our family unit

check in baby

we've decided to pack vanya in our luggage to india...its just so much more convenient.

kidding!!!!!!!!!!!!!

we're off to helsinki tomorrow (27th) morning...we're taking the train from nykoping to arlanda airport direct...have a few hours there and then to helsinki. have about 4 hrs. layover there before the long leg of the journey to mumbai (or bombay as i'd rather call it). JPs younger brother is meeting us there as he will be flying with us then to mangalore. a full day of surprises as this is our first journey with a baby and vanya's first international outing! hope all goes well....

will post again from india if i can :)

happy new year!!!!!

7 months

miss vanya is now all of 7 months old! xmas was the lucky seven day.

she keeps kicking away and is a massive bundle of energy...she is trying to crawl...pushes her back legs but just needs a little bit more time. we think that since she's always wearing stockings with her legs covered that maybe she's not getting a good grip...but soon she will be sans leggings in the heat of india...its nearly 80 degrees there...so she'll be baring some skin we can say. :)

the pic here is a typical scene of vanya waiting for her morning breakfast...usually a rice or wheat cereal. she eats about 4 tablespoons worth...thank goodness!

halfway to ONE

our little vanya is now all of 6 mths and a week old! how time flies!

she is babbling up a storm these days and just started framing the sound 'amma' (mom in kannada) 'mammmaauumm' 'dah dah dah' and her normal giggling, kackling and mmmms. she's a happy baby and laughs and smiles easily with us at home...but after visiting our friends rille & viktoria, she cried everytime viktoria held her and was fine when rille held her...so we don't know what to make of that. we were hoping to get her used to people more...but we don't know many here and soon she will be heading to the most populated country in the world (almost)..india and will be bombarded with many, many people and a whole new atmosphere from cold, extremely quiet sweden.

vanya is a nonstop girl...pretty active in the kicking dept. when she's got tummy time...she can push herself up with her arms ans sometimes tries to move forward but she's just not there yet.

her menu these days include her formula, banana rice cereal, apple-pear cereal, whole grain cereal mixed with mixed fruit puree, yellow lentils, mashed buttered parsnip, mashed buttered potatos, fresh pear, avacado..these are just the things that she has tasted and some that she eats everyday.

and im doing much better...i think it took all these 6 mths for me to just get back to me...and hoping india will add to the recovery and make it a full circle as i'll have a bit of a break from a lot of duties at home here. but regardless...without JPs love and support i couldn't have made it. also my parents.

so...lets hope i can do a 7 mth update but we leave on the 27th for bombay via helsinki...so i might be posting next from india! :)

vanya's first winter

brrrrrrrr its cold. well folks...we have snow and its going to stay. it came on november 11th and little miss vanya has taken her first ride in it. well, i guess she's not REALLY feeling the cold as its so cozy warm in her stroller and she's completely bundled up in fleece from head to toe. but she did enjoy it as she usually enjoys her outings and now instead of seeing trees with leaves of autumn colors, she can see branches stuck with powdery white snow.

we're leaving for india at the end of december...so vanya will miss a pretty strong portion of the winter. i, myself have been wondering how the heck i'll manage carrying her when needed if there is ice on the ground...im already such a scaredy cat on my own and now i'll have a very important package im carrying...but i guess i'll have to plan it well.

five month feline

well miss vanya has turned 5 mths old now. will she be the next miss world? hmmm you decide. wearing this stylish black cat hat, you never know. :)

vanya is exhibiting more and more of a personality...she is quick to give smiles to us when we talk to her and also when she is playing by herself on her playmat. she is quite content playing by herself. there's an indian song/game called 'tharamaya', where u sing that name and roll your hand...so she is used to it now and we can see her rolling her hands and staring at it when she's by herself. she talks a lot and shreiks a lot in happiness. some of her talk is mmm-waah, abu,kay kay kay and she likes to spit and blow bubbles with her lips.

she enjoys going in her stroller for walks...she looks thru her little sunroof and loves looking at trees and colorful leaves. its now getting colder...autumn is slowly coming to an end and the temps are around the low 50s.

vanya is overall a happy baby. she's had tastes of mango, pear, potato, palsternaka or parsnip (which is really popular here to give to babies)...she takes about 2 spoons worth and then starts being cranky...since she isn't fond of eating anything...thats her only issue but we're dealing with it as best we can.

so thats the update for now...i hope to get better with being on top of the blogging for the interested :)

its been forever..and now vanya is 4 mths old!!!

hi! im not sure if anyone is even checking this blog anymore since ive been M.I.A. for ever and a day.

im having a decent day today...so i thought it was time to update.

we are doing ok. vanya is a little challenging in the eating department and so its been tough dealing with it and figuring her out, as much as we can. but the little girl is growing and gaining slowly but surely and is now at 5 kg...10lbs..so thats reassuring.

