Jonathan, Linnéa & Elliana's Nest

Fall is coming :)

2011-09-19T21:34:00.008-04:00

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!

2011-07-16T21:46:00.004-04:00

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

2011-04-12T21:32:00.004-04:00

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!

2011-03-24T22:09:00.003-04:00

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!

2011-03-12T17:28:00.008-05:00

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

2011-03-12T17:25:00.005-05:00

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

2011-02-14T22:40:00.006-05:00

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

2011-02-12T23:32:00.002-05:00

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!

2011-02-12T23:18:00.003-05:00

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

2011-02-10T18:57:00.004-05:00

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

2011-02-07T22:28:00.002-05:00

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

2011-02-05T22:23:00.002-05:00

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

2011-02-02T21:55:00.005-05:00

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

Big girl

2011-01-26T22:59:00.001-05:00

She's such a big girl.. She can pull herself up and stand really well! And she's getting fast too!

Goofy Girl

2011-01-18T22:48:00.005-05:00

Turkey patties with oven vegatables and cottage cheese with cantalope.

Our goofy girl.. Love these photos! Haha :)

Man-date and chinese food

2011-01-17T21:47:00.006-05:00

Sat on the couch with Jon and Elli and saw that Elli didn't have any pants on. So I asked Jon if he took them off, he answered that he didn't.. So some how, she was able to take off her pants (and socks of course) all by herself! Weird!

Jon had a man-date with Brent today (they were both off work). They exercised and played the xbox for a few hours.

We went out to dinner with Brent&Chelsea after Chelsea got off work. We went to a Chinese place (Oriental House) on Woodruff Rd in Greenville. It was really good food and good service. Fried rice-yum!

Oh, I updated about Christmas. You have to scroll down to Dec 24-25 to see the posts tho!

Zucchini and chicken

2011-01-15T22:28:00.004-05:00

Sweet sweet girl!

Made grilled chicken breast with zucchini that i fried in sesame seeds and coconut flakes. I think I'll put some bread crums in there next time too, it might stick better!

Elliana 6 months!

2011-01-12T21:54:00.006-05:00

Our little brownie is turning 6 months today! Already!

She..
-eats solids usually once a day
-likes carrots, green peas and bananas the best
-is still "mommy" in the evening
-is about 15lbs and 24inches
-sits up very well
-crawls (slowly still, but forward!)
-always grabs the spoon when she eats
-loves drinking water out of a regular glass cup
-is getting very active!
-sure loves her electronics
-saying da-da a lot
-is still very loud
-still falls alseep around 9pm
-responds to her name
-is still very ticklish, especially on torso and under feet
-gets excited to talk to mormor&morfar on Skype
-is a very determind little lady

She fell asleep on her moose like this in the middle of the day.. haha. Cute girl. :) Oh, and btw, the socks are not on her feet, they belong to the moose she's laying on. Just saying.. :)

Snow!

2011-01-10T22:55:00.000-05:00

We had a snow storm here in South Carolina (Not that we would call that a snow storm in Sweden, but hey, it's not suppsoed to snow that much down here in the south..) so we went outside for a while to let Elliana experience the snow a bit.

Here's some pictures!

And here she ate sweet potatoes for the first time. She liked it. :)

New Posts..

2011-01-04T15:24:00.002-05:00

If you scroll down on the page you will see some posts that I did for earlier dates.. Just FYI. :) Elliana is sleeping right now, so I'm trying to catch up a bit! Wish me luck!

Eating squash for the first time

2010-12-30T22:49:00.001-05:00

Elliana is eating squash for the first time. Not a major hit, but she was a trooper and ate it pretty good.. :)

Finally huh..

2010-12-30T09:44:00.002-05:00

I have been horrible at writing, I know. Jon's oldest brother William and his family have been here for a couple weeks over Christmas and I haven't had that much time to update the blog. But I will write a few posts about Christmas and such and post some pictures as well. They left this morning so maybe Elliana will let me write a bit today. :)

My doll with her doll

2010-12-29T14:11:00.004-05:00

Jon got this doll for Elli for Christmas. It came in a cocoon that makes a lot of noise. She likes it. :)

2010-12-28T23:02:00.000-05:00

We went to IKEA and to look at motorcycles with William&Lesa and Susan&Gary. (Lesa is looking to buy one, so she wanted to look around a little.) It was a fun day! Here's some pictures..

Elliana is chillin at farmor while mom and dad are trying out bikes.. ;)

What do you think..?

Jon really liked this one, he looks good on it too!

Then we continued on to IKEA. Here Elliana is eating bananas for the first time. She liked it, yum!

Christmas Day

2010-12-25T23:01:00.002-05:00

We had a really nice Christmas. I made some delicious Swedish meatballs and Jansson's Temptation. Also had some pickled herring (of course) and I made knäck (a Swedish kind of caramel that we make for Christmas.. and it's not Christmas without it!) Allan&Heather and the kids came and we also had the missionaries here, so all together we were 20 people. Good thing we have a big house. :)

Christmas morning.. Mark and Raider.

Elli is cuddling with Raider. And Cory. :)

Our little Christmas Girl! :D

She got some rubber duckies.. :)

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T22:27:00.005-05:00

Santa came by on the fire truck.. :)

Reading a card from my parents I think..

Opening the first Christmas present!

Exciting..!

And of course, it goes right to her mouth..

More presents for our little angel

Socks.. Yum.

2010-12-23T22:55:00.001-05:00

She loves pulling off her socks and then chew on them.. Preferably both at the same time!

Silly girl..

Silly girl

2010-12-21T22:26:00.002-05:00

We put her down on her back in the boppy, and when we walked in a little later, this is how we found her!

Waterfalls in North Carolina

2010-12-20T22:11:00.003-05:00

Elli and I went to NC to some waterfalls with William&Lesa and the boys and Allan. We had a good time, and Elli did really good. :)

William & Lesa

2010-12-19T15:26:00.002-05:00

William (Jon's oldest brother) & Lesa and their three boys have come to spend Christmas with us. They drove here from Utah. I so want to do that some day.. It's the first time I've met them, and they seem very nice so far! :)

I gave a talk in church today about Christmas and how we can come closer to our family on Christmas. It went pretty good.

