Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Peaches...

*We interrupt this blog for a post about peaches*

Aw, peaches. Some of my fondest memories of my childhood include stopping on the side of the road in East Texas to buy peaches. I have never had a Georgia peach, but I can tell you that East Texas peaches are delicious. Sweet, juicy - I remember loving these and looking forward to traveling down that 2 lane road near the lake house, eager to pick some up.

After moving to Sweden, I had to get used to the lack of fruits and vegetables year round. I found this change acceptable since who really wants strawberries in the middle of winter when you know good and well they grow in the spring, summer. But that first summer, when the peaches started showing up at the grocery store and later at my favorite crush, my vegetable guy, I was utterly disappointed. They were, in a word, tasteless. Fuzzy, soft round nothings. I couldn't believe it but soon moved on to other fruits, all the while harboring my inner envy to all my Texas friends and family who had immediate access to my beloved fruit.

Last summer, I put together a picnic for the office before everyone went on vacation. It was a great spread, with all sorts of delicious meats, cheeses, fruits and wait for it....peaches. But these weren't the regular crappy peaches, these were flat peaches. They were amazing - sweet and delicious. They also came at a higher price and sold at an exclusive fruit and vegetable stall in a very exclusive food hall (östermalmshallen, for the locals). I enjoyed this brief appearance of my beloved peach in my life and moved on. Until yesterday....
photo courtesy of London Evening Standard

Imagine my joy when I saw these bad boys for sale at my fruit and vegetable guy! I mean, the guy provides me with okra, multi colored carrots, white zucchini but now this?!?!? Amazing to see this gem in my hood. Naturally I bought some and have been one happy camper. Later today I will introduce Leah to them as well, hoping her 1/2 Texan will appreciate them as much as I do.

Enjoy the peach season, my fellow Texans!! You don't know what you've got until it's gone :-)

*We now return to your regularly scheduled blog about the "Öbergs" (or more specifically, Leah)*

Monday, June 20, 2011

working hard

hanging with farfar

silly, silly

cool baby

Leah is growing and growing. She now is eating all sorts of fruits, vegetables, oatmeal, pasta - and of course her usual feeding of breast milk too. All that adds up to 15lbs today - just in time to celebrate her 6 month birthay on Sunday. *sigh* Going all too fast :-(

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Sneak Peeks

So when we were in Dallas, I had professional pictures (www.angiekosaphotography.com) taken of Leah. This morning, I received a few of them as a teaser of what is to come - so proud of my little girl for busting out some serious smiles and even more grateful that my sister was with me as SHE is the reason Leah is cracking up in these shots. Thanks Mandy!!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter

Happy Easter weekend everyone! We have spent the last few days at the summer home - yes, it is that season again and I am very excited to spend some more time outdoors without all the extra clothing. It was so nice to get a taste of it (albeit a bit warm) in Dallas and coming home to the perfect spring weather was wonderful. We spent most of Saturday cleaning up the fruit bushes and shrubs around the barn - rhubarb, gooseberries, raspberries and dark wine berries grow naturally in the yard but had been overtaken by weedes and tall grass over the years. For the last few summers I have observed where these things were growing and how I would tackle the mess in order to get to the raspberries and rhubarb specifically - without having to wear high boots to fend of the grass snakes and ticks :-) Mission accomplished and I look forward to parading my loot in the coming months.

Easter is typically celebrated on the day before, like Christmas, but this is not how my family celebrates this holiday. You also tend to have the exact same meal - perhaps with more vegetables that during December - as Christmas so nothing too exciting to report. The weather, however, was amazing and in true Myers family tradition, I hid little easter eggs for Leah via Pappa (Anders) to find. She did very well and found all of them without any trouble - Anders, on the other hand, had some difficulty with the last one but luckily Leah pointed it out to him. Here are some pictures from day (quiet down, peanut gallery - I know you are seeing pigs fly right now as I am posting picture from the SAME DAY :-)


Leah in her Easter Ballerina outfit


Pappa helping Leah with her egg hunting

Another egg


Leah carrying her 'basket' (yes, it is a crayfish bucket, he he) and pointing out where the last egg is.

Anders is off tomorrow as well so we are looking forward to relaxing at the apartment and enjoying the warm, sunny weather.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Back to Normal

Wow - what a crazy couple of months. A whirlwind of visits and trips - my sister, my mom, my dad and then the surprise visit to Dallas. All the while, Leah has been growing, changing and becoming more and more a personality.

My parents visit to Sweden was great! Mom treated me like a celebrity - fresh coffee in the morning and changing dirty diapers all the time. Today marks the first day I am on my own again - bittersweet to say the least. Naturally, having your mommy with you 24/7 is not normal and, while I enjoy my time alone, having someone around me constantly has been the norm for so long that it feels a bit lonely today. Leah and I are adjusting to the time change again. Coming home is always harder than going to Dallas and yesterday we were both exhausted. Luckily Leah was a ROCKSTAR on the flights home and strangers took pity on this single mother/sherpa traveling alone :-) Next week begins sleep bootcamp however I have to admit that just letting her fuss for longer than 30 seconds seems to be working already. It is amazing how long a minute feels when your baby is fussing.

Unfortunately, I did not whip out my camera very often in my visit home but when I did I managed to catch some pretty cute pics.
HA!!! Seriously funny picture.

Leah with her great grandma, Granny

Dru, my niece and some of her favorite things - a wet wipe and yogurt :-) Adorable


Need to gear up for my first walk with the dogs AND Leah. As you know they stopped going to daycare last week since it is an unneeded expense - girlfriend here is going to get some exercise!

Laters!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

3 Months Old!


Leah turned 3 months old yesterday and is now over 13lbs. Growing and growing - such a happy girl!!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Happy Baby


Here is a sample of what we have been enjoying all week - Leah smiling and laughing at her mom and Grams.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Mom made me do it.

No need to talk about all the things we have been doing - you can only imagine it has been lots of snuggles, laughs, food and talk. Leah has changed looks within the last week, is holding her head up for longer and longer periods of time, and now 'talks' all the time to us as well as her toys. She laughs, giggles and smiles when you come into the room or approach her...bliss. Girlfriend is at least pushing 13lbs and burps like a frat boy at a college party.It is quick as is my mom's time here :-(. Here are a few pictures from Mandy's trip in February as well as a couple from Mom's visit so far. We are having some computer issues and one of the cameras is refusing to talk to the other computer so there are plenty more to post.

Have a great week!Me, Mandy and Leah at Häringe Slott having afternoon tea


Snow Mountain 2011 - Mandy and Anders competed to see who could climb the snow pile the fastest, the Swede won

The Öbergs

Leah Bear and her Grams - touchdown!!!

She is changing looks AGAIN and really enjoys sitting like a big girl already.

Saturday, March 05, 2011

For my Aunt Wanda...


...and all those others out there who would rather see pictures of Leah than pictures of my dirty dogs and dead cat ;-)

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Oy, wow...


it has been over a month - oops. Time is flying for me! Leah just celebrated 2 months yesterday and she is growing, smiling, laughing and 'talking' all the time. I am feeling tons more comfortable with her and as of about 2 weeks ago the babysitting feeling went away and was replaced by 100% mommyhood - bliss.

My mother has blackmailed me and said she will not come and visit unless I update the blog, so here is a quick update with more to come. These pictures are all from my phone - I moved over around 100 pictures and realized that I had taken some pretty funny ones in the last 1 1/2 years (since I got this phone), so I thought I would post them as I see fit.

at the end of the road, around Thanksgiving

My baby boy Kissel, who died in June. A good, bad ass cat that gave everyone somthing to talk about.

We took Reagan and Clinton to a HUGE dog park way back in September 2009. The dog park was enclosed with water...

...which did not stop them from jumping in, chasing ducks, jumping out and shaking off next to an elderly lady. We got them in the car and literally sat in silent shock at what happened.