she's getting cuter by the day and anytime we are out, she grabs the attention of most people. but i guess here in sweden, her coloring and style are unique and appealing to many.

vanya also got her first taste of some solid food today...banana peach...a little apprehensive at first but then she wanted more and got a whole spoon and a half! wowoeeee!!!!! baby steps as they say. hoping that the slow introduction of solids will make feedings a little less stressful.

vanya is enroute to getting her overseas citizen of india paperwork and will then be able to travel to india sans visa and can live there permanentaly as well. so she's got the swedish indian thing going on...we'll see if and when the american stuff will happen...guess it can't hurt to have as many nationalities as possible, if allowed!

im trying my best to get out and about with vanya in the stroller...some days are easier than others. but when we do go....vanya love looking up thru her sunroof in her stroller at all the trees and their changing colored leaves...its autumn now in sweden.

being a calif. girl im still a bit apprehensive about the winter and taking her out in the snow..but i must do as the swedes and bundle up little vanya and go. she received some awesome winter outfits from our dear friend rima in NJ...a furry pink winnie the pooh overcoat which is to die for cute and cuddly..so need to use that for sure!

anyway...just saying hey and that im still here. taking each day one at a time.

vanya tries....

to talk. this is at about 8-9 weeks

kicking away

this is the first time vanya was able to kick up and actual hit something...maybe some competition for beckham.

its official...

vanya can now flee, i mean, leave the country without breaking the law. she is now a swedish passport holder and member of the EU :)

doesn't it look like she's saluting to her new passport?

she's pretty happy.

vanyas changing post

well..with the parents gone..we have our extra room back and its vanya's..alll vanya's. we managed to use our exisiting ikea storage system and just added on parts to make it look the way it looks now. im glad we did as buying extra 'baby' furniture just didn't seem right for us...being creative we are happy with the way things turned out. as even the coloring is all calm cremes that just happened to match the sofa bed in the room. thank jeebus for ikea!

the batik painting is of an indian mythological woman named 'shantala' - she in an incarnation of goddess parvati (wife of god shiva) & shantala is the name of the beautiful wife of the ruler of karnataka (state where we are from in south india) centuries ago. At one time and when vanya started laying on her changing mat she always looked up at her...im guessing because of the bright colors..but maybe shantala was talking to her in some mythological way? hmmmm i find it interesting when there seeps more meaning in things we think are placed by chance. AND shantala massage (shantalamassage.org) for babies is a special indian based way of baby massage. whew!

secret admirer

vanya has a not-so-secret admirer already and his name is Kush. he lives in NJ and sent her these cute onesies from the gap. the envelope had mickey and minnie and a big heart...i don't know tracy...i think this might be a little bit of a face off with roland and kush now. they start so young these days...oy..oy..oy....

smiles...

all around the world. my pregnant friend ginny, in nyc sent this fun smiley card...the smiley face turns into a huge sponge ball once submerged in water...fun for vanya when she can appreciate big smileys. looks like she's trying to smile in this pic..but its not that easy being a baby and all.

cool blu daddi-o

this is jp in front of our local supermarket, called COOP. its walking distance and so Vanya can go there in her stroller anytime.
when you look closely at the pic, doesn't it look like JP is balancing the COOP credit card on his tough head? yeah..i love those random funnies :)

week ten : vecka tio

vanya can now hold a gaze into your eyes and her own. she likes looking at herself in the mirror - as seen here with our good friend, viktoria. i guess, like father like daughter!!! ahhhh yeahhhh.

just in case the stars are right...

click on image to view/read:

two months : två månader : june 25, 2007

so, little miss swindu princess is now all of 2 months old! i think i've forgotten what its like to be 2 months old, so i can experience it thru vanya now...she is cooing and gooing, making sounds and answering all the tough questions we pose to her. too bad politicians don't take advice from babies, cause they are the smartest in the world and don't discriminate anyone..because love is multi-color-cultural.

the many faces of vanya

realtime : hangin in the crib

realtime : kicking on the playmat

little miss vanya is about 6 weeks old here and kicking to her hearts content on her ikea playmat..wonder how many swedish babies have this same mat? ikea is king here, ya know.

realtime : feeding @ the hospital

this was vanya's formula feeding as soon as we were awake at the hospital.

real time @ hospital

week seven : vecka sju

nearing the two month mark, so now baby vanya can focus her eyes and observe her new world!!! she kicks back in her crib watching the danish designed elephant mobile sent by aunty ingrid in seattle :)

week six : vecka sex

baby vanya enjoying a break wearing a nice blue hand me down from keri & sheena, sitting atop the boppy from aunty christy covered in aunty tina's cover. her feet resting on MY blanket from 34 years ago!!!! and her new best friend, ingamar, the pink bear from our 86 year old next door neighbor. this girl sure gets a lotta stuff from love around the globe - she thanks you for making her start in this work, that much better :)

week five : vecka fem

yeah, i look like a go-go dancer..but how else does one dress for a pediatrician appt?

