6-7 Weeks

Since I'm honeymooning in Sweden right now I thought it would be fun to take some time during this week to share some of my favorite pictures from ' way back when' since I wasn't blogging until we moved to Sweden for the semester when Jasper was 18 months old.


  Jasper is 6-7 weeks in all of these pictures. Sometimes I miss this little baby SO much!

                                                                       First time wearing shoes!

                                                 Up on flagstaff looking down on Boulder.

Leaving on a jet plane

That's what I'm doing RIGHT now. By the time this is posted- I will be on my way to SWEDEN for our honeymoon.

I will be spending the first 3 days in Stockholm with 2 of my besties from high school ( and jr. high and elementary school) one has spent the last year teaching English in Brussels ( sweet job huh) and the other one is flying there to join her (she's in her last year of pharmacy school) and then they are both flying to meet me in Stockholm! We have been saying since early high school that we are going to go to Europe together someday- and it's finally happening!

The next 5 days will be spent up north in Ljusdal- where I grew up, and also where I was at in January visiting my farmor (father's mother) in the hospital before she passed away in March. Sofie (best friend since preschool) is getting married to a Wonderful man. I'm so thrilled I get to be there to witness it!! (Drew will be flying in and meeting me up here, he's not coming for my first 3 days in Stockholm)

After 5 days in Ljusdal the four of us ( Me, Drew, Sofie and Henrik) will be 'honeymooning' together! We will drive south(and west i believe) to the coast of Sweden where we will take a 3 hour boat trip over to Gotland, the largest island in the Baltic Sea. Here we will spend 3 days/night camping on the beach!

After our camping trip, they will drop us off in Stockholm where we will spend the last 3 days in Stockholm, just the three of us.

It's going to be impossibly hard to be away from Jasper. I tear up every time I think about this. But I know he will be having an Amazing time in Iowa with my mom, sister, SIL, brothers and Drew's family a bit also.

See you guys when I get back!!

Jasper,
Last night I started to pack for Sweden. And then out of the blue I had the biggest ugly cry session every. Your dad came in and thought something was horribly wrong. And something was. All of a sudden the thought of leaving you for two weeks made my heart hurt more than I thought possible. And then the tears started flowing. And then I was crying so hard I couldn't catch my breathe.

Your dad tried telling me how you are going to have an amazing time with family in Iowa. And how we Need this. How much I need this. How much I deserve this. How I spent all day every single day with you,  and that even you, Jasper, need this. And in my mind, I know all this is true. Logically I know you will be great. YOu will have an amazing time. You will grow so much in those two weeks being away from your mamma. You get to spend time with your favorite people. Your grammy, and aunt milla. Uncle Mitchell and aunt heidi. And Sammy! You love sammy. And grandma and grandpa. You will get to play with and get to know your only cousin. You will be spoiled rotten by everyone.

It's not really you I'm worried about. You adapt SO well to change. And you are so confident in yourself and your surroundings that you will love this. No you I'm not too worried about. You will be happy, healthy, loved and well cared for. It's ME I'm worried about. I have spent almost every single day of your life with you. ALL day. And night. You are a part of me. We have spent a total of 15 whole days apart over almost 4 years. 15 days. That's how much moms who work out of the home spend apart from their kids in just three weeks, yet it has taken me 46 months to get there. It physically hurts me to think about being away from you. And last night I had the thought that I wish I wasn't going. I wished that over $4,000 hadn't already been spent so I could stay home and be with you every day.

But I am going. And you will be amazing. You will have so many stories to tell me when I get back that I don't think you will stop talking for 24 hours straight. And the thought of hearing your excited stories is what will get me to be able to walk on that airplane Monday morning.

Stuff My Kid Says

Me: Jasper, you have got some hairy legs dude.

Jasper: Yeah. I do have Harry Potter legs. And you have miss mighty (what he calls Hermione) legs.

Steppin out and 'Pappa's Day'

We had Such a great Sunday celebrating the pappa in our lives. We started off by Jasper waking up at 6:30 (his new thing, Not loving it) but we let Drew sleep in while we snuggled and watched a movie. Then we made Drew eggs benedict- the first time I've ever made them and I think they turned out fabulous!! (Drew agrees)

After breakfast we headed to Starbucks and the park- then Drew headed out for some frolf while J and I napped. 

The weather was perfect so we met up with our friends (another couple, one swede, one american and their two Adorable daughters) at City Park for grilling out and some live music. 

It ended up being lots of fun! The pappa's had their beer, the mamma's our wine and Jasper? His bff. 

Towards the end of the show it started sprinkling and we had a 10 min walk back to the cars so we started to leave- and thank God we did! About 3 minutes after we got in the car it started pouring- and a minute later? Dime sized hail! How much would That have hurt if we were still walking in it? Glad we didn't have to find out! 

On Jasper: Shirt Target

                 Shorts: Baby Gap

                 Shoes: Puma, Nordstroms 

On mamma (everything I'm wearing is 2+ years old)

Tank top: Forever 21 2009

Cardigan:  GinaTricot- Sweden, 2009

Shorts: Forever 21- 2006!! YEP I fit back into these bad boys for the first time in years!! I don't even know why I still have them- but I decided to try them on yesterday- and it was a tad tight but I don't care- I'm just thrilled I got them on!! 

