Good continuations!

Welcome to 2008!

The boys are back in school today, and I am very grateful. Imagine -- hours and hours where they're not standing face to face screaming at each other in high-pitched, whiny voices over something that you (as a mother) cannot possibly begin to understand. A whole day where no child will chase the other down the street to get the blue sled (which has to be better than any other sled we have). An entire day in which Nicholas and I can just hang out and watch the needles fall off the Christmas tree...

Well, not entirely, as he's napping at the moment and I am (don't be shocked!) writing an entry in my little blog.

To be honest, we had a good holiday break. We spent most of it with Steen's family in Denmark. The trip down (by car) took us 10.5 hours, but Nicholas slept most of the way and only cried for a total of an hour or so. We hung out for a few days, including Christmas, with Ulla and Lars-Ole and their family (and a bunch of other family members) -- Matthew and Lucas had a great time opening their presents and we stuffed ourselves with the terrific food. Nicholas slept through the entirety of Christmas Eve present-opening... Oh well, maybe next year!

This was the first time Nicholas met his Bedstefar (Steen's dad).


We were even visited by a barefoot Santa Claus with an Ikea bag (!).

We then went to Gilleleje, where Steen's parents live, to spend a few days. Nicholas was able to visit his Oldemor (Great Grandmother) for the first time.


On December 30, he was baptized in Gilleleje church. As the priest poured the water over his head, he was in the arms of his wonderful godmother, Ulla.

He wore the same gown that Matthew and Lucas used, which my mom made out of my wedding dress. He was very well-behaved in church and made it through the entire mass without much of a fuss.

Here's Nicholas with his godmother and the official witnesses -- Inge, Uncle Christian and Uncle Jesper.


After the service, family and friends joined us at a charming place on the beach, known as the Gilleleje Badehotel, for the celebration. He found himself being held by many of our guests, including his Uncle Jesper.
On New Year's Eve, we took a ride down to Lalandia, an indoor water park where we spent New Year's with Susanne, Jesper, Christian, Gitte, Ole, Lars-Ole, Ulla, Philip, Emil and Nicoline. The fireworks were as crazy as ever. All of this was topped off by an 11-hour car ride home, during which Nicholas decided he never wanted to be in a car again. Poor thing. He cried most of the way, despite our frequent feeding and dry-diaper stops.


He's now 11 weeks old and has begun reaching for things we hold in front of them and trying to shove them into his mouth. His favorite toy is an adult hand, especially one with fingers that he can chomp on. He is slobbering a lot, which might mean that his teeth are on the way in, or it might just mean that he likes to get wet streaks on all of Steen's dress shirts.


I've been closely watching the election news coming out of the US. Having worked on Kerry's campaign, I'm very interested in how this election will go. In fact, I've sent in my absentee ballot. Regardless of your party affiliation, get out there and vote (assuming, that is, that you are a US citizen of voting age... just because my family originates from Chicago, doesn't mean we believe in Al Capone's theory on voting!).


When Swedes meet each other just after New Year (i.e. around now), they say something that I have directly translated as "good continuations". A happy little thought -- may this year be as good for you as last year was, if not better!