week three : vecka tre

doesn't she look like the sweetest thing?

week two : vecka två

baby vanya bundled up after a warm bath in a soft towel brought by her grandma from paris! oh la la!!!

week one : vecka ett

baby vanya enjoying the papasan sent by aunty christy in arizona & keeping warm with grandma hilda's hand knit blankie :)

21 days in the world

little miss vanya has grown in leaps and bounds now in her 3rd week of life.

she's become a lot more curious of her surroundings and makes certain sounds she likes to share...some are skreakishly loud..and one wonders why baby's can't scream in quiet? as they say that 'tomorrow is another day' makes major sense in babyland...as it was like a switch went off and vanya just became a bit more mature once it was 21 days...ahhh yes. good for all!

she's become cuter...so we now will keep her as the receipt is no longer valid to return her back to nykopings hospital. :)
heh heh....

miss piggy

Hai (亥) is the twelfth sign of the Earthly Branches. Its animal representation is the Pig ( 豬). In Chinese culture, the pig is associated with fertility and virility. To bear children in the year of the pig means the kid will be awesom e and will be immortal, and will also be very fortunate, for they will be happy and honest.

In the continuous sexagenary cycle, every twelfth year corresponds to Hai, and is commonly called "the Year of the Pig" (豬年).There are five types of pig, named after the chinese elements. In order, they are:Metal, Water, Wood, Fire, and Earth.
there are different kinds of pigs in relation to elements of the earth...so vanya being born on may 25th is:
18 February 2007 - 6 February 2008: Fire Pig

The Pig type is usually an honest, straightforward and patient person. They are a modest, shy character who prefers to work quietly behind the scenes. When others despair, they are often there to offer support. This type of person is reserved with those they do not know too well, but as time passes and they gain confidence, those around them may discover a lively and warm-hearted person behind that mask of aloofness. Despite those born in the year of pig having a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, they have few close friends who understand them and share their inner thoughts and feelings. It is easy to put trust in pig type; they won't let you down and will never even attempt to do so. Such people simply want to do everything right according to social norms.
It is important to remember that these people are not vengeful creatures. If someone tries to take advantage of them, the pig type tend to withdraw to reflect on the problem and protect themselves. All they need in such situations is a little time to find a constructive way to respond. The people of the pig type are conservative creatures of habit. They dislike being made to travel too far from familiar surroundings, unless it is a trip to the countryside. They love nature and are never happier than when they are out somewhere, far from the city.
There is a tolerant and peaceful side to their character. Such people are never afraid to allow others their freedom of expression; they do not want to cause arguments and if there is any way to avoid arguing, they will probably take this option. They are not weak, however, and if the situation forces them to fight these people will rise to the occasion, whether it is to defend themselves or those close to them.

Gemstone : Topaz

forlossning : delivery

vanya was born on may 25, 2007 at 2:25 am

i was having contractions all day on the 24th, starting at 11am...but didn't think anything of them till 1am on the 25th..when they became unbearable... even though i was still pretty calm thru it all, JP wasn't as he knew very well what was soon to come.

having arrived at the hospital at 1:05am...even the midwife there, seeing my calm demeanor thought i was having false pains and just wanted to check the babys heartbeat. she couldn't find it..so she then thought to check to see if i was even dialated. that was when her demeanor complately changed...she looked at both of and said sternly...you are going to have this baby right now!!! you are 8cms! and birth is at 10!!!. no time to think. it was go-go-go. i opted for accupunture & laughing gas for my pain treatments and that was it. after some intense pushing...vanya arrived at 2:25..even though at first i was certain she was a he...and when i found out it was a she..i screamed like crazy, while looking at JPs face!

goes to show you, that every womans pregnancy is unique...and no matter what instincts or predictions you have of what you're going to have....it can surprise you!!!

and they called her....

VANYA

kannada meaning: "of the forest" : "exotic garden"

swedish meaning: none, but a classic feminine name

russian meaning: masculine origin, pet name for 'ivan' or 'ivana'

our meaning: just sounded so pretty and fresh. the international connections just made it that much more appealing.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

i was convinced for some reason that i was having a boy...so i wasnt giving much attention to girl names. but 'vanya' was on the top of the short girl name list and looks like it worked. received only compliments on the name from everyone who now knows about this new being in the world. so that is a nice feeling...and we all know that having a nice sounding name is important in life...always trying to avoid any weird name calling in school and a neat name can always be a great conversation starter.