Walk Like an Egyptian!

Dear Elzora,

Yesterday was an amazing day. You woke up like any other morning, but there was one huge difference. Overnight you had acquired the ability to WALK!! And I don't mean, you can kind of take a step. I mean, you can walk. We met Jessica and Rebecca at the family center (BVC) for baby singing time and you walked right through the circle of mommies and babies. I still can't believe it. It's probably the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life. I am so proud of you.

You've also started to give us kisses. When daddy left for work the other day you gave him a kiss, then he gave me a kiss, then you gave me a kiss. I thought I would melt. I will take as many kisses as you can give me.

Dancing! Dancing! Dancing! You are a dance-aholic. We watched Aunt Linda and Uncle Morgan's wedding video last week and you rocked back and forth through the entire ceremony and reception. You dance with the TV, you dance when we sing, you dance when a cell phone goes off and you bang your head when we are driving in the car. Rosemary says she doesn't think you are going to be a rockstar but sees you as more of a blues girl. I don't know, I think you are a rocker. We'll just have to wait and see!! In the meantime let's dance!!!

I guess it's time for me to tell you that you are going to be a big sister next year. But I think we will talk more about that after we have had the ultrasound and hear the baby's heartbeat on October 3rd. I'm very excited and feeling pretty good. I'm in week 13, so my energy level is rising and my belly is feeling better. I'm just so happy for our family.

Daddy is working so hard and getting used to his new job at H&M. I think he will be very, very happy with this company. Mommy will not be going back to her job. I'll be home with you full time until November 1 and then you will be going to daycare for 15 hours a week if they have a spot for you. You are going to love love love it. I know. And mommy will go to SFI to try to actually learn Swedish, so that I can get a really super duper cool job after the new baby comes.
It's all exciting.

So you do actually walk like an Egyptian. Well, you walk like a baby mummy and I figure that's close enough.

It's soon your birthday! Party! Party!

Love,
Mommy

Missing Michigan

Dear Elzora,
I can not believe that we've already been back from Michigan for a week and that it's been almost one month since my last blog entry! In my defense, we have both been massively jet lagged since we returned from Michigan last Sunday. I mean, it's fun sleeping in, but it's no fun staying up until 1am watching Sesame Street videos. But as of yesterday, I feel like we are getting back on track.

So, Michigan... What a fabulous trip we had!!On the first day mommy and daddy went canoeing on the Au Sable with Susan and Russ. The weather was perfect and it was so great to just relax, get a little exercise and catch up with an old friend on her birthday. You stayed at home with Grandma Mary Jo and the girls. You had fun playing in the little mushroom pool, but you definitely missed mommy and daddy and wouldn't let us out of your site for the rest of the trip.

We had a wonderful time staying at Grandma's house. She and the girls just loved you and daddy, and they bought you so many cool presents. I already mentioned the mushroom pool, but you also got tons of clothes, a gigantic bag of plastic balls, books, Barbies, a doll house and lots more. You are definitely a very loved little girl.

Without a doubt the best part of the vacation for you, Elzora, was spending time with your good friend Ruby Stirling!! And mommy and daddy definitely enjoyed spending time with Ruby's parents. We did lots of eating, shopping and hanging out. We celebrated Ruby's first birthday with her and the two of you had a great time splashing around in the tub and playing with Ruby's toys. We also made a trip up to Bel Air to Brian's parents' amazing lake house. Daddy learned about beer-can chicken, which he made for Linda, Morgan and Siri last night here in Ulricehamn. We also got to see ultrasound pics of the newest Stirling who is scheduled to be born on November 11th. Very, very exciting!! Congrats to Pascha, Brian, Zoey and Ruby!!

We also spent some time with Grandpa Mac and his wife Marilyn. And they loaded you up with gifts and clothes, too. And Grandpa Mac made you your very own swing that you just loved. They also hosted a BBQ for us and it was so much fun. Marilyn made all kinds of food. It was quite the spread. And best of all some of mommy's oldest and dearest friends showed up. It was so great to see Ronnie and his family, Markey and Nikki, Brent Church and his new BMW and Karen and her girls. We couldn't have asked for a nicer get together. And you had watermelon for the first time and just loved it. You weren't in a very good mood at the BBQ, but I know why because the day after the event your 7th tooth broke through on the bottom. Ouch!!

