Liam Talking

In December Liam started to "talk" in his own individual way. See for yourself :)

Now it's Christmas

Our Christmas tree is up, there is no snow, but it’s cold outside, so now it’s Christmas 2008. We are having an easy relaxing Christmas at home this year. The girls are at their mums and we are celebrating with Liam, who will be 12 week old. As you can see, he’s got the Christmas spirit and has dressed-up as one of Santa’s helpers. One of his presents is a little baby carrot, which he’s able to hold and chew for short periods of time. We’ve eaten Christmas dinner, a turkey with all the trimmings, with our friends Martin and Lotta. We have also been out for walks in the park, as its sunny most days. Will post some more photos soon.

The great escape

Liam is now 10 weeks old and is “talking” more and more. If you sit with him, get his attention and start talking to him, he quite soon starts talking back to you. His talking is mainly varying tones of cooing and gooing, with some bubble blowing and squeaks thrown in, but he takes it very seriously and puts a lot of effort into it. He has also made an interesting discovery over the last week, his hands! He’s started to hold them up in front of his face and study them moving, although in a some what random manner. It’s a bit early to say for sure, but it seems he is doing this with his left hand more than his right. It will be interesting to see if this is any indication that he might become left handed when he’s grown-up.
While Caroline is breastfeeding, we have his cot in our bedroom next to our bed. I had taken away the side of his cot when I put it together, so that it would be easier to lift him over to our bed in the night. The other day I put him into his cot lying on his front, tucked him in and then pushed the cot up to the side of our bed as usual. I tucked our bedding between our mattress and the cot and left him to sleep. A few hours later we could hear him waking up with some small cries. I went into the bedroom to get him and when I got to the cot, he wasn’t there! He had managed to escape! He had never moved before, but for the first time he had managed to move, by rolling over on one side. He had rolled out of his cot and was now on his back on our bedding between the two beds. This new trick was obviously aided by the soft bedding and his heavy head. I immediately replaced the side of his cot and for the time being, our little Houdini is confined to his cot when sleeping.

Now we are 6

In the week that Liam turned 6 weeks old, the weather here in Stockholm also turned, as it did in most of Europe. Temperatures dropped and by Friday night the snow had started and by Saturday morning we had 20cm of snow on the ground. Our morning view from the kitchen was transformed to one of winter. “Yippee snow” said Liam. Well that’s what he would have said if he could talk, and if he actually knew what snow was, which I doubt he does. Caroline’s friend Andrea from Cologne was staying with us for the weekend, so she also had a pleasant surprise when she woke up on Saturday morning. We drove to Djurgården and went to a gallery to see an exhibition of Swedish art from around the 1900’s. Liam is into art too. He spends a lot of time looking at Caroline’s paintings in our flat. By the way he studies them and the look on his face, I’m not sure he fully understands them yet. Anyway, he was quite interested in the paintings in the gallery, at least until the 3rd room, when he fell asleep. Art can be very tiring sometimes. The adults enjoyed all the paintings and stayed awake. We then all went on to a well known café next to the gallery for lunch. The snow picture below is taken in the garden, with Liam in the baby carrier. Now 6 weeks old, Liam started smiling in a big way. He really enjoys looking into your face and then he smiles and makes small cooing noises, which is his way of talking. Sometimes he can tell a whole story!

First snow of the year

Liam Smiles

Hi there!

It's me, Liam :-)
Today, I'm 3 weeks and 3 days old.
Life has been pretty interesting so far, it's so different to where I was before, I can tell you that! Every day, I experience something new.
Everybody says that I'm so small, but when I stretch my arms and legs I'm quite long already.
I have a nice pram where I like to sleep, especially on the balcony. Sometimes, Mummy takes me out with the pram too. I've even been on the bus already into town - exciting, all the sounds and even more to look at!
But I also like to be at home and to take it easy. My favourite pastime is studying things, like the whales on the wall in my room or Mrs Cow who is sitting next to me on the changing table. Sometimes I try to talk to her, but she still seems a bit shy.
Another favourite pastime of mine is having a lie-in in the mornings, especially with Mum and Daddy next to me. Also quite cool is my bath in the evenings that I have in a little bucket called Tummy Tub. In there, I can almost sit on my own!
That's it for now, I'm tired after this entry.
See you soon!

So big!

Lie-in with Daddy

Me and Mrs Cow

Splashing around in Tummy tub

Napping in my pram

Almost 2 weeks old

Liam is soon two weeks old and we are taking every opportunity to catch him with the camera while he is still so small and cute. He’s a very happy and peaceful baby, who’s rarely upset. This makes him quite easy to photograph.