Beautiful Christmas Church Girl :)

Snuggeling with daddy before bed..

Sleeping beauty

2010-12-18T22:43:00.000-05:00

(Future) Prom Queen

2010-12-17T22:17:00.004-05:00

Rough day

2010-12-15T22:37:00.002-05:00

Poor baby is sick.. She's all congested. She didn't sleep well at all during the night, and so I didn't get much sleep. Then she was very unhappy most of the day, and it was just a very hard day. Poor girl. But now she's sleeping in her bed (snoring away..) and I hope I will be able to get some good sleep as well.

Jon put together the bookcase after work. And he brought pizza home so I wouldn't have to cook, because he knew I was having a rough day. He's sweet like that.. I sure do love him.

Craft Day Pt. 2, IKEA and hilarious video..

2010-12-14T22:49:00.006-05:00

This video is from last Thursday, we had just put her to bed.. We had a hard time not laughing very loud when she did that, several times.. Haha!

Had Craft Day Part 2 at Christina's today. We finished the ice crystals (click on it to get directions) I will put pictures up when I've decided where to hang them!

When Jon got home from work we went to IKEA. Yay! :) We got a bookcase for Elliana's room and some smaller stuff.. I always love going to IKEA. My second home.. ;)

Eat Pray Love and Chicken Sauce

2010-12-13T22:26:00.009-05:00

We were going to bake gingerbread cookies for family home evening tonight but Jon wasn't feeling well, so we're going to do it another day this week. Instead we watched a movie, "Eat Pray Love" It was kind of a weird movie..

Made my favorite Chicken Sauce with rice for dinner. Don't think I've ever put the recipe on here..

Basically you fry chicken (cut into pieces) and then you add a bunch of vegetables (The more the better, I think!)

I use..

Squash

Bell peppers

Mushrooms

Leaks

Onion

Garlic

Then you add..

Milk

Cream

Cream of chicken

Tomato paste

Concentrated orange juice

and salt & pepper

It is amazingly good!

Elliana 5 months!

2010-12-12T22:20:00.003-05:00

Our little brownie turned 5 months today!

Now she...

-likes pushing out her bottom lip and tongue all the time

-eats some rice cereal most days

-gets up in crawling position a lot

-likes tummy time a little bit more, but not by much..

-grabs things very well.. and then won't let go

-falls asleep around 9pm

-still wakes up around twice during the night

-usually fusses when I put on a long sleeve onesie

-walks forward in the walker

-has the fast flowing nipple on her bottles (which makes feeding time a lot faster!)

-still only wants mamma in the evening

-sits very well by herself

-loves writing on the computer and always wants to grab the web cam

-still chews on everything she can get a hold of

-loves touching different textures

-still doesn't open her left eye as much as the other one

Fell alseep on daddy this evening. Sweet girl.

Chocolate Dipping Class

2010-12-11T23:05:00.005-05:00

(This photo is taken by Steven)

Susan had a chocolate dipping class here for about 15 women from the ward. It was fun, and really nice to have them all here.

Here's some of the yummy chocolate I dipped..

Mamma's cutie..

Craft Day at Christina's

2010-12-10T23:46:00.003-05:00

Had to drive Jon to work at 6am so I could have the car and then Elliana and I left a little after 9 to go to Christina and Stella and have Craft Day. It was a lot of fun, and even though we didn't get done half of what we wanted, and have to have a Craft Day part 2 next week, we made some things.. This star (click on "star" to get directions for it!) is one thing I made:

I've decided to make it in red instead, to make more of an impact in the room.

Craft Shopping

2010-12-09T22:39:00.002-05:00

When Jon got home from work I took Elliana and went to Hobby Lobby and Michael's to shop for craft materials for Christina's and my craft day tomorrow. It felt like I spent hours going up and down, up and down the aisles to look for everything we needed. But hey, now I have a pretty good idea of where everything is in both stores! :P

I also bought a cute headband and flower for Elliana.. See picture above. :)

Story Time and Stuffed Bell Peppers

2010-12-08T22:52:00.007-05:00

Went over to Christina's again this morning and we finished watching Date Night before we left for the library for Story Time. It was fun! Definately need to do that again! There was this cute little boy, 9 months old, that kept coming over to us. He was just smiling and being really sweet. :)

I made stuffed bell peppers for dinner. They turned out pretty good. Jon really liked them.

I don't really have a recipe, but basically you just cut off the top and take out all the seeds and then put in your mixture of ingredients. I used what I had at home..

Ground turkey (that I cooked before putting in)
Grated cheese
Chopped spinach
Chopped green chiles
Different spices

Then you put them in the oven (350 degrees) for 45-60 minutes.

Playdate

2010-12-07T22:21:00.005-05:00

Christina and I started watching a movie today, Date Night. It's pretty good so far. We didn't have time to finish it though, because we had to leave to meet Daniela and her girls at the Haywood mall for a playdate. It was fun! Casey (Christina's hubby) stopped by for a little while. He held Elliana for a bit, and she didn't cry that much this time, so that's progress. :) It's weird how she doesn't let a lot of people hold her anymore. I really hope it's just a short phase..

Christmas Decorations..

2010-12-05T22:43:00.002-05:00

Here is some of our Christmas decorations..

I can't belive Christmas is almost here.. This year has flown by, especially the last few months! (I wonder why that is.. :P)

Christmas Party

2010-12-04T23:17:00.003-05:00

When Jon got home from work, we hurried to church for the Christmas Party. We didn't stay for long, but it was nice. Brent & Chelsea came over and we played on the Wii. It was fun and nice to just hang out.

This picture was taken a little while ago.. I was reading a Swedish book for her. I think every Swede knows which one it is. :)

Spa Night

2010-12-03T23:42:00.003-05:00

Jon's crazy girls in the morning...

Christina and I went to Daniela for a Spa Night tonight. It was really nice. Just a relaxing evening with some friends. Well needed! We had different desserts that we all had made, yum. Jon had made banana cream pie for me that I brought. He owed me that pie, since it's my favorite and he never made it for Thanksgiving.. He's sweet. :)

Our sweet Elli..