Shoes: Sweden, 2009- LOVE these sandals still. 

Daddy's girl.

I have sort of a complicated relationship with my dad.

Growing up, he was never around that much. We lived in Sweden (and bali for a year) but my dad's job (international chef) kept him moving around a lot. He has had an amazing career that's taken him to dozens and dozens of different countries for work, and I respect him so much for that. I know so few people that have the kind of passion and talent for their job as he does, so I never blamed him for the jobs he took. And when he would work for a couple of months and come home for a few weeks at a time, made those times with him so special.

Then we moved to the US when I was 11, and all of a sudden he was around so much more. He didn't travel very much for work anymore, and we were so close. I'm the middle of 5 so there was always competing for his attention, but I was daddy's little girl. I know parents aren't supposed to have favorites, and I know he didn't love me any more than my siblings, but I think I sort of was his favorite. We are a lot alike, and I'm the stubborn one. I think maybe he can relate more to me. Plus I was the only one who would tell him off when I thought he was being an ass, and it honestly made us closer.

My dad isn't the perfect dad by most people's standards. He wasn't around for every birthday or holiday. He sometimes forgets to call on birthdays, he doesn't know what day of the week it is most time. This hurt my siblings feels I think, but not me. I think I just realized more that that's who he is. He isn't the dad who remembers every birthday, or even how old we are half the time. But instead of wishing he was like the other dads who showed up for every recital and ball game, I respected and loved him for who he was. He was off traveling most of the time, but when he was around, and I have 4 concerts in one day? He came to Every. Single. Concert. He listened to me sing the same damn song 4 times in a day, sitting through 8 hours worth of concert to hear his little girl sing. And when he was off doing his weekend of army stuff (on top of a more than full time job as a chef he was int he army reserve serving a country that wasn't even his) he and several of his 'army friends' (don't know what else to call them) drove 3 hours one way to sit through a hour 3 Des Moines Children's choir concert where I was one of a hundred singing. Not only that, he somehow talked them into giving them all front row seats at the civic center so he could see me front and center.

A week after I had Jasper? He flew in from Brazil on his very short time off to meet his first grandbaby (and at the time he had a pregnant wife in brazil who was also battling breast cancer, so him leaving was not an easy thing to do) 

For my wedding he was working in Europe, and flew all the way in from Italy to not only walk me down the isle, but also, along with my amazingly talented brothers, prepare hundreds of fancy  hors d'oeuvres for 250 guests the day before the wedding.

In December he left his job in brazil to be with his dying mother in Sweden. He sat by her bedside in the hospital all day every day for almost 5 months. He put his whole life on hold to be there with her. I respect and admire him so much for that, and hope some day Jasper would be willing to do the same thing for me. I was there with him for 10 of those days, and while it was the hardest 10 days of my life, I'm glad I was able to be there for him. We became so much closer over those 10 days. He shared with me, we bonded, and cried together. It was the most time we had spent together in my adult life, since we haven't lived in the same country since I was 19 (my parent's divorced when I was 16) and it was truly special. 

(Farmor's 80th birthday, a month before she passed away. He smuggled wine into the hospital for her and she Loved it) 

My dad might not be the typical dad, but I'm so lucky, honored and proud to call him mine.

I crossed one off the bucket list!

I was telling my friend about how I wanted to find a splash park and she came to the rescue!

Yesterday we first went to the science museum- we have been before, but we checked out a Sweet exhibit we hadn't done before. 

It was very hands on- which is what Jasper needs to stay engaged in something for more than 10 minutes. 

                                                             Sweet air machine

                                                                 Playing with magnets

 Okay THis was scary- it showed UV rays (or something? not a big science expert) and then you put sunscreen on your hand and it showed the difference when your skin was protected. The black circle on my hand was the dap of sunscreen

                                                                          And here's Jaspers

 Then they had you walk this treadmill type thing and it measured your speed and stride and took a video of it- then the video was up on the screen. This is Jasper. 3.1 MPH- my little speed walker!

There was even a machine that measured your heart beat. Jasper's gotten a message saying his heart rate wasn't able to be detected. Kinda freaked me out for a second until another person tried it and it didn't detect theirs either. 

After playing in the museum and eating lunch we headed out to....a splash park!! So much fun. The kids (okay and us adults) had a blast. I was only able to take one picture because apparently it was too hot for my iphone so she shut down. Whoops!

                  Such a fun day, and Jasper was so worn out he took a 3 hour nap! #WINNING!

Thank you SO much everyone who has voted for Jasper. He keeps fluctuating between 3rd and 4th place- so FINGERS crossed!! (For info on how to vote see post below!! You can vote once every 24 hours and voting/harassment  ends on Sunday!)

Bucket List

Summer is probably my favorite season, and here in Colorado there is just so much to do outdoors as the season changes! I always try to make a bucket list for every season, so we can cram as much fun as possible.