Until next time (and when I finally get the pics uploaded from our two cameras!), we will be getting ready for Grams' (my mom) arrival. We are so excited!!!!!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

One week and counting...



One week from today my sister arrives and we are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!! Aunt Mandy is making the trip, sans children, and this is because Chase, my family and Chase's family are relatives disguised as angels. OK, maybe that is stretching (especially when it comes to Chase) but I couldn't be more grateful or appreciative for their help while Mandy is here. THANK YOU!

Leah, meanwhile, is gearing up for her Aunt to arrive. She has been working out and packing on more weight - up to 4600g/10lbs!!! My baby loves her some breastmilk. :-) She has also started taking the bottle once a night. We decided to introduce it so 1) Anders could help me with that horrible first feeding and 2) I could have the possibility of going out for dinner or something (which I did last night). She took it like a champ and I am thrilled. She is also starting to make some decisions on her daily schedule. Just like everyone says (yet is a bit hard to believe at the beginning), slowly but surely there is a pattern starting to form. She is getting better about taking her naps in her crib and continues to sleep well in the crib at night. As cozy as it is to have her sleeping next to me (which we sometimes do after the first early morning feeding for a quick cat nap), I am happy we didn't really get into this habit and she is peaceful in her bed. Besides, our bed is too small and Anders sleeps like he is in a cage fight so it really wasn't a possibility anyway.

This weekend Leah, Reagan and I are off to Nyköping. Project renovation has ramped back up and Anders will be tackling the other bathroom as well as the floor and ceiling molding. Needless to say, the bathroom is going to involve heavy duty chemicals, dust and painting so a decision was made for the girls to leave. Clinton gets to stay behind with his daddy because, well he was uninvited. Poor boy - he is still very much puppy sometimes (only turns 2 in February) and last weekend he lost his mind and was way too hyper. He needs some proper training and attention which I do plan on giving him soon, because no one wants to be around a dog that gets THAT excited. We did it with Reagan so I know Clinton will be fine - he alreadys is a better dog in so many ways but going to doggy daycare, while it is a blessing for exercise, doesn't help him with leash skills or social skills. Awww, the life of a dog owner - que sera, sera.

Now, on to why you are really here -pictures of Leah.
In the car this past weekend on the way to Nyköping
4 week picture - she was very opposed to being photographed in this incredibly girly outfit (purple bows, lace cuffs). Can't say I blame her.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

3 Weeks Old



It is hard to believe that only 3 short weeks ago (and 3 long 'feeding' weeks ago) Leah Caroline arrived! Her conception and birth has been a long, long awaited process and to say we are happy and in love are mere expressions of a stronger emotion. We honestly felt that a biological child of our own was impossible so she is a very much wanted and loved child. We couldn't be happier and want to thank everyone for all their warm wishes.

Since she is only 3 weeks today. a 'routine' has not quite been established. I will say, however, she is definitely on a feeding schedule which is evident in these pictures as well as the scale - girlfriend gained 1lb in 1 week. We go back on Wednesday so it will be interesting to see if she is keeping pace. She is every bit the nightowl like her father, but settles into (2) 4 hour sleeps just past midnight. I have to say that first feeding around midnight/1am is the toughest - I am so confused everytime about what is going on and it takes me a few seconds to get it together, get her out of her crib and into bed. But we are getting there - all of us. Reagan and Clinton continue to be happy and curious big siblings who run around the apartment looking for her when they get home from doggy daycare. They will continue to go to doggy daycare until at least April/May. The weather is just too nasty right now for me to take care of all three of them and they enjoy daycare anyway.

Here are some pics I took within the last week - it is so fun to see her growing and growing, of course at this point it seems to be about filling out her cheeks and not in length. :-)


2 weeks

3 weeks


Sunday, January 02, 2011

A little something for your eyes!


'Little' Miss Öberg, born 12/28/2010 at 12.10pm - 4055grams/9lbs and 51cm/20.1" long