Charlie and Lola

"I have this little sister Lola. She is small. .. and very funny." And so begins our newest obsession, Charlie and Lola. On our many trips to the library we noticed that there were lots of Charlie and Lola books, and a quick internet search gave us lots of information about Lauren Child and her great creations. Lola is an energetic, imaginative little girl; Charlie is a patient and kind older brother always willing to help Lola learn and grow. The books are great and the illustrations are mixed media. Then we discovered that they made it into a tv series. What could be better than an inquisitive animated little girl? how about one that speaks in a British accent. Myrna likes it, Chris and I love it (though we haven't watched it without her, yet), we can't wait to watch them all!

The hard part was picking out just one episode for your enjoyment (it's 10 minutes well spent) and sadly this episode is missing Lola's imaginary friend Soren Lorenson.

Ayo Technology

Sometimes I wish Myrna would spend more time with her wooden blocks. She's always been one for the electronic devices, and we still try to keep them away from her (yes, she does drop the camera when she's playing with it) but they do tend to come out. It's pretty obvious when she does get a hold of them (the screaming stops) and one of the following is bound to happen:

• I suddenly have an "On the Go" playlist with one song repeated six times on my ipod
• There are new voice notes on my phone (a feature I've never had any need for)
• There are lots of photos of the ceiling on my phone
• Chris's phone is ringing (thankfully he's really the only one I call, and she likes to dial the last number called - though this weekend she did try to call NYC)
• The computer screen is on zoom and we have to consult the Help menu to figure out what 6 stroke key combination she managed to type to achieve such a feat
  

She's also a huge fan of the camera on our computers and the big mirror that the computer becomes (definitely a top selling point for me too). This weekend we really wowed her with a video skype conversation between our two macs sitting side by side.

Thankfully, she'll also become distracted by an discarded envelope, or by spinning around in a circle until she falls, only to stand up and begin again (a new favorite activity of hers) - just enough time to quickly steal back her new "toys." Then, just maybe, she'll go back to her blocks, and drop them into the subwoofer.

Picture Book

As previously mentioned, we have difficulty snapping any photos of the girl, since all she wants to do is confiscate the camera and view the old pictures of herself. The video below is proof of these endeavors - and if you look real close you can see that she is successfully advancing through the photos on the view finder.

Shrove Tuesday

This morning, as Myrna and I wandered out for a semla (a delicious adjunct to local Shrove Tuesday observances), the sun was more or less out, and the snow came down in big soapy chunks. It was pretty and, immersed in the cavernous Rhythm & Sound record playing on my headphones, I gave the camera a rare opportunity to take a couple pictures without a blurry little girl in them. This is how our neighborhood looks these days (note that there's water somewhere beneath the snow in the first picture).

Happy Valentine's Day

Myrna's blurry, but it was the one shot we got in her Valentine outfit before the pants got dirty and she rocked some crazy tights. Better camera skills would help us, but moreso we need a daughter who doesn't bee-line to the camera as soon as it comes out, and we're left with pics like this (not even the cell phone would distract her)

More recent photos of the weekend are in her February Picasa Album.

Saturday at the Bibliotek

Earlier this week Myrna and Chris had visited a new library to, among other things, check out a novel for me. As it happened it was quite the kid friendly library, and they were looking forward to returning. Wednesday morning on my ride into KTH, I started in on the book, only to realize I had actually read it before. So this Saturday Chris and Myrna took me to the Kungsholmen Bibliotek. Myrna wasn't so interested in a morning nap so we bundled on up for our outing.
Of course, she fell asleep on the 15 minute bus ride, but was happy to wake up in a place for her to play.
Lots more snapshots from the library and earlier this week are on her new February Picasa page.

What's Up with Myrna?

I realized I haven't written much about what new things Myrna has been up to. Of course she's now an expert walker (though with walking we sometimes think she has forgotten how to crawl - so maneuvering under the kitchen table can be difficult as she bonks her head if she's upright).

She's mastered the hug, and loves to give both Chris and I cuddles. She even hugs her stuffed animals, which is just adorable. She still loves electronics - she's figured out the flipping open of my cell phone and gives her (creepy) 3-tooth grin when she sucessfully get's Chris's phone to ring (thankfully that's the only number I call). Yesterday, in one of her rare "get to play with Mom's ipod" moments, she was fascinated by the fact that she could make music come out of the headphones (previously, the ipods she'd played with didn't have the headphones attached). She gets all smiley when she hears the ringing of a Skype call (and we hope it is because she's happy to see her grandparents, and not just to see herself on the computer screen). That same funny grin always pops out when she gets to help with the unloading of the dishwasher - still her favorite morning activity.

And speaking of her 3-tooth grin - that figure will soon double, as we see three more upper teeth breaking through.

Her table manners are drastically improving, and we now can give her a plate of food without her necessarily tossing it about. She still gives us this amazed smile which seems to say "really? I get to be in control of the plate?" She will challenge any of you to a Cheerio eating contest - the object being to fill your mouth with Cheerios, but only picking up one at a time, and making sure to somehow eat them before you start laughing and they fall out. She'll take the same challenge with peas. She'll gladly eat pieces of crackers - but only after defiantly throwing them on the floor at dinner and finding them on the floor the next morning.

I'm sure there is a ton more I forgetting, but I'll just leave you with this great fashion pose of her in her awesome jacket from Christina and Eric.

Café Napping

This weekend was full of café hopping. Saturday we joined the crowd at String Café for the weekend breakfast buffet. Myrna fell asleep on the way and stayed sleeping as we transported her onto her chaise lounge. Her parents got two plates full of breakfast goodies before she woke up to join in the food shoveling fun.
Sunday afternoon we visited our friends at Drop Coffee. Once again, Myrna dozed off on the bus, and put up no fuss when repositioned inside. Coffee grinders and milk steamers are lullabies to her.
She certainly isn't always napping at Drop Coffee. Sometimes she is even the special invited guest at espresso tastings, as seen in this video. Lots of new photos were added to her January photo album, and soon a February one will be up.