Door County

Our first stop on our midwest adventure was Door County, Wisconsin. My grandfather's 90th Birthday brought everyone to Green Bay, but before we celebrated that, my parents arranged a few nights in a "cabin" in Sister Bay. We (my parents, Nae, Christina & Eric & Isaac, and Chris & I & Myrna) relaxed in a large house and explored Door County.


We basically did what you are supposed to do in a vacation town: eat at fun restaurants, golf, make s'mores on a campfire,


watch the World Cup, go boating,


play at the beach, ride bikes, and ride on funny horses.

Fun times indeed without super hot weather (it was only in the low to mid 70s) or mosquitoes.

Belated Update

July has been a busy month for us, juggling family, friends, vacation, and preparations for a move to Indiana. At the beginning of the month, Kelly and I spent a healthy chunk of time working on this project:

Our boxes acquired variously from the Episcopal Bookstore, Zumiez, and the Washington State Liquor Control Board, we found ourselves wishing we'd invested in uniform boxes, or at least spent more time playing Tetris. Myrna, meanwhile, spent some quality time with her Oma, gardening, feeding squirrels, and even visiting the elephants at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma.

From

After our boxes and furniture were finally rolling eastward, we still had a weekend left to see people and more or less relax. Among many others, we got to spend an afternoon with Douglas, Kim and Davis, which yielded this adorable photo.

From

And then we were on a plane to Wisconsin. We'll have to save stories of those adventures for another day, but there are already lots of pictures in our July Picasa gallery.

When Mom and Dad Are Not Around

Myrna is just really, really cute. More photos from a trip to the park with Grandma and Grandpa are here.

Rockin out at the Harbor Steps

For about 90 minutes on Friday the sun came out and there was no rain, and we were at the Harbor Steps to see the Maldives play at the Out to Lunch Series. Myrna's experience with rock shows is close to none, so it was a good thing that Davis showed up with her parents, Kim and Douglas, to show Myrna how it is done.


While the band played, the girls did some serious running up and down Post Alley.


But once you got caught by Dad, something like this might happen.


Or even this.

After the set, Mom and Dad schmoozed with friends we hadn't seen in ages, and Myrna and Davis compared belly buttons. But all that running had taken its toll, and Myrna was fast asleep very shortly thereafter.

Pacific Science Center

We took an outing with Opa and Oma (or "Other Grandma" as Myrna has been calling her) to the Pacific Science Center. It was Myrna's first trip there, and she had a ball. The butterfly house was a big hit:


It came as no surprise that Myrna liked the water play the best

Chris and I could impress her with our awesome bike riding skills

And the perfect end to the afternoon, was getting a hold of Mom's umbrella

Kelly's Birthday vs Father's Day

This year was the first year I had to share my Birthday with Chris's Father's Day - sure it's happened lots that Father's Day was June 19, and I shared my birthday with my dad, but I never really minded then. Thankfully Myrna was in the know this year, so when people around town wished him a "Happy Father's Day," she replied with "It's Mom's birthday!" (or more likely, "it's Kelly's birthday"). She gave us the best present she could:
A nap for us to enjoy some brunch at Blue Star cafe


Later that night, we feasted on some crab for dinner. Myrna was a little wary at first and refused to touch the crab meat I had put on her plate before we sat down. But then she saw how much fun it was to crack the crab, and she was all game for cracking and eating.


Our little girl is developing some expensive tastes (she loves scallops, eagerly slurped down oysters on the half-shell last week, and now crab) but we are happy she's such an adventurous eater. About half the time she referred to the crab as lobster, and once it was even a stegosaurus (now that would be some really expensive taste).

At gift time, Myrna was convinced that what I wanted (and needed) was a tricycle - actually Chris and I needed matching His & Her tricycles. But instead they surprised me with a picture we had admired many times in Stockholm; and if I had been smart enough, I would have known that Myrna had told me about it a few times, but I was clueless to it all.

It seemed like a good idea at the time

Twice in the last 72 hours I had these great ideas, that after I enacted them I realized that perhaps they were not the best 2.5-year-old-safe ideas.....

Exhibit A:
Here Myrna was a little miffed about there only being four cribbage pegs. My remedy? Bring out a box of matches for her (and yes, she did strike one of them on the box).

Exhibit B:

In Belgium they put cute flags in the cheese - and I just found a package of Swedish flags - Myrna will totally dig it.

20 months in Stockholm

As we're are slowly getting our stuff packed and ready to leave Stockholm, here is a little comparison of our favorite things in Stockholm.

Picture Book

One of Myrna's favorite activities is reading books, and we're happy to relive old faves from our childhood and see what the new cool books are. Seeing as Chris and I were born in the same year, you'd think we at least would have heard of each others favorites. Last summer there was huge debate over which Maurice Sendak book was better: Where the Wild Things Are or In the Night Kitchen. Both circulate into the apartment frequently, thanks to a healthy English kids book collection in Stockholm. Myrna's a fan of them all: Here she is as "Max" (at least the crown is like Max, not quite sure what the rest of the get up is).

But I was unfamiliar with Maurice Sendak's Nutshell Library, which is also now quite popular here (though that may be that our copy is cute hand sized, red, hard-cover books, which double as "cookies", as seen above on the tray).