Chicken, Potato and Vegetable Bake / First Rice Cereal Feeding

2010-12-02T23:34:00.003-05:00

This was pretty yummy, if I may say so myself. :)

Ingredients
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.)
5-6 potatoes, peeled, cubed
4-5 carrots coarsely chopped
Some chopped up bell peppers
3/4 cup KRAFT Light Zesty Italian Dressing
2 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese

Make It
HEAT oven to 400°F.
PLACE chicken and vegetables in large baking dish; drizzle with dressing.
BAKE 1 hour or until chicken is done (165ºF).
SPRINKLE with cheese.

We fed Elliana some rice cereal mixed with breastmilk today for the first time. We just mixed in a little bit, so she could get used to the taste. She was grabbing the spoon and shoving it in her mouth. She was cute. :)

Sweet baby

2010-12-01T23:26:00.005-05:00

Love her little bunny jammies

VT

2010-11-30T22:37:00.003-05:00

Went Visiting Teaching today.. Always feel good after doing that! I'm glad Daniela and I were finally able to go out! Jon had a meeting at work, so basically I didn't see him all day..

Crepes

2010-11-29T22:35:00.002-05:00

Made crepes with spinach and cheese today, yum! I just used the recipe for Swedish pancakes adn then i mixed spinach and cheese, put it in the pancakes, folded them in half and put them in the oven for about 20 mins, until cheese is melted. They were really good.

Here's a simple recipe for Swedish pancakes:

Ingredients
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 pinch salt
2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions
In a large bowl, beat eggs with a wire whisk. Mix in milk, flour, sugar, salt, and melted butter.
Preheat a non-stick electric skillet to medium heat. Pour a thin layer of batter on skillet, and spread to edges. Cook on both sides until golden brown.

First Advent

2010-11-28T21:42:00.002-05:00

Jon was home sick from church today. He wasn't feeling well. We watched a Christmas movie with Susan & Gary in the evening. And of course, lit the first Advent candle, like true Swedes.. :)

Christmas lights

2010-11-27T21:41:00.006-05:00

Susan and Gary got a tree today. They started decorating it a little bit. And we now have Christmas lights on the porch. Pretty pretty lights.. :)

This has been a happy day. I feel filled with love and happinesss today.

In the evening we went and bought a few Christmas decorations. Some red little trees that I really like for example.. :)

Sleeping beauties

2010-11-26T22:51:00.000-05:00

Sleeping beauties..

Natural Baby

2010-11-26T22:45:00.005-05:00

Went with Christina and Stella to Greenville this morning to go to the opening of a store: Natural Baby. Loved it! We got a free onesie and really good sushi, yum! Then we went on a walk through downtown Greenville, it was really nice. Elliana was in the moby wrap the whole time. She's liking it a lot.

Oh, and we decorated the tree today! Fun, fun! :)

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T22:45:00.004-05:00

Had a nice day with family and good food!

Taking a break from playing with daddy

The different pies that Jon made..
Cherry, pumpkin, lemon meringue, key lime and chocolate banana.

Love, love, love fruit salad!

I am grateful for a healthy daughter and a husband that loves me and cares for me.

Meeting

2010-11-24T22:44:00.002-05:00

Drove Jon to work at 4.30 am. I had a Primary meeting at 10. Afterwards Elliana and I went to Walmart to buy some fruit for fruit salad. Then we went home and after a while we went to pick Jon up from work. We went to pick up my camera that was fixed, yay! When we got back home Jon made key lime pies. I am happy I have my camera back now! :)

Swedish Consulate

2010-11-23T22:43:00.004-05:00

We went to Atlanta, GA today to register Elliana as a Swedish citizen. The consulate woman was really nice, it felt like you've known her for a long time right away. :) She actually had us come to her home instead of the consulate because she wasn't working. She fell down the stairs and hurt her wrist really bad and that's why she wasn't working. But she was nice enough to have us come since this was the only day Jon could get off work.

Before our appointment, that was at 1pm, we went to see the Atlanta temple. It's been closed for renovations for a long time, but we got to see it from a distance. Then we went to IKEA for a little bit as well. Got some Christmas decorations and julmust. Elliana was in the moby wrap, and she really liked it.

The newest Swede.. ;)

When we got home Jon made a cherry pie. It's not a favorite of mine, but it was pretty at least! :)

Oreo Cookies..

2010-11-22T22:41:00.002-05:00

When Jon got home from work we went shopping for pies. We found some candy cane oreo cookies and decided to get that for family home evening. They were way yummy! Later at night we played the wii together, it was fun!

Stake Conference

2010-11-21T22:40:00.002-05:00

Today was stake conference and it started at 9.30 am. So for being used to start church at 12.30 it was a lot earlier. But we were there early, believe it or not. :P Jon let me take like a 2-hour nap when we got back home, it was way nice! :)

Later that day Elliana wrote a long letter (10 pages!) to mormor&morfar.. It was fun, she really enjoyed it. :)

Christmas Tree and a coat

2010-11-20T23:22:00.004-05:00

Like I told my dear friend Karin today, I am married to a man who can't let anything stay in the package as soon as it enters inside the door, and therefore I have a Christmas tree shining beside me right now. Hehe. Could be worse though. It could be decorated too! But since we left all our ornaments (well, except one..) in Sweden and didn't have a Christmas tree last year, we still haven't got any decorations for the tree. We probably have to wait to get it after Thanksgiving or I'll be forced to decorate early.. ;) (We got some candy canes for the tree, and what do you know, he put them up! But I made him take them down again.. :P)

Here is our tree.. :)

So, I fell inlove with a coat today. It was perfect, like it was made for me. And I got a really good deal on it. It was part of my shopping spree that's my Christmas gift from Jon this year. I am one happy girl. Mhm! Pictures will come later on.. It's gorgeous. ;)

Sears and Karate Kid

2010-11-19T23:03:00.004-05:00

So, we actually did some more Christmas shopping today. At Sears this time. We also watched the new Karate Kid movie. It was really good, we both enjoyed it a lot.