Some of the things on our Summer 2011 bucket list

*Go to the pool at least once a week. So far we are two for two on this one!

*Find 5 new parks to frequent (there are So many parks around, but I've been lazy and we go to the same 2 almost every day)

* Go to Pirates Cover for the first time. This place looks SO much fun and it's only about 30 min from our new place.

*Go to the Denver Children's Museum on rainy days- this is only 10 min from us and we have a year pass and don't go often enough

*Go to the Cherry Creek farmer's market on weekends. We have only been once and this is only blocks from our house so we have no excuse not to go!

*White Water Rafting! I've lived in Colorado for 4 years now and have yet to go, every summer I say I'm going to, yet somehow haven't gone yet!

*Find recipes and cook more 'cold meals'. Our little house get's SO hot when the stove is one, so I really need to figure out how to cut back on using the stove. Plus- learning more recipes is always useful! (Have any to send my way??)

*Boulder reservoir! Great little beach, not many of those here in Colorado!

* BBQ more often. Self explanatory. 

*Find a splash a nearby splash park. There has got to be one around here! (We just moved to Denver from the suburbs where we had one we frequented all the time)

*Mountain camping! We are only 30 minutes from the mountain, have all the camping gear we need but have yet to take Jasper camping. I think he would Love it!

*Go to the one little beach here in Denver that I've found. It's not really a beach, but it's a great place for kids to play right in the heart of Denver, we've already gone once this summer and Jasper Loved it!

So there you have it, our Summer bucket list. Anyone have any ideas of fun kid activities to add to the list? 

Pretty please?

I entered Jasper in a little boys modeling contest on facebook- and I think it would be so so SO awesome if he would win! Right now he's pretty far behind (by like 60 votes) because I just entered him- and the contest goes till father's day- but if you have a facebook account could you PLEASE go vote? You can vote once daily till Sunday.

To vote you search for Soleil Creations page- just type it in in the search bar and the page pops up.

Then you 'like' the page at the top- and then the boy pictures will appear at the bottom. Jasper's is currently listed in the top left corner but that could change- but find his picture labeled Jasper and hit the vote box. PRETTY PLEASE and thanks so much!

If you have a contest your entered in, or top mommy blogs/baby blogs that you would like me to vote for let me know and I will GLADLY return the favor!

Thanks again so much! And my future model thanks you also :)

I really hope one of these are still in one of my favorite stores Gina Tricot in Stockholm when I'm there in two weeks. I think one of these would be perfect for the outdoor wedding I will be attending in Northern Sweden.

Week in Iphone pictures.

 Jasper couldn't decide if he wanted a grilled cheese or PB&J so we had half of each. 

 Yes, my son watches TV. Almost every day too. Bring on the critics. 

 Have you had this yet? Magnum? My favorite ice cream in Sweden is now here! 

 Yummy breakfast sandwich- mine had bacon because I'm Not a fan of sausage but the boys are! 

 At the zoo- only animal pictures I took were of wild birds. 

 Saturday morning playdate. This little gem is right in the heart of Denver. Such a find! 

 Saturday afternoon I had something in my eye (I though) that wouldn't come out and was really bothering me- so I went to the eye doc. and Jasper was so good the whole time I had to get him some froyo

 My eye a few hours after I went to the eye doc- I have some bacterial infection. A couple of doses of eye 'roids and it's all cleared up. THANK GOD

 This is how I spent nap time. Fabulous. Both. 

 After nap we headed to the pool- it had gotten cloudy so the little man needed warmed up after he got out. 

 Low on grocery supplies Sunday evening I decided to make pasta- I didn't have time to make a real sauce, so I added some fresh basil (which I grew!) and parmesan cheese to a can of tomato sauce- tasted home made! 

This is how I spent all saturday evening- with a cold compress to my eye. That and the eye steroids made it a billion times better. 

I've been eyeing these for a while...

I'm never been a huge fans of shorts, I'm usually a skirt or dress kinda girl, but lately I've had my eyes own a pair of cute jean shorts.

These specifically.

But I'm leaving for Sweden in 2 weeks, so I'm trying Really hard not to do Any shopping till I get there. 1- because Stockholm is my favorite place in the world (that I've been to) to shop and 2- I want to save all my shopping money!

So, I decided to try to make a pair. I have probably 15 pairs of jeans, many that I just don't wear anymore. I have a really hard time getting rid of clothes, especially if they still fit perfectly. Like these.

I love them both and they are Super comfy and fit great, but I just don't wear this style of jeans very often anymore, so might as well try to get some other use out of them!

                       I just cut them- and rolled up the bottom and this is what I got.

I paired the bottom pair (which is the first pair of jeans, cut off) with a blue bottom up shirt like my inspiration above, and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with them! Of course I like the other shorts better, but these were FREE so that's an extra $80/pair of extra spending money I have in Sweden!!

PS yes, my room is a MESS- we have been passing around sicknesses here for the past 2 weeks and I've majorly slacked off on the cleaning because of it. I have a LOT to do before we go to Sweden!