On the road again

This is the 2nd trip I make in the last few weeks, I don't like being away from Laura and Bjorn, the last trip was my very first time away from both since Bjorn was born over 14 months ago, it felt very strange. I am leaving in the morning, flight from Rochester to Philadelphia, then Philly to Portland, can't wait to get home! Bjorn has grown so much and is more and more interested in everything, he did pretty well with me leaving, I am not sure he understands why I am not home, but I know he loves it when I come home, I am usually greeted with a big smile every day after work, and this time I am bringing a small present, which i know he will love : - )

Laura's appt went well Monday, I had a chance to go with her before my flight, which was nice! So far everything is looking well, except her aches and pain in her lower back (ichias), her Doctor is going to try some PT for the pain, I hope that works better. 3 weeks until our trip to Sweden, I am still worried about flying across the big blue ocean with Bjorn, but I am sure it will be fine, it will be nice to get home again, almost 2.5 years since the last time, feels like a lot longer since so much has happened since then : - )

More than half way there

Back in swim class - did not like it at first...

Laura is more than half-way to the delivery day of our little girl, we have a few names picked out, and we both have a favorite name so far : - ) . Bjorn is not quite sure yet of what is going on, I hope he will be ok becoming a big brother, I know he will not like sharing his Mamma, but I think he will grow in to the role of being the big strong brother. This week was hectic, I was in Rochester, NY Sunday - Wed, came home after midnight on Tuesday, exhausted, but I did get to spend the whole day Wednesday with Bjorn, which was nice. I missed him and Laura so much while I was away, this was the very first time I have been away since he was born.



We did have a nice play date on Sunday afternoon with Bjorn's friend Mina, and we also met a new Swedish-American baby, Niklas (great name), he is 6 months old and his Mamma is from Sweden, just like Mina's Mamma. It is so cool that we meet all these Swedish people around here that have kids, it does help for Bjorn to hear Swedish other than from me. He does understand most everything I say to him in Swedish, but so far he has only said "Katt" and "Pappa" in Swedish, the rest is still English, which makes sense since he hears English all day from his gramma.

Bjorn wearing Mamma's glasses - he loves to take our glasses and run away

5 more weeks and we're going over to Sweden, I am so excited about it, it has been almost 2.5 years since the last time we were there, feels like an eternity, I can't wait to show Bjorn everything back home, and of course, take him swimming at Paradis badet, it will be nice for him to see the rest of his Swedish family, I wonder what he will think of all the food and noises, and everything around him.

Another busy week

Another week has gone by, really quickly again, Bjorn is moving around a lot, running at times, he is very shy at first when we go somewhere, like a restaurant, but after a short time, he warms up to everyone and wants to walk around and talk to everybody there, and of course, who does not want to talk to a smiling baby walking around? This week we had dinner with Per & Becky and Per's Pappa, Arne, it was very nice, Arne treated us all at Gritty's in Freeport.

This weekend the weather was a little nicer, so we were outside and played, Bjorn loves playing in the snow and he always wants to help, whether it is shoveling snow or hacking ice, or inside with cooking dinner, doing laundry, etc. Today we were down in the basement cleaning, which he loves, he loves being down there exploring everything, so while Laura and I cleaned, he was playing with a basketball. I can't wait to do something with the basement, putting up more walls, paint and rugs so we can have a nice, big play room down there, it will give us all more room to play in, we'll see when, first priority is a fence in the front yard so we can play outside and not worry about the cars.

Tomorrow is Laura's appointment when we find out what we're having, we both thought it might be a girl, but now we are not sure...but by tomorrow around 10, we will know : - )

Bjorn's surgery

This Monday was the day for Bjorn's surgery, we went to Maine Medical at 7:10 in the morning, to arrive and check in around 8, we were called in to the exam room almost immediately, thereafter Bjorn was examined by the nurse, weighed and measured (11.1 kg and 77cm), and then the anesthesiologist came and talked with us about the procedure, and finally his Dr, Dr. Jumper. Laura and I were both emotional wrecks, while Bjorn was his self, he was playing, walking up and down the halls and seemed to do very well. The most difficult part was when the nurse walked him off to surgery on a little truck, we walked with him, but did not want to see him go under anesthesia (the Doctors did not recommend it, as it is very emotional to see your own child going to sleep on the operating table), we both cried.

Then the longest wait of our lives began, from 9:35 to 11:37, when Dr. Jumper came out, he had excellent news, the surgery went very well, he found his right testicle in a hernia (a pocket inside his body), and he was able to move it down successfully. We were then walked in to recovery where Bjorn was still asleep, once he woke up he was not very happy, groggy, and confused, just as they explained he would. We were in recovery for about 2 hours, and Bjorn went in and out of sleep, drank some apple juice, but was not himself. We came home around 15:30 and he started playing a little more. By late evening he was almost 100% again, and yesterday he was full speed ahead : - ) . We are both so relieved that this is over with, I do not want to go through something like this again, it made me think of our friends who went through a much more serious surgery with their daughter, I cannot even imagine how they must have felt...

Walking & Talking

Bjorn out in the snow, loves the taste of it, hehehehe

It has been 2 weeks now since Bjorn's first birthday party, we had so much fun and he had a lot of fun playing with his friends who were here. He has started walking more and more now since he started taking a couple of steps before Christmas, now he gets up and goes, still a little wobbly, but overall better for each day. It is so much fun watching his expressions and how mobile he is, and he is saying several words now, most of them are in English, but I can hear him say "lampa" and "kopp", and I believe he understands what I say to him in Swedish, the other day when we were in the car I asked him "vart ar mossan" and he pointed down on the floor and said "daah", which could be "dar" or there, not sure yet, but he knows what frukost is, middag, bada, etc. I guess with time we will know if he can speak Swedish or not.

Trying on a shower cap

This morning we watched Saltkrakan for a little while, he loved hearing the children sing, Tjorven, Pelle, m fl. Now when we go to Sweden in April, we have to make sure to buy some more classics, such as Pippi, Emil, Madicken, and some of the other great Swedish movies.



For those of you who may now know, we are taking Bjorn over to Sweden for the very first time this April, we are staying for 10 days and I know it will be hectic visiting everyone, but while we are there, we have planned a dop for him (baptizing), so that will make for a good opportunity to meet with everyone.