Merry Christmas!

Ho ho ho... I'm in Sweden now visiting amma and afi (my mummy's mum and dad) and my mum's big sister, Linda. A lot of things have happened since I arrived here a week ago. I went to the hospital in the middle of the night on December 22. My mummy and daddy thought it was best to let the doctor have a look at me as I was choking and spluttering from all the phlegm I've got - and I had a high fever. In the hospital they poked a thermometer up my "you know what", put a mask on my face ( so I could breathe better) and sprayed some stuff in my nose as well. The doctor told me I was a good girl and was very observent, she even gave me a sticker with "Bamse", a little bear. After all that fuss at the hospital I could finally fall asleep and boy was that a relief!

Steini, my uncle (mummy's brother) and his family came for a short visit. They drove a long way just to see me... and they loved me. I kinda like them too.

Then there's amma's dog "Depill" - a little furball who's always following me around and wants to give me a kiss all the time. He's really cute, don't know about the kissing though.

Finally, yesterday was Christmas Eve and it's tradition in Scandinavia to open all the gifts on that day. So yesterday I opened a lot of presents. All of them were lovely but to be honest, I liked the wrapping paper the best! And what's more, my daddy tells me I'm going to get even more pesents when we go to England the day after tomorrow.

From me and my family, "Merry Christmas" to you all...

The Promised Land

I left my home in Gardabaer, Iceland

Sweden and England on my mind. 

I straddled that 737, rode him past the Faroes

on across the sky so fine. 

Straight off dad bought me a through plane ticket, 

ridin' across the Atlantic clean.

And I was on that early morning flyer out of Keflavik, 

smoking in to London's scene. 

Somebody help me get out of Iceland.

Just help me get to London Town. 

There are people there that care a little 'bout me.

And they won't let the poor girl down.

Sure as you're born they bought me a silk suit.

Put luggage in my hands.

And I woke up high just west of Scotland 

on a jet to the promised land.

Working on mum's breast a la carte.

Flying over to Britain, great.

When the pilot told us in thirteen minutes

he would set us at the terminal gate.

Swing low chariot, come down easy

taxi to the terminal zone.

Cut your engines, cool your wings

and let me make it to the changing room. 

London give me Reykjavik, Iceland

354 four ten o nine

Tell the folks this is the promised land callin'

and the poor girls on the line.

 

(Hail, hail my man, Chuck Berry!)

 

Porridge

Last week was a week of "firsts:" The first time I tried solid food, the first time I tried drinking mummy's milk from a bottle and the first time my mum left me with a babysitter while she and dad went out to dinner. I didn't do too well on the eating and drinking front but I slept soundly while the babysitter was here. Not sure about that "big people's food." Mummy gave me porridge - which tasted like the piece of cardboard I was chewing on last week before dad realised why I was so quiet! Unfortunately, mum bought a big box of the stuff so I guess it'll be porridge on the menu for a few weeks to come. I'll pretend I don't know how to swallow, that should do the trick. Don't much care for that bottled breast milk either. I much prefer snuggling up to mum's warm and soft breast rather than having that plastic bottle thrust at me. And as far as leaving me with a babysitter goes, they were lucky this time. I was really tired because I had my second inoculation jab at the doctor's that morning. I didn't cry this time. I was engrossed in a good book and didn't even realise that the lady had stuck a needle into my thigh. I only noticed when she put a band aid on it and by then I had missed my chance to holler about it and give her and mum a hard time.

Turkey!

When I say "Turkey" I'm talking about the bird people eat, particularly at Christmas and Thanksgiving, not the guy pictured to the right who is my "uncle Jonsi." On Saturday Jonsi invited me, my mum and dad to his place to celebrate that most American of traditions, Thanksgiving. As you can see, Jonsi dressed for the occasion! The grown-ups ate Turkey and stuffing expertly cooked by Jonsi and sweet potatoes and other vegetables cooked by my mum. My mum ate a lot, as usual while Tryggvi just ate my finger, which made me cry. Dad was holding me a little too close to him. I thought he wanted to kiss my hand but he had other plans. I guess it was his way of showing who is boss. 