42+0 baby Liam is born

After visiting our midwife, Diane, on Monday morning, there was just one day to go before Caroline would be 2 weeks overdue. Not that this is the end of the world, but it’s the point in time when you need to start having checkups every day and deciding if the birth needs to be induced.
As it turned out, we didn’t have to worry about this. Caroline started to have some contractions on Monday evening at around 8 o’clock. They were about 20min apart from the start and not strong. We were able to go to bed and we both slept until Caroline woke again at 1:30 in the night. By then the contractions were strong enough keep her awake, but still only 15 to 20min apart. We moved into the living room and half slept between contractions for the rest of the night on the mattress on the living room floor. At least I did anyway, I think Caroline was awake for most of the time.
I called the midwife and we agreed she would come to our flat later in the afternoon. By 11 am the contractions were more intense and coming every 10min. I called Diane to update her and she arrived soon after at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. She checked Caroline, who was already 5cm dilated by this time. We then started the serious business of helping Caroline dealing with ever more regular and painful contractions. Caroline was great and managed really well. We moved around the flat and stood, sat and leaned in various positions to help her cope with the contractions. Serious pain relief isn’t an option with a home birth, but Diane helped Caroline with good advice and a little acupuncture. Caroline had also some homeopathic medicine to help her. We were getting quite tired, but she was making good progress and at 10 pm Caroline’s waters broke. By now we were in the bathroom with the mattress and a good selection of towels. The final push started at 10:45 and went quite quickly. Soon the top of the baby’s head could be seen and two more pushes were enough to deliver a baby boy into the hands of Diane. Liam had arrived into the world Partus Normalis at 23:05 on the 7th October and cried out immediately.
Diane and I looked on as Liam suckled up to Caroline and we all sighed with relief that everything had gone well. Liam weighed 3950g and was 51 cm long. After just 22min he was at the breast for his first feed. Diane administered some necessary stitches and Caroline moved to our bed with Liam. Diane then wrote up her notes and completed the birth registration. An hour later she was on her way home, leaving Caroline, Liam and I to settle down for our first nights sleep together.



This was an incredible 24 hours, and all the credit goes to Caroline, who was fantastic throughout. Now the fun begins :) and we are both very happy and looking forward to enjoying Liam grow up.

41+6

No we haven’t forgotten to let you know… were still waiting for this little boy to come out as well. So be patient, we will be posting some news as soon as we have something to report!

40+2

Now the due date has gone by without the baby showing up. Of course, nothing unusual, but anyway it feels strange, that this date, that had been so far away for such a long time, has actually passed by.
I've started painting last week! After more than a year, I'm back on the canvas. Literally a prescription of my midwife, to get more in the tune of "letting go".
The tummy pictures are two weeks old. Some of you might recognise the icebear... doesn't it look very small next to this enormous bump?

Hannah to Manchester

Today Hannah left for her University in Manchester. She’s been planning her trip for months and now she’s on her way. We all went to the airport with her to see her off, along with her big bags. She’s was taking as much as she could and allowed to by the airline. She will be living in University accommodation for her first year, so I hope she will have space for her things.

Week 38

Caro is now in her 38th week and it shows as you can see. These dungarees have been put to good use over the past weeks; however I think Caro will soon be pleased to put them at the back of the wardrobe. The baby is very active and we can feel him moving and kicking most of the time.
Even though the summer hasn’t always been so warm, our balcony has been looking quite colourful this year. The temperature is now dropping during the days, so there aren’t so many chances to be out on the balcony anymore.

Our Wedding Day - Part2

After the picnic in the park, we all walked back to our flat. We were then collected by the car, which was a suitable size to fit all of us in, in one go! Yes a stretch limo! Great fun! Marion’s son David, called it a “big Swedish Taxi”. We enjoyed the smooth and stylish comfort of the drive into the city, to the restaurant where we would have dinner. This was called “Wedholms Fisk”, which is a classic fish restaurant in the centre of Stockholm. The dinner was served in their Chambre separé, a separate room which allowed us to take the evening at our own pace. The four course dinner included a selection fish dishes which were all extremely tasty. The service was great and the staff went out of their way to ensure we had a memorable occasion, which we did. Both of us had a fantastic day. The wedding, the picnic and the dinner all went according to plan and in just the way we had hoped they would, creating a wedding day we will remember.
A big thank you to everyone!

Honeymoon

A week away in a cosy, little cottage by the sea, just what we wanted for after the wedding!
We left on the Saturday, 19th, took it easy with the driving and stopped for a night in a hostel at lake Vänern, nearby Lidköping.
We arrived in Stockevik, a tiny place on the island Skaftö on the Swedish west coast during the day on Sunday and were very pleased to see our lovely cottage. It was located a bit further up on the rocks with a beautiful view over the sea and an island opposite. We could basically sit there on our veranda all day long, enjoying the sun, the air and the view and watching all the boats floating by.