I am missing my camera, we have it in for service. Have had a problem with the flash for a while now (it doesn't open by it self, you have to force it up most of the time), and I wanted to get it fixed before Christmas so we took it in to Best Buy this week.

Kohl's and Quiznos

2010-11-18T22:52:00.006-05:00

Had a coupon for Quiznos that expired this week, so we decided to go there today. I love Quiznos, they have really good sandwiches. After we went there we went to Kohl's to do some Christmas shopping. It's really nice to spread it out and do it pretty far in advance so it's not so stressful in the end. That, and it's not so hard on the wallet when you spread it out, and have time to find good deals! :) And you know I love a good deal.. The clearance rack is my friend.. ;)

Yum! :)

We watched a movie today too, "Charlie St. Cloud". It was an interesting movie. Both Jon and I really liked it. Definately a movie we would recomend.

Oh, and Elliana found her feet today.. Hehe. She was laying on the changing table and grabbed a hold of them and was just staring at them and wouldn't let go. It was cute. :)

Gingerbread houses and oven pancake

2010-11-17T22:48:00.005-05:00

Made oven pancake for dinner today. It's quick and yummy. Here's the recipe:

1/2 lb. bacon (I'm not a bacon fan so I just cut up some turkey or ham..)
6 eggs
1 tsp. salt
3 c. milk
2 c. flour

-Snip bacon/meat into bite-sized pieces and spread in 9x13 pan or the bottom half of a broiler pan.
-Place in 375 F degree oven until bacon/meat is slightly crispy but not dried out. While it's baking, beat eggs until frothy.
-Add salt, milk.
-Very gradually, add flour.
-Remove bacon/meat pan from oven.
-Gently pour egg mixture over it.
-Return to oven for 30 min.
-Pancake will puff up. Serve immediately, while still puffed up.

Here's what it says on the website where I found the recipe:
Garnish with... lingonberry jam, sour cream and brown sugar or maple syrup.
For the American palate, this dish seems to fit best for breakfast or brunch, but if you've been haunting the Ikea and are looking for the too-legit-to-quit Swedish thing, serve it as an evening meal.

In the evening I went over to my friend Daniela's house where a bunch of us decorated gingerbread houses. It was way fun and so much needed with some girl time. :)

Cheesy Chicken Bake

2010-11-16T03:42:00.004-05:00

Tried making some cheesy chicken bake today. It turned out pretty good, will definitely do it again.

Here's the recipe:

6 oz Stuffing Mix for chicken
1,5 lbs boneless chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
10-14 oz of vegetables of your choice (I used broccoli, cauliflower and corn)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/5 cup milk
1,5 cup shredded cheese

-Heat oven to 400F.
-Prepare the stuffing as directed on package.
-Combine chicken and vegetables in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Stir in soup, milk -and cheese; top with stuffing.
-Bake 30 min or until chicken is done and casserole is heated through.

Enjoy! :)

Wii

2010-11-15T21:31:00.005-05:00

Because we sold the Volvo we had some extra money, and we've wanted to get a Wii for a long time. We want to use it to exercise together. So today we went to Best Buy and got one, it's our Christmas present to each other! Although Jon couldn't wait until Christmas so he already has it set up and is canoeing on the Wii as I'm writing.. ;) Hehe.

I drove Jon to work today, so Elliana and I had the car. We went to the bank and the to the Mall in Spartanburg. We went around and looked for Christmas presents and other things for hours. It was really nice, and I'm really getting into the Christmas spirit this year.

Father's Day

2010-11-14T22:22:00.006-05:00

Today is Father's Day in Sweden, so this post is dedicated to my wonderful dad. (Don't worry dad, I'll send you a translated version, so you can read it too. ;)

I have always been a daddy's girl, sometimes to my mother's dismay. ;) My first word was "pappa", which is Swedish for "daddy". I have, ever since I was a little girl, looked up to my dad. He is a great man with many good qualities. Instead of a bedtime story from a book I would always want him to tell me a story from when he was a kid and all his escapades (and there were many!)

He has taught me so much during my life, and he is still teaching me things, even though I am a grown woman with my own family and we live an ocean apart. He is a man that never gives up, and who won't back down on the things which he believes in. He is intelligent and hard working. I get a lot of my stubbornness from him (not that my mom isn't stubborn too.. ;) and that is not always a good thing, but it can be. :)

He is knowledgeable about the scriptures, and he has had many different experiences in his life that make him who he is and that I've always been fascinated with.

I know that I can always count on him, for anything and at anytime. He alwyas has and he always will be a great man in my eyes and I love him dearly.

Pappa, jag älskar dig.

Love, your daughter

Date Night!

2010-11-13T23:04:00.003-05:00

Jon got free tickets for the hockey game tonight because he was an EMT. Greenville Road Warriors played Florida. Susan offered to babysit, so we were able to have a real date night! I have wanted to go to a hockey game for quite some time now, it's so much fun! :)

I introduced the spoon to Elliana today. I want her to get used to it since we're getting closer to start feeding her solids. She liked it since it was easy to grab and chewable. :)

We got seats right behind the Greenville players

Happy couple :)

Elliana was asleep in her cirb when we got home. Such a good girl.

Elliana 4 months!

2010-11-12T22:57:00.012-05:00

Today our little girl is 4 months old. She's growing so fast. On the other hand I can barely remember what life was like before she was born.. Life would just not be the same without mommy's silly monkey, our little brownie in it. She really is a sweet girl!

At 4 months she:

-rolls over every once in a while
-walks, mostly backwards, but also sideways and very rarely forward in her walker
-still smiles a lot
-is ticklish
-has a really cute laugh
-is really happy in the mornings
-only wants mamma a lot of evenings
-eats a lot (I counted how much she ate in 24 hours yesterday.. 37,5 oz.)
-has a really loud voice
-is liking the moby wrap. Never had much luck with a regular sling.
-always knows where the camera or phone is
-likes talking to mormor & morfar on Skype
-is very interested in what mom and dad are eating and drinking
-falls asleep around 8-9pm
-usually wakes up once during the night and then in the early morning
-loves standing up
-about doubled her birth weight
-is liking tummy time a bit more
-is still not a big fan of the baby gym
-has a new favorite toy: a toy key chain
-is very focused
-holds her head up very sturdy, which she has for a long time now
-likes playing with her tounge
-loves chewing on things, especially her hands and her blankets
-usually likes having her diaper changed
-likes it when daddy plays the guitar
-sleeps in her own crib, in mom and dad's room
-is loved by so many people, both family and friends and often complimented by strangers!

Happy 4 months our precious little girl!

Meat loaf

2010-11-11T22:40:00.003-05:00

Used the recipe for turkey patties and made meat loaf today. Put it in for an hour in the oven. It turned out pretty good. Served it with mashed potatoes. I usually put garlic and ranch dressing seasoning in my potatoes. It's yummy.

Since the time change Elliana has been going to bed earlier. today she fell asleep at 8pm. I just hope she doesn't wake up too early now..

We recently watched "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time". It was a good movie! We both liked it a lot.

Taco Pie

2010-11-10T21:23:00.009-05:00

Made Taco Pie for dinner today. Yummy! One of my favorites.
Forgot to take a picture again.. Sorry.

Here's the recipe:

Taco Pie (8 people)

Pie crust
2 1/4 flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2,5 oz butter
3/4 cup milk

Filling
1,4 lbs ground meat
Taco seasoning
1/2 chopped onion
Some water
1 medium jar of sour cream
6 chopped tomatoes
4 tbs mayo
1 cup grated cheese
Salt & Pepper

-Mix the ingredients for the pie crust, make it into a smooth dough and then put into two pie dishes. Peck with a fork.

-Pre-cook it in the oven on 480 F for about 5 minutes.

-Fry the meat, seasoning, onion and water. Then put the meat in the pie dishes.

-Mix the rest of the ingredients and then pour over the meat. And some extra cheese if you want.

-Cook in middle of the oven on 440 F for about 15 minutes.

Hanging out on the porch in the beautiful weather

Moby Wrap and layoffs

2010-11-09T23:22:00.004-05:00

Jon went in early today, and he got off pretty early as well. He found out yesterday that they've had layoffs at his work. Several people were let go. Budget cuts. But he still has a job. We are so grateful!

We went grocery shopping at night.

Snuggeling in the Moby Wrap :)

Fire pit and steak dinner

2010-11-08T23:23:00.008-05:00

Brent was here for several hours helping Jon clean up in the yard after the tree. They also made a fire pit. Sweet! On one of their breaks we went to a big yard sale near by. Got some pyjamas for Elliana and some board games. Good stuff, love yard sales! Afterwards they kept working for a couple hours or so, then Brent went home for a while and then came back with Chelsea when she got off work. The guys made steak, oven potatoes and sauteed vegetables. Yummy! They need to cook more often. :)

Fire pit!

Love..

My sweet angels

SMILE!

Hanging out with aunt Chelsea.. :)

Brent & Jon playing guitar and banjo.. ("Keep paddling, I hear banjos..!")

Pretty fire..

Sicklings. Photoshoot.

2010-11-07T21:53:00.008-05:00

We weren't feeling well today either, so we stayed home from church. In the afternoon we needed some air, so we decided to go outside for a little bit, which turned in to a photoshoot...

My angels..

Beautiful in black and white..

Hiding in the tree..

Our beautiful girl. Love this picture.

She loves standing up

One last picture for the day...

Tree is gone

2010-11-06T22:35:00.004-04:00

Been taking it easy today since we're sick. Well, Jon hasen't taking it easy, he's been taking out the tree in the yard.. The result:

Sick family..

2010-11-05T21:57:00.005-04:00

So, we're all sick now! Elliana is doing better though, so that's good. My throat has been hurting all day, been really tired and my nose is stuffy. Yuck, don't like being sick. Elliana and I were going to hang out Christina & Stella today, so bummed that weren't able to!

Elliana didn't want to sleep by herself last night, she kept waking up and crying and wouldn't let me put her in her crib, so she ended up sleeping on my arm. At least we got some hours of sleep.

During the day we got a nap in though, yay! She actually slept for almost a couple hours, which like never happens! When Jon got home we just took it easy. We watched a movie, played with Elliana and then talked to Ma Bell. (Our dear friend from Cali.)

Elliana just fell asleep by herself in her crib. Usually she falls asleep in our arms while we're feeding her, so it's good to know that she's able to fall asleep (without crying!) by herself. She's such a good girl!

Well, hope we feel better tomorrow so we can get some stuff done when Jon's finally off work. Jon is taking out a tree in the yard.. It's going kinda slow because he dosen't have much time. And there's a long list of other things we need to get done as well. So, now we're off to bed. Good night ya'll!

Still sick. Good food.

2010-11-04T21:27:00.005-04:00

Since Elliana is still a bit sick I've been trying to keep her warm, she looks really cute in her little hat.. :)

For dinner today I made spaghetti with a sauce containing:
ground turkey
chopped spinach
cream of mushroom
milk (and a little cream)
salt, pepper and some chili powder

It was really good.

She was awake for a while longer than usual today, hopefully that means I get to sleep longer during this night. :)

Sickling and peanut butter chicken

2010-11-03T23:25:00.004-04:00

Poor baby has a bit of a cold. Not much of a fever, but congested. She's been pretty happy despite of it though. She's a lil trooper. :) Sorry for the lack of pictures the last few days, I'll get on it tomorrow!

Made a favorite for dinner today: Peanut butter chicken. It's amazingly yummy. Don't really have a recipe for it, but this is what I have in it:

Chicken (cut into little pieces, cook and then put in sauce)
Peanut butter
Milk
Lemon juice
Soy sauce
Salt & pepper and maybe some other spices depending on my mood
Today I also had orange juice in it, it was really good!

Serve it with rice and your vegetable of choice, and voila, you have a really yummy dinner!

Sister missionaries

2010-11-02T04:56:00.005-04:00

We have sister missionaries in our ward now, and they were over for dinner today. One of them is from Utah, and the other one from India. It's really nice to have sisters, haven't had that since I was a little girl in Skövde.