In the land of Father Christmas

My dad is not home right now, I havn't seen him for couple of days. Is he ever coming home again... My mummy told me he went to Finland or Suomi, as they say over there. My mummy also told me that Father Christmas lives in Finland, way up in the north. Hey daddy, could you put in a good word for me?!

Since daddy been away, me and mummy have been busy. We've been to great grandmother and great grandfather (Diddamma & afi Steini as everybody calls them). Afi Steini played the orgel for me, I really enjoyed that and Diddamma held me in her arms and sang to me. That was lovely too. Yesterday I visited Sigrún, she's funny. I was vomiting all over her. She played the piano for me and I played a little bit my self. Daddy, tell Father Christmas that I would like a piano for Christmas.

Anyway...it's windy out there (in here as well), I think I'm going to have my morning nap. So when I wake up, it will be closer till my daddy comes home...miss you daddy!

Happy Birthday Grandad!

It's my Grandad's birthday today. He's 70-years-old and is celebrating in The Bahamas with his friends Charles and Dot Fernie. Happy Birthday Grandad! Wish I was with you on warm and sunny Eleuthra instead of being on this cold and windy island in the North Atlantic. What was my dad thinking in choosing to live here? Silly sod.  I'm going to see Granny and Grandad in a couple of weeks' time. It's going to be something called "Christmas" and I'll be going on an airplane, whatever that is. Anyway, until then, I love you Grandad and can't wait to see you again. Enjoy your day and say hello to nanny and the Fernies. 

Pooped!

Uhhh, woke up this morning with poop all over my back...again! What's wrong with the old folks, can't they put a nappy on correctly? And I just had a bath the day before. Anyway, I didn't wake up in a bad mood or anything, I never do, although I'm sure dad wasn't so pleased to be washing my pyjamas at 4.30 in the morning.  

I fell a sleep last night in a bad mood though - mummy put me to bed but I didn't want to go to sleep. I cried and cried and cried while mummy held my hand and sang to me (which if I am being truthful was the reason I was crying!) Next thing I know, I wake up in the middle of the night hungry. Time to wake mum up.
Oh, I forgot to tell you, something amazing happened the other day! I was in my play gym, minding my own buisiness and laying on my back as usual. All of a sudden I was laying on my tummy without any help, so now I practise every day. 

Wait until I begin crawling - then the old folks won't just be able to put me on the floor and think that I can't get up to any mischief! 

Went to see my great grandmother and great grandfather yesterday. I haven't seen them for a long time. They said that I've grown a lot, well that's the whole idea isn't it? I'm nearly as tall as my great grandmother!

Amanda's birthday

How y'all doing?

Amanda, my cousin in Sweden, has a birthday today. She is 6-years-old, a big girl. I havn't met her yet but I hear that she and her sister, Emma, are very lovely girls. I just wanted to say: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMANDA!" Here is a picture of Amanda in her dress that my great grandmother, Didda amma and my great grandfather, afi Steini, gave her, along with Depill (amma og afi's new puppy).

I've got my own birthday tomorrow, 4-months-old and growing fast...

Mama...

Hey!

Sorry, I haven't been very active on my blog lately. There's a reason for that. I've been feeling a little bit poorly since the weekend, just enough fever to make me drousy and I also have a cold. But don't worry, I'm getting better...besides, I think dad looks a lot worse than I do and he isn't even ill!
I forgot to tell you, about a week ago, I said my first word..."mama." My mummy got all excited about it and she want's me to say it again but I don't do orders. I'll say it whenever I want to. It may take a year or two until I say it again. Anyway, dad says he thought it sounded more like  a cry of "money!" and said it was probably a sign of things to come!

In that number...

