Winter ups and downs

This morning, I was thinking that it was time to tell you that it seems like things have lightened up a bit, that it's getting a bit easier for us, that we've started to figure out Leif's routine and things are going well.

And then today happened.

Today, Leif woke up at 5:15, Augie at 5:45; Leif wouldn't nap; Augie stepped on Leif's face; Augie barely napped; we had a wonderful outdoor sledding adventure while snow fell all around us, and then Augie cried most of the way home and we had to carry him; Leif didn't nap most of the time we were out and melted down when we got home; and as usual, Augie just never stopped moving. Leif had been mostly putting himself to sleep for naps and bedtime, but today we spent hours with him, helping him calm down. We are both so utterly exhausted right now.

But watching this lightens my heart at least a little bit:



Oh, and Augie peed in his potty 5-6 times today! He's started taking his little boy undies off when he needs to go (at first he would just pee in them). He doesn't like to wear diapers anymore (he's not night potty trained, and sometimes when we go out we're gone for hours, so we feel much safer having him in a diaper while we're out.

On the happiest part of today, we finally found our ideal neighborhood! We'd given up hope that it might exist anywhere near Stockholm, but Gamla Enskede is only 15 minutes from city center via the tube and is as lovely and neighborhoody and quaint as we'd hoped for. Of course, we can't afford anything there, but it's nice to know the place exists.

A giant sledding hill in the area:

Captain Chaos

We've come up with new nicknames for the kiddos: Major Dumpling and Captain Chaos. Can you guess which is which?

Here are some action shots of Captain Chaos.

When I picked him up at dagis on Tuesday:

This was posted at child's eyesight level on a door at dagis. It says, "Count the poop! How many poops has Roffe pooped?" I talked with one of the teachers a few weeks ago, and she said that the kids love talking about poop!

Sledding!

We each went down with him once, then sent him on his own. He loves sledding; too bad the snow has all melted now.

And a video of him fooling around when I picked him up at dagis:

Winter swinging

We went to see four open houses this weekend. That may seem like no big deal to you, but keep in mind that apartments are open for one hour on Sunday and then maybe another 30 minutes on Monday evening (though one of the ones we went to was on Saturday). Seeing three open houses, even if they're in the same neighborhood, in one hour is both difficult and stressful. Did I mention that it was below freezing and we were walking through blizzard conditions?

Augie was essentially strapped into his stroller for a few hours each day, which we hate doing (but I'm pretty sure that's the main strategy behind Swedish baby-raising), and he was a great sport. We got him out to play on the swings at one point. I loved having Augie lying on top of me, and he loved being on the swing. His little face was just inches from me and he laughed, and his little belly pushed into mind. Oh, moments like that are the best.

Another fantastic klämrisk sign from an elevator at one of the apartments we looked at: