We've had some warm days

June and July haven't been exceptional this year here in Stockholm but we've had some great days... unfortunately at the same time we were in Biscarrosse ;-)!

For our little miss sunshine, however, there is no difference if it's sun or rain as long as she can play!

She really loves the water and once in a while I'm considering going to a course in baby swimming with her... but now when she's a big girl maybe we can go together with her friends and their mommy's instead?

Picture: Julie in her bathtub in our kitchen!

Julie 6 months old goes to university

In February this year Julie and I started a course called The professional conversation (Det professionella samtalet) at the Stockholm university. Julie was only 3 months old during our first day of class and she ate, slept and charmed our classmates when she was awake. I really wanted to take this class because I have many individual conversations with the participants at my work and I wanted to develope a better structure and get new tools to lead the conversation forward. It was, however, Julie who decided if it was possible or not. Now we've attended all the obligatory days and are about to finish the last homeworks and the home exam so we're almost in goooal!

To be able to take this course during my maternity leave means sooo much to me both personally and professionally. It has given me so many new thoughts (surely have keep my braincells alive) and I have met many wonderful people (nice to see the world outside ;-)).

Thank you my little one, my big love and my classmates for making this possible!

Pictures: Top: Julie with mommy's glasses (6 months old) Bottom: Julie on the way home from at day at the university (PS. her mother looked more tired ;-) DS.)

Fun things to do for children in the city

For us with children under the age of 1 in Stockholm I can recommend the site: Barn i Stan.

This week they offer Stroller opera (barnvagnsopera), baby salsa, baby massage, a special visit to the Art museum and much more!

On this site you can also navigate and find fun activities to do for older children (and parents too!) Please let me know if you're going and write to me if you have done something fun that you'd like to share with other parents!

An entire day full of rhythm and music

On Thursday my friend Å and I went to the Dance museum in Stockholm to try the rhythmic class with our children. We went to the early class at 9:15 AM which probably was the earliest we have been out the door for quite a while. It was well worth it for several reasons:

1. Always fun to meet a friend!
2. The sun was shining!
3. We saw the city wake up (and we eventually did too) ;-)!
4. The rhythmic class had a creative and pedagogic instructor -Charlotte Wihk!
5. And we went for a nice long walk afterwards and had a little picnic in the Old Town!

In the afternoon Julie and I were invited to my mom's kindergarten in Sollentuna where they'd have music and rhythm for their children. Little did I know that it was Maria Llerena who was going to sing Swedish songs for children with salsa beats! She had brought a big drum, maracas for all the children, funny animal hats and two cool turtles (Pedro and Panchito). The children bubbled with happiness and happily sang the songs out loud while they went wild dancing around. They had such a great time! After this energetic hour with Maria it was fascinating to see how calm and well behaved the children were when they were asked to put back the maracas in a bag one by one.

Julie (and I) slept really good after such a fun and intensive day and since this day Julie has started to babble more and has increase her vocabulary to: Daw-daw and Awda-daw! She says it with such an intensity that I think that she believes that she can talk!

A unique exhibition for children

The cultural house in the center of Stockholm arranged an exhibition for young children aged 0 to 1 year and their parents earlier this year (the 20th of December 2008 to the 1st of March 2009 ). It's a unique exibition because it's the first time (ever in Sweden at least) the targeted group is only small children!

Today there are so many activities that stimulates the child. There are baby swimming, baby rhythmic, baby dance... and this exhibition is quite the opposite. It's a calm place painted all in white with many soft pillows (round, small, big, baggy and umbellical cord-looking ones) and there are round mirrors on the floor like lakes and soft music in the background. This exhibition is a celebration for the lifelong bonding between the child and the parent/adult and is a place where they have quality time together without other stressing imputs.

Julie and I were very curious to visit this exhibition and we were invited to go with my friend and collegue T and her son. My friend Å and her son were in the town too so we all went together. One had to purchase tickets before so that there wouldn't be too many children and parents there at the same time. Although we went together to this exhibition we decided to focus on our babies and meet eachother by the exit an hour later.

Aaaahh, it was so peaceful to enter this room! It really felt like the pulse from the city just outside the window was far far away and Julie and I was on an exploration trip in a neutral soft and "non-forcing" atmosphere with many visual and tactile imputs.

Julie tasted the mirrors with her mouth, played with a soft woollen rug and rolled around on the big pillows. It felt as if it was only us two in the room!

To sum up our day it was a truely great experience and we hope that there'll be more cultural experimental experiences like this for young children in near future in Stockholm!

Last chance to try the baby rhythmic at the Dance museum in Stockholm

BABYRYTMIK FÖR BARN 0 – 18 mån
Sjung, dansa och ha kul tillsammans med din baby. Med sång, dans och rytm skapar vi en härlig upplevelse. Bland Dansmuseets färgglada och inspirerande dräkter blir det nog en mazurka med Herr Gurka, en vals med armen om din hals och kanske en tango...

Den 7 maj är det sista tillfället! Jag och Julie ska gå kl. 10:30 (0-8 mån) och det skulle vara kul om du vill hänga på med din lilla/e palt! Jag vet ännu inte om man kan förbeställa biljetter. Det skulle vara snopet om det var fullt!

Kl. 9.15 ca 8 - 18 mån (för dig som kan krypa och kanske till och med gå)
Kl. 10.30 ca 0 - 8 mån (för dig som trivs bäst i famnen än så länge)
Biljetter: 70 kr/barn (30 kr/syskon), vuxna gratis.

Besöksadress: Gustav Adolfs torg 22–24, Stockholm
Tunnelbana: T-Centralen (alla linjer), Kungsträdgården (blå linje)

Picture: Julie in a Cha-cha-cha-pose in January 2009.