Week 7 - known across most of the country as winter break - is upon us, and instead of travelling south to the Alps for some skiing, we travelled west - and north. 

We just returned home from an excursion around the lovely 'vestjylland' (west Jutland) to visit a few different family members. As per usual, it is great to get out, but it is even better to return home. The Danish saying rings more true now than ever, when we travel around with Little Dude -- "Ude godt men hjemme bedst".

Little Dude was on his very best behavior (as always, of course). He charmed his sick old great-grandmother (as well as his grandmother and his aunt) with his bubbly little laugh and insanely adorable smile. It really shouldn't surprise us anymore though, that he acts exactly the same when we are out as when we are home. He really is just my little miracle baby. 

It is nice though, to return home to your own bed, and to spend a saturday morning with LD lounging on the couch, a hot pot of coffee, and 'Mads og Monopolet' on the radio.

Don't get me wrong, having a baby is the most magical, fantastic thing that has ever happened to me.
But even so, even though Little Dude is perhaps the 'easiest' baby ever, it is still hard.

It is hard...
...to have your sleep interrupted on a daily basis, even though Little Dude is a good sleeper and has been since the start.
... to not have 'me time' to read a book, surf the internet, watch a TV show, etc. etc.
... to love someone so much, and at times just want a day off from being a mom
... to let go of control, to let the house be messy at times, to not be be able to plan your day
... to be tired all the time
... to feel guilty for sometimes wanting a day off

in the year 2011

We entered the year 2011 with a sweet, sweet secret: We were expecting a baby. Affectionately nicknamed 'Little Dude' by Sofie. 

The first few months of 2011 were hectic, exciting, and stressful. We were busy looking for a bigger apartment, figuring out financials, taking exams, getting ready to move, and of course worrying about Little Dude. Hoping for a healthy baby. Wondering if we would be good parents.

On February 14th we moved into the small apartment that would be our temporary home. On the same day we signed the paperwork for our 'big' apartment. We had our first ultrasound scan, that showed a healthy baby. We started telling everyone outside of our families.

Spring went by fast, with school and doctors visits, getting ready to move. 

In April we became Aunt and Uncle.

We found out that we were expecting a boy.

And of course we moved into our new apartment.

In june, we attended a beautiful wedding in Vejle. 

In July, my belly grew bigger and bigger... we tried to enjoy the summer, even though we weren't able to travel much. Boy completed a half-iron man.

In August - we were relieved to have gone full-term with Little Dude. My cousins threw me a baby shower. We were 'faddere' (-godparents -ish) for our beautiful niece. I turned 24 - impatiently awaiting the arrival of Little Dude. Boy started his internship.

On September 2, my water broke, and on September 4th we became parents! I was in labor gthe entire time Erin was getting married.... although Little Dude did not endup sharing his birthday with their anniversary. We were also lucky enough to have my mother visit us at the end of September. 

In October, we had our anniversary, boy had a birthday, and little dude had a babysitter for the first time.

In November, we celebrated Mortens Aften for the first time. We also celebrated a very Danish Thanksgiving, complete with a duck, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, coleslaw, and pumpkin pie. 

In December, my family came to visit. We had our first christmas as a new, young family. 

We entered 2012 full of hope for another exciting, beautiful year - although we do hope (secretly) that it will not be quite as eventful as 2011.

Happy New Year everyone

oh baby....

Say it isn't so!!!

Picture screencapped from http://www.duggarfamily.com/content/twenty

'Tigerspring'

The last few days, Little Dude has been 'fussy.'

'Fussy' for Little Dude is actually quite calm compared to the stories I hear from other parents, but it is still heartbreaking for him to be unhappy and not be able to help him. He doesn't scream, but he seems restless and seeks comfort. He has also been a good sleeper for about 3 weeks - but last night he woke up every 3 hours and was hungry and needed some cuddle time.

A little internet research showed me that LD is just in time for his 8 week tigerspring.

I've done some reading on Tigerspring before, but never memorized them or read that much into it. But it is remarkable that he is this on time and pretty much fits the description right on the dot.

He has slowly started to notice that he has hands and that he can actually control those odd things at the end of his arms. It also seems that he is making more conscious noises - 'talking' on purpose.

There are a few of the things I already noticed a while ago: such as the way he has purposely been turning his head toward noises (especially our voices) and he has noticed and been fascinated by shadows on the wall or moving objects.

He is easily overstimulated, but also seems to be quite content and entertained for a long time when he is 'playing' or looking at his toys. But suddenly he gets angry with them and needs comfort.

Weekly Roundup

It's been two weeks since I rounded up a week, so here it is again. A two-week round up, I suppose. So, what happened in the past two weeks? I'm not sure I remember, but let's give it a go.

• The most beautiful wedding, a beautiful weekend, fun parties, cute babies, gorgeous bride, happy couple. Last weekend was just about perfect. Saturday morning we went to Vejle to celebrate a wedding at Hotel Comwell. After an outdoor ceremony by the water, there was a festive brunch with the nearest family, complete with some traditional speeches, but still very lowkey. We then checked into a different hotel downtown and had some time to relax and change before the evening party. Here, we celebrated with the happy couple and about 25 of their closest friends.
• The weather was hot and humid and sunny, which was fun for the most part, except for the whole part where it was hot as balls.
• Two visits from mother-in-law, one visit from newly wed sister-in-law, baby-bonding time over the weekend.
• Continued the tradition of sleeping a whole lot. Baking a baby is hard work. Apparently
• My second trip to the midwife, where everything looked just fine and Dandy. My uterus measurement (? - symfyse mål) is still slightly bigger than average. Little Dude was estimated at about 1200 gr, which is within normal range but slightly under average - making me even more convinced that he will probably be long and skinny, just like has daddy (PLEASE let him have those good genes from his dad - tall and skinny!)
• The dreaded glucose testing! (read more here)

Weekly Roundup

Selections of what I did this week

• Slept a whole lot - baking a baby inside you is tiring
• Had a girls night at my house to watch the Paradise Hotel finale
• Saw Elias Ehlers do standup at Reciprokken - friday bar at the technical school - He was funny
• Saw my adorable beyond words nieces and their parents.
• Finally got to try out the playground by our house (I've been waiting for kids to visit us - I thought it would be slightly creepy if I played there by myself...)

I'm an Auntie!

Since I expect my own sister to make me wait several years to become a "real aunt" (you better be waiting several years!) I have very willingly adopted the title of Aunt to my boyfriends little niece. This week, we became the proud Uncle and Aunt to another beautiful little girl!

We're very excited to meet little "K" this today and to see little "I" in the role of big sister. And we're even more excited to see them both in the role of cousins to our own little dude come late summer (although they actually have cousins on their mothers side as well).

Baby Lyla!

This beautiful baby is Lyla Sage. Her mother is my friend Tiffany.
The first picture is taken at age: 1 day
The next two are from when she was about 12 hours old.