Another favorite of Chris's that I had never heard of is Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel. The title might explain why we never crossed paths, as I never had a thing for heavy machinery. But it's a new family favorite. Mary Anne (Mike's steam shovel) has now an even more special place, as we have named a large construction apparatus near our apartment "Mary Anne." It's not quite a steam shovel, but it's pretty cool looking, you can run under it, and Myrna now constantly asks to go see "Mary Anne." On our last trip, she even took the book, so that she could match them up.


It also helps that seeing Mary Anne means walking along the water, past the awesome "mountains" ("fountains," Myrna) and past the library.


We've also done our best to see what all the Swedish kids are reading (via English translations, or attempting to depict the illustrations). We all know Myrna loves her some Bridget and Pippi, but lately she's become devoted to Mumin. She see's Moomintroll's sidekick Little My everywhere - the first was a sand mold, that actually was Little My, but I certainly hadn't spotted it. The second Little My spotting was with a cookie cutter that I believe was a bell, but you might be able to spot the resemblence.

Day One

Myrna and I are spending quite a few quality days together while Chris is in the US. Instead of pacing myself on this first day, I aimed for the most extravagant Södermalm park tour I could think of. This was partially spawned by the fact that we have had a beautifully sunny warm Easter weekend, and tomorrow the 70 degree temperature will be replaced with rain. The way too detailed (but I was going to tell Chris) chronicle is as follows:

4:00 am - a taxi picks Chris up to go to the airport.

5:00 am - I get a call from Chris regarding a surprise baggage limit (and weighing) of hand luggage, and he is forced to repack at the airport (thankfully our two checked bags were not quite 50 lbs, but there wasn't a lot of give).

5:45 am - Myrna comes shuffling in, announcing that "there is no Dad - Dad went on a trip." We try to snuggle a bit, but by 6:00 am we have relocated to the living room, where we see the "night bus" drive by.

6:30 am - We wish Grandma a Happy Easter (and postpone the inevitable cartoon watching). Myrna is very excited to tell her about "the boy and his dad who made a mess in church" giggle uncontrollably. Translation: the priest had one of the kids help him sprinkle baptismal water on the congregation. Myrna found this hysterical (and probably a bit confusing since whenever she shakes her water bottle about showering everyone we aren't so pleased).

7:00 am - I finally give in to the cartoon watching. We snuggle up on the couch for some Thomas the Tank Engine and for a minute I think we both might doze a bit. But then we get to the ending Sing-a-Long (Myrna's favorite) and it is hard to sleep when you have to replay the video every 3 minutes. Charlie and Lola is next, and the perfect excuse for me to shower and start on breakfast. I make the mistake of mentioning my plans for a picnic, and before breakfast is on the table, Myrna is informing me that it is "time to go."

9:46 am - We board a bus to Södermalm to head to the park that will eventually be our picnic site. As soon as we are off the bus, I realize it is already warm and time to shed the "spring jackets" (which is really all for the best, as Myrna's freshly washed jacket stayed sand-free).


For the next 2 hours, we enjoy the sun and the crowds of kids (Easter Monday is a holiday). Much time is spent in the sandbox, where Myrna immediately finds the watering can, and holds on to it for dear life, no matter which toy she is playing on. As much fun as digging, sliding and swinging is, the picnic is definitely the topic of conversation. As a last attempt to keep lunch until after 11, I suggest to the very tired looking girl that we get out the new skipping rope she got in her Easter basket. She really wants to be able to skip rope, but inevitably this is as far as she gets.


Noon: It is picnic time! We find grass (far enough away from the big toys and the sandbox) and spread out our blanket and Myrna is ecstatic. She quickly peels a purple Easter egg, inhales the white part, comments that it is a "great picnic" and then realizes she is not in a high chair and can instead run around, rub her hands in some dirt and then come back for a sandwich. What is there not to love about that?


12:30 pm - After the expected fuss of getting into her stroller, Myrna is out for her nap in less than five minutes, and I'm on my way to Drop Coffee for a much needed time-out. Then it is my turn for a picnic (as I didn't even try to enjoy my lunch with her).

2:00 pm - Myrna is happy to wake up in a different park, Mariatorget. After a little play, I convince her that we need to find a slide (as this park didn't have one). Miraculously the bus home happens to be starting it's engines as we pull up to the stop, so I convince Myrna that instead we need to go home to have ice cream (really not such a hard argument to win).

3:30 pm - Mango ice cream on the deck! plus seconds!


3:45 pm - A quick change of clothes and it's back outside - this time in our courtyard. Notice the (different) watering can Myrna has snagged.


We're loving the playground in our courtyard, as well as the water in front of our place and the fact that there is a playground/courtyard every three apartment buildings. If you need to look for ducks, you only have to go a few feet!


5:15 pm - I finally get Myrna back to the apartment for a bath, in which I am informed that I need to "get laptop computer and book" (two essential bath items Dad usually has). As soon as she is out of the bath, she is back on the deck coloring, and reluctantly comes inside for dinner prep, an hour later.

The rest of the evening is as usual, and I'll spare the details. Let's just say this is not a day I'll be repeating tomorrow. More pictures are, as usual, on her April Picasa page.