artwork by bebo

we had an irregular mother's day this year, having brunch with non-north-american friends (they celebrated in march!) and oliver had been sick since thursday, so we kept things low-key. but one thing VERY traditionally mother's day, was that i was given my first gifted artwork from bebo...and i LOVE it!!! it is really fun (for me especially!) how much he loves to draw or do projects and i can't wait to hoard loads more artwork from him over the years.

lego design collection

 these giant lego storage containers seem to be everywhere lately. (and here in scandinavia, the most popular colors in peoples' homes are white and black, of course ;) i wasn't planning on getting any until i saw their design collection...MINT??? um, yes please. mix in turquoise, soft grey and oh, i don't know, WHITE, and oliver and i might have to go head to head to see who gets to play with them.

wooden type puzzles

we have a couple janod puzzles (the zoo one and the alphabet one) and i really like how thick the wooden pieces are. i feel it's easier for a baby to hold the whole piece compared to a small knob on the traditional peg puzzles. though these pieces are probably too advanced for oliver right now on these wooden type puzzles, they are so much fun to look at and have such nice color schemes...i sort of want all three!

gro

there are so many adorable danish clothing brands for kids, and gro is no exception. ("gro" means "grow" in danish) the clothes are beautiful yet comfortable, made of wonderful materials like soft organic cotton and fine woven corduroy.

the autumn/winter collection is lovely in rich burgundy and royal blue with layers of greys, even adding in touches of cream and sea green for the girls. mixing knits with corduroy and soft cotton, your littles will be ready for walks in the cool air and jumping into piles of leaves. my favorite print is the badminton birdie, so cute. (and very appropriate since denmark has some of the top badminton players in the world!)

and if you live in copenhagen or esbjerg, you're in luck! gro is having lagersalgs (sample sales) in october, check this site for details.

this post is also guest-blogged at mini cph

mr printables alphabet pompoms

as if the animal pompoms were not already super adorable, how fun are these alphabet pompoms they've now posted on mr printables??? i am already trying to figure out the geometry of the non-symmetrical letters in my head so i can make pompom garlands galore!

ps. to all my danish class friends, you know "jeg elsker kage!"

mr printables animal pompoms

have you seen the amazing website mr printables??? it's a fantastic, fun, happy, craft-filled site aimed at littles--but i might want to make everything posted on there myself! recently on the blog, they posted a tutorial on how to make adorable animal pompoms that are SO CUTE. i want to make a million and hang them all over our apt!

mini rodini quilt

of course this sold out in mere minutes! mini rodini recently had a limited edition run of baby blankets upcycled from scrap fabric of their popular prints. i love that bunny print and have yet to find it in a second hand store here (though the search is part of the fun anyway :) this is such a great way to own their prints without having to hold onto old baby clothes. genius.

mini rodini sneakers

i was looking through mini rodini's new collection and i am loving these adorable sneakers--i think ollie needs some new kicks! ;) i really love how versatile scandinavian design is for children's clothing, so many prints and colorways are just happy and bright.

thankful.

there are so many things in my life i am thankful for, but this amazing and wonderful little person tops every list.

wishing all of you across the sea a very happy thanksgiving!

happy halloween!

i am so proud, i sewed this costume all by myself! and even hand stitched the contrast pieces and hems when a certain crabby little someone didn't want to nap and i had to be extra quiet in our small apartment. my mom always sewed our halloween costumes growing up, so it makes me happy to carry on the tradition!

life with a baby

so sorry i've been gone for so long. i am very fortunate that i've been able to take a longer break than originally planned to spend lots of time with little oliver. we had guests all summer which was SO wonderful, but when they all went home we had to get ourselves back to real life. it took awhile before we could get into a routine that worked for us (he likes being awake...all the time!) and for me personally, it's been hard not only being a new mom, but a new mom in such a different land and so far away from family and friends.

luckily the past few weeks have been much better, with oliver sleeping through almost the whole night, and two naps during the day. he and i go on walks with the pram or sometimes out to meet expat friends or mothers' groups. we have become this mini-team, and we charge forth with our daily tasks that we accomplish together.

i can already see him growing up so much already, i try and memorize every moment of joy he brings into my life. even though he can't stay little forever, i know every day brings brand new memories and the happiest of smiles, and i wouldn't trade it for the world.

presenting...

he came exactly on his due date...an amazing feat as both his parents are infamous for being late.

we had names picked out and were planning on knowing instantly once we met him what he should be called. but we were too enamored by the amazingness that is a new baby and we delayed making a final decision. luckily for us in denmark they give you up to six months to name your child. every danish neighbor he met completely understood why he was nameless. so we took advantage of this cultural difference and spent the first few weeks just spending time with our little one, getting to know his personality and practiced saying names until one sounded just right.

so...with my favorite picture of him to accompany the news, we officially present OLIVER! the name fits both his looks and personality perfectly. his middle name is vietnamese and means happiness, optimism and positivity. a perfect name for our happy little baby bebo!

50 days

time is just flying by dear bebo, and we cannot wait to meet you!!!
50 days left to go...you must be excited too because you were kicking and punching up a storm today. (it doesn't bother milo in the least, ha)

revealed!

we nicknamed the baby "bebo" and kept referring to them as "he" by accident, and lo and behold we were right the whole time! the other crazy part is i had a dream when we were still living in our temporary apartment and in the dream i turned to my mom and SUPER casually said "fyi, it's a boy, so think aqua and white stripes" and then walked away just as casually. AHHH!!!

145 days left to go...we can't wait to meet you, sweet little boy!!!

SURPRISE!!!