Happy Haloween

Anna welcomed many trick-or-treaters tonight to our house. It was the first haloween in this house so we didn't know how many kids to expect - there were lots! Luckily I had bought quite a bit of candy as I'd rather have too much than run out...

Tonight we headed over to Mike and Heidi's for a little while before they headed out to join some more friends for the night. Heidi always has the best costumes, and this year was no exception. Anna couldn't quite figure out what she was looking at.

Career Research Part 2

After visiting daddy's office and checking out the construction business last week, Anna wanted to go down to the Port offices today to see what that was like, and to see if working with the environment might be something for her. So, she sat in on an important meeting and then went around the office meeting people and asking them questions. I think she might be interested!

Last Midwife Appointment

It was sad to have to say goodbye to our midwife today when we had our last appointment. Beth has been so fantastic and really helped to make my pregnancy, Anna's delivery, and the first few weeks of parenthood even better. Anna has put on a whopping 21.5 ounces since our last appointment, which was 21 days ago! She now weighs 10 pounds 9.5 ounces. She's working on making those chubby cheeks even chubbier...

Lynn with the Girls (and 2 wee boys)...

Anna and I headed back over to the north shore today, for a hike in Lynn Valley. Ann and baby Graeme and Christy and baby Gavin joined us. Christy and her husband Mike were in the same prenatal class as us, and she was due on the same day as me. Gavin was born on the 15th of September. Graeme was the big kid of the group as he's turning 6 months on Thursday.

Sea Wall

We hear that the never ending rains are about to begin in a couple of days, so Anna and I made sure to get out for a long walk today. We met up with Tanya and spent a couple of hours in the sunshine on the sea wall. It's these kind of fall days that I imagine enticed my parents to stay in Canada way back when they were scheduled to move back to Sweden.

Grattis Farfar!

Ja, må han leva,
Ja, må han leva,
Ja, må han leva uti hundrade år!
Ja visst ska han leva,
Ja visst ska han leva,
Ja visst ska ha leva uti hundrade år!

Ett fyrfallet leve!!! Hurra hurra hurra hurraaaaaa!!!!!

Un'bear'ably Cute...

Patrik got Anna dressed up in her warm bear suit last night when taking her out for a walk - so cute! She was being a little fussy, but as soon as she got out in the fresh air she fell fast asleep. That's our outdoorsy girl!

Today Patrik got going on fixing up the downstairs bathroom where all the pipes are still showing from the installation of the upstairs bathroom. Anna and I mostly took it easy because I'm just getting over a mild bout of mastitis (again).

Stephen and Anna

There were lots of new faces today as we had visits from both Linda (an old Golder friend) and her daughter Clara, and our good friend Stephen. It was so good to see him! He also seems to have a knack with kids - maybe it's the training he gets with his nieces...

Career Research

Today Anna went to visit her dad at work and see what the construction business is all about. She enjoyed the tour of the office and she loved being passed from arm to arm - she gave out lots of smiles - but she's not quite ready to commit to a career in construction. She says she wants to check out a few other options first...

Anna Meets Amanda

Anna was very happy to get to meet Amanda today - she had a lovely nap in her arms, content as can be. It was great for me to see Amanda too - I've missed her!

Anna and Graeme

Anna has had a bit of a stuffy nose the past couple of days, and so she wants to be cuddled and held even more than usual. She had a nice little nap in the sling, though, so that I could get a few things done.

In the afternoon, Anna had a "play date" with Graeme (Ann and Bill's son), and I think that she has already caught Graeme's eye... Of course, with Graeme being 6 months old and Anna only 6 weeks old, he's way too old for her :)

Laughing Bean

Patrik had to spend a few hours at work today, but before he went, we enjoyed a lunch on the sunny patio of our local cafe. Afterwards, Anna and I went home to do something with all of the apples from our apple trees - we decided on apple sauce. Yum!

Lynn Valley Hike

After a mellow morning of breakfast in bed, we headed out for our first family hike to Lynn Headwaters Regional Park. The sun came out for us and we had the first half of the hike hiking through beautiful forest with sun beams streaming through the trees, and the second half along the river. Fika along the river was a highlight, and Anna loved the fresh air and the sound of the river to nap to.

Tea with Jen

It was a rainy day in Vancouver today, but after a cozy morning at home playing with mom, Anna and I went for a bit of a walk and then over to Jen's for tea. Jen last saw Anna about 2 weeks ago, and she thought that Anna's eyes had gotten bluer and she was quite a bit bigger.

Say Cheese...

It might be out of focus, but there's no mistaking Anna's beautiful smile in this picture!

