annoying. But I am trying to have sympathy because he did hurt himself but I know that half of the crying is coming from the pure fact that he is bleeding. We get ready immediately to go to the ER. The baker there sees what happens and comes with bandages. I wrap his head up. Darn it, why don't I have a picture of that. As we are heading out the same baker comes with a chocolate muffin to help ease the pain/discomfort Enzo is feeling. I try to give it to him but Enzo comes to the conclusion that he doesn't like chocolate muffins anymore, only chocolate cake and candy...at a moment like this, how could he reason that.
I am however, very grateful that we live in the city as it only took us max 10minutes to bike to the ER from the cafe we were at. Sweet. We get in, take a number and wait impatiently for our turn. When they call our number we go up. Enzo is a wreck, panicky. The nurse tries to look at the sore, clean it to see it's depth and width and I kid you not I had to pin down my screaming child. You would think he was dying, literally. Pretty much immediately we go inside to the ENT emergency side in the waiting room...waiting. We waited and waited. The same nurse who checked us in came by to give us updates as to when we would be seen. There was only one patient in front of us and they were being seen at the time. While we are waiting Aleksander is having bouts of diarrhea...I only brought one extra outfit. Typical. His pooping is non stop and when I thought the visit was going to be quick we are then notified that the Dr. has gone on a lunch break and will be back in 45min...crazy! Afte waiting the 45min I decide that one of us should head home with Aleksander who is now tired.
During all this waiting Enzo has seem to calm down from the injury and only gets worked up when he feels blood starting to drip down his face...which is cause for panic.
We let Enzo decide which parent he wants to have stay with him...here's how he choses: he looks at us and asks "Which one of you is the nicest?" Mattias answers, "that's for you to decide." Enzo proceeds, "Well, mommy you can be mean sometimes so I want pappa to stay." OUCH, that hurt! But I know that in order to be a good parent you have to be "mean" sometimes...that's just the way the cookie crumbles. Did you see how I turned that around to make myself feel better...genius!
I packed up my stuff, told him to be brave and left with Aleksander. As soon as I get home and put Aleksander down Mattias calls and says he is done. Typical! Mattias informs me that they decide to glue it together vs stitches since the numbing process for applying stitches would inflict more pain than Enzo could even imagine enduring. I then go pick them up as it is pouring down rain outside and the Dr. told him that the bandage can not get wet or we would have to return to the ER and they would have to reapply. We promised Enzo that he would get a gift for a) being brave and b) to a speedy recovery. He got to get a book and a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse movie. He was thrilled. And on top of that there was McDonalds... I was hoping for a super speedy recovery.
ps.
Earlier that morning on the same day, Enzo had fallen backwards off the chaisse lounge chair in the living room bumping his head really hard, to the point that he had a goose egg. That Sunday wasn't his day. The goose egg stuck around for a solid day or so and then leaving a bruise to where it was tender to the touch for a few days and then the cut under his eye on the opposite side. Poor guy!

The First BBQ Of The Summer!

Our dear friends the Lindgrens are our go-to picnic/bbq family. They have kids in the same age as us, we've known them quite awhile...since we were pregnant with Enzo, and they are awesome people...very chill and down to earth, and they are spontaneous...like us, well as spontaneous as you can be when you have small kids.

Anywho, we had our first bbq of the summer. Well, I am not really sure what classifies something to be called a bbq, but we bbq'd burgers had our side dishes, enjoyed the summer afternoon/evening while the kids ran around and disappeared into their own world and us parents discussed the things that sat close to our hearts as well as nothing at all.

And us parents were so engulfed in what we were discussing that at one point we had to be notified that our "big" kids were playing carelessly by deeper water...oops! Totally scary. And not too long after that, well after we were done eating, one of the babies crawled over and placed both hands on the grill and tried to stand up. You know how that ended...it was heart stopping, gut wrenching, tears pouring from little Tuva's eyes. Her hands were immediately submerged in the man-made channel, which happened to be the same channel that the kids were playing over. And because God is amazing, Tuva had no blisters or any noticeable marks from that evening. Phew!

As a side note, we are super bummed that the Lindgrens are moving out of the city to surburbia and wish, wish, wish that we were going to be their new neighbors!

As another side note we are not careless parents but I guess we had a lot on our mind that evening that we lost focus for too long of a moment.

Tickle mania

Aleksander in his own little world.

Tuva and Jenny

Enzo and his BFF Emme. I see their future before me...if we were to live here until the kids were grown, Enzo and Emme would be bestfriends and either Enzo would be that brother type friend that would protect Emme from anything or anyone potentially harmful or they will end up madly in love and possibly getting married one day. That would be a fairy tale story, now wouldn't it?


After Emme telling her parents several times that she was going to marry them when she got older her mother told her that she couldn't do that and would have to marry someone her own age...and guess who she chose. None other than Enzo. See??

Aleksander wandering off...looking for new ground to explore. Don't worry I watched him crawl away the entire time. I wasn't being negligent.

