The Travel Begins

We have embarked on our journey to Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, and Norway!  This was not the easiest trip to pack for.  Annika is gaining weight like crazy and I'm afraid she'll grow out of all of the clothes that I'm bringing for her by the time we return in February.  Anyway, the trip officially began on December 13th at the SeaTac airport.  It unofficially started about about 4:15am that morning when I got up to feed Annika and decided to stay up to finish the packing.  By 8:30am, I had us all ready to go and luggage packed in the car.  My friend Kadee drove us to the airport and I managed to move everything all together.  Travel was made possible by the BOB stroller and advise from friends.  I had Annika in the carseat on the stroller, a diaper bag on the shelf underneath, my bridesmaid dress on top of everything, a backpack, and then I pulled my suitcase and Annika's suitcase stacked on top of each other.  As you can see, it was right at the edge of what could possibly be managed by one person.

Annika wasn't so sure about the airport situation but she did excellent on the flight and really liked stretching out when I changed her in the airplane bathroom.  I put her in a front carrier and she slept almost the whole way from Seattle to Minneapolis.  Kyle met us at baggage claim when we arrived in MN. His flight from Oslo arrived just minutes before ours.  The three of us were very happy to be reunited and enjoyed our evening together. 

The next day we filled with visits with family and friends.  My aunt Gloria, great-aunt Ruth, cousin Sally, and her daughter Brittney met us at our hotel and we went out for lunch.  It was a short visit but very enjoyable.

After lunch we met up with some college friends at the Mall of America.  The Lego center is pretty fun for kids.  It was great to see Kyle's former roommate Andy and his wife and 3 kids.  We were also able to spend some time with our good friend Emily.

That night we stayed with a fun couple, Brian and Sarah, who we met when we lived in AK.  Brian is now a lawyer in the Minneapolis area and Sarah is a pastor of a church in Eagen (a suburb).  They have a neat old house in St. Paul and we always have a great time when we stay with them. 

*Side note:  If you ever find yourself in St. Paul and looking for a fantastic baby store, go to Peapods.  It's on Como Ave., close to Luther Seminary.  We went in there looking for one thing for Annika and came out with several more items that I couldn't resist.  I'm planning a quick return visit when we go back to the Twin Cities before flying to Norway.

One Month

Wow!  I can't believe that Annika is already over 4 weeks old!  There is definitely evidence of her growing, with cheeks filling in and a double-chin forming.  I haven't had an opportunity to weigh her in the last couple of weeks but she does still fit in newborn-size clothing.  I imagine that she won't much longer, as she is definitely a long baby.  We've been having a lot of bonding time now that it's basically just the two of us all day, every day.  I do pretty well on energy until about 6pm and then the exhaustion starts to settle in.  I'm trying to get some type of routine going but so far we don't have much that's regular other then the fact that she gets a great, long nap from about 10:30am to 1:00pm or longer.  In the evenings, Annika is taking short naps and much prefers to be held during those naps instead of sleeping in her bouncy chair.  That sure makes cooking and eating dinner a bit tricky!  Lately, I've been putting her in the Moby wrap and wearing her for good portions of the afternoons.  We've been out for a walk every day this week and that helps immensely with my cabin-fever.  It's also supposed to help the melatonin switch on in her brain so that those longer sleeping times can be during the night instead of during the day.  Annika is making a wider variety of sounds and has begun giving me smiles when she is awake.  I've been trying to capture those expressions on camera but so far the only smile I've gotten is in her sleep, which is due to gas, I'm sure :)  Still pretty cute!  

 Smiling in her sleep.  Can't wait for the real smiles!

 Snoozing peacefully.

 I'm pretty sure that she had her hands up by her face nearly all the time in my belly and she still likes to have her hands free.

Here she is at 1month old.