We called the Swedish consulate in Atlanta, Georgia today to set up an appointment for Elliana to be registered as a Swedish citizen. We're going down there on the 23rd. She'll be the first in the family who has dual citizenship.. Our little swedican!

Garden

2010-11-01T22:34:00.006-04:00

For FHE today we talked about miracles and then we discussed what we want to plant in our garden for next year. Some things we want to do are spinach, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, broccoli, spaghetti squash and cauliflower. Jon's project is going to be watermelon and pumpkin. We'll see how it all turns out. My parents have always don a lot of gardening, but I have never done it by myself. It's time to learn! We have been talking about how we want to become more self sufficient, and this is one of the things we feel we should do.

I made the turkey patties again today, and this time I put some Swedish whole-grain mustard and feta cheese in it. It was good!

Primary Sacrament Meeting Presentation

2010-10-31T21:53:00.002-04:00

We actually got some trick or treaters today! Yay! My first ones! :)

At church the Primary kids had their programme at sacrament meeting. They did so well! Didn't even seem nervous! And they sang great! A lot of people were impressed, and not just parents.. Hehe. :) I haven't been in Primary long, but I'm liking it more and more each Sunday.

Elliana has learned to make "fart sounds" with her tounge out.. Which results in spit all over the place.. But I have myself to blame, since I have been doing it for a while. I couldn't help myself, she thought it was so funny she laughed all the time! So cute. And another new thing is sucking on her bottom lip all the time.
She loves sleeping on her tummy, she's been doing that for several weeks now.

Halloween..

2010-10-30T23:59:00.003-04:00

Here's some pictures from the day. It's funny when you take pictures of Elliana, she knows exactly where the camera is.. Such a mommy's girl. :)

In the evening we put her in her little Halloween dress. She was so cute.

..Even gorillas choose Nike..

This is Jon in Brent's costume by the way..

Can't say I was thrilled about kissing that... :P

Chelsea's too cute..! They're having a boy! :)

We didn't have any trick or treaters come by the house, which was sad. We watched a movie with Brent & Chelsea, How to train a Dragon. Way good movie I must say! :) "Thanks for nothing you useless reptile.." Hahaha!

Broccoli Pie

2010-10-29T21:39:00.004-04:00

Drove Jon to work in the morning and then Elliana and I went grocery shopping. We got back around 10. Later in the day we went for a walk with Christina & Stella. Always fun to hang out! After they left I made dinner, Broccoli Pie. I totally forgot to take a picture, but here is one from where I found the recipe.

Broccoli Pie

For 3-4 people

1 (12 ounce) bag thawed broccoli florets (I thought that was too much, so I used less.)
1/4 cup of chopped onion
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup Bisquick biscuit mix *
3/4 cup milk
1 dash pepper

*Substitutions: 1/2 cup biscuit mix = 1/2 cup flour + 3/4 tsp baking powder + 1/4 tsp salt + 1/2 tbsp shortening (I used vegetable oil)

1 Thaw broccoli crowns in a 9" pie plate, layer with onions and then cheese.
2 In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, Bisquick and pepper, beat together well.
3 Pour mixture over broccoli in a spiral motion (otherwise it may take too long to cook in the middle).
4 Bake for 25-35 minutes at 400F (a knife poked into the middle should come out clean).

IKEA

2010-10-28T23:04:00.002-04:00

Elliana has been kind of needy today so I didn't get a lot done. But we talked to my mom on skype for a while, and then we went out for a walk. After Susan and Gary came home from work we went with them to IKEA. (Jon was still at work.) We didn't buy anything except for some Ballerina cookies, but it's always fun to go there. I can pretend I'm home in Sweden.. and everyting is just really cheap! ;)

Turkey patties with vegetable puree

2010-10-27T21:27:00.009-04:00

Drove Jon to work this morning since I needed the car. He started at 4am. Good thing I'm now used to being up at all hours of the night.. Hehe. Had a Primary Precidency Meeting in the afternoon and then I went home and made dinner. I made turkey patties with cauliflower/broccoli puree. It was really good. It's a Swedish recipe, but I'll try and translate as best as I can.. :)

For 4 people

Cauliflower/Broccoli Puree:
1 Broccoli
1 Cauliflower
about 1/4 cup sour cream
Some whipping cream
Salt & Peppar
(Jon also had cheese in his)

Turkey Patties:
1/2 chopped onion (It calls for yellow, but I like red better)
1 grinded carrot (I would use two, unless it's huge..)
400 gram ground turkey (You can buy it really cheap at Aldi! I think it's like $1.38/lbs We've bought a bunch!)
1/4 cup sour cream
Some grated cheese
1 egg
Salt & Peppar

To make the puree you just boil the vegetables until soft and mix it in a mixer with a little bit of the water and whipping cream and then add the sour cream and spices.

For the patties you just mix everything together and fry them for about 3-4 minutes on each side.

I really liked it, and it's really healthy too. Not many carbs in it, for the one who cares about that! :)

Eye Appointment

2010-10-25T21:18:00.003-04:00

Jervey Eye Group in Greenville

Had an eye appointment for Elliana today to check her right eye that still doesn't open as wide as the left one. She had a clogged tear duct when she was born, but even after it cleared up she wouldn't open the eye fully. It has improved a little bit lately, but we wanted it checked out just in case. If it is ptosis, for example, it's important to catch it early so you know the vision is developing correctly in both eyes. But the doctor said everything looked good right now. We're going back in three months to check it again. We're happy that everything looked good, I have been a little worried from time to time.

My handsome, amazing hubby. The beard is coming off by the way.. It may look good, but it sure doesn't feel good! :P

Dinner at Allan & Heather's

2010-10-24T20:11:00.005-04:00

After church we went to Allan & Heather for dinner to celebrate Gary's birthday. We had yummy lasagna and cake and key lime pie for dessert. We had leave early to go to the doctor's office. The doctor cut it open a bit and drained it out.. He is such a good doctor, we are very happy with him. Taking time out of his Sunday to take care of us, amazing.

It looks a lot better than it did! The swelling has gone down significantly.

Our happy little girl! :)

Jon is feeding her right now. She's about ready to go to sleep. It's after 9pm, so it's her bedtime. We'll see when she wakes up the first time this night.. It has been around 2am lately. So unless I go to bed early I'm pretty tired.. Anyways, take care!

