Grabbing it all

These days there is a lot of "grabbing" done around for our little family.

Grabbing with her little hands. Her little hands have been getting busy these past few days, working really hard to hold on to...well, just about anything she can find in front of her. With sounds of encourage from her mamma and her daddy in the background, "oohh-s" and "haaaa-s" and "hurra-s"...we are not sure it actually helps her make progress, but it sure makes us happy and also look silly, which we like around this house :)




Grabbing moments of pure cuteness.Snap. Snap. Stealing these moments away with my camera, before they are gone forever. She is growing so fast already, and I want to remember it all. But like we say in French, I don't have a "memoire d'Elephant", so pictures are going to help. And let me tell you, there's quite a lot of cuteness around our house these days...so I'd better get busy if I want to grab it all!

Like these two playing together.


Or when she is just "hanging out".



Or when they read a nice little fairytale the newspaper together :)




Grabbing opportunities to learn. One more maternity shoot. I had taken pictures of Kath a few weeks ago, in this post. Last Saturday it was the turn of her sister NIcholine, due in about 3 weeks from now. Thanks Nicholine for giving me an opportunity to take some pics of you.




Grabbing opportunities for "outs". Troels and I went on our first real date on Saturday, and Olivia spent the night at her grand-parents. What a weird feeling that was to wake up only the two of us in the room and not hear a little girl cooing in her bed, ready to be picked up for some morning cuddles. But we had a fantastic date in the Tivoli Gardens, so that was worth the sacrifice :) Highlight of the night? Oh the pirate ship...we are worse than kids!

And since we are on the topic of pirate ships and outs...we are also out on our way to Norway as I am writting this! Troels has a conference in Oslo all week, so we decided to take the ferry up the Fjords for a last minute fun little trip. Norway here we come.

Land A'hoy Captain Tinymus!


Knus, Audrey

In 'n out...and out.....and out...

Once upon a time, traveling abroad was a big deal. Long travels by boat or train. Straining farewells between husband and wife, the woman waving her soaked lacy handkerchief at the boat that was taking her husband away from her for god knows how long.

Last week I felt like that woman - without the lacy handkerchief, I am not that classy :D The erupting volcano in Iceland took us a few centuries back, leaving Troels stuck in London and us little girls in Nivaa longing to have daddy back home.

Note to self = avoid living near a volcano.

Thankfully, we weren't *completely* back in time, Skype helped make this unexpected adventure a little easier on us. Actually, rather pleasantly, it reminded me of the first few months when Troels and I were dating long distance - having "coffee dates" via the internet, sharing moments of talking and laughing together... and often, not saying anything. Just listening to each other, just enjoying each other's company - reading a book and knowing that the other one was just "there" if we wanted to talk. Bliss.

So wile daddy was stuck in L-town, Tinymus and I hung out in Nivaa.

Among other things, we made bubbles....A LOT of bubbles.


Tinymus also spent an incredible amount of time trying to charm me. Little cutiepie she is.



During the spring showers when I couldn't be out fixing our mess of a garden, I stay inside cozied up in a blanket and made a few more baby presents - because guess what, it seems like everybody is having babies around us and I am just loving this. More and more friends for Tinymus! The below is for Anders and Kath's little girl. Should keep her warm this winter.


And....I am ashamed to admit to it....but that week I had dessert for breakfast a couple of times. Not that having cake with my morning tea made me forget that Troels was missing in the house....but as close as I could get to it for a few seconds :) Gotta love that extreme sugar high at 7 am!


We're also lucky to have many thankful friends and family members who called and came to check on us, invited us over for some food or just to hang out - "hygge", a Danish favorite. It was such a nice feeling to feel this network of people around me!


Heidi and Isabella "hygging"

But making bubbles and coffee dates on Skype got old pretty fast, let's admit it. So with we *strategized* (all our friends know that we L.O.V.E *strategizing*) for the "Getting-Troels-back-to-his-Kroellemus-and-Tinymus" Mission. After many failed attempts, it resulted in Troels having to take five different trains and a ferry boat, and among other things hang out with druggies in the Koln train station and sleeping with suitcasse and bike on the train to Hamburg. Fun. I don't think he will complain about having to be in "monkey class: in a plane ever again after this journey :)

But oh - being reunited. Most. Wonderful. Thing. Ever.

