The Beloved Woobie

Anyone who knows me well knows I still have the blanket that my grandma gave me when I was born. More than just have it, I love it, I cherish it, and I love to sniff it. It used to be white with pink bunnies and something blue with white seashells crocheted around it as the trim. Now it has a few very faded bunnies (maybe only I can tell they're bunnies now) and tiny patches of light blue. Much of the trim has come undone and is very thin, the blankie itself is very thin, and Lis is always trying to convince me to get a LimaBeanHome custom duvet made for it to protect it. I just can't imagine covering it up and not being able to sniff it directly each night before I go to bed. I don't like it to be on the floor so each night and morning it remains folded in a rectangle or square on the top of my pillow, just in case.

So when Boozie was born we got a little blankie from Trav's aunt and it seemed to be the perfect blankie, or woobie as we like to call it. Boozie was uninterested. I bring it along on vacations and he doesn't really care if it's there or not. When I excitedly pull it out of the suitcase he looks for something better. So I thought he wouldn't be attached to anything, which T was very pleased about, and I was a little sad about but thought it was fine. But we were wrong.

Last Christmas our best friend Ems gave Boozie a little sock monkey. We put it in his crib because he had nothing other than the blankie that he didn't love and we thought he might like a safe toy in there. Again, he didn't really seem to care either way but lately he's really been loving stuffed animals and the sock monkey has become his best woobie. Some nights we go in there to check on him and he's snuggling the monkey or lying on top of it with his arm around it. There's nothing sweeter to see. Each morning when I get him up he goes to find his large stuffed ape and hugs it and lies his head on it for 5 minutes or so. The Swedish word is "apa" and he sometimes says it over and over, most likely thinking of his gorilla or sock monkey. So even though he doesn't love his woobie, he still has his little monkey and I love it. Maybe when it's old, tattered, and ratty I'll think otherwise; but, probably not.

Upon Further Request

A horrific mousse-free pic of Boozie's new 'do after I washed it all out in the bath. Still cute, curly, and long.

A World of Firsts

Before

Boozie's having tons of firsts up here in Jersey. First time at the Atlantic Ocean, first time to walk, and most recently... first haircut! Very sad. There's not as much humidity up here so his curly locks have turned into hair in the eyes. So I found a funny kid's haircut place called Snip-Its in Princeton and off we went, coupon in hand. They blew bubbles and played music and he loved it. I saved his hair in a baggie. What a mama...

After
Not so sure about all the mousse and crazy styling. But it does look cute now.

He walks!

Well, it's been many months since a lot of his friends started walking but today was the day that he decided to join the ranks of the upright peeps. I say "decided" because he has been very coordinated and strong walking by holding my pinky for weeks now and I knew he could do it; he's just stubborn like mama and didn't want to fall, I think. So I tricked him by holding a toy and he held onto the other end and then he would walk to me. Then after a few times I let go of the toy and he walked to me, holding his little toy, unknowing that he was doing it alone. Then when Papa came home, he improved on his skills and now can walk from Mama to Papa with a huge proud grin on his face. The only grins bigger are ours. To celebrate we got Japanese food for dinner and Boozie ate more than we did. It's his second try at Japanese and I think it's his favorite type of food so it turned out to be a good congrats meal.

My little baby is getting so big. Good thing there will be another little mini in December so I don't get too sad that these little milestones are over.

Doesn't get any better than this

[insert contented sigh] Right now I'm sitting and eating exactly what I used to eat in Sweden everyday for 1.5 years: thinly-sliced mild sourdough rye bread topped with butter, prast cheese, thin cucumber slices, and thin tomato slices. I'm in heaven. Thank you, only-30-minute-away Ikea. The only thing missing is this seasoning salt that we ate sprinkled on top and I have no idea how I would locate it. Boozie also loved Ikea and learned a new word while we were there, kaka, which means cookie. I bought some Anna's pepparkakor and Boozie really wanted some and learned to ask for them.

It is warm and sunny outside and as soon as Boozie wakes up, we're going swimming. We had a fabulous past weekend and are already planning our next weekend trip for this weekend: H&M and the beach. We are definitely loving living here, in case it wasn't obvious.

Boozie has been amazing us with all the words he picks up. He loves to repeat us; he's our little parrot. He now has even included some English words in the mix:
-klocka (clock/watch)
-kaka (cookie)
-buh-bye
-um
-so
-no

And a few pics from our fab weekend in the City:


The rooftop deck at our hotel, The Pod.

Rooftop deck

We thought a carousel ride in Central Park was a good idea. Boozie thought otherwise.

Jersey City on the Hudson River waiting for the fireworks to start.

New Joy-zee

Our first weekend up here has been great. We've enjoyed a fabulous park right by our house, a toasty coconut Dunkin Donut, swimming in the pool 4 feet from our front door, and now we'll be heading into the city to enjoy the sights, watch the Yankees play ball, and see the nation's largest patriotic pyrotechnic display over the Hudson River. The best part of it all was the lady at Dunkin Donuts gave Boozie 3 free donut holes and he proceeded to shove them in his mouth whole so half was still sticking out; he just couldn't wait to try them, I guess. Anyone want to come visit?

Gdipe extravaganza code

For all you that were interested in the gdiaper extreme clearance sale, I just got the code for us all to use. It's g544Nilsson and if you add the "Everyday g's 6 pack" to your cart and then enter the code, it will be reduced from $70 to $40. So fab. And another new thing is they started selling gcloth. So if you aren't intimidating by washing (and it's not bad at all), you can get gcloth for home (which after your first investment is free since you never have to buy more) and the flushies for out and about. And if you want a $2 off coupon, let me know and I'll send you one cos I have many.