Blessingways and Trunk or treat

2010-10-23T23:10:00.009-04:00

Drove Jon to work early today, he started at 4:30am. Went back to sleep when we got home. In the early afternoon we went out again. First we stopped by Jon's work to give him some Ibuprofen. Then we went to Earth Fare where they had Blessingways (A gathering of new and expectant Families.). Holly, a girl from our birthing class, was there to share her birth story. They had a home birth just like us, and their daughter Ariana is just a few weeks younger than Elliana. She is really cute. And it was so fun to get to see Caryn and Jackie again! Truly two amazing individuals.

Sorry about the bad quality of the picture, but here is Caryn with Elliana!

When I was done at Earth Fare it was time to pick up Jon from work (the station is like 2 minutes away from Earth Fare.) And then we went to Trader Joe's. Bliss. I was so happy there, even though it was crowded. I have really missed this store. Organic food for reasonable prices. Oh yea, that's what I'm talking about. Oh, and I finally got my Mochi. It is amazing. One of the best desserts ever to be made on this earth, for real. It is really good. I got hooked on it in California.

We went home and got ready to go to our old ward's Trunk or Treat at the church. It was fun, and I got some pictures of Elliana and I. Jon still has a bit of a swollen face, so he was behind the camera instead! He is feeling a bit better though. At like 8 o'clock tonight he gets a call from our doctor wondering how he's doing and if he needs him to take care of it tomorrow (aka cut it open and stuff..) Now, that's good service! I can't believe he took the time on a Sat night to check on him, and offering to come on a Sunday to fix him up. Amazing.

Here is at the church. I am wearing a way too big cowboy hat, but hey, it works.. Hehe. And Elliana in her cute little dress! :)

And here is Brent, aka monkey man too.. :)

And Chelsea by their car when they were trunk or treating..

Afterwards we went to Brent & Chelsea and chilled for a while. Elliana had fun on the floor. :) My camera battery was dead, so I had to use my phone and the light wasn't the greatest, but she's cute anyways. :)

And here she is rolling over.. hehe. She's so funny. :)

Trader Joe's

2010-10-22T21:21:00.004-04:00

Trader Joe's opened in Greenville today. We were going to go, but since Jon wasn't feeling well we'll have to go another day. Maybe I'll go with Elliana tomorrow while Jon is at work. I need to drive him to work since I need the car anyways.. Even though he starts really early. Which means I'm going to bed as soon as I'm done here!

Elliana and I went for a walk today, it was such nice weather. She's not a big fan of the sun though. She gets very irritated when it shines in her eyes. She's got sensitive eyes like her mom.

Anyways, time to go to bed. Good night ya'll.

Doctor's Appointment

2010-10-21T22:59:00.004-04:00

Jon was off today because he had a doctor's appointment. He's had a bump at the top of his nose for a couple of years now, and a few days ago it started hurting. He kinda popped it a bit and the next morning it was all swollen and it has just kept getting worse. It takes him about 20 minutes to get his eye open in the morning. Poor thing. So we went to Dr. Stafford today and he got some antibiotics and pain medication. That should take care of the inflammation, but if it doesn't get better by tomorrow he needs to go back to the doctor.

We really like Dr. Stafford. He's a family doctor, so we all go to him. I was there when I had mastitis after Elliana was born for example. Elliana has been there twice, once for immunizations. Today was the first time Jon has been there. For anyone living in the area, we can certainly recommend him.

Chewing..

2010-10-20T21:15:00.003-04:00

Elliana rolled over again today. She does it every once in a while.

When I switched out some laundry today I sat her down on the bed and when I got back she had gotten on her tummy and had her head really high up and looking around, happy as can be. That was a first! She usually doesn't like tummy time at all, she just gets frustrated with it! (She is so like her mamma, gets frustrated when there's something she can't do, or do right..)

Always chewing on something..!

When Jon got home he exclaimed: "You make such a good home!"

That made my day.

Murder Mystery Dinner

2010-10-19T22:00:00.003-04:00

It felt really good to exercise today. It was so nice outside too, I had the door open while I was exercising, so Elliana was sitting in her swing looking out. The missionaries were here for dinner. We had pizza. In the evening Susan and I (and Elliana tagged along as well :) went to Relief Society for a Murder Mystery Dinner. It was fun. While we were eating Eliana was doing motions with her mouth as if she was eating too. Cutie. :)

Don't know if I've put up pictures of our bedroom in a while. This is what it looks like now.

From the other side..

And Elliana was waiting patiently in the walker while I took the pictures.. Cutiepie. :)

Chicken Enchillada Casserole Recipe

2010-10-18T19:58:00.002-04:00

Jon was off today and he worked a lot on the floor in the long room. It is almost done, just a tiny bit left! His back has been out for a while now, and he was finally able to go to the chiropractor today. He feels a lot better now!

Haha, she looks so funny in her walker :)

Praying and singing at the same time?

Yummy food..!

Here comes the recipe:

Chicken Enchillada Casserole

3-4 pound chicken, baked and diced
16 oz sour cream
1 can cream of chicken chicken
8 oz green chiles, shopped
8-10 flour tortillas, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup onion, chopped
3-4 cups cheese, shredded

Combine the sour cream, green chiles and cream of chicken. In a 9 x 1 inch baking dish put a thin layer of sauce, then a layer of tortillas. Add a thin layer of sauce followed by the diced chicken. Sprinkle with onions and cover with cheese. Add another layer of tortillas, cover with remaining sauce, onions and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from oven and then you can garnish with chopped green onions and or sliced black olives if you want.

Calm Sunday

2010-10-17T22:41:00.003-04:00

Elliana was awake during most of church, but she did really well. We've had a calm day, it's been nice.

Eating time Friday night..

Being on daddy's shoulders can be loads of fun.. :)

Whaz up? :)

Addison's First Birthday Party

2010-10-16T23:39:00.003-04:00

Addison turned 1 today, and we went there for her Birthday Party!

Looks like Elliana has lipstick on.. hehe.

