what a party!

Lydia's 2 year birthday party....

Theme: PLAYDOUGH!

Guests: The Noren family

below are some of the highlights of the party...

But of course it all has to start off with the mandatory early morning birthday singing - in bed- of course! You can tell that we are BOTH not morning people!

Lydia's "big gift," was a play kitchen. If you come over, she will take her little plastic coffee pot and serve everyone. Good thing it is not real coffee, she refilled my cup about 10 times in one setting!

Lydia was so glad to see all her aunts and uncles and her farmor and farfar (grandma and grandpa), and this time around was quite an expert at opening her gifts.

Anything that was a toy was inspected, and anything that was clothing was cast aside...haha, typical kid!

Dinner was quite festive; I tried to make a mixture of American/Swedish fare.

The Swedes had never tasted popcorn balls or soft pretzels before, and I am SURE that most Americans have never been confronted with a smörgåstårta (savoury cake, one topped with shrimp and the other with ham and meatballs).

The pigs in a blanket were gone pretty fast, but only after several questions of why a pig would have a blanket anyway. :)

Kids at Lydia's age do clearly NOT appreciate monetary value of gifts. The high end, trendy tights were cast aside, and a second hand airplane and secondhand mouse doll were the best presents (according to Lydia).

Ha, silly kid. Here is a cute photo of Danne showing Lydia how an airplane should go....

No party is complete without a few games! Everyone had to create something out of playdough in 5 minutes, and whichever one Lydia liked the best won!

Danne just squished together something quick, while Linda made a complex baby doll complete with pacifier and buttons, and Maria tried to tempt Lydia with a playdough man holding m&m's.

But in the end, she chose Danne's simple creation and we all got a laugh.

We finished the night off with a game of pass the parcel (which included a game of simon says in the middle of it all).

Looks like we are all still pretty good and being "kids at heart."

I know that Lydia will one day want to be cool and have all her little friends around her at her birthday, but for now it is her aunts and uncles and farmor and farfar who have her heart!

Happy birthday, Lydia Noren!

Hey Baby!

We were very happy to see our baby on the way, and to know that everything is healthy so far....

BUT, I have to say that the Swedish health system sure does lack a HEART!

Clinician: This is the only ultrasound you get, I can't/won't try much to find out the sex of the kid, and we don't do things like America, so get used to it.

I don't know if i can stand NOT knowing the gender, that is somehow REALLY important for me to feel prepared, both practically and emotionally! Hmmmm.

Vi var jätte glad att ser våran liten bebis på väg, och vet att allt ser bra ut en så länge.

MEN, Jag måste säga att Svenskhälsovård saknar ett hjärta!

Tekniken- Det är den enda ultraljud du ska får, jag kan inte hitta-försök att hitta vad det är för bebisens kön, och vi är inte som USA som gör fler ultraljud eller åtminstone kolla på könen, så vänja dig vid det!

Jag vet inte om jag kan vänta utan att veta könen!! Det är på nån sätt jätte viktig för mig att känner förberedd, både på praktiskt och känslomässig sätt. Hmmmm.

On this day two years ago you were working your way out of my WOMB! What a difference two years has made!

We thought a little interview was in order, although it is in Swedish. Here is the translation:

What's your name? Lyyyydia

How old are you? Twoooo

Where do you live? Booooorg (that is her shortening of Gothenborg)

Good!

Now our only problem is to get Lydia to stop talking. :)

Favorite foods include: meatballs, canned mackerel, liverpaste, peanut butter, ketchup, tomatoes, bananas, pringles chips, chocolate (anytime!)....

Now you can...run, jump, dance, clap, shake hands, blow kisses, help with cleaning, draw and color, tell us when you need to pee/poo and usually make it to the toilet in time, sing songs like "hallelujah, praise ye the Lord," "its peanut butter jelly time," "Abiyoyo," and "happy birthday."

Usually naps one super nap a day, sometimes up to 3 hours! And on top of that you usually get a good 10-11 hours of sleep a night! Woohoo!

Weight 10 kilos / 22 pounds.

Happy Birthday Lydia, we love you!

Två år sen du var på väg utifrån mitt mage! Vilket skillnad två år har gjort i ditt liv!

Vi gjorde en liten intervju, hoppas det är roligt. Lydia säga borg istället för Göteborg, men annars gör hon bra. Nu problemet är att får henne att sluta prata!

Hennes favorit mat inkludera - köttbullar, makrill i burk, leverpastej, jordnötsmur, ketchup, tomater, bananar, pringles chips, choklad, och absolut farmors bullar.

Nu kan hon spring, hoppa, dansa, klappa, skaka händer, blåsa ett puss, hjälpa med städning, målar, säga när hon är kissnödig och för den mesta komma hon i tid till pottan!, hon gillar att sjunga, speciellt, "praise ye the Lord, halelujah", "its peanut butter jelly time" "Abiyoyo" och "Happy birthday."

Hon brukar sova en lång stund på dagarna, opp till 3 timmar, och vanligtvis 10-11 timmar på kvällen!

Hon vägar 10 kg - 22 lbs.

Grattis på födelsedagen Lydia, vi älskar dig!

our professional photographer!

Thank you, Leslie, for making some really sweet photos of our little family before we expand! Here are a few of my favorites...

Also, I am enjoying these photos from some of us "college girls" who have seriously multiplied...and are still multiplying....who knows what kind of chaos the next reunion's photos might show!

twaaaang twaaaang

Could Lydia be our up and coming musician?