Daddy's one request during our trip was that we visit the town of Gaylord. He saw it on the map before we left Sweden. At first I was a little puzzled as to why daddy would

be so excited about going to a town called Gaylord. But he explained that he had to go because of Gaylord Focker. We actually had a very nice time walking around the city of Gaylord with it's faux Alpine motif. A man at a store called Trash told us that there weren't any gay people in Gaylord and invited us to be friends with him on myspace. 

I really thought you were going to take your first step while we were in Michigan, but it didn't happen. You were so, so close. I know that you will be bipedal by the end of this week. I just know it. BTW, you will be 11 months old tomorrow. It's hard to believe that we are only 1 month away from your 1st birthday. I can't wait to see what happens when you get to try ice cream and cake for the first time. I told daddy that I wanted to take you out for sushi on your first birthday, but he's not that into it. I mean, come on, you already eat pickled herring!

Thank you so much to Grandma Mary Jo, Jessie, Miranda, Kayla, Pascha, Brian, Zoey, Ruby, Grandpa Mac & Marilyn, Danielle & Tessa, Karen and the girls and Susan & Russ for making our first to Michigan as a family one kick ass adventure (don't say "ass" Elzora!)

Love, Mommy

10 MONTHS!

Dear Elzora,

Weight: 9125 grams (20 lbs)
Length: 72.5 centimeters (28.5 inches)
Head Circumference: 48 cm

On Saturday you turned 10 months old and now things are really starting to happen!!

You understand the words lamp, Mamma and Pappa. If I ask "Can you say Mamma?" you always reply "Pappa." You only say Mamma when you want more of something. If we ask you "Where is the lamp?" You point up. Sometimes mommy and daddy are cruel because we ask you where the lamp is when we are outside. Sorry, Elzora!

You can crawl and pull yourself up to standing, and you can stand up without holding on to anything, but your aren't quite ready to take your first step. I understand, it's scary.

You are exploring lots of new foods, but you don't really care for baby food. You like the stuff you can eat on your own like strawberries, hard egg yolks and pieces of broccoli, carrot and cucumber. I still give you formula in the afternoon, because I want to make sure you are getting all your nutrients and you don't drink very much water. You haven't had anything with sugar added, and I think we will keep it that way as long as we can. You have plenty of time for your Saturday candy in the future.

For the last 4 nights we've been putting you in your bed when you are still awake, usually around 9pm. On the first night you cried for 35 minutes. On the 2nd night you cried for 40 minutes. And on the third night you cried for one hour. But last night you fell asleep in 5 minutes. This is probably the hardest thing that I have ever had to do. We go up about every 15 minutes and check on you, but we don't lift you out of the bed. You have your music box and your lovely pink flower light. It's hard, but I know it's the best thing. I'm sorry that I made the mistake of putting you to sleep before putting you in your bed for the first 10 months of your life. Bad, mommy!
But once you are asleep you sleep all night, almost 12 whole hours. Thank you, my sweet girl!

Mommy is busy this week preparing for our big trip to Michigan!! So exciting. We are leaving on Sunday morning. I'm so thrilled that you are finally going to meet your Grandma Mary Jo, Granpa Mac, your Aunties, your cousin and Pascha and her family.

We are getting our new car today at 4 pm. Daddy can't wait. For him, today is like Christmas.

The Olympics are happening in Beijing. Sweden won it's first medal yesterday in the women's cycling event. Emma Johansson took the silver. Congratulations, Emma!

I love my little 10 month old Monk-Monk!!

Love,

Mommy

We Heart LSMonkey and Auntie Sarah!