Melissa, Addison's mom, is so creative! Here's the dessert, different cookies and cupckaes. So cute!

Got milk?

We carpooled with Der. She's a lot of fun to be around!

Proud parents with the Birthday girl and her first cake. Cute cute.. :)

Yum! :)

It was a lot of fun at the party! When we got home Jon was laying the floor in the long room. It's now 2/3 done. It's starting to look really good! Allan & Heather and the kids came by for a while too. After that I cleaned and folded laundry and things like that.

Elliana is such a people person, she loves looking at and interacting with other people. It's fun to see. She often shares her smiling and happy face, and make others smile by doing so. :)

Elliana laughs while mommy sings

2010-10-15T22:37:00.007-04:00

This is from yesterday actually. Elliana apparently thought it was a funny song I was singing. :)

I uploaded some pictures from my phone today.. Here they are..

This is our little American girl :)

cute cute.. :)

Just chillin' on the couch

This one I took today when we were hanging out with Christina & Stella. We were going out for a walk. It was quite chilly out this morning, but it warmed up after a little while and it became a real nice day. It's always fun to hang out them, always have a good time together!

Tonight Elliana has been throwing up like crazy.. Not sure why. She doesn't seem sick in any other way.. She did eat a lot earlier today tho. She hasn't been sleeping as well the last few nights. She has been waking up more often, and a lot earlier. Last night I didn't get much sleep at all because I went to bed late and then she kept me up a lot. So, therefor I am tired and going to bed.. Good night ya'll!

Pizza and more organizing

2010-10-14T23:56:00.003-04:00

Made tortilla pizzas for dinner. It was good. When Jon got home he helped his parents to put some more flooring in. We got half of the long room done now. :) I'm almost done organizing all the boxes too, yay! Jon still has two bigger ones to go thru tho.

I sure see similarities.. :) But she has a rounder head, like Jon and she has his chin I think.. But we'll see what she grows into. :)

Well, time to go to bed. Taking Jon to work tomorrow.

Shopping and organizing

2010-10-13T23:22:00.002-04:00

Dropped off Jon at work at 9am and then Elliana and I went shopping for a few hours. Went to Babies R Us and got a Halloween outfit (a cute black and orange dress with a pumpkin on..) I'll take pictures when she has it on. Also got some other things. We went to a thrift store in Greenville where I found a pair of black Sunday shoes for me and pyjamas for Elliana. I haven't found a lot of thrift stores here that I like. Basically this one is the only one I like. I miss Erikshjälpen..

So, there's this German store here called Aldi, which is basically the same as Lidl. Pretty funny. :) It looks the same and it's just as cheap.

After we picked up Jon again, we went home and brought down some boxes from upstairs and started going thru (read: I started going thru while Jon was watching TV and helping me every once in a while to figure out what do with something.. ;) Starting to fill those dressers.. feels good! I love organizing!

I like to always have a picture with the blog post, so this is a picture of some frames we have hanging in the livingroom.

Dressers and loud noices

2010-10-12T21:30:00.004-04:00

Put together the two dressers we got from IKEA yesterday. It's so nice to finally have some storage in the livingroom! We put them under the windows, behind the couch. It's so nice to get everything together, feels more and more like a home.

Elliana is still liking to hear her voice.. a lot!

IKEA

2010-10-11T22:41:00.002-04:00

Drove Jon to work this morning since I needed the car. Read scriptures on our way there, it was really nice. Elliana and I took a little nap when we got back home and then we started our day. I finally remembered to exercise in the morning, really need to get started on that again. I was doing so good during the pregnancy, exercising 4-5 times a week. It feels so good to get going and start your day in that way, I have missed it.

Jon got off pretty early, so we went to pick him up and then we went to IKEA. We got some dressers we're going to use for storage in the livingroom and some other small stuff. Got some glögg and julmust to start stocking up for Christmas.. Hehe. :)

Elliana is still liking to hear her own voice.. loud and clear! But now she's sleeping soundly in her crib. When she lays on her tummy she pulls her legs up and curves into a ball with her little butt sticking up, it's really cute. :)

Well, time to go to bed. Good night ya'll!

Eggrolls with the O'Driscolls

2010-10-10T23:05:00.002-04:00

After church Allan & Heather and the kids came by and we made eggrolls.

Gary got to wear the pretty apron.. ;)

Elliana slept peacefully (for a little while..) in her swing

Tha food..! :)

Fall for Greenville

2010-10-09T23:58:00.005-04:00

Ready to go have some fun!

She fell asleep in the car and kept sleeping for a long time while we walked around. She even slept through loud music.. That's our little girl! :)

And then she woke up, and was happy as can be! :)

We had a good time too. :)

We met up with Brent & Chelsea. We tried some different foods (that's really what Fall for Greenville is all about..) We had some really good fried rice and shrimp and steak from MiMi's Japanese Steakhouse. It was yummy!

Afterwards we went over to Brent & Chelsea's place. Elliana was on the carpet having a good time (Did I mention she found her voice the other day, and has been happily loud ever since?!) and she started rolling back and forth from her back to her tummy! :)

She's growng up so fast, we sure love our little girl. She lights up our world. I mean, who can resist that big smile of hers? (Just have another look at the pictures above.. :)

Chicken Enchilladas and cloth diapers

2010-10-08T22:20:00.003-04:00

..precious girl..

Elliana and I went up around 8 this morning. Not much out of the ordinary happened. More laundry.. Talked to my mom for a while as usual, always nice. Elliana barely slept at all. She woke up at 3 in the morning the first time. A bit earlier than she has for a little while, but hey, I'm lucky she's sleeping so good so I'm not complaining. :)

She's been wearing her cloth diapers all day today, she only wear disposables at night or when we're going out for a longer period of time. I like it. Diapers costs a lot, so it's nice to able to use the cloth ones. Saving money is always at the top of our list!

I made chicken enchilladas for dinner today. First time, got the recipe from Susan. It was really easy to make, and it turned out well. Jon really liked it. It was a little bit spicier than I usually make food, so he was happy about that.. Haha! ;)

Elliana is sleeping in her swing next to me.. I'm gonna go put her in her crib and go read a little before bed.

Adios amigos.