Fall is coming :)

Because I want to catch up on everything it's taking me forever to write a single post. So therefore, I'm not going to update on the past few months right now. I might do that at a later time.

But Elliana is now 14 months and she's been running all over the place for several months. She jabbers all day long, just wished I knew about what, cuz it must be funny the way she laughs all the time! :) She loves to take things out and then put them back.. over and over and over again! But sometimes she doesn't put them back and that's the reason half the book case is now laying next to me on the floor. (It's a small book case tho, so it's not as bad as it may sound! haha!) She'll run to grandma and grandpa when they come home from work. She calls grandpa "papa". For some reason she calls Jon "dada" or "daddy". I thought she would use the Swedish word "pappa" since the other words she knows so far are Swedish. She never ceases to amaze me. :)

Jon should get home from work any minute now, but I'll write soon again.

Take care ya'll. :)

1 year old!

Elliana turned 1 year old on July 12th, and on the 16th we celebrated her with close family and friends. I baked a cake (chocolate and raspberry inside with whipped cream and strawberries) and she got some presents. Very chill, just the way we like it. :)

Happy girl eating cake! But she didn't eat too much tho, I guess she thought it was messy to eat with her hands.. Hehe. :) She is getting so big, but still staying small in size. :)

Elliana 9 months

Our little girl is now one month older again.. So, it's time for the monthly update on her development and such.

Elliana...
-can stand without holding on to anything for a few seconds at a time
-eats solids about every other meal
-has started sleeping in her own room (we're having a trial-month)
-takes her highchair for walks (she's getting so fast with it!)
-waves and says "he-da" (=hejdå, which means bye)
-also says "titta" (look), "pappa", "mamma", "dada" and a lot of "hejhej" (hi)
-frequently escapes to farmor (grandma) if I leave the door open
-still gets into everything-found her new favorite cabinet- the napkin cabinet!
-gets really excited when I fill the bathtub
-is a little monkey
-loves knocking over her soft blocks
-is such a happy little girl who charms everyone around her

Happy 9 months our sweet little monkey!

Date night!

We went to dinner at Olive Tree and then we went to see Red Riding Hood at the movies since Jon got movie tickets for his birthday from work. Susan&Gary babysat Elliana, so we got a whole night by ourselves, so nice! Food was yummy, entertainment was good and company was excellent! :)

Elliana 8 months!

Can you believe it was 8 months ago Elliana was born? She is such a light in our lives. This is what she's been up to this month!

She...

-is crawling really fast
-has a lot of energy
-has made some breakdance moves on the floor (for real! haha!)
-always tries to eat paper
-sure talks a lot
-says ma-ma all the time
-eats solids a lot better again (puh!)
-still drinks out of her sippy cup by herself
-now reaches the top of our dressers in the livingroom
-loves her book with REAL pictures in
-doesn't like elevators
-is sleeping better and better (slept for like 9.5 hrs last night!)
-is taking a "pacifier" for the first time (which really is a nipple of a bottle)
-likes sitting in the bathtub playing with (read trying to eat) her little duckies
-"walks" by pushing her high chair around
-is trying more and more new foods (Jon gave her some pancakes this morning)
-weighs about 17lbs and I think she's 27in long
-gets into EVERYTHING (she's now found the gas fireplace..)
-makes everyone smile around her :)

Happy 8 months our sweet angel!

The Tree of Elliana

We planted a peach tree today, with Elliana's (mine?) placenta underneath it in the ground. So we call it "the Tree of Elliana". I've never planted a tree before, so that was fun!

Valetine's Day

Valentine's Day was wonderful! Jon had the day off, he started fixing our little bathroom (Brent was here to help him.) And I got my favorite Belgian chocolate and a gorgeous necklace with my birth stone! Really, it was part of an early birthday present, can't spend too much money on Valentine's Day! :P We went out for Chinese buffet for dinner. Elliana was with us and we had a good time. :)

Here's some pictures of our goofy little girl with mamma's hat. :)

Fun dinner and game with good friends

We had Lisa&Travis and Christina&Casey and Stella over for dinner. I made peanutbutter chicken with rice. Yummy as always. Afterwards we played Cranium, I LOVE that game! So much fun! Boys against girls. Somehow the boys won..? Hm.. Not sure how that happened. They must have cheated.. Haha. :P But it was fun. :)

Stella and Lisa posing for Christina who's taking a picture at the same time.

Elliana 7 months!

Can't believe Elli is six months today! Here's a little about her now..

She..
-crawls all over the place, and she's getting pretty quick
-climbs on everything
-loves standing
-usually eats solids about twice a day
-has started to fuss while eating solids (hopefully it's a short phase..)
-has been sleeping really well the last two nights (hopefully this will last!)
-gets excited when she hears Skype "call"
-loves all her grandparents
-loves paper, plastic and cords
-is so determined
-likes story time at the library
-loves being around other kids
-has the cutest laugh, I love when it comes spontaneously!
-usually becomes a stiff board when I try to put her in the car seat
-sits by herself in the shopping cart
-loves water
-explores a lot

Happy 7 months my little angel, mamma sure loves you.

Better late than never

So, a big part of why I haven't written in so long, aside from the fact that I've been over all spacy lately, is that I wanted to update everything.. To write a bunch of posts of everything that's happened in the last month, but since I keep procrastinating I'm just going to start writing again and worry about the other stuff later..

Elliana will be 7 months on Sat, it's crazy! So I'll write more about what she's been up to then. Let's just say she sure gets around nowadays. :) She's with Jon right now so I thought I'd write while I have some time for myself.

I've started studying and it's actually kinda fun.. At least when I feel like I know what and how to write and remember all the more advanced Swedish I should know.. Hehe. :) I try to get in the studying while Elli takes her nap during the day. It's working pretty good.

We're going to Sweden in May, and I'm really happy about it! Can't believe we will have been here for 2 years soon. That's a lot longer than we lived in Sweden in the beginning of our marriage. I sure do miss it. I know "home" is where my husband and daughter are, but Sweden will always be Sweden och the place where I learned how to ride a bike, fell of the back of a truck and lost both my front teeth and the place where I married the man of my life for time and all eternity. You know, all that good stuff and memories that will never leave.

My neck is hurting so I'm trying not to look to the right.. I keep forgetting. :P Good thing I have a swivel chair to help me out. :)

We got a new car seat for Elli the other day, she's getting big my little girl. She's so happy most of the time, smiling and laughing and making it worth the times she's not so happy.. ;) I wonder how you can know if you're a good parent, if you're really doing your best and what consequenses your decisions and actions will have on your child's life, now and far in the future. I hope Elli will think back on her childhood with warm feelings and happy thoughts and know that through the hard times that are always going to be there and affect you one way or another, we were happy and made the best of our life.

Well, I hear my angel say it's mommy time.. So that ends my alone time. But I will keep trying to update here more often, get back into the habit.

Thanks for your patience!

Love always, Linnéa

Our explorer

She's now getting into cabinets, and likes to play with what's in them.. I put a wooden spoon in between the handles underneath the sink so she won't get in there at least! She loves to explore!

Chicken foot and banana

We played chicken foot (a domino game) with Susan&Gary and Steven. We had a lot of fun and laughed a bunch.. :)

Mmm..banannana..Mm..bananana..

Playing with the monkey

Elliana likes her new toy, especially the monkey. She likes dancing to the music it plays too. :)