Dear Elzora,
Not only did Sarah make the lovely dress that you are wearing in this picture, she was selected as Spraygraphic's Pic(k) of the Day!
Congratulations, Sarah.
Rock out with your art out!
Love,
Mommy

B-Cool with B-Fuel!!

Dear Elzora,
As I said in my last post, the three have us have been at home together for the last 2 weeks. It has been so nice to just relax and enjoy our little family. We didn't really do much, because we are saving up for our trip to Michigan on August 17th.

Today daddy went back to work. He has two weeks left at his current job and then he starts at H&M after our trip to the US. Mommy has been carefully studying the new H&M catalog so that I'm ready to shop when we get our H&M Club card!

We actually spent much of the last 2 weeks at the Volvo dealership here in Ulricehamn trying to make a decision on which new car to purchase. We need a bigger car and we want something environmentally friendly since daddy may be driving to Borås a few days every week starting in September.

We decided on black Volvo v70 b-fuel ride. We're so in love with it, and we aren't even getting it until August 12th. I am really happy that we went for the biogas vehicle. We were considering an ethanol vehicle, but after doing my own research, I feel that biogas is the better choice for our family. When we took the car for a test drive your daddy said "I just feel so good in my heart!"
I knew at that moment this was the car for our family.

Here is some information on b-fuel (biogas) and ethanol use here in Sweden.

Svensk Biogas
The Swedish Biogas Success Story
FordonsGas
Sustainable Ethanol Deal for Sweden and Brazil

Love,

Mommy

Hairlarious

Dear Elzora,
I promised myself that I would not become one of those mothers who puts the little pony tail on top of her baby's head when the poor child has like 10 hairs. Well, yesterday I broke that promise.

Tomorrow papa goes back to work. He's been home for 2 weeks on vacation. It has been extremely warm and the 3 of us have just been taking it easy and enjoying the lovely Swedish summer weather.

Your super powers are starting to reveal themselves. Did I tell you I was electrocuted while I was pregnant? I'll write more about it tomorrow when daddy goes back to work.

I love you, Elzora.

Love,
Mommy

Get Up, Stand Up!

Dear Elzora,
Just a short update to let you know that on the afternoon of July 19th, 2008 you stood up on your own for the very first time. You were in the caravan in Varberg and you were leaning over on papa and you stood up to clap your hands. I almost can't believe that it really happened. Everyday with you is more and more exciting and interesting. You are the coolest, chica!
Love,
Mommy

Elzora Longstocking

Dear Elzora,
Maybe it's something in the water? I don't know, but you are definitely starting to identify with the Swedish culture.

Actually when this picture was taken you were tired as hell, had food all over you and were completely uninterested in having a wig on your head. But, as always, you were a good sport about the whole thing.

Not much is happening on this quiet Monday morning. Dad is at work, you are asleep and I'm having a hard time waking up. Our new neighbors moved in, Susanne and Erika, and they are so nice. They are expecting a baby on September 19th, so soon you will have a new little friend. Mommy is very excited.

You were due to be born on September 23rd of last year (I'm sure that I've already mentioned this in a previous entry), but you weren't born until October 9th. Hopefully the little one next door won't wait so long to make her/his appearance.

You just woke up!!

Love,
Mommy

E.L.C.K.

Dear Elzora Liisa Corazón Karlsson,
When we decided on your name we didn't even realize that your initials kind of spell the word "ELK." This is funny considering mommy's nickname was Moose when she was little. My grandmother, Norma Mac Killop, even had a customized book order for me titled "Moose Mac Killop's Adventure in Mother Goose Land." Maybe we will find it at your grandma's house, my mom, when we go to Michigan in August.
A guy named Bill Hale, gave me the name because my head was so big compared to the rest of my body.

One time Auntie Liisa told McKenna that she looked like a baby moose and McKenna started crying and didn't like Liisa for many years until she brought Uncle Jeremy over to the Channing house. Well, at least that's how the story goes.

Daddy has been talking about getting some new tattoos. I told him that it would be really cool to get a tattoo of your initials across his back with large protruding antlers coming out from the "E" and the "K." Today when I was looking up "corazón" images on Google, I found the image I have attached to this blog entry. It's titled "corazon y alce." I love that it incorporates both the corazón and the deer imagery. It's perfect.