Dad says I am a Southampton fan. He says there isn't anything I can do about it - that's just the way it has to be, just like his dad did to him. Dad told me this on Saturday when the "Saints," as he calls them, pulled off nothing short of a miracle when they came back from 2-0 down away to Preston, and won 3-2. Apparently, the Saints play in the Championship which is basically the English second division - and they are down the bottom of that! Mum told dad that making me be a Southampton fan could be considered a form of child abuse. She said I would be teased at school and have to always live in hope, pissed well and truly off most Saturday evenings for the rest of my life. But she can't talk because when she began dating dad he invited her to England for a weekend and took her to the Aston Villa v Southampton game (see the photo of them taken 4 years ago at Villa Park), bought her some fish and chips wrapped in newspaper, and a pint of beer (my dad knows how to impress women!) She tries to tell us she isn't particularly a fan of the Saints but if that's true why is she always singing: "When the Saints Go Marching In..." to me? Mind you, dad said it could be worse, I could be a Portsmouth fan!  

Party Girl!

My friend Helga Vala was one-year old yesterday and so naturally decided to hold a party - well, actually, her mum and dad decided for her but I don't think she objected. As a matter of fact she was sleeping when we showed up and woke to find all these strange people in her house. Her dad is a good friend of my dad and my dad says that her dad is a Liverpool fan and that is the only thing that is wrong with him. Her dad also had a birthday party last week because he turned 40-years-old. Dad says there were different things to drink at that party. My mum, as usual, went straight for the food. My mum can eat! Dad says that so long as mum gets enough food and sleep he can expect to be left in peace. After mum had had enough to eat, we left. I wasn't ready to go but mum was getting tired. 

Front page news...

Yep, that's me on the front page of national newspaper, Morgunbladid, yesterday. At least, that's my pram with me in it catching 40 winks while the big people clear the snow off the pitch. 

Evidently, fame comes to some early in life! Don't worry, it won't change me!

Thanks to the efforts of mum and the others, the game I told you about in my previous post went ahead and the Icelandic girls beat Ireland 3-0 to go through to the European Championship in Finland next summer.  

Mum and dad took me to the game but I slept through the first 85 minutes - but at least I can say I was there.

Busy busy busy...

Hello everybody!

It's been two busy days, so I haven't had time to write.

Let's start with yesterday...in the morning me and mummy walked all the way to her work. That is, mummy did all the walking while I was sleeping. Anyway, I met a lot of people at mum's work, some nice old ladies and nice old men. Then my dad took me out for lunch while mum went to the hairdresser. She came out nice!

In the afternoon, after my nap, mummy and I went to visit Odda and her family. It's always nice to visit Odda, I just love that family. We came home around 8pm and boy was I tired. Then my dad came home and of course I had to say hello to him...so I didn't hit the sack until late - around 21.30.

Today we went down to Laugardalsvöllur to help them clear the snow off the football pitch, well I was sleeping as usual but mummy did a very good job (the womens national team are going to play against Ireland tomorrow, they are trying to qualify for the finals of the European Championship in Finland next summer). Would you believe it, I woke up with poop all over my back! That's a real bummer, I can tell you. In the evening my mum treated my cradle cap which is like having a bad case of dandruff stuck to your scalp. She was, shall we say, quite thorough with the comb - leaving me wondering if I had any hair left! Then I had a bath. That was nice...but my mum tricked me because I got really tired while she fed me....zzzz

Uncle Jon's Cabin

On Saturday mum and dad said we would be going to Jonsi and GG's summer house. Last time I looked, it was winter! So I wasn't too sure about this summer house business. Anyway, not that I had much choice in the matter. You don't when you are three months old. Generally, you are at the whim of your parents. I mean, tonight they wanted to go and eat at IKEA - they wanted some Swedish meat balls so that meant I had to go as well. I'm a vegetarian at this point, or more to the point a milk drinker so I had no desire to go there and watch them eat. But what can you do? Of course I tried to protest when they bundled me in the car seat but there's just something about me and cars, I just fall asleep so my protest kind of petered out like a damp firework. 