Although we were driving through some heavy rain on the way, it cleared up from Sunday on and got warmer every day. We spent all day outside and it was warm enough to sit outside until late in the evening. Towards the end of the week, the temperature climbed up to 30° degrees in the shade during the day!! Almost to much for my pregnant state, but the owners of the cottage offered us to use their pool, so that we could cool down every now and again :-)

We took it very easy that week, read a few books, struggled with some advanced sudokus and just relaxed in the sun.
We did some trips to the other small villages on Skaftö - Fiskebäckskil, Grundsund and Rågårdsvik - all quite small places with pretty houses and cottages and a little marina full of boats from different countries.



On Sunday we drove down to Gothenburg, which was only 100 km away. We booked a hostel there, a bit outside the centre, that used to be a mental institution. In fact, it was a bit of a weird place, but ok anyway.
We got to see a bit of Gothenburg, which is quite different to Stockholm. Not only regarding location and size, but also regarding atmosphere and the people. Gothenburg seemed to be even more multicultural. I quite liked it, especially the huge harbour and the big long green park in the centre.
As I couldn't walk too much, we did a very touristy thing and took one of the "paddan" - a boat trip through the Canal and the harbour of Gothenburg. It went under 20 bridges - one of them so low that everybody had to get on the floor! - what was quite fun and interesting.

On Wednesday we drove back to Stockholm, with a stop for a swim in lake Vättern on the way.
It was a happy and very laid-back honeymoon and we both really enjoyed it!
The west coast is beautiful and I'm glad I got to see a bit more of Sweden.

Our Wedding Day - Part 1

So it finally arrived, the 16th of July, the day we were to get married. Despite the poor forecast, the sun was shining when we woke up and so one of our concerns was solved right away. We had breakfast with Marion, Caroline’s good friend from Germany and her five year old son David. They arrived a few days earlier from Cologne and had been checking out Stockholm with Caroline. I drove to collect the flowers and did some errands together with David, while Caroline got ready at home. At one o’clock, Hannah and Emma arrived and then Caroline and I set off to walk to the park to meet up with the photographer, Alicia. We found her on the net via her web site that had some great pictures which we both liked immediately, so we had chosen her just a few weeks before the wedding. We spent about an hour in the park with Alicia photographing us in different settings. She was very easy to work with and her relaxed style made us very as ease. Just before three o’clock we met up with Hannah and Emma, who had come together with Martin and his wife Lotta. Martin is a good friend from Sweden who I have worked with and known for many years. Finally Elizabeth arrived, the official who would be holding the ceremony, and everything was ready.

The short service was held in “Ekotemplet” or Echo-Temple, which is a classical park pavilion, built by the Swedish King, Gustav III in the 1800’s. Before we exchanged rings, Caroline and I read our personal vows to each other, which made the ceremony more personal and special for us. It was a perfect location and together with our witnesses Marion and Martin, with Lotta, Hannah and Emma and the sunny park in the background, we couldn’t have wished for a better wedding.

After the ceremony, we had a champagne picnic in the park. We spread out some blankets and served Eton mess, a strawberry, whipped cream and meringue dessert, which made a perfect complement to the champagne. It was really very enjoyable sitting there in the sun and enjoying the day and the company of our guests.

The pictures here we taken by us during the day.
You can see some of Alicia’s photographs on her blog...
http://aliciaswedenborg.blogspot.com/2008/07/caroline-richard.html

Visit from Germany

Caroline’s brother, Florian, visited us this weekend from Germany. It’s the 1st time he has been here to visit us in Sweden, so it was good to see him here. He arrived on Thursday evening, after missing his original Wednesday flight due to a delayed train. We spent the weekend with him and showing him some of Stockholm. This included a long bike ride around the city, Södermalm and even Hammarby Sjöstad, where we called in on Aaron and Ann for a BBQ. I can’t believe that Caro managed to cycle so far in her pregnant state, but she did. We drove out to Waxholm on Sunday with him and Hannah and had a fika in the sun.

Florian also had with him the new Camera that Caroline has bought in Germany online for our wedding present to ourselves. Its great, a Canon EOS 450D. So now we can start getting to know how it works and perhaps even improve the quality of the pictures on the blog.

It’s now only a week and a bit before our wedding (on the 16th) and we are busy with all the plans. We are both looking forward to it very much, we just have to hope for good weather.

Thanks for coming to see us Florian.
Look out for a wedding entry soon :)

Weekend in Kiel

With a customer in need of a visit and some friends living in the same place, we set off for Kiel for the weekend. This would be the last chance for a flight together before Caroline is too pregnant to fly. We took a cheep Ryanair flight from Skavsta to Lübeck on Saturday afternoon (on time for a change) and we arrive in Germany an hour later. In to collect a neat little hire car, program the navigation system and off we drive to Kiel. Anika and Daniel and their two little girls live in a lovely little old house in Kiel. We had a really nice day on Sunday, despite the threat of poor weather. The sun came out and we all went for a walk and ate an ice cream on the beach while the children played. In the evening Daniel cooked on the BBQ, but as it was much cooler in the evening, we ate inside. I worked on the Monday and we flew home in the evening, getting home in time to see the last Group B match in the EURO 2008, Germany v Austria, which they won.