I looked up "alce", because I didn't know what it meant. One source, THEOI Greek Mythology's Encylopedia of Greek Gods, Spirits and Monsters, says it means "The female personification of strength." Isn't that like the coolest?

BTW, your Auntie Christine came up with the name Corazón, because mommy's heart was beating so hard when I was pregnant with you. And mommy wanted to honor Christine, because she was so supportive during my pregnancy and even more supportive of my move to Sweden to be with daddy. The same is true for Auntie Liisa and that's why you have the name "Liisa."

As for the Elzora part of your name, my mother's mother's mother was named "Ione Elsora." I wanted you to have the same name, but I like the letter "Z" better than the letter "S" so I changed it. The name is Basque in origin and very, very beautiful to say.

Obviously you got the last name "Karlsson" from your papa, and I think that's a very beautiful name, too.

I love you.

Love,

Mommy

PS I've lived in Sweden for 1 year and 7 months and I have never seen a moose.

Two Days After a Funeral

Dear Elzora,
I know, not a happy title for a blog entry. But it's been 2 days since mommy and daddy attended Donald's funeral and I don't really know what to say other than it was really sad. The hardest part of the day was not saying goodbye to Donald, I barely knew him. The hardest part was seeing the people I love consumed by grief and an overwhelming sense of loss.

I read this poem again the other day for the first time and it just fit. So I'm including it in this letter to you. It's a translation of the poem 'Lyudi' that was written by Yevgeny Yevtushenko, the Russian poet in 1961. The translation was done by Peter Levi, S.J. and Robin Milner-Gulland and it was published by Penguin Books for the first time in 1962.


People

No people are uninteresting.
Their fate is like the chronicle of planets.

Nothing in them is not particular,
and planet is dissimilar from planet.

And if a man lived in obscurity
making his friends in that obscurity
obscurity is not uninteresting.

To each his world is private,
and in that world one excellent minute.

And in that world one tragic minute.
These are private.

In any man who dies there dies with him
his first snow and kiss and fight.
It goes with him.

They are left books and bridges
and painted canvas and machinery.

Whose fate is to survive.
But what has gone is also not nothing:

by the rule of the game something has gone.
Not people die but worlds die in them.

Whom we knew as faulty, the earth's creatures.
Of whom, essentially, what did we know?

Brother of a brother? Friend of friends?
Lover of lover?

We who knew our fathers
in everything, in nothing.

They perish. They cannot be brought back.
The secret words are not regenerated.

And every time again and again
I make my lament against destruction.

-- Yevgeny Yevtushenko (1961)

I purchased this collection of Yevtushenko poetry in a place called "The Bookwork" in Roscommon, Michigan for 63 cents. To me it's invaluable.

I love you Elzora!!
BTW, you are 9 months old today.

Love,

Mommy

Papa's Got a Brand New Bag!

Dear Elzora,
That's right. Papa does have a brand new bag! And hopefully mama will have some new bags too, because daddy just got a job at H&M in Borås as a testing leader. Not only will it give daddy new challenges and more money, but it will also give us 25% off at all H&M boutiques worldwide.

Papa will start his new job on September 2nd, just two days after we get back from Michigan. We are very excited.

Congratulations, Papa Andreas!!
Your girls are so very proud of you.

Love,
Mommy

Spider Monkey

Dear Elzora,
You started crawling for the first time today.
We are so proud of you. You are our little spider monkey!
Love,
Mommy

First Friends

Dear Elzora,
These are pictures of your very first friends here in Sweden. Rebecca (Becca) and Wilgot are next to you in the picture where you and Wilgot appear to be dancing. Ludwig and Jesper are the little boys pictured separately.

Becca Baby, as we like to call her, is the daughter of our very close friends Jessica and Kribban. Her other nickname is "Baby Jesus" because she was due to born at Christmastime last year.