Aerobics/Gympa

Every Thursday during the summer time the local gym puts on kid aerobics. It cost $1, totally affordable and loads of fun. I was a bit unsure if Enzo was going to participate, because anyone who knows my son knows that he can be apprehensive or "shy". But he was game. Parents were welcome to join the kids, which is what I did and we had a fun evening burning off energy before dinner and bedtime. Thanks Friskis o Svettis for giving us a weekly activity to burn off a little extra energy.
And of course we did with some of our friends...the more the merrier.

Nina, Emme, Emil and Enzo

Jenny holding Aleksander while I partly focus on being with Enzo and take pictures.


Don't really remember what we were supposed to be doing here but I think it is safe to say that the kids facial expressions aren't that cute.

Swinging...The High And The Low!

Aleksander loves swinging! I think all kids love swinging. When we walk by a playground and he eyes a swing he lunges with his whole body... then we make a pit stop. This kid is scaring me, he thinks he's running things. Maybe he is, sometimes. It's the attitude, the grunting, the I'm such a cute baby, the I am in fact still a baby...blah blah blah blah blah.


Here he is enjoying the swings...it's relaxing and peaceful for him. When he first starts swinging he's super happy and then he goes into this calm-peaceful state. And when he can't swing he gets pissed off like in this video.

Karlskrona: June 10th-12th

We went to Karlskrona last weekend to celebrate Noah's 6th birthday. It was the first time we saw Mattias family since before we left, so like 3 months ago. It was good for the boys to see their cousins and grandparents on the that side. They had a good time but it was a full weekend. We were all ready to get back home. As soon as we walked in the door the boys headed straight for the room and found themselves at peace there.

Aleksander eating strawberries and whipped cream at Noah's party.


Enzo and Isak jumping on the trampoline. Enzo hung out mostly with Isak who is a 1 1/2 younger than him. I think he did this partly because of the language and partly because the "bigger" kids were playing and they are used to playing with each other and Enzo is not that kid who just jumps in and join the group. He stayed on the outside and since there weren't any other kids in Isak's age, Enzo and Isak seemed to navigate towards each other.

Aleksander was naked most of the time. What better way to roam than naked?

Aleksander, Isak and Enzo...Boys and their balls.

Tried to get a group shot of the cousins but it didn't work out so well. The sun was to bright and it wasn't easy to get Aleksander to sit still.
l to r: Sam, Theo, Aleksander, Noah, Enzo and Isak

Singing happy birthday to the birthday boy Noah.

Uncle Patrik and Aleksander. Prior to this photo Patrick was going to kick a ball at me, but instead he ended up kicking the ball smak dab in the head of Aleksander who just happend to be crawling by. It looke like some Matrix move the way Aleksander flew over in the air and landed on his back. Poor thing. So, I think Patrik was trying to make up for it by cuddling with Aleksander for a moment.

All ready to go swimming.

At Farfar's house.

Peter aka Bullen and Farfar

Hair Hair Hair

I cut Aleksander's hair. Not once but twice. After having his hair sticking out every which way but the right way, especially after just waking up I decided that it needs to be trimmed. It needs some balance. The sides were long and sticking out the top was long and weighed down so it would often look flat and the back was just plain kinky, like a birds nest.

Just woke up picture. This was the length of his hair after one trim but then I realized that he needed it trimmed some more.
Side shot of the bed hair.

This was the result of the first trim. I have never cut the boys hair before. And this being my first attempt I cut my knuckles more than I cut his hair, at least it felt like that. I figure, since their hair is curly it is quite forgiving, so it's no big deal if I do it perfect or not. And there is no such thing as perfect anyway, right?

2nd trim...much better. I just cut away but I am pleased with the result. Mattias thought for sure I would regret that I cut so much off but I am quite ok with it.

His new do.

It makes his face look a bit more plump...

Silly Boy

He loves climbing onto the coffee table, well inbetween the coffee table. He also likes to rip my magazines apart. Enzo did the same thing around this age. I remember having magazines shredded but of course it was only the magazines which were not of much importance/we had already read.
Aleksander will definitely be our little climber. He loves climbing stairs. Every opportunity he gets he's on it. He loves climbing up into Enzo's lounge chair and not only does he climb he is actually good at getting down without just throwing himself down. He has skill.

Reading

He calls himself finding a book and reading, I call it making a mess! Aleksander likes to take all the books off the bookshelf. Thereafter he'll browse through a couple of books. He's too cute and therefore it makes it hard to get mad that he tears all the books down. It's just to put them back up and start all over again, right?

Enzo makes sure I know that it's Aleksander's mess and therefore Enzo is not required to clean it. Funny!

Breakfast On The Balcony, Picnic Style

We brought in our outdoor furniture, put blankets down and had breakfast picnic style on the balcony...this was per Enzo and Mattias request. It was actually quite relaxing sitting on the floor, however, Aleksander was getting into everything. That's what he does. We had waffles, cereal, yogurt, cheese and bread. It was a Swedish-American breakfast, I guess you can say.