Tough

That's what our new camera is called. Tough! So here are some pictures of our day so far.

An Elephant or a Fish? I guess Espen is an Elefish!

Taken from under the surface. That's how TOUGH this camera is.

Napping

Pål is working on his projects...

...and I'm working on mine.

A good day

I think Espen has had a good day and I know his mommy and daddy have. While I have been busy getting my desk in order today, Espen has been busy dancing, running errands with Pål and getting weighed. Pål and Espen made dinner and I made a razzleberry pie. Now it's time for some zzzzzz's.

Riverdance





Espen LOOOVES his wooden spoon!! It's even inscripted. "Baby's spoon to drum with and chew on." Thank you, Rachel!

Espen - my toothy baby

I know, it's 3 minutes long... If that's too much for you, I suggest you watch a little in the beginning and then fast forward to somewhere around the end for a toothy little smile or if you would like to hear me speaking Swedish with my cutie pie.

Teething

My poor little elephant is getting about four teeth all at once, and he is not yet six months old. Luckily, he seems to be doing OK, sleeping through the pain and discomfort rather than crying all day.

My First Stick

Here are a couple of pictures from today's walk. The three of us had a picnic and Espen found a yummy stick. He almost lost an eye and then he choked on it but I think he thought it was worth it. I'm sure some of you are wondering what kind of mom I am but you can relax. Well, at least I'm usually more careful.
Seeing Espen gnaw away on this twig reminds me of my little brother Rasmus at about eight months with a slightly thicker twig between his teeth, like a rose stem, only he had to bite down hard on it so his cheeks didn't push it out of his mouth.

Watching Espen also brought back memories of the piles of sticks we always used to have by the front door when I was growing up. I have three brothers and they were all known to lug sticks and branches and other finds from the woods home. Mom would let them take it all home, just not inside. That's where she drew the line. She knew how important those swords were to her sons and I wonder if they will be important to my son as well.

The Fall Collection

Here is Espen, modeling last week's bargains, pants at 75% off and a used jacket for $1.60, that will fit in a few months.

No more pillows

When I turned the light on to check on Espen last night, he had scooted over to one side of his cradle and turned his head to the side and up so his face was buried in his pillow. I rolled him over, afraid of what I might find. Then he moved his arms a little and I heard him draw a breath. Then I breathed, too.

He woke up from the fuss I was making by taking away his pillow and making sure his blanket couldn't smother him. I guess I wasn't too careful since I very much wanted to hear him breath again, and again, and again.

What if I hadn't turned the light on to check on him? What if I had gone to bed an hour earlier? or later? What if he wasn't my SuperBaby?

Luckily, I do check on my little elephant. Luckily, I did go to bed just then. Luckily, Espen is my SuperBaby, maybe because of the marathon delivery.

Swimming 101

Yesterday was Espen's first time at the pool! First we tried the itsy bitsy baby pool with ankle deep water before going over to the kiddie pool with water up to Mommy's waist. There was so much to look at; the ceiling, the lamps in the ceiling, the other kids, the other moms, the ceiling. After quite a while our little elephant started enjoying himself a little, like he does in our little "pool" at home. When it was time to get out of the water, we wrapped towels around us and sat down at a picnic table and had a little snack. Espen, who was pretty exhausted, fell asleep.

A Wednesday afternoon

My little elephant, keeping me company while I make dinner.

Starting Early

Elephant education. It is important to start in time.

Lesson learned

The Elephant Dad informed me this morning that he had learned a lesson today. I was a little impressed because it was only like 6:24 in the morning. He told me that he was changing Espen's diaper when he noticed the little green peas. Espen is on a liquids only diet so Dad wondered where the solids came from. The lesson learned is that next time Espen finds an envelope exciting, he will just have to play with something else.

We didn't take a picture this time.

Elephas maximus gothia

According to Wikipedia there are three different species of elephant that aren't extinct, two in Africa and the Asian or Indian elephant. I think they have missed one, though.

Elephas maximus gothia

The Elephant Mom

Just after midnight November 13, 2010, after 3 days of labor and 3 hours of hard work, 3 (and a half) kilos of Elephant was born. And with him, The Elephant Mom. 3 days later, we were at home at no. 33. The 3 of us. Ok. Alright. Enough already!

My marathon baby. My super hero baby. Isn't he beautiful?!