Wilgot is the son of Anneli and Ulrik. They live on farmor and farfar's street in Timmele. Anneli teaches English and has been very kind to mommy by helping her with her Swedish lessons and by being a very good friend. Wilgot decided to be born earlier than anticipated, but he is growing up just as big and strong as the other members of your little baby posse.

We met Jesper and Ludwig at baby swim. Their moms, Anita and Anna-Karin, are friends of mommy's. Anna-Karin was a dive instructor in Cyprus and her English is fantastic. Anita has 3 other children, so she is the expert when it comes to raising kids.

Rebbeca and Wilgot are a few months younger than you and Jesper and Ludwig are a month older. When you are with the little ones, we have to be careful because you just love them and want to touch them and crawl on them and play with them.
Jesper and Ludwig love playing with you. With those two you are just one of the guys!

I'm so looking forward to having your friends over for movie nights, parties and play dates.
I hope that our home is a place where your friends will feel comfortable. I think we are going to have a lot of fun. And we already have Wii and PlayStation!!

You are pulling at my shirt, so I better get off of the computer and pay attention to you.

Love,
Mommy

Happy Birthday, Siri!

Dear Elzora,
Yesterday we went to a birthday party for our dear little Siri Luhao Wallin. Your extra special cousin is turning 3 years old on July 2nd and her mom and dad gave her a super fun birthday party to celebrate her special day.

Siri got all kinds of cool gifts. She loves horses so we got her some sweet little horses to play with and also a a charm bracelet with a July birthstone charm. She liked her gifts very much and was very excited. She also got a toy vacuum as a gift that I think was definitely one of her favorites, and the fake vacuum noise could be heard throughout the entire party. She is definitely a girl that likes to stay busy.

Siri is your extra special cousin because she came to us all the way from China. We love her very much. Siri is also mommy and daddy's god daughter. We are very proud of her. She is a strong little girl who loves life and brings a lot of happiness into our hearts.
I know you two will be very close.

This weekend was actually a very busy one. In addition to attending Siri's party on Sunday, on Friday night mommy and daddy and Auntie Linda and Uncle Morgan went to a pre-party for Rosemarie's 40th birthday next year. It was really fun and mommy and daddy had a chance to dance together for the first time. You and Siri stayed with farmor and farfar. I think that you had a lot of fun. Mommy and daddy had too much fun, but it was definitely worth it.

On Saturday the entire Karlsson clan attended Johanna's confirmation. It felt like a coming of age celebration more than a religious rite of passage and that's pretty cool. Obviously it is a tradition in the family. If you choose to be confirmed we will have a party for you, and if you don't, we will still have a party!!

You have learned to shake your head back and forth, but you can't nod your head. So you are currently saying no to everything. I think that you are about to clearly say your first word. I wonder what it will be. The strange thing is that sometimes you will hear a word and it sounds like you repeat the word, but you only say it once and then you make some other crazy baby sound. It's almost like you are teasing us. I love it!

Spain won the UEFA European Football Championship. Congratulations Spain!

And Happy Happy Birthday, Siri!

Love,

Mommy

PS In this picture Siri is wearing all of Mommy's necklaces.

Dear Elzora,
I have a confession to make. I love clothes and fashion. I love perfume and make-up and beauty products and purses. I also love jewelry, especially gold and diamonds (real or fake).

Every day at 4pm you and I sit together and watch re-runs of Project Runway. Today my favorite designer is Vivienne Westwood but it could change tomorrow. As Heidi Klum says "In the fashion world one day you're in and the next day you're out."
Last week VW had a show in Milan and used and very unique model.
I LOVE IT!

Don't worry, we may not have enough money to buy couture, but we will always be in style!

Love you,

Mommy

Trevlig Midsommar!

Dear Elzora,
We just returned from a fantastic Midsummer celebration with daddy, farmor and farfar at the sea. You enjoyed the celebration very much and tasted your first Swedish strawberries and even sampled some sill. Farmor Bojan and farfar Bengt made you a midsommarkrans to wear and amazingly you kept it on your head for quite a while. You were a little too small to dance around the midsommarstång but farfar held you and you loved watching the other children sing and dance.

