Christmas 2011

Lola's first Christmas in England was fantastic. It was a really busy time and it all started with some celebration in Falkenberg on the 23rd with a lovely Julbord at David and Eva's with Annette, Mattias, Vide and the three of us. Tomte came to visit us all and he spoilt Vide and Lola with some fantastic presents - both Lola and Vide were a little scared when Tomte first arrived but they slowly warmed to him! We all had a great meal after that and a few snaps!!

We then flew out to Blighty on the 24th and we quickly got out of Gatwick and to Mum's house by 12.30. Lola was then let loose onGandma and Granddad. Tracey and Michael arrived at 10.00ish and then Michael's mum Nancy joined us on Chrismas day morning. Lola was spoilt rotten by the family and has so many presents. We had a lovely roast dinner on Xmas day courtesy of my dad. Everyone ate so much as always. We also had a Danish Xmas and Sofia and I managed to do pretty well!

On the 26th we went to sunny Essex and saw all the fam! Even more pressies for Lola! So nice to see everyone. 43 of us in total!! We all enjoyed the beige buffet!

After that is was a quick shop in Kingston for Sofia and I, a visit to see Andre, Emma and 2 week old Caitlin and a visit to see Luke and Lilly at Cheryl's house at Mays Road.

Back home to Falkenberg on the 29th aftert lot's of festive cheer. Huzzah!!

Bathtime

As the flat doesn´t a bath, we had to be a bit creative. So we went out and bought a huge black tub that is used for mixing concrete :-) fits perfectly in the shower and she loves it!

Our new home!

Sorry for being slow with the updates, but it has indeed been a hectic couple of months... We now live in a flat in Falkenberg overlooking the river (not a bad location at all...). So to give you an idea of the place here are a few pics.

Three feet high and rising

Well not quite three feet just yet but she's getting there! At 20 months old Lola measured a mighty 86cm!

We've bought a car!

Our little family have just bought its first car! As we're now living in Sweden we had to buy a Volvo of course - it's a well know law here that all Swedes must own a Volvo! Our Volvo is an old classic. And when I say 'old classic' I really just mean old. It's a white Volvo 740 Estate from 1987! That said she is a bit a of a beauty and we got her for the bargain price of 4,000 SEK (£400). Spend all day yesterday taking old stickers from the body work and giving her a thorough clean. I also took her for a drive - my first time drivng in ages. Lola was keen to take her for a spin too! Not sure of what to call her yet but I think it could be 'The beast´ aka ´The tank´ aka ´Moby Dick´!

Hej då Hove

On October 26th (Sofia's birthday) we bid a fond farewell to merry old England and set off on our new Swedish adventure. Sofia origonally left Sweden on her own over 7 years ago but was now bringing back a husband and daughter! Before we flew out though we had so much to do. In a very short space of time we:
- Successfully rented out our flat
- Left our jobs
- Packed all of our worldly possessions into 10 boxes and posted them all to Falkenberg
- Tidied our flat from top to bottom
- Did some necessary DIY to the flat where we could
- Sold various bits a pieces on Ebay
- Put lots of our stuff into storage (Thank you Mum and Dad)
- Had many a farewell drink with friends and family!

We had our last big farewell with friends at our local pub the Westbourne on Saturday the 22nd. About 30 close friends turned up which was so very nice. I think I managed to say hello to everyone but didn't have time to talk properly to all (Sofia feels the same). It was a lovely evening though and was a great way to say 'see you soon'. We also had a farewell 'playdate' for Lola with all of her NCT chums earlier in the day. It was very sad to say bye to all the other mums, dads and little ones but I know we'll be keeping in contact and will see them all again soon. For now though it's all systems go in Sweden!

PS - We also recieved so many lovely farewell gifts and cards from friends and family. Thanks once again for all the effort you went to - it really means a lot to Sofia and I!

Bye bye England - Hej hej Sverige

As you all might know by now, we are moving to Sweden and Falkenberg next week!

Scary but exciting and there are a 1000 things still to do over the last few days. We promise to keep you all updated here on the blog with what is going on.

Enjoying the Indian summer

In early October England experienced a minor heat wave and we were lucky enough to have a weekend of glorious sunshine on the south coast. It reached a balmy 27 degrees in Hove and I even had one last swim in the sea for the year (quite refreshing and very nice). On the Saturday we met up with some of our friends and had a picnic on the beach. We stayed out until sunset and had a great day eating, drinking and playing with the little ones.

On the prom, prom, prom!

We all went for a walk on Hove promenade the other day and Lola was looking at all the beach huts. She was checking the locks on all of them to make sure they were secure (I hope).

Enjoying the sunshine

Here's a geat picture of me and my #1 daughter enjoying the sunshine on the beach in Hove.

16 Months!

On July 15th Lola turned 16 months old. I took the opportunity to measure our little munchkin and she is a mighty 81cm tall!

Camping it up in Sweden

The ladies and I went to see the family in sunny Sweden in July. During our 8 days there we managed to fit in a caravanning trip with Louise, Magnus and Marta as well as plaenty of time catching up with friends and family. Lola had a great time running around in the garden of her Mormor and Morfar.

Lola's First Word - Official!

Lola said her first word on May 31st and that word was....... "Mamma!" As a very proud Daddy I was actually quite dissapointed. I have been saying "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy" to her since she was a new born. There have been lot's of "Da Da Da's" but no actual "Daddy's". She nearly said "Duck" the other week while I was showing her a picture of a duck in her favourite book. But no, "Mamma" is the first official word and when she said it both Sofia and I were there (we had all just woken up) and we all looked at each other with our mouths open. A great moment!!

Lower East Side

Some pics of Lola in some lovely T-shirts bought for her by her auntie T!

Lola goes green

Lola celebrated her Irish ancestory by donning a funky green T-shirt (from her Auntie T) to celebrate St. Patricks day. I believe Guinness was the order of the day at nursery!

Lola turns 1 !!!

Our lovely little munchkin turned 1 this week! On Saturday we celebrated Lola's birthday with her little friends Allegra and Joseph (who also turned 1) and a select group of friends and family in Hove. Lola's Auntie T flew in from New York City for the party and a great time was had by all. Lola has been opening presents for the past 5 days and has been spoilt rotten...and quite right too!

Weekend in Wells, Somerset.

Lola, Mamma, Grandma, Granddad and I went to Wells for my birthday weekend. I found a lovely converted barn to stay in which was in a small village just outside Wells, Somerset (famous, amongst other things, for being the town where they filmed Hot Fuzz). Sofia and I went out for a meal for my birthday while the grandparent baby sat Lola. On the Sunday we went and had a good look around Wells, visited Cheddar Gorge and also drove past Glastonbury Tor. Lola loved having more space to walk around and explore and kept us all on our toes.

First steps on film

Check out Lola's first steps captured on film. She wont stop moving now! Here she is with a very proud Mamma!!

The white stuff

Sofia and I joined her work colleagues for a trip for Skiing and Snowboard shennanigans in Meribel, France. We were there for 5 days while Lola stayed back in sunny Hove with her Mormor and Morfar. Highlights from Meribel included some great skiing/boarding, Apre ski, Mark's Armagnac, lot's of JD and coke, great food, plenty of cheese, steaks, drinking games, dancing and some damn fine fondue.

First Steps

It's official!! Lola took her first steps on the evening of Saturday February 5th! She stood up by herself and then took 3 steps towards me (her Dad) before tumbling into my arms. It was witnessed by a very proud Mamma!