STOCKHOLM'S OLD TOWN

I originally posted this on the Sycamore Street Press blog on December 4, 2012.

Eva Maria Wilhelmina Lundh Hubertz. Quite the mouthful, right? Her friends shortened it to the nickname May. I called her Mormor. She was my great-grandmother, and I grew up watching her fingers work at various crafting projects while sitting on the couch in her cozy living room. She came to the US from Stockholm in the 20′s and married my great-grandfather, a handsome young Norwegian. I’ve always wanted to visit the city where she grew up, and this fall, I was lucky enough to do just that.

On our first day in Stockholm, Kirk, Ingrid, and I took a walk around the old part of the city: Gamla Stan. I’ve heard that in the summertime, it’s crowded and overrun with tourists. But on this quiet day in October, we had the streets practically to ourselves. It was magical. – Eva

DECEMBER 2012

All of mine and Kirk's siblings, along with all of Ingrid's cousins were in Utah for Christmas. It was amazing seeing everyone. Who knows when that will happen again?! Ingrid had a blast playing with all of her cousins and still talks about them all the time. In fact, when we say our family prayer before bed, she often interjects and makes sure we go down the entire list of family members. :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS (A LITTLE, WELL, A LOT LATE)

 I originally posted this on the Sycamore Street Press blog on December 25, 2012. This was our Christmas card for the year, so I'm sorry if you are just seeing this for the first time! 

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

xoxo, Kirk, Eva, Ingrid, & the rest of the Sycamore team

White Christmas lyrics by Irving Berlin

THE BELLY

This blog will soon be called "Life with Ingrid & Lars", so here's a little update of my belly with him in it. I took this photo in December 2012, when I was 5 months along.

Ingrid loves to "see" and "hug" baby Lars, which at this points lifting up my shirt so she can see and hug my belly. She likes to lay her head against my belly and suck her thumb. And since she went to my last prenatal appointment and heard his "heartbeak", she likes to listen for that, too, and feel for his kicks. She seems to have a pretty good understanding of the whole thing... we'll see how it goes when he comes out, though.

NOVEMBER 2012 / 2 YEARS OLD!

On November 16, 2012, Ingrid turned 2! We took her out to the local diner, Chick's Cafe, for a Mickey Mouse shaped pancake breakfast. She also had a family dinner with the Pollocks and with the Jorgensens. It was fun that she understood the concept, and got excited for cake, presents, and the birthday song.

IT'S A BOY!

I originally posted this on the Sycamore Street Press blog on November 6, 2012. 

When the technician spelled out “b-o-y” on the sonogram monitor without saying a word, I got the biggest grin on my face. Somehow that moment makes the baby so much more real to me. Especially since both times it’s happened, we already had a name picked out. Last time, of course, it was Ingrid. This time, it’s Lars. We’re naming him after Kirk’s great-great grandfather, who was a miner in the arctic north of Sweden. A fitting name, I think, for a boy who will grow up in this mountain town of ours.

When he’s born in April, we’ll have one of each. Perfect, right? And yet, I have to admit I was hoping for another girl. Partly because I have a sister a little younger than me, and we had so much fun together growing up. And partly because I am more comfortable with girls in general. But now that I know that the little one growing inside me is a boy, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Yes, I am nervous. But I’m up to the challenge. He’ll bring a whole different dynamic to the family that will be good for all of us. I can’t wait to meet him! – Eva

OCTOBER 2012 / 23 MONTHS

Just before her 2nd birthday, we used points from our business to take Ingrid to Europe. Specifically, Stockholm, Helsinki, and Paris. Other than the fact that she hardly slept a wink on the many plane rides we took, she was a great little traveler.

Some of my memories of Ingrid on the trip:

+ On our first day there, we let her pick out a toy. She chose a Pippi Longstocking doll (accompanied by Mr. Nielson, of course.) She took those dolls with her every single day and would make them talk and play together while we pushed her in the stroller. They were a lifesaver and such a great souvenir from the trip.

+ Her favorite thing on the trip was when we'd let her get out of the stroller and run around in a park, town square, etc.... especially if there was a bench nearby. She LOVED climbing up on benches.

+ She had the time of her life visiting the replica of Pippi's house (Villa Villekula) at Junibacken in Stockholm. Her favorite parts were playing in the kitchen with the cakes and cookies and getting to sit on and groom Pippi's (wooden) horse.

+ Whenever we'd have to carry her stroller up and down stairs or take it on the escalator (which was multiple times a day), she'd throw her legs up in the air and say "flying!"

+ She loved any kind of "ride". Taxi rides, boat rides, train rides, etc...

+ The carousel in the Tuileries gardens in Paris was a big hit. We made sure to go twice. We also took her to the old-fashioned Paris zoo, which she loved. Especially the monkeys and the flamingos, which she told us were "noisy".

23 months on October 16, 2012.