Of course we were all thinking of Donald, but we turned our our thoughts of sadness to thoughts of celebration and raised our glasses to Donald. On the drive to Varberg, daddy played songs that reminded him of his uncle and we had a nice ride to the caravan. The weather was rainy but we had our little sunshine girl, Elzora!

During the trip mom was able to finish the first book of fiction she has read since you were born, Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. It was a gift from Auntie Liisa. She bought it for mommy when we visited Monterey, California. It will be in the library and you can read it when you are older. I fell in love with the characters and I'm sure that you will, too. It was wonderful to take the time to indulge in reading such a wonderfully written book.

Over the weekend you started making a clicking sound with your tongue.
You are very proud of yourself and I'm proud of you, too.

We got our tickets for Michigan. We are going to be in town for Ruby Stirling's first birthday.
Mommy is counting the days.

Love,

Mommy

We Will Miss You, Donald!

Dear Elzora,

Today is a sad day. Your farmor's brother, Donald, passed away at 12:15am this morning. He was 48 and the father of Max and Anton, daddy's cousins. Daddy is also Anton's god father, so I guess that kind of makes him your god brother, but you'll have to ask daddy because mommy doesn't know too much about these things.

He will be missed very, very much. I don't know much about Donald's life but maybe one day you can ask Anton and Max about their father. I do know that he used to take daddy fishing a lot and he is the reason why we have a Supertramp CD in our collection.

We need to be extra kind to daddy and farmor today. They are very, very sad. I hope when you read this yourself you will take a moment to say a little prayer for Donald. It will not be easy for Max and Anton. We are all thinking of them so much today.

It is important for you to know that you do have a history of cancer in your family. Please do as much as you can to educate yourself about cancer prevention and take care of your body, your heart and your mind. Daddy and I will do the best we can to help you. This is a reminded to daddy and mommy that we need to take really good care of ourselves to be the best parents we can be for our growing girl.

On the lighter side, we are leaving today to go to the caravan in Varberg. Tomorrow is Midsummer's Eve and one of the biggest days of celebration in Sweden. This will be your first chance to dance around the midsommarstång. I'm sure that daddy is already looking forward to it and we will definitely bring the video camera.

Our hearts are with Donald's family today and we will be remembering him and celebrating him during this holiday.

Love,

Mommy

PS We lost to Russia last night 2-0, but it doesn't seem to feel that bad. We will be cheering for Holland, now.

Pirates and Princesses

Dear Elzora,
This is a picture of your Auntie Liisa haivng a confrontation with an evil pirate (Aunt Debbie).
It's from Tookie Loo's princess and pirate party that she had when she turned 6 years old.

I'm thinking of Auntie Liisa a lot today, and I bet she's thinking of me, too.

I can't wait to have some super cool birthday parties for you. We are gonna have so much fun!

Love,

Mommy

Sweden vs. Spain & The Karlssons

Dear Elzora,
Last Saturday Sweden played Spain in their second match of the UEFA 2008 showdown.We also had the Karlsson family reunion. Here are a couple of pics from the event. You had a great time and enjoyed meeting all of the relatives. At this year's gathering you were the littlest Karlsson. We had a lot of fun even though Sweden lost to Spain by one goal that was scored by Spain in the final minute of the match. Sweden's next match is tomorrow against Russia. If we win, we are going to the semi-finals. Go, Sverige!

BTW, you are totally obsessed with your hair today. You keep rubbing your hands through it like you are feeling it for the first time. I think you have also discovered that your hair is actually attached to your head. I know, the human body is amazing!

Love,

Mommy

Lulubelle

Dear Elzora,
Just a quick post to tell you that your Auntie Sarah in Oakland, California just adopted a new little pup. Her name is Lulubelle and she has her own blog.
Hopefully we will get to meet Lulubelle one day!!

Congratulations to Auntie Sarah on her new baby girl!

Love,

Mommy