Posted on June 7, 2013
Yaminah had to come home early from daycare today because she has a cold, yet despite her stuffed nose she wanted to record a video of her singing. Here she is singing "Här kommer Pippi Långstrump..." ("Here comes Pippi Longstocking...") in Swedish.
She claims that she has made up one of the verses herself (when she sings about school; does anyone know if this verse exists? :)
I couldn't e-mail it in one video so it is divided in about half.
Yaminah, take it away...
First Sleepover
Posted on April 30, 2013
A while back became the day for one of Yaminah's firsts: the day of her first sleepover with a friend. She was sooo excited. She helped get ready, picking up her room (something that is usually hard to get her to do unfortunately), and choosing her clothes to wear for the sleepover. When Miranda (4 years old; Yaminah is 3) came, they immediately started playing with each other and having a great time. Everything went well, but by far the best part for us was to listen to their conversation. They sounded so grown-up when they talked before falling asleep! And then suddenly--they burst into giggles. And then, more grown-up conversation... and then--more giggles. It was adorable. (And yet, we were relieved when they finally, after quite a bit of coaxing, fell asleep). In the morning the girls seemed surprised to wake up and look at each other: they were still together! And they played again and had a great time. When it was time for Miranda to leave, neither wanted to say goodbye (which must be the measure of a successful sleepover). Here are a few photos of their fun night.
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Hangin' out with Daddy
Posted on June 1, 2012
Yesterday I walked by the bathroom and couldn't resist snapping this photo. I posted it on Facebook, even though, as some people pointed out, she will certainly not want to see it when she is much older. But it was so cute, I couldn't resist!
In an attempt to help her relax and perhaps stay there a little longer, Tomas brought in her Pippi Långstrump book for entertainment.
Quality time! :)
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"I like cats!"
Posted on April 26, 2012
Yesterday, after daycare, we went outside to play. Yaminah spotted one of the neighborhood cats walking by so she started off in pursuit (that sounds like she moved quickly; this was all rather slow... :) I called the cat and it came, and then she had a great time petting the cat and repeating, over and over, "Hi, cat!"
Today when we were getting ready for daycare, we talked about things that she plans on discussing with her English teacher, Larry. She speaks quite fluently in Swedish now, saying sentences like "Titta, man kan stå på bordet!" or "Vad heter hon? Gertrud heter hon!" But in English, even though she understands just as much, her phrases do not come as easily. But we talked about things that she likes, and she said, "I like cats!" then "I like puppies!"...then pasta...then her friend Agnes...
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| Yaminah and a neighborhood cat, on April 25, 2012 |
Singing in the shower...
Posted on April 19, 2012
Yaminah loves music, and singing. Frequently she states her opinions regarding what we listen to as well. The other day Tomas asked Yaminah, "Who do you like better, Dylan or Bach?" and Yaminah answered, "Astrid Lindgren!" which is her Swedish children's music CD. Now she has started to sing along (loudly!); sing alone when she is bored waiting in line with us at a store (both cute and a little embarassing--but in a good way), and she remembers verses and lyrics well.
Here Tomas managed to capture her singing "Twinkle twinkle" in Swedish this morning in the tub.
This morning Yaminah sang "Happy birthday" to me as well, and ended a few moments later with "Hurrah." :)
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Busy, funny girl
Posted on March 22, 2012
After a few months of constant colds, coughs, ear infections, and pneumonia once, Yaminah has been healthy for a while. Finally, our busy, funny girl is back! we said yesterday.
Things are going well in daycare. She usually goes between 9 AM to 3 PM, which barely gives me enough time to study, but we do not want her to be there more than she has to, so I sometimes make up study time in the evenings or on weekends. In the morning she always wants Tomas to take care of her first. Now when she wakes up she calls "Pappa...Pappa...Pappa..." until he finally wakes up and goes to her. Then they have a little time together before he goes to work, and then Yaminah and I can play together for about an hour before I bring her to daycare.
She loves playing, especially creative games. Her newest activities include playing doctor, singing, dancing, and playing store. She loves being the doctor. Using her flashlight, first she carefully checks one ear, and usually declares "infection!" and then the next ear (another infection!), inside the mouth, and then she feels the outside of my throat ("infection!") and then shines the flashlight on my chest (after lifting up my shirt as high as possible, so this is not a game we will be playing in public!) she says "breathe," and then listens through her flashlight. Unfortunately, I inevitably have yet another infection... (A little birdie told us that Yaminah might be receiving a doctor's kit soon; it will surely be a hit!) When she is done checking me, then she moves on to all of her dolls. She checks each one individually and carefully, lining them all up afterwards.