Anna was very happy to get a package from her cousin's in Sweden yesterday, which included some drawings from each of them. And, she's working on her neck strength so that she'll be able to use the chair they sent as soon as possible. Thanks for the presents!

Multitasking

We're getting pretty good at doing things one-handed in the Eliasson household - making lunch, folding laundry, and using the computer, to name a few...

Thanksgiving Weekend - Part II

After all of the fun activities of the weekend, it was also nice for Anna to spend some time napping in mormor and morfar's arms. Mormor even put on a matching outfit...

As the slightly-altered saying goes, though, 'borta bra men mamma (och pappa) bäst'...

Thanksgiving Weekend - Part I

We spent this past long weekend in Nanaimo visiting with family, and what a great weekend it was. Marcus, Suzi and the boys came over from Gibsons, which meant that the whole Johansson side of the family were able to spend the weekend together. Mom organized a shower/meet Anna party for Saturday night and Anna spent the evening being passed from arm to arm and she slept through pretty much the entire evening. Then on Sunday, mom made a delicious turkey dinner complete with all the trimmings and pumpkin pie for dessert. Yum!

I Might Have Spots....

....but I'm still pretty darn cute.

Today Anna and I had a little sleep-in since we both felt like we had a bit of sleep to catch up on. But, once we got up and going, we got quite a bit done. We went grocery shopping, went for a walk, made dinner, and then when Patrik got home we all went out to an Arcteryx clothing sale. Anna was a little disappointed that they didn't have anything in her size, so she decided to sleep through that little shopping trip.

She's getting bigger by the day. We went for a weigh-in yesterday, and she tipped the scales at 9 lbs 4 ozs. That's a little more than an ounce a day for the last couple of weeks! She's working on catching up to her cousin Isabelle.

First Smile!

This morning Anna smiled for the first time, and it made my heart melt. Of course, she's smiled in her sleep before now, but this morning was the first time that she smiled at me - a real smile! If it had only happened once, I probably would be second guessing myself, but it happened a few times in a row while I was playing with her. I called Patrik right away - I can't wait for him to get to see it...

Of course, I haven't caught her smile on camera yet. This picture is after we got back from a walk in the neighbourhood. She's wearing the sweater mormor made for her, which is so so cute.

Bath is Bliss

Anna's fussy period is in the evening, and tonight she wasn't as easy to soothe as she usually is. She loves baths, and so we gave her one and she blissed right out. Post-bath she hung out with dad - he kept drifting off to sleep but since she wasn't ready for bed, she gave him a nudge and a squawk every time to wake him up...

Hastings Park

Today it was back to some work on the house for the first time since Anna arrived - we need to winterize a little before the heavy rains come - but first we got out for a walk in the neighbourhood. Hastings Park is not too far away and there are a few trails around some ponds and through the woods. Although it's quite close to some major roads, you still feel like you're a little away from it all.

Reunion

Today we went to a reunion for the couples that were in our, and 3 other, prenatal classes. It was great to meet all of the babies, who ranged in age from 2 1/2 weeks to 3 1/2 months. Anna was the second youngest with only one little guy, Gavin, 5 days younger. Gavin was actually due on the same day as Anna was, and her parents were in our prenatal class. They don't live to far from us and it'll be great to get out on walks with Christy and Gavin during the days ahead.

All of the kids were lined up on the couch for photos, and Anna and 3 of the other babies just slept through the whole thing. It was a bit of an Anna sandwich, as she was in the middle of all of the other kids.

Story Time

Patrik and Anna enjoyed some "Putte's Äventyr i Blåbär's Skogen" tonight. They didn't quite make it through the whole "äventyr" because they both got sleepy, but there's always tomorrow...

Yahoo - It's Friday!

Anna and mom had a good day today, with Tiffany and her youngest son Oliver dropping by for a visit. Anna isn't quite ready to play with him yet, but he was fun to look at for a little while, and soon enough they will be buddies. After hanging out with them for a few hours, we went out for a walk along Commercial Drive in the drizzling rain and it was so nice to get some fresh air.

It's Friday today and that means that dad is going to be home for the whole weekend! Tomorrow we're going to a reunion with the other moms, dads and babies that were in our prenatal class, but first we'll have a family breakfast in bed, which we're all looking forward to.

Tummy Time

The weather has turned today and it is suddenly fall in Vancouver. It is raining and Anna and I haven't made it out of the house yet today. We've read a couple of books, she spent some time in the wrap so that mom could have both hands free for a while, and she spent some time on her belly. Her neck is getting so strong! We'll see if we get out of the house for a while this afternoon...