What happend in July, our summer holiday 2011

Yep, again, time flies. We are now getting close to the end of August and winter is soon to come(not really, autumn first). Anyway, the summer memories feel far away amd before I forget, I should get the highlights down on "paper".

Summer was hectic. Lots of visitors, much fun and appreciated. Weather could have been better but that is just a part of living in the Nordic region that you have to deal with. Knowing how it can be, we had been smart enough to plan two out of the four weeks of holiday in the more sunny regions of Europe. So the first two weeks of July, we were practicing the skill of doing nothing - we checked in at an All Inclusive hotel in Turkey. We stayed in a small village called Yashi beach, located on the Turkish coast in Bodrum bay, about 20 minutes ferry ride from Greece.
The Turkish July is hot. Australia hot. It was just lovely lying on the beach or next to the ppol in the shade and do nothing more than spending time with each other. Shawn and I were just astonished with the fact that we both experienced the heat as: unbearable. After living in Sweden for only 1,5 year we have already gotten used to the lower temperatures and we both struggled a bit with the extreme heat. "How did we manage to work and live in this heat - with clothes on all day?!" we wondered for ourselves. How did people cope before Air Condition?!

Turkish food: yummy. That we already knew. Noah was also really good at trying the local food and liked it (the chefs´weren´t too talented at cooking up Western food anyway, also why should the be).
Shopping: great - lots to buy! However, as the Bodrum area is the Turks´riveria it wasn´t as cheap as expected and we kept the shopping to a minimum in the end. Of course, you always get a few fake brands T-shirts etc. and some local food items to bring home.

When you practice the skill of doing nothing, normally time goes really slow the first few days and then suddenly, two weeks have passed. This was no exception! But we managed to get a lot done anyway; a few trips into Bodrum city, an excursion over to Greece and little island Kos and of course, the unavoidable trip to the medical clinic with gastro. Both Shawn and Noah managed to get a couple of days of vomiting. Noah was the worst out of the two (being little and all) but he took it with stride, he was a real man and was soon back on his feet and back in the pool. All in all, it was two great weeks and the money was well spent!

The other two weeks we spent in Sweden. Most of that time, it was raining and Shawn had a few clients. So Noah and I hopped on the bus and went to visit mormor and morfar and later on, Shawn caught up with us in Lundsbrunn. Both Shawn and Noah got to practice their golf skills a bit and according to Shawn, Noah has a better swing than I do even though he is only three. Shawn is probably right :-).

Other than that, we enjoyed some good company of friends in Gothenburg, a few BBQ´s and walks in the forest. Shawn was thrilled over the fact that 30 meters outside our house, we picked a big bucket of blueberries and wild rapsberries. Don´t get his started about the wild mushrooms...
The holiday was wrapped up with a long day at Noah´s favorite place; the amusement park Liseberg. We were there for 9 hours straight and he was still not satisfied when we dragged him home late at night :-). A great end to a great month of family time.

When three become four

Yep, you read the heading correct - Noah is going to be a big brother!
As we are in week 18 and today we got the heads up at the ultrasound, it is time to announce that we are expecting a new family member. Finally!

Noah is the most excited of us, as he has longed for a sibling. As Shawn works late at night and we don´t see each other that much during the weeks, Noah was even my companion when I took the preganancy test and he got so happy when the result came out positive. Since that day, he speaks to the baby every day. He loves to cuddle the tummy and most of the time he even wants to hug the tummy before giving me a hug! The conversations with the baby is anything from "Hello baby, my name is Noah. I love you!" to what he has been up to during the day.
Noah strongly believes that it is going to be a little brother. He also has decided on a name; Abdul George. Well, we´ll see about that one :-).
Due to this strong belief that it is a boy, we decided to find out the sex of the baby today. However, we got stuck on the bridge in the tram due to bridge opening so we came in a little late and the doctor didn´t have too much time looking around. She could confirm that all looked well, which is the most important anyway and she gave us a qualified guess on the sex. She belived that it may be a girl :-). So no Abdul George in that case..
As I have a low placenta this time around again, I´ll do another scan in week 30 and then they will have a look one more time to try to find out the sex. That still allows for 10 weeks planning and shopping of possible pink :-).

New jobs

Totally have forgotten to write about our job situations. Both Shawn and I have new jobs since after the summer holiday!
I´m still with the same employer, University of Gothenburg but have moved to the city campus into a permanent position. This is great in all sort of ways but especially since it is in an international environment and the team spirit there is great. Also, I work very close to where Shawn is located, only five minutes walk which allows for lunch dates :-).

Shawn got headhunted during the summer by the owner of a upmarket Personal Training studio. This is a great opportunity for Shawn which allows to further build his executive clientel. He can keep his own business but be able to offer the clients the most exclusive environment for training that there is in Gothenburg. Seems as if we both finally found our feet here!

Poor on keeping record

24 hours a day is not enough! Since the beginning of May it has been very hectic both at work and at home. Busy is good, it is fun; lots of events, parties and visitors! However, keeping up to date with people or even writing a few lines on the blog has been proven to be difficult. It is a shame because this is where we keep track of Noah's development and what actually is going on in our lives.

Noah's vocabulary has grown heaps and very fast the last few months. Every day he says something that cracks you up and sometimes even actually is worth considering even for an adult - I guess that is children for you!

Noah, Shawn and I talk a lot about garbage and how to throw waste in the bin and not on the ground. Worth mentioning, here in Sweden we are passionate about our recycling and Noah is totally following the trend; the weekly visit down to the recycling bins is a hit and he knows where to put what. So, we were talking about how the Earth doesn't feel well when we don't look after it and that we have to care for our planet otherwise it will get very sick. "Then we will have to take it to the doctor" Noah said. So adorable and so correct in a 3 year old's mind. I so wish it would be that simple!

Talking about planets, the last year Noah has been intrigued by the universe, everything from spaceships, planets, solar systems and the galaxies. We read books, talk about the universe and do star watching at night. It is to the point now that he has his own App about planets on the Ipad - think it is worth mentioning in the letter to Santa that it is time for a telescope!

That you can't have it all is well and thoroughly introduced and we have given Noah morfar's old piggy bank; an old barrel that takes a fair bit of coins. Noah is currently saving up for his next holiday! He is going to...Australia, to visit his friends Heidi, Chloe, Nathan and Cayla. He now has 9 Swedish krona - so sweet!