In love

It's spring and my little heart has been going crazy lately. This often happens to me at the beginning of each season - because everything look and feels new. I am so glad that seasons exist, because this means change and new beauty around us all other again. Change, I guess this is where I thrive the most. I look around at things, and find myself in love with almost everything that surrounds me - don't worry babe, I am not talking about men here :)



With Spring, Tinymus is getting a first few tastes of enjoying the sun and being outside. Yesterday her little feet touched the grass for the first time, and she smiles big from all the tickles. Oh how wonderful this summer is going to be. I can already imagine her with her little summer dresses, playing on a cover in the garden, catching the bugs and anything else she can put in her mouth :) For some reason I don't remember last summer in New York so much. Probably because we were away for part of it, and also because the weather wasn't that great - but I think mostly because we lived in an apartment without windows, half an hour away from any park. A summer without windows to open and let summer in - it's like being a kid at Christmas without any chimney in your house. Terrible! :) It's not even quite summer yet in Nivaa, but already we can let the fresh air in and hear the birds sing, or step outside barefoot on the grass to go enjoy my morning tea as soon as the sun it out in the morning.

What a difference this makes!



Waking up in the morning with energy and the sun shining through the window, if I was a runner I'd probably go for a run every morning....but uhm uhm, everybody probably knows that my running shoes are getting dusty :D But my hands, oh my hands, they are the ones running the marathon these days. Taking pictures, and lots of projects - all the below I finished this weekend.





All of these above are presents for two little girls in the States. I am completely in love with the little sundress, made with this very easy pattern. I hope they like it!



Oh miss O can't get enough of looking up to see the world, so we've attached all sorts of things to the ceiling, including these little ducks that I just finished.

Yes, I told you, it is almost a project overdose. But I am completely in love with being productive and having lots more projects in my mind. All I am afraid of these days it sometimes to forget about the "big picture projects". I have some work to do in the sorting and prioritizing department :) But hopefully I can figure this part out. In the meantime, more projects are in the works: our friends Anders and Kath just welcomed a little girl (Congrats!), so this means new dresses need to be made asap. It now make three girls out of four babies due this year in our group of friends - the question is now, Line, are you going to let us down and have a boy? :)

No man is an Island

No baby is either, for that matter.

The past few days have been a fabulous reminder of what really matters. And that, no matter how much money we might have or how successful we might be in our professional life, there are just some things that are irreplaceable.

Old friends. You know, those people who always feel right when they are around you, regardless of how long it's been since you last saw them?

The Michounettes and their Michou-boys flew in from all parts of the world - ok.....I might be exagerating a bit, the UK and France only :) It was three days of pure joy and laughter, remembering old memories and creating new ones. I savored every minute, realizing how lucky I am right now to leave much closer to some of my best friends, lucky that I had all of them with me to celebrate my birthday on Sunday...it had not happened in years.



So here. To old friends. Because they make my world go 'round and 'round and 'round.


New friends. You can't make old friends without meeting them first. Our little Tinymus is getting her first taste of this :)


First this weekend our mini-Michounette met our little Michou. She starred at him wondering if he was one of her toys or an actual very small person that could start talking and tickling her at anytime. And on Tuesday she met her new friend the Castor, who came in singing and dancing in a box sent from France. Merci Mamie pour le joli Castor!






Family.They say you choose your friends, but you can't choose your family. So how did I luck out with so many fantastic families? I mean, I am talking France, Denmark....and all of the adopted families in the US that picked me up along the way. That's A LOT of pretty awesome families, people :)

Friday was Hanne's birthday. She was kind enough to invite all of my visiting friends for the celebration at her house: a feast of pure-deliciousness-goodness hot chocolate (NEED to get the recipe!), and yummi homemade cakes, viking games and walk in the forest under the bluest of skies. Enjoying the little things, as Kelle would put it.











All of this in a mix of languages and cultures and people just like I love. Having both family and friends there felt so special to me, the same sort of feeling I had at my wedding last when all the people I loved where gathered at my parents' house. Pure bliss.


And then there is these guys. They are more than my family...they are my heart. I could just not imagine my life without them. Thanks for the wonderful birthday on Sunday:
My love- for the oh-so-wonderful presents (can't wait to go riding!) and your always-delicious breakfast on Sunday morning. Don't get me too used to them or I am going to expect them at every single birthday!
Tinymus - Thanks for letting Mamma sleep until 8am you are a rockstar :)