Josh loves the beach!

So I had the opportunity to go to Nags Head, NC with my friend this weekend. I was supposed to be there for a week, but Patric wanted me to come home with him and write a contract on a house, so we did that when we got home. Hopefully we will hear soon what is going to happen.

Here are some fun pictures of the beach and Josh.

Happy Birthday Mr. Man!!

I can not believe it! Josh will be 1 soon...like in a matter of hours! This evening as I was rocking him a bit, I was remembering what I was doing at this time last year. I was in the hospital, hoping and praying that I was going to have a baby that day. I did not have my baby on March 13 though...he was born at 7:31 am on March 14, a much better day anyway!

What a difference a year makes!

Last year at this time:

I was still employed with American Disposal Services
I was not technically a mother yet
I did not have my own company
I had about 50 extra pounds on me (I gained 60 with Josh...so I still have yet to lose the last 10...)
My hair was longer, much longer
I could not fit my wedding rings
I was tied down to a hospital bed, really wanting to get up out of it
I was anxious about having a c-section, which I basically knew was going to happen walking into the hospital that morning
I did not have the new awesome friends that I do now
I was so uncertain about the future and how we would survive on one income(which we couldn't hence the business I started)
I did not know what it was like to have so much love for such a little person

Josh will be one tomorrow, how crazy is that!?!? I am not emotional about it, but just in awe in how much I have grown since having him around. Josh is an amazing little boy and I am privileged to be his mommy.

In honor of his birthday, I made a montage of pictures from the very beginning to the present.

Please watch it, and comment on how special my little boy is!

Thanks,
Sasha

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And we're back!

Our trip to Sweden was successful, to say the least. We sold Patric's apartment to a nice older woman and then spent the rest of the week cleaning out his storage. The man has collected ALOT of stuff through the years. I am sure it was hard for him to get rid of so many memories, but who really needs two tuxedos, MC Hammer pants, V-Neck Sweaters etc...styles changed, but he still kept his clothes for a rainy day.

We got to spend time with his family in Stockholm, and that was a nice reprieve from all of the work we had to do in Gothenburg. Sweden is a beautiful country and I really do hope that we will move there soon. Patric is ever more serious about us going there, so we are just waiting for him to get his citizenship and hopefully a job there and we are set. We are estimating in the next two years...it will be nice because Josh will still be younger then school age.

To reflect on this decision, I must realize that Patric was only intending to live in the United States for two years, one for school and one to work. He had a nice apartment waiting for him when he would return. Seven years later, he is still not back to his home. I have been living around my family for the last 24 years, and really have not branched out of my comfort zone, except to live in Utah for 8 months. It is time for me to support my husband's decisions, as long as he can give me the security that everything will be ok (which he always does).

Josh was so incredible on our trip. Flying there was rough, but he adjusted to the time change beautifully. I could not have asked for a better transition. Johanna, Rickard's wife, was generous enough to watch Josh a couple of times so that we could get more done at the apartment. Josh spent ALOT of time in his car seat and also with a pacifier this trip. I felt really bad that he was strapped into a car seat so much, but I did not want him crawling around an attic or basement while we were cleaning out storage. The flight home was a breeze. Josh took THREE naps, and they were not short ones either. This was a major blessing.

We came home to have food readily prepared by my mom, which was nice too, even though we were VERY tired. We got to share Sunday dinner with my sister's family and brother's family. Then we went home and crashed.

It was very sad to sell the apartment, even though I never lived in it. It was always in my mind that we would move there first and then sell it and move elsewhere. It is a very small apartment for a family of three, but we could have managed until we found another place. But selling it is a blessing for us as we can get out of all of our debt if we wanted. I believe we will keep some of Patric's student loans for awhile and my student loans. Knowing that I can live debt free is something that I have craved since before Patric and I got married. I went into the marriage with no debt(with the exception of a car payment which was relatively low) and Patric had just student loans. Together we accumulated credit card debt and two car loans. It will be a lot less pressure once those are paid off and we can start saving even more.

I have pictures of our trip, but they are still in my camera. I have not downloaded them yet. So this will be a pictureless blog.

We also met up with Patric's biological grandma, who is 97(will be 98 in August) and Patric asked her about her life while we video taped it. She can REALLY talk, but I do believe deep down she really does care about Patric a lot. We also got to spend time with Janne, who is Patric's biological mom's husband, and he was, as always, very nice to see.

