ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

There is this ice bucket challenge going around on facebook (I don't know how you could miss it honestly) and at first I thought it would just be another one of those things where a few people would do it and it would die. Surprisingly, EVERYONE is doing it. Bill Gates, actors and actresses, companies... basically this took off a lot faster than I thought it would! My first impression was that it was kind of silly. "How does this raise awareness for ALS anyways?!" I thought. But when I came across people posting who are affected by ALS, it touched my heart. This challenge WAS making a difference. I didn't know what ALS was to be honest, but now I know! :) Here is my video, and who I challenge next!!

New Painting!

A few months ago I was asked by my Belgian friend to do a painting of her family crest. At first I thought this would be an easy challenge, since I thought I had done more difficult paintings before. Oh boy was I wrong! When I sat down to paint, I realized the whole picture was symmetric. I wanted the crest to be as close to the picture as I could get, so I whipped out my measuring tape and measured everything as close as I could get. When I finished drawing out the crest, it took as long as a normal painting would take, and I hadn't even started painting yet!

This painting as a whole ended up taking more than 20 hours. I LOVED the challenge, and it was fun to do something different.

(you can see the rest of my art and paintings HERE)

Aaaaand the final product! I am very happy with how the painting turned out!

Date Night

I was having one of those days. One of those hard days where I just want to crawl into bed and sleep. I knew that Joel and I hadn't been on a date in a while, and I could just feel it was very much needed after this hard day. I immediately call my mother-in-"love" (aka our wonderful and loving babysitter!) and we set up the evening so Joel and I could go on a date.

I told Joel I had everything set up so we could get away for a few hours, and he asked what I wanted to do! I said, "All I want to do is grill some food by a lake or the ocean and spend quality time with you." And you had better believe that is what we did! Sometimes I forget I live in Sweden, and that I live by the ocean. We would have never done that back home in the states, probably because it is so dry and the thought of lighting a fire would burn down the whole state. ;) I really appreciate lighting a fire with a grill or making our own pit for some reason, probably because I could never do it at home. I get giddy like a little school girl every time :)

Anyways. When we finally left to go on our date, it was like a breath of fresh air. Literally. Sitting out by the ocean smelled soooo great! We were relaxed enjoying each others company, and talking about our goals in life. I'll admit I have been homesick for the states lately, and we talked a lot about our plans and when we want to move back. Gosh dates are nice :)

We walked for a little while until we finally reached the ocean. Once we rounded the corner we saw the most beautiful sunset:

I am so in love and obsessed with this handsome man of mine.

We bought spicy hot dogs to grill and we were in HEAVEN. They were delicious. 

Date night = success!! Wish we could have done this more over the summer.

Emma Elaine: 5 Months Old

Emma is five months old! Crazy. She has quite the character and personality, and I love watching her mold into a little person. She finally feels comfortable going to other people, and she knows mom and dad will always be there for her. This has happened the past few weeks, and I feel so much better knowing she won't cry when she goes to other people!! Farmor (dad's mom.. aka grandma Herrey!) babysat while I was able to run some errands. Walking through the grocery store without a stroller was incredibly weird! Before I left I thought, "Ok. All I need is my keys and wallet. Am I sure that's all I need??" So crazy to leave without a stroller, diaper bag, burp cloths, change of baby clothes, diapers, toys, wipes, baby jacket and of course a baby... just to name a few things I get to carry around now ;)

Emma is really strong! And quite stubborn. She's at a point right now where she doesn't want to sit down, she likes to stand. If I try to have her sit she straightens her legs as straight as a board and refuses to sit!

I miss the days when Emma would nurse, eat, and then be done. Now I feel like it is almost a game to her and it drives me CRAZY. She will eat for a good few minutes, then unlatch. Then relatch. Then unlatch. Then relatch. I almost feel like she has to look up at me and smile to make sure I am still there! It is dang cute when she smiles and looks up at me, but it is starting to drive me crazy how little attention span she has with eating right now haha. Maybe it is the age? I have noticed the past month or so Emma has been very interested in food, and usually reaches for what we are eating. Along with reaching, she smacks her lips while she watches me eat. I do want to continue to breastfeed her as long as she'll let me! Last week we tried giving her pureed sweet potatoes, and she loved it! Well, she loved the potatoes and had a hard time with the texture. She was always reaching for the spoon to have another bite, but once she got a taste of the texture she pulled a very disgusted but cute face!

We have visited the ocean and some lakes this past month, and she loves the water! I am always impressed that she doesn't cry because it is cold. I even have a hard time going swimming haha. I thought I would try to dip her in the water to see her reaction, and she never cried.

I can't believe how obsessed Emma is with Joel, it cracks me up! When he is in the room her eyes are always glued to him. Sometimes he will just look at her and she laughs so hard!! Their relationship makes me want to explode with happiness, and I am incredibly happy she loves her dad so much. We facetime my mom while Joel gets ready for work, and my mom can always guess where Joel is in the room because Emma's eyes are always on him!

As of late, Emma has been reaching for our faces when we lean over her. To say it melts our hearts is an understatement! She also has started eating my face. I'll just say that is her way of giving me kisses ;)

All in all I would say we have such a good baby! She rarely cries, or is fussy. Emma did get her 5 month shots this week which was followed by a fever for a day. When she had the fever, it was so weird to wake up to her being completely quiet! She had this stone face, and you could tell she didn't feel good at all.

And now time for some pictures of course!! Things we've been up to this past month:

For some reason she seems extra adorable covered in blankets.

Joel's grandparents live in the most typical and beautiful Swedish countryside house you can get. We LOVE spending time there. You can always expect a good laugh, treats, delicious food, and fantastic company.

Emma's face kills me in this picture.

Emma watched from the sidelines while we went swimming. Obviously, because it was really windy!! Farmor took good care of her and covered her up good though, no worries.

Emma's mohawk is killing me these days. Her hair seems to be getting thinner on the sides and growing like weed on top. Thus resulting in me attempting to do her hair.

For Christmas Joel bought me this Hello sweatshirt with a matching baby Hello onesie. I had been wanting this sweatshirt for quite a long time! When I opened the matching baby onesie, I about died and gone to heaven I was so happy. Thankfully this onesie now fits Emma and we can match ;)

I got this jacket as a baby shower gift, and the moment I laid eyes on it I was in LOVE. It is surreal realizing my baby is finally big enough to wear it! Of course we had to take a million pictures before going on a walk.

The biggest milestone that happened this month was Emma sitting up for a good few minutes. Joel and I were dying she was so cute! We kept waiting and waiting for her to topple over, but she was finally putting her hands down to catch her balance! I can't believe how old she seems after this milestone. Naked baby + baby fat rolls = irresistible cuteness.

Joel and Mollie's Interview!

I saw this idea on another blog, and thought it was the cutest idea! We had a lot of fun asking each other questions, it was a successful date night!! :)