She loves to sing now, and can remember the words to several verses. The Swedish song "Lille katt" has 6 verses I believe, and she knows them all. She often makes up her own verses to songs as well, although unfortunately the word "bajs" (poo) often pops up in the lyrics, which she thinks is hilarious. When she is not singing, she loves to turn on her CD and dance. We say we are getting ready for Dave and Erin's upcoming wedding.
After daycare, now that the weather is finally getting warmer, we stop at a playground to play for a while. She never wants to leave, but then when we come home she is actually exhausted and rests a little until supper. Then after supper, she is on the go again until bath and bedtime!
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Creative Yaminah
Posted on February 18, 2012
All clues are pointing to the fact that Yaminah is probably going to become more artistic than her mother. This is not difficult, however; but of course it is fun that she likes to do creative activities! At her daycare they have a room for crafting and painting, and whenever she brings home a painting she is very, very proud.
My favorite activity is singing, but I couldn't draw to save my life. If she learns to draw, I will think she got it from her aunt Sarah! Happily, Yaminah has finally started singing. I will try to post a video of her singing "Lille Katt" as soon as I can capture it.
Today we "baked cookies" and other imaginary things with her Play-Doh. She loves it; she can sit forever making cookies, pancakes, sandwiches, ice cream...
Yaminah's other favorite activities include playing with Lego (especially her Lego house she received from her grandparents); having tea parties; reading books over...and over again; sledding in the snow, and swimming. She uses her imagination a lot and has become quite stubborn, with a mind of her own (for better or worse--we aren't sure yet! :)
It is especially fun to follow her language development. Since I was home with her for the first 1.5 years, she understood Swedish just as well as English (Tomas speaks only Swedish with her) but she always answered first in English. Now, since she goes to daycare here in Sweden, she understands everything but usually answers first in Swedish. But now she is starting to answer differently depending upon who she is talking with, which is fun. For example, now when Tomas asks what she did in daycare, she says "Leka Agnes" in Swedish. I asked her immediately after, in English, and she answered, "Played WITH Agnes" (practicing her new word: "with" :) Other times she uses one word several times, but if we don't understand, she changes to the other language, which usually works. If Tomas asks what I study, she says "Kinesiska!" but if I ask, she says "Chinese."
(Unfortunately, I must admit--Yaminah was not at all interested in smiling for the camera so I snapped some shots as she played. Or that is, until she suddenly said "Skit!" (means like "Crap!") As she repeated the word over and over, I snapped a few joyful photos before once again explaining that it is not such a nice word, and Mommy only said it yesterday when I was frustrated...anyway, she now thinks it's hilarious...)
I am very excited that we will spend most of the summer in the US, not only to see friends and family, but also for her to really use her English all the time. (Not to mention that we are all getting very excited for summer just in general. Yaminah says she wants to "swim in lakes").
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She's Two!
I can hardly believe it; Yaminah has turned two! I was so excited for her birthday party, and I have to admit, I have been thinking about it for a long time. I wanted to make it special for Yaminah, and special for us as well. So, the last time we were home in the States I bought a HUGE, musical birthday card for her, and I have kept it hidden for the past five months, since I knew she would love it when it has a big horse inside. She did--for the 10 minutes or so that she played with it, until I put it up in her bookshelf by her keepsake albums and her wooden keepsake box. I want to make sure that we document her life as she grows up, and that we keep things for her for when she is older.
One keepsake purchase I am particularly happy with is a Birthday Journal that I found on Amazon. It's a specific journal/book for recording memories and details from every birthday, from age 1-18, and there are pockets for cards and photos and etc. I thought of getting this book because I really wish my own parents would have documented all of my birthdays, but now I will at least try to keep it up for Yaminah.
Yaminah's birthday party was a hit, except that I had planned and prepared, baked and decorated, so much that when the actual party rolled around, I forgot to actually serve the delicious carrot cake (it remained on its serving tray in the fridge). But otherwise, everything was great. Lots of friends came and their kids, and my dad was here visiting from Minnesota, so it was a lot of fun. And despite the fact that we were over 25 people, there wasn't too much chaos at all!
Happy 2nd birthday to my little girl!