Since coming back from Sweden, I have not been able to sleep in, perhaps because I have gone to bed earlier then I usually do. But hey, it gives me time to blog!

Sasha

Is it the end of February already?

Time just flies!! My little boy is going to be 1 soon. I can not believe that it has almost been a year since I had Josh.
I took this picture when Josh was 5 months 3 weeks old. I woke up that day from bed and seriously was inspired. I must have had a dream or something about his overalls, but I wanted to take pictures of him with just his overalls on. The lighting was PERFECT in my bedroom, so I just grabbed a sheet and covered my vanity and took pictures. Josh was still very unstable with sitting by himself at this point and actually fell back and then I was like, hmm...I should drape the sheet around him, and voila! a cute picture!!


I was pathetic with taking pictures when Josh was 10 months, but this was a cute one that I took during bath time. He LOVES the bath. He goes from this standing position to falling backward on his bum, then flips on his belly and starts swimming. He is going to be a triathlete for sure!
This is not my child, but is my sister's child. Her name is Sage. She is almost exactly 9 months older then Josh and they are best cousins! Josh just loves spending time with her. Do not be fooled by her sweet face though, she is a fierce!

I have pictures of Josh when he was 10 months on my camera, but I can't find the cord to put it on my computer, so that is why I decided to show old pictures.

Patric, Josh and I will be traveling to Sweden next Thursday. We are really excited about the trip, as it will be Josh's first time meeting his cousins, aunts/uncles and even great grandma on his daddy's side. I hope that they are as excited as we are to get over there. We also are selling Patric's apartment while we are there(hopefully). We have I believe 8 people interested in seeing the apartment, so hopefully one of them wants it!!

Til next time...

Merry Christmas - A Few Weeks Late!

Well, we had a wonderful Christmas this year and I wanted to share pictures. I realize that my previous post is a "Happy 10 month baby boy" post and is thus out of order from my Christmas post, but hey, when was I ever one to follow the rules??

Josh got tons of presents from his Grandma, who loves to spoil him! He got a few presents from Santa, but not much since we knew all the fun he would get from Grandma.

Here are some pictures of the day!

Opening his presents with his daddy
We actually do Christmas a little different in our home. Since Patric is Swedish, and the Swede's celebrate Christmas on the 24th of December, that is when we celebrate it as a family. Then we go celebrate with my family on the 25th. It is so much fun around the holidays in my family!

If you did not get a Christmas card from me this year, do not feel bad. This is the picture we sent out. I was better this year then last year, but I still left out a lot of people! Last year I did not send any out, due to the fact that I was working full time, 6 months pregnant, and finishing my bachelor's degree.

He was busy opening all the presents at Uncle David and Aunt Teri's house. I believe he is opening their present to him in this picture.
Josh is just hanging out with his Grandma, looking at his cool new GloWorm. He loves this thing. I hear him playing with it in his crib every night, and every nap time.

Well--speaking of nap times, Josh is waking up from his nap, so I must go play with him.

Til next time!!

Happy 10 months little boy!

I can't believe my little boy is 10 months old today. He has officially been outside of my body longer than he was inside. He has fun playing with his cousin Sage, where this picture was taken. He has been crawling around since about 5 months but he is getting more bold with standing now. He has stood on his own for many seconds at a time.

Patric and I are going to Sweden from Feb 28-Mar 9. This is will be quite a trip for Josh as we have never traveled on a plane with a baby before, and not so long of a trip as we are going on soon. We will be selling Patric's apartment that he has over there so that we can pay down some debt and save for a single family home here in Virginia, though he has family and friends that want us to move to Sweden really bad. That won't happen until Patric gets American Citizenship so that we can move freely between the two countries without having to go through the whole immigration process again. I don't think our marriage could handle that again.

Other then that, not much is going on in our lives. We watched the Giants beat the Cowboys yesterday and that was fun! I always get so nervous watching Giants games because I really want them to win and get so disappointed when they don't. I am a dork.

Anyways, that is all for now!

Where has the time gone??

Wow! I have not blogged in months! And looking at the pictures I posted reminded me of how time flies and that the decision I made to stay home with Josh was an inspired one. I have a silly little boy.