25 Weeks

Caroline is now in week 25 of her pregnancy and today we visited our midwife again for a regular check-up. We discussed some of the options with her for the birth and we will visit the hospital where she works in the next week, to see how things look there. The baby is generally moving around quite a lot and doing lots of kicking. The midwife checked the baby’s size, which was normal, and the current position. The baby had its head up today. I was also able to listen to the baby’s heart beat for the first time… that was cool. Caroline is happy and dealing well with the pregnancy so far and that feels good.

Business in Asia

Flight out of Stockholm on Saturday evening; switch planes in Zurich and then on to Singapore. I stayed at a work colleagues place in Singapore and its hot as usual. We immediately take a few beers down to the pool and I have the chance to catch-up with Olle on the state of business in Asia, as well as update him on all the gossip from work. Train business takes me to Singapore and we spend the day on Monday meeting the local metro operator and playing with their trains. Lunch, then on to the airport for a flight to Hong Kong. I catch a minibus to the Chinese border and get there just in time to cross into Shenzhen before they close it at midnight. I pass through immigration with no hitch with my tourist visa… big relief. Check-in to the hotel, meet Gang and then watch the snooker final on late night TV… yes, O’Sullivan wins, great.
Shenzhen is just busy work meetings and then again on to the airport for a flight to Beijing. I realise during the 3 hour flight that dispite the fact I’ve been to China several times, this is the first time I’m visiting the capital. I have just 2 days to squeeze in 5 meetings, including a visit to the Transportation research department at Beijing University. After the last meeting, we get time to leave the taxi and walk in Tiananmen Square, the iconic centre of this sprawling city. Mao’s portrait is looking down at me as we walk past the entrance to the Forbidden City, as if to remind me of this modern cities communist past. Some good Chinese food for dinner and then a last look at the city at night. The next day I’m flying to Germany to meet up with Caroline in Köln for a long weekend and her birthday.

First Baby Movie

This is a short film of the 2nd Ultrasound Scan :)

Were expecting a baby!

I’m very happy to say we are expecting a baby this year. This is something we were discussing and planning for at the end of last year, so we were both very excited to have this confirmed in January. Actually we performed the pregnancy test on the 31 January while travelling in Asia. We were in Vietnam and had quite an amusing day getting help from a local girl, who explained in Vietnamese to the young girl in the chemist what we wanted. The test showed positive, as Caroline had suspected and what great news. We did one more test to be sure, and with a second positive result we were sure. The immediate down side was that Caroline began almost immediately feeling off her food and this quickly developed into morning sickness.

Caroline is now 17 weeks into the pregnancy and doing very well. The sickness period seems to be over and she’s feeling fine, although quite tired most days. We went for the 17 week ultra-scan on Monday this week and everything was looking fine. It was a great experience to see our little baby on the screen, see its heart beating and everything all in place. We have an updated expected delivery date, which is now the 24th of September. We shall have to wait and see if it decides to arrive on time!

Bangkok and Home

After a great week in Siem Reap, we travelled over land by bus back to Bangkok. As everyone had advised us, this would be the worst bus trip in the world... and it was. We squeezed onto a crummy old bus, which was full to the brim with unsuspecting backpackers and the isle filled with all our rucksacks. The road on the Cambodian side of the border is hardly ever more than a dirt road with pot holes the size of small cars! We were met by a new guide at the boarder with Thailand and changed the bus for an air-conditioned mini bus. Luxury! Now even the road was tarmac’d and the drive on to Bangkok was very comfortable by comparison. We stayed in a hostel in Bangkok near Kao San Road and spent the last day doing some shopping in the markets. It was the end of our six week trip, and I was not so feeling so well with a fever and Caro was off her food. We took a taxi to the airport and at the SAS check-in, negotiated an upgrade to business class for our return flight to Stockholm. As we were both feeling tired and exhausted, the large reclining seats made the flight much more comfortable and we managed to sleep some of the way home.
So that was our 6 weeks in Asia, a very successful trip and a real adventure at times. So many sights, scents, people and places to remember. We enjoyed travelling together and are looking forward to our next journey, whenever that may be.

Bayon Temple

Perhaps one of the most impressive temples in the Angkor area is Bayon. The site is dominated by complex temple made of towers with large stone faces which face in all four directions. The central part, which is higher on a 2nd layer, is a complex 8 sided tower which rises above the surrounding faces. The place is so unbelievably awe-inspiring that I had to return again on our 3rd day to take some more pictures in the softer light of the late afternoon.