Not much has been happening in our neck of the woods. The weather has been so inconsistent, I don't know if it's the beginning of Fall or still Summer! Hate it!
I have been feeling absolutely lonely lately. Husband works like crazy and then it's just me and the kids. And where are my friends? Vacationing? Seems like most of us have different schedules or aren't as spontaneous as us which leaves us hanging by ourselves. Well, the Lindgrens (Emme) are back in town they are usually always game but otherwise we roll solo. Not so fun! It's times like these I wish I was in my element....home in the U S of A with my la familia!
Enzo was going to school 3 days a week since he already had his summer vacation during the Spring. But this week when he arrived at school, (side note; since a lot of kids and teachers are on vacation now they have put three classes together) his regular teachers and friends were not there...they were sick. So, he had a melt down. He stayed until it was time for me to pick him up but he informed me that he played alone all day. Poor guy! They did however go to a playground in the morning and to his surprise his friend Liam (Rosenquist family) was there with his school. He was happy to see a familiar face. I took him to school again yesterady but again it was the same thing. I felt bad for the guy but left him. Only to go and pick him up early. It broke my heart to think he was sitting and playing alone all day. Not that he has to play alone but he doesn't really take to new kids so quickly/easily. He needs ample time to warm up. He definitely got this from his father. Anyway, I picked him up and we went to the local bakery and indulged in a yummy cinnamon roll (kanelbulle). I usually don't like Swedish cinnamon rolls as they tend to be dry and sometimes lacking flavor but I swear this bakery must make the best ones by far. Mosit with butter and just the right amount of cinnamon. A hit!
Did I mention I love my boys? Big and small! It saddens me to think about the time going by and how one day little Enzo & Aleksander won't need me/us anymore, well not in the same respects as now. When he was at school yesterday the teacher asked him why he wanted to be at home. He replied " I want to be with mommy!" She said what about pappa? He replied, "No, I want to be with mommy!" He is still a mamma's boy and I love it. Sometimes of course, I need a breather but I love my sons! A lady once told me, the good thing with boys is that they will love their mama forever! Enzo tells me at least twice a day that I am his best friend. I know that will change sooner than later, so I am soaking it up for now.
Aleksander weighing in at his 1 yr old well check up.
Getting birthday kisses from Pappa!
Enzo has been in to soccer lately. We actually signed him up for soccer and floorball(innebandy) this Fall. It's once a week, on Saturdays. I think this will be a good start for him. Wish they had more organized sports like at home, I am sure he would have been participating by now. But then again who knows...he can be a little apprenhensive, but I think he is ready and this will be good for him.
Anyway, this is him as we are walking to school. He was all decked out in his Swedish uniform. Heja Sverige! Too bad they lost yesterday, Sunday would have been fun!
So, this is what my kitchen looks like most evenings, after dinner. Once I get the kids in bed I attack it. With that being shown and said, we have been considering moving, into a bigger and newer apartment. One with a dishwasher, and washer and dryer in unit. What I would give for those things...well, I wouldn't give anything as we have found some that have those ammenities but they are unfortunately not located in the right area, in my opinion. I'm a city girl and in the city is where I want to be, at least as long as we live in Sweden.
Plus a place that has a substantial courtyard for the kids would be nice. We are going to look at a place on Friday, located at the beautiful and popular West Harbour, and as you can assume a place with those ammenities increase the rent, just a little. So, it's a question of priorities...do we upgrade and improve our quality life or do we stay put and save money instead??
Aleksander practicing his walking skills, or not? He really isn't all that interested. I think he has come to the conclusion that crawling gets him around much faster. Boy, does he scrap up those knees on the gravel at the playground...ouch! But he doesn't seem to mind.
Last weekend was birthday parties galore! Enzo went to a classmates party...his first big kids party. Cool! He didn't even resist me leaving him alone. I had a great time walking him to the party and just talking about whatever was on his little heart.
In this picture we are at Enya's 1st birthday party and then on Sunday it was time for Liv's 2nd Birthday. It was a weekend full of yummy desserts!!
Aleksander was enjoying his second hot dog ever!
The kids at Enya's party. L to r. Enya, me, Aleksander, Liv and Liam.
Enzo's battle wound. Not really but here is the result after the glueing of the gash. After 3 weeks we finally removed the tape. Turned out pretty good.
Aleksander sporting his googly eyed t-shirt from Grandma! Thank you!
Brothers! Aleksander has been trying to "play" more with Enzo. They both really enjoy it. Aleksander is pretty tough so he tends to manage Enzo's rough play. It warms my heart to see and I wait with great anticiaption for more interaction between the two of them.
Call me crazy but I want a 3rd, SO BAD!!!! I feel like my family is just not complete quite yet. ttias is totally on the fence about that but I have informed him, I do most of the work anyway so it is ultimately up to me. Any arguements there?
Seizing the day! The past couple of weeks I/we have been going out on early morning strolls. When the kids wake up it's breakfast, Enzo usually choses to bring his breakfast in the stroller. Then we go on a 60-90minute walk sometimes run around the city or along the beach and west harbour! Love it, especially when the weather is acting right. This pic is taken down by the dog park heading over to the west harbour.
When Mattias starts work later then he tends to join us. It's a nice family outing.
Two weekends ago they were having an outdoor theatre of a story that Enzo really enjoys. "When Findus Was Little And Disappeared"/ "När Findus Var Liten Och Försvan" Enzo and I went and enjoyed the show. After that it was ice cream from Ben & Jerry's and playing at the playground.
The show.
Ice cream.
One day when I picked Enzo up from school he asked if he could sit in the front. I thought for a split second and then said yes, I just have turn off the air bag. Boy, was he happy! He loves it in the front. He feels so grown up. He's my sidekick. I feel bad for Aleksander chillin' in the back by himself. I told Enzo that when we are two grownups in the car he moves back to the back.
Smiling after my morning dip.
Going in. Slowly but surely.
Mattias going back in. He initially went in in just his underwear but when he put his shorts back on they got wet in all the right places...in otherwards it looked like he had peed his pants. So he decided to go back in with his shorts on, that way they were completely wet and not just in some areas. He's looking down like, " should I really do this again". 
Mattias taking a little swim.
