Weekend with Ah Mah and Auntie Tina

Ah Mah and Auntie Tina (James's aunt) came to visit us last weekend. The boys had a fun time, and it was lovely to watch them all spend time together. (More pics to come in a separate post).

This was funny - Tina grabbed Leif's hands and started to walk with him, as you see here, and they were moving around just fine. I grabbed my camera and ran in front of them to take a picture - and Leif must have realized that it wasn't ME he was holding onto, because as soon as we saw me he burst out crying!

Mommy afternoon

James returned home from his travels late Thursday night, and Ah Mah left on Friday morning. It was great having here - she was so helpful with cooking and cleaning and shopping and baby care and anything that needed doing. I'm so glad she was able to stay with us through both of James's trips - it was the first time he's traveled since Leif was born, so it was a big adjustment for us all. The toughest part, which I hadn't anticipated, was how much August needed me every evening. By dinner time every day, he had to have me with him - which made putting Leif to bed very difficult (to say the least). Thankfully, Ah Mah handled Leif with aplomb when I had to attend to August (and of course, she handled August with aplomb when I had to attend to Leif). Thanks for helping us, Ah Mah!

In the afternoon yesterday, James stayed home with Leif while I went to school to pick up August. As it was Friday, his face was painted. He said he was a cat, and I'll take his word for it.

For reasons I've not yet discerned, James didn't leave the stroller at school when he dropped August off in the morning, so we took the bus home. August loved sitting in a seat without the stroller!

We went to the church, where there's an English-speaking playground on Friday afternoons, but it was packed and neither of us really wanted to go in. So we played outside.

Morning piggyback rides

August got a free ride from Ah Mah this morning...

Baking and painting

Yesterday afternoon, after our outing to Gamla Stan and Augie's nap, Augie got to bake with Ah Mah and paint with Baba.

Seeing the sights with Ah Mah

We went on a little excursion this morning to Gamla Stan, the old town. Augie had so much fun running around the main square and darting down the narrow alleys. It reminded us that kids don't really need fancy parks and playgrounds (though those things are very nice!) - they just need space to roam and explore. We spent most of the morning chasing him down this way and that, all while he laughed maniacally. And we finally got Ah Mah out of the kitchen for a while!

Augie in action in the main square:

Mama posing:

Constant running:

At the windy royal palace:

Augie telling Ah Mah where to go (seriously, he wanted her down):

Hanging out and waiting

We've had a lovely weekend, mostly hanging out at home and relaxing. Ah Mah took Augie to the park both Saturday and Sunday mornings, so we were able to stay home and relax - and by relax, I mean organize, rearrange, and do other baby preparations without having to chase (or be chased by) the toddler. We've had some delicious meals and nice, calm together time. It's weird to feel a comfortable sense of stasis while knowing that everything is about to be sent into chaos (but who knows when?!).

Augie really has been such a joy lately (well, he always has been). It's wondrous watching him learn and interact with others. He's repeating words all the time and putting together sentences (short sentences, like "I carry" (which means "carry me!") or "I sleep" or "Mama sleep!"), and he's picked up a couple basic Swedish words. He's learning to care for his friends - primarily his inanimate friends, like baby doll Anna, whom he feeds, brushes her teeth, puts her on my lap, and puts her to bed. Sometimes he feeds other dolls/stuffed animals that we have, or even drawings of animals in books. When he sees another child crying, he seems genuinely concerned and wants to help. We had new friends come over this afternoon, and when the little boy (19 months) came into the apartment, Augie immediately rushed to put a raisin in his mouth.

He's stopped coming into our bed in the middle of the night (well, probably until I post at this, at which point he'll start again), and has been sleeping in his bed until morning wake-up, which comes way too early (these days usually around 5:15-5:45am). Though this morning, I awoke at 5:15am to realize he was calling my name from his room, which he's never done; I went to his room and he was sitting up, waiting for me. I asked if he wanted to come to our bed, and he laid down and said, "Mama sleep." So I laid down next to him and we both went to sleep until 7 o'clock.

As always, though, I'm sure you're here for the pictures, so here they are.

Kitchen action shots:

 Augie loves red tea (rooibos) and demands to have some whenever he sees the kettle on.

And some fruit:

Laughing with Ah Mah

I picked up my iPad this morning and found these fun photos: