Birthday Blast

Uncle Peter and Grandma Ingela visited to help celibate Hammie's birthday. The party lasted two days and included piggyback rides, ice cream, one candle, big fish, golden pillows, a rib dinner, and of course blueberries.

Birthday cake

Ribs are Hammie's new favorite food

Princesses lounging on golden pillows

Fish

Peter makes a pretty good horse

Happy Birthday Hammie

One year ago after an exhausting 22.5 hours of labor Hammie came into this world. She came out the color of a blueberry before a few tiny lung fulls revealed a more natural hue. Incapable of lifting her little head, we took an immediate liking to our worthless ball of meat and discovered a level of love and affection we previously couldn't fathom.

It took three weeks of getting to know Hammie before she received her legal name but she continues to go by a different moniker and will until she tells her dad she doesn't like it. We've watched Hammie become her own little person, possessing a shining disposition with occasional lapses were she becomes the little monster princess (or Hamzilla, Velocihammie, Hammisaurus Rex, etc, etc..).

A lot has changed since we first met our little girl. Her dark hair lightened and her toothless grin has slowly gained a few pearly whites but her blue eyes and kissable cheeks have remained intact. Special little mannerisms seem to come and go, enriching our lives and getting their own names (frog face, skruntchy face, drama queen, etc...) before being replaced or out of fashion.

At one year old Hammie is quite mobile with a sable walking style that has been compared to zombies, robots and sumo wrestlers. She walks best when she's calm and collected as over excitement tends to break her rhythm and sends her to the floor. In no time I'm sure she'll harness her exuberance and be running on her little legs leaving mom and dad scrabbling after.

Hammie talks a lot but is only understood when she resorts to grunts and hand-gestures. Nothing says "I want what you're easting" like aggravated grunts and outstretched arms, fingers raking the empty air in the direction of dad's icecream.

The year has flown by, marked with countless milestones, a few scares and lots of smiles. We feel extremely bless not only to have our wonderful little girl but to have wonderful friends and family who reciprocate our love and enrich our lives. Thanks you many times over. We are looking forward to the many years that will follow and the memories and joys collected along the way.

Happy Birthday Hammie and Happy Birthday Lina (it is after all her birthday too and mothers should remembered on there occasions).

Hammie on the day she was born

Hangin' with the Jutfelts

Our good friends Fredrik and Ida recently bought a house an hour north of Gothenburg in the Bohuslan region where we are hoping to move in the future. They invited us for the weekend and after Hammie got a taste of country life she didn't want to leave and opted to stay for an extra day. I tagged along with her to keep things from getting out of control while Lina went back home for work making it the first night mother and daughter have been apart. Both my girls dealt with it quite well.

Hammie and Siri take a break from country life to be wowed by Fredrik's Iphone

Fresh blueberries. Mmmmmmmmm

Siri stands on her grandmother while Hammie seems puzzled

Blueberries

Blueberries are magnifique!

Hammie and Miriam

A week ago we took a trip to Stockholm and Hammie got to hang with her good friend Miriam.

Nothing says BFF like matching clothes

Hammie stalks the elusive bubble on the open Savannah

The moms enjoy some girl time with their daughters

Holy bubble!

World Cup Fever

Hammie caught the fever this World Cup. She's got four years to train for the next one but since she isn't super mobile at the moment she had opted for playing goalie. Here she is getting some pointers from Hedda