Thursday, June 30, 2011

Kolmården Zoo part 2


Check out this big kitty! He is snoozing right by the window. So pretty, wish I could pet him. At least I could offer him some of my leche.


I think this sign says that I am a certified tiger expert after my visit.

Wow, look at this big paw print! I am tiger tracking.

There was a petting zoo inside the main park, also. I got to run around with goats, chickens, and pigs! Mostly I was scared, though, since they were loud and not very shy. I much prefer the tigers and elephants!!

Kolmården Zoo


Baby bjorn!


The elephants were the Indian kind, so not as big as some others mom and dad said. But they seemed pretty big to me!

Whoa, that's a big rhino!


Today we went to a huge zoo called Kolmården Djurpark. It was way more than just a zoo... more like a theme park. We needed a whole day to walk around it, and still didn't see everything. I have a new affection for animals after the visit. My favorite was the tiger (see next post).

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Chillin in Norrköping

I love running around in the park!


We headed out today on our road-trip vacation. Our first stop was in Norrköping, which is about 2.5 hours south of Uppsala. We found a pretty park with a nice fountain and went running around to "get our ya-ya's out", as mom says. I had a great time picking up trash (like this ice cream container) and playing with mom's phone. We also went on a walk around the city, which is really interesting because it is an old industrial city that has been transformed into something quite hip and fun. Then we went for supper at a tapas restaurant.... but the tapas were super lame compared to the ones we had in Spain. Oh well, you can't have everything!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Uppsala with McMahons part 2

Here I am on a rune stone in the park!

With mom in front of another rune stone.

With dad in front of the University Main Building.

Uppsala with McMahons part 1

Here I am inside the cathedral checking out a display of the resurrection.

We wandered around Uppsala with Grandma and Grandpa McMahon. Of course we went to see the cathedral (Domkyrkan). Here I am out front with mom!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Stockholm with the McMcMahons part 2


Here I am with dad, trying to wiggle off his lap. Grandma and Grandpa are sitting next to us!

We went to hang out in the square in Gamla Stan, and to have hot chocolate at the same cafe we visited with Grandma and Grandpa Sauer. I was still pretty wiggly so I went running all around the square. Here I am sitting in front of the Nobel Museum. We didn't go in this time, since we were all pretty tired by the time we were done with our hot chocolate.

Stockholm with the McMcMahons part 1


Grandma and Grandpa McMahon came to visit so we went to Stockholm for some touring around. Here we are on a boat tour. I was pretty wiggly and crabby, since it was past my nap time. When dad finally strapped me into the mei tai, I took a short snooze and felt better.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Midsommer in Sweden


I danced with both mom and dad around the maypole!

We went to a park with friends, along with Grandma and Grandpa McMahon who were visiting, to celebrate midsummer. The solstice was actually on June 21 of course, but the Swedes wait until the following Friday to really party. Here I am wearing a pretty wreath of flowers.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Pile drivers outside our house!


Check it out! There is a big construction site outside our apartment in Uppsala. It's so fun to watch the workers drive piles, dig the dirt, and operate the big crane. Unfortunately it's also kinda noisy and dirty, but mostly I like it!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Airport home

Mom said I was a real trooper coming back from Amsterdam on the plane. While we waited for dad to get the luggage, I found this awesome push cart and ran all around the baggage claim with it. It was the highlight of the day!!

Friday, June 10, 2011

Biking on the Dutch dykes

I went on my first bike ride on the dykes near Tim and Heleen's house. They were along the Ijmeer and the Kinselmeer. I got to ride in a seat on the front of my mom's bike that we borrowed from some of Tim and Heleen's neighbors.

We stopped on our way back for a beer and some ice cream. We got to feed the ducks and hunt for bugs.

Here we are with Lars! Tim is taking the picture. It was really windy but we had fun anyway.

On the way back we stopped to watch a big ship pass under a drawbridge.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Pile driver!

I had lots of fun playing with Lars. Dad did his famous "pile driver" routine with both of us. Here is a picture mom took during my turn! It means something extra special now that we have a real-life pile driver right outside of our apartment in Uppsala.

Roaming the canals in Amsterdam


On our first full day in Amsterdam we went touring around with our friends Tim, Heleen, Lars, and Sophie. We wandered in the canal district and saw some fantastic shops and beautiful scenery! Here I am being upside-down baby on a canal bridge. Check out the boat that is about to go under the bridge.


Here we are next to the canal with Lars.


While everyone else was eating at a nice outdoor restaurant, I was getting pretty crabby because I didn't have a proper nap. So dad put me in the mei tai and walked me around while Tim was walking Sophie. The dads doing a great job of making sure their kids take naps!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Waiting for the bus

Here we are waiting for the bus to take us to Arlanda airport so we can go to Amsterdam to visit our friends Tim, Heleen, Lars, and Sophie! Dad used to work with Tim at Novagen, long before I was born. They moved to Amsterdam a couple years ago so Heleen could take a job at the university there.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Packing for Amsterdam!

Tomorrow we are going to Amsterdam. Mom is packing, and here I am helping her! I can't wait to go see our friends Tim, Helene, Lars, and Sophie.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Peapod!

Mom and dad resurrected the peapod that Aunt Jenny and Uncle Jon gave us. I hadn't played in it since we were in Spain! Dad thought it was super fun to climb inside with me. He doesn't fit very well, but I thought it was cool anyway.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Petting zoo in the park


We discovered a temporary petting zoo set up in the park! Here I am with a cute little cerdito. Oink oink!


Mom was helping me feed some leaves to the goats.


I got to pet the goat's nose! He was very gentle. Which is a good thing, since I was not so gentle! I like to squeeze their noses, but mom and dad don't think it's funny.


I got bored of the animals pretty quickly, and got much more excited about the trailer they came in. It was super fun to play with the tires and hitch mechanics. On my way to being an enginerd....

Sunday at the park

We went to the park on Sunday! Here I am on the see-saw. You can't see the nice Swedish toddler who was on the other side. Notice that I carry my trusty plastic bucket and shovel with me everywhere!


Lookin cool with mommy.

I love my bucket!

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Fun Saturday in Uppsala

We went out for sweet rolls from Forsa Hembageri on Saturday morning. We went to a small park to eat them, but I was sooo interested in walking across the street, that I almost forgot to eat my sweet roll. I wanted to walk back and forth back and forth back and forth. Here I am with dad!

Checkin out the menu at the hippie cafe.

In the afternoon we went to the beach. The water was still really frio frio, so I only dunked my toes in. Some crazy Swedish kids were swimming already. It wasn't quite as pretty as the Mediterranean, but it was still really fun.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Dad's pretty flower boxes

Dad planted some pretty flowers in the flowerboxes on our balcony. I love to pick them! You can see the construction site across the street in this picture. Usually I'm much more excited about the big machines than the flowers, but this picture was taken in the evening and not much was going on over there at the time.