Relaxing

Ahhh. We've arrived.

It finally feels like it, at least.

We had friends come over on Friday and they were magnificent with helping us move furniture, watch Augie and vacuum as we went. And the result is that we have a layout we can live with. There's still a lot to do - we're going to swap bedrooms once we buy a new bed (our backs are killing us!) - especially when our things arrive in a few weeks, but we're comfortable enough now that we can relax a little.

This is Augie's new bedroom (remember his old one?):

It's a big room for a little boy, and it takes a lot of space that we could use in other ways, but there's just no way we can have him in that little dark cell anymore. And he has definitely relaxed - yesterday was the shortest bedtime we've had (since overcoming jet lag) and tonight was the first scream-free bedtime we've had! As soon as our bedtime routine began last night, everything just felt different - he was so much happier, so much more relaxed, better able to understand what was happening and what was expected of him (go to sleep!).

Baba also finds it relaxing:

Today we went to Ikea (reputedly the largest in the world) to look at beds and rugs and curtains and all the other things one goes to Ikea to look at. We were hoping to get a king-sized bed, but that's not a standard size here and they didn't have anything as large as we wanted. We're going to need a lot of space for all those babies sleeping in our bed! And we ran into one of Augie's old preschool teachers while we were there! Remember when he went to preschool a few days per week when we were here last winter? I saw her and thought she looked familiar, but then thought, I don't really know anyone in Stockholm so I can't know her, but then James saw her and figured it out immediately. She seemed thrilled to see Augie. She lives nearby, so we're going to try to get in touch with her.

I took a big nap after we got home, as I was utterly exhausted (I could use a 2-hour nap each day just to feel normal - this baby's taking it all out of me). Before dinner we went for a stroll through the neighborhood:

Augie was hilarious at dinner - I gave him a bowl of frozen peas, and he'd hold each one up before putting it in his mouth, waiting for me to name it. "Pea!" I'd say, then he'd grin and put it in his mouth. Over and over and over again.

I forgot to tell you that yesterday we went on a tour of Augie's new preschool, where he still start on August 29. It's about a 15-minute walk from here (also a bus that goes right there). We were really impressed. His age group there is called the Trolls, and he'll be in the green group. We liked the layout, the light, the rooms, the teacher we met, and they serve 60-70% organic food! We know it will be a difficult transition for him, but we are really excited about this place and think it will be great for him. They speak Swedish there, but because almost everyone speaks English they'll be able to communicate with him until he understands Swedish.

That's all. Hope you're having a great weekend.