Lydia has learned to roll over...the first video is a test run, and the second one is the real thing! first time all on her own! i guess this means no more laying her down on the sofa...

superbaby hard at work....

Lydia has outdone herself again with wonderous and amazing feats! This time she has managed to magically move her pacifier from her mouth (when she was falling asleep) to THE TOP OF HER HEAD while still sleeping! We came upon her in this special position, and just couldn't resist a photo of our sweet little girl.

Bet you cant do that. 

Side note, pacifiers, are they good or bad?  

They have been lifesavers for getting kids to sleep quickly, but as a wise sister in law discussed with me, why teach a kid a habit that you know you will have to break them from later? 

the newest trend?

Here is what happens when I am tired and silly. Lydia is a bit embarrased that her mom has put a diaper (clean) on her head! I think she looks a bit like a little pilgrim baby.

(Afternote:  This has been funny through 5 babies, and somehow siblings find it hilarious to put a diaper on someones head. Give it a try. :)  ) . 

New Friends

Lydia has some new friends... Ok, i know the little girl looks terrified, but she's just not used to the camera flash. What I really want to point out is those gorgeous big eyes and fabulous long eyelashes! I plan to visit these kiddos a LOT, because Lydia and that little baby girl there love to drool, stare, and occasionally smile at each other, and the little boy loves to give kisses to Lydia. So sweet.

happiness

Yes, it is hard to get a good shot of a happy baby, because it usually includes a lot of wiggling on behalf of the baby.

Lydia got caught in the act of squealing with delight at her dad, who was saying all sorts of ridiculous things to her and deserved it.

I do have to say though, this kind of happiness is definitely contagious.

practical joke with chicken and worn cheese?

What a TERRIBLE english translation on a box of lasagna noodles i bought... (i added the bold type, but the rest is exactly as it stands on the box!) Preparation: cook the chicken in the water and the perfumed milk of laurel. Remove it from the fire and bone it. Filter the liquid of cooking and add some milk to obtain 50 cl form it. Cut the chicken in small fragments. Put back it on the fire, add the crushed garlic, the fresh cream, and cook on soft fire durin 5 mn. Add salt and pepper, make gild onions in the butter. Add mushrooms and make them some minutes return. Prepare a rather liquid bechamel sauce. Butter a dish of furnace; Pay a fine layer of practical joke with chicken, a thickness of lasagne then a practical joke in mushrooms and finally a layer of bechamel sauce. Superimpose the remainder of the ingredients in this manner. Finish by the bechamel sauce, strew with worn cheese. Recover of aluminium foil and cook in the furnace during 45 mn. A true delight. Good appetite.

fun swedish-american style

What to do for fun in a little village in Sweden (where we were over christmas)?

Well, you could make an 11 foot snowman for one thing...

but I enjoyed pulling the swedes in for a game of twister. Ramy owns the game (I bet he practices when he's alone), so he won most of the time.

Daniel and his friends decided to sabatoge him and bump him off the map (the twister map, that is).

Here is a photo of the Americans showing how it should be done!

Downtime...

Everybody needs to relax sometimes... especially with our full visit in Sweden. ps. note the fur bag by my head that we tucked Lydia into when she went outside; it was COLD!

(Afternote:  those bags, which i now know as ÅKPÅSAR are an amazing aspect of Swedish life.  Throw a mini sleeping bag on your kid and off you go, in snow and rain, and your kid in a stroller is as snug as a bug.) 

Ice Skating!

On my last day in Sweden, Daniel took care of Lydia and we decided to test the ice and were the first ones to go ice skating out on that section of the lake.... Thick ice, fun with Frida and Ramy, and we made the first tracks, like painting on a white canvas....grrrrreat!

Skating on the lake is a must-try out in the Swedish countryside if you get a chance....followed by a warm thermos of blueberry or rosehip soup. mmmm.