Swedish Delight

About 6 years ago, before we had children, we took a trip to Sweden in February. Eric had been sent to Stockholm on a last minute business trip and Kristen was able to tag along and spend two weeks exploring the winter wonderland that is Stockholm in February. While Scandinavia is not a popular winter destination, we had a wonderful time romping around the snow covered city and ice skating on the many frozen lakes. We also discovered a little known, seasonal delicacy, the Semla. The sweet bun smeared with almond paste and topped with whipped cream is legendary in Sweden and only available in the days before lent. I've looked high and low for a local source of Semla. I've never seen any sign of them at IKEA, home to all things Swedish, and I don't know of any bakery that makes them. So when I was discussing this with our friend and neighbor Shilpa who grew up in Sweden a few weeks ago, she decided to try her hand at making Semla and invited us over for a fika to try them out. The Semla were absolutely delicious and the company was delightful. The kids and a wonderful time playing together on a delightful California day and best of all there was no romping through the snow required!

President's Day

Grammy and Pop-Pop came to visit with us for President's Day weekend. We had lots of fun showing them all of the new tricks Lillian and Nathaniel have learned since their last visit.  Nathaniel showed them how he can mostly sit up, and smile and jabber at people.  Lillian showed off her artistic skills by building and painting a birdhouse with Pop-Pop.  And of course the big event was the ice-skating, birthday extravaganza where Lillian got to show off her moves as well as the awesome skirt Grammy made her.  Thanks to Pop-Pop for taking these beautiful pictures of their visit.

The Month That Got Away . . .

When I sat down to write this I realized it's been a month since our last post. This month has really gotten away from us; too many obligations, too little time to relax and a little baby who demands constant attention. Now that the pictures are finally downloaded here are some highlights from the month that was.

Lillian took a sudden interest in sewing at school and started sewing up a storm. First she sewed a little heart, then a stuffed bunny, then a cat complete with button eyes and an embroidered mouth all within the course of a couple of weeks.

Nathaniel turned 3 months old and graduated to all sorts of big baby activities like sitting at on the table with us at mealtime and playing with his very own baby spoon. We also put up a baby swing in the back yard, so now he can swing all by himself. Nathaniel has also taken a real interest in the world around him and often insists on facing forward instead of snuggling in order to see what his sister is up to.

Kristen started back at the office one day a week and Eric started taking off one day a week to stay home with Nathaniel. So far everyone seem happy with the arrangement.

We celebrated Valentines day with a home made heart shaped chocolate, almond, cherry desert. It was decadent and delightful.