Anyway, so we drive out into the country to uncle Jonnie's summer house. It only takes 30 minutes or so which is a bit of a pisser actually because I was well into a good kip when I was rudely awoken and thrust out, still in my car seat, swinging into the cold and snow-laden surroundings of Uncle Jon's cabin. But I'll say one thing, at least it was cozy and warm as toast in there. And my friend Tryggvi was waiting for me with a big smile. Between you and me, I think that little guy is gonna be a bit of a ladykiller when he gets older (check out the picture of him in the bath - wooohoo!) 

Man, is he cute or what? Of course, his older brother is a real charmer and bundle of energy. His name is Arni Bjartur, although dad calls him "Bud Jonsson" which he doesn't seem all that convinced about. Their older sister Anna was also there and she's kinda cool, always doing something artistic. I must admit, we had a good time just relaxing (me and Tryggvi did quite a bit of that), everyone but me and Tryggvi drinking homemade hot chocolate, grilling lamb and fish and eating carrot cake for desert. I wasn't too thrilled with uncle Jon's choice of music though. Some old guy who sounded like an asthmatic frog by the name of Tom Waits, apparently.   

   

In your arms tonight...

It's now the time of year when the stars begin to inherit the day. 

The air is melancholy, the mountains shrouded, the sea in the bay whipped and the seagulls momentarily taken by sudden gusts in unintentional directions. Twilight is permanent, or so it seems. 

Late into the nights, facelit by a screen on which words etch one by one, some favourite photographs in frames, an old mug with something hot to drink. And a little girl falls fast asleep, her tiny hands clasped, safe in her mother's embrace.

Finally...

Some much needed rest. All this talk of politics and recession is doing my head in. Apparently, mum says its people called "investment bankers" that are the problem. Dad said they should replace the b with a w. Mum said that was a naughty word and dad shouldn't say that in front of me. Then they put me in my bed way before I was ready...bankers!

Outside the snow is falling...

Hey!

Today something amazing happened, something white fell down from the sky. It's snow, at least that's what my parents told me. My mum and I went for a walk this morning, it was a bumpy ride but I slept like a baby the whole time.

Went to the library for the first time and got some books. The library is a cool place. Other than that, I've been doing the usual things; sleeping, eating, pooping and playing. Actually, I watched my mum making lasagne...yummie. In fact, I got so hungry that I started chewing on my fingers, which is also a hobby of mine.

Vaccination day...

Today I had my first vaccination, whatever that is? All I know, is that it hurt and made me feel a bit sick in the afternoon. But let's back-up a few hours...

I woke up quite early this morning after a rather sleepless night -woke up at least 3 times. My mum fed me and than I played in my gym, so far everything was good. Around 9 when I thougt it was feeding time again and a nap, my mum took me to the doctor. I was hungry, tired and a little nervous -not a good combination! When my mum was putting me on the scale I peed on her, but she didn't get angry though...puh! Now I weigh 5604 g and I'm 61.5 cm long, a big girl. That wasn't all though because the doctor put a needle in my thigh and that did hurt. But, like the big girl I am, I didn't cry that much. Perhaps now I would be able to get my food and some sleep.

In the afternoon I played in the baby gym and all of a sudden I started crying a lot. Don't know why but I did for 20 minutes. In the end I fell asleep on mummy's chest and we both had a nap for 2 hours. That was really nice, soft and warm.

The time is about 19.10 and I'm really tired and feeling a bit drousy. Daddy just finished changing my nappy/diaper/bleyja - boy can I be messy! Mum is going to feed me and then I'm off to bed. I don't mind going early today.

Good night....

Welcome!

Hi everyone, not sure what language I should write in - probably best to stick to English as Grandma and Grandad in England don't know too much Icelandic, I think. Anyway, I thought I would begin by posting a picture of myself. Cute or what? Well that's what my mum and dad keep telling me and to be honest, they have a point, not that I am vain or anything. Dad used this picture for my passport - yeah, can you believe it, they make babies have passports that we keep until we are five years old! Now how is the immigration officer going to recognise me from this photo when I hit the big 5?  

Well, must go, mum has just told me it's bedtime. I always protest but it doesn't seem to get me anywhere - although sometimes I can squeeze a little extra time in front of the tv watching football, more often than not.