Like Father Like Daughter

I know that most of you will agree that Isabella looks an awful lot like her father but we found out this morning that she is like him in another way. For the past four nights Isabella has actually been sleeping through the night...that is to say that she has been moving very little and not crying in her sleep. This has led to two consequences...1) that she seems to be getting up later (about 8am) and I am not complaining about that one and 2) that she seems to not need her morning nap. By that is by the by. Back to my point. She obviously was playing with my alarm clock yesterday as the alarm was turned on (luckily it was set for about 8:05am). I woke up at 7:30am wondering when Isabella might get up and finally got out of bed at about 7:45am. She was still sleeping. Then at about 8:05 the alarm started to beep in the bedroom. I thought for sure that it would wake her up...but no, I jumped up, ran in the bedroom and turned it off. Phew...she was still asleep. We had to wait about another 20 mins for her to get up! What a lazy baby! Just like her father to ignore an alarm she set!

Anyway, here is the video that I promised yesterday...

In Sickness and Health

Well, it seems that we have come through the worst of the sicknesses for this year but then again there is only about 2 weeks left- that it what gives me the confidence to utter those words! Isabella has had so many illnesses recently that I am not sure where to start but the last one was the longest lasting. It started out with a fever that lasted about 3 days. I was getting worried but then it finally broke but then soon after she broke out in a rash all over her body! Luckily it wasn't itchy; that would have been terrible. It turns out that Isabella probably had something called roseola.

Wikipedia says "Exanthem subitum (meaning sudden rash), also referred to as roseola infantum (or rose rash of infants), sixth disease (as the sixth rash-causing childhood disease) and (confusingly) baby measles, or three day fever". So whatever you want to call it, Isabella seemed to be a textbook case.

Luckily it was a pretty average case from what I have read as it can be worse. In some children it can cause seizures, etc. We did try to go to emergency one evening but they said that at 7pm there would be about a 2 hour wait. It was already almost Isabella's bedtime and I figured that as long as she wasn't too grumpy being sick that probably sleeping would be better for her in the end. I think that the trip to emergency would placate me more than it would have benefited her...so we went home.

Isabella is now pretty much only walking so within 2 days or so of her first real steps on her own, she started to use that as her only mode of transport...and while that is a great milestone, it sure has made my life more difficult! She gets everywhere! Now when she hears someone open the dishwasher she is there in record time...it used to be that you could open it, get the things in (or out) before she got there. But not anymore...she sure does like to 'help' with the dishes. I can't wait until I can make it entirely her job! :-)

On the talking front, she has started to say night, night dada when she goes to bed...but then again, when we were in a cafe yesterday and I told her to say goodbye (not to anyone in particular) she said night, night dada. So still some work needed there! And her newest word is sock...except that instead of sock...she combines the English beginning and the Finnish ending of the word (Finnish= sukka) so she ends up saying "socka". Very funny. I have been trying to get a video of that. Maybe soon. She seems to be whittling away her naps...so now it is more like one nap a day. Sometimes I get lucky and there are two though.

Finally, Isabella will be starting daycare in January. I think that she will go 3 days a week to begin with. That is what I am planning in the beginning with my work...see if I can arrange it so that I am only teaching 3 days/week. We will see how that turns out. It seems that you have to spend the first week of their daycare with them, so we have some schedule organising between Taneli and I to see who can do that. I am not entirely sure how I feel about that but it will be good for her to be able to play with other kids, she hasn't had that so much so far. And I think that she will be very social so it will be beneficial for her to make some 'friends'.

Walking Video...Finally!

Taken last night, I thought that I would post it before I forgot...not an uncommon occurrence.

Groovy Xmas

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

She Walks!!!!

Isabella has been walking a little here and there...maybe a few steps and then she goes down to her knees (usually voluntarily) but yesterday she started to walk unaided for a the few steps between the TV stand and her Jumperoo...then from the Jumperoo to the couch...then into the small bedroom. This, apparently, was mere practice for the afternoon ahead in which, after 3pm, she decided to walk from the kitchen to the living room! She also did a couple of laps of the kitchen a bit later on. I was very impressed but of course each time she did this my hands were either full or wet so I couldn't get the camera! Very disappointing. Also while I was making dinner and Taneli came home, she went to the door to greet him not as she usually does...by crawling or shuffling on her knees, she walked there! Very impressive. But, alas, I was doing something and couldn't get to my camera. The only hope is that she will walk more today (but alread this morning she seems to have forgotten that she can!).

Getting Busier

I haven't got around to updating the blog for a while. It seems that it has been one thing after another. First Isabella was sick for about a week. The I went away for a weekend!!! Very exciting since it was the first time I had spent a night away from Isabella and that would also make it the first time that Taneli has been totally responsible for Isabella for longer than a few hours. I am happy to say that we all survived the experience! I have also been working a little (I am currently employed by three companies...oh my) but that has been difficult to organise a little since Isabella doesn't have a daycare place at the moment so it has been a family effort to take care of her. Between Marjut, Taneli, Katriina and myself we have been able to organise it. But it hasn't been that easy. I have also been working on Isabella's blog book so that all the blogging that I have done over the last year is preserved in a proper book. In principle it is easy, but to get it all coordinated and looking nice it takes a lot more work. But it will definitely be worth it.

I am adding a couple of videos that I think are funny/interesting...and not too long :-) To let you know, but you may be able to guess...kakka in Finnish means poop...and I literally showed her how to turn the light on and off just a couple of short times the day before...she was obviously paying attention!

Even more firsts...not all the good kind

Thursday night held a surprise for us...at about midnight Isabella woke up (almost unheard of) and was a little grumpy...and as we pretended to sleep as we sometimes do (so that she might go back to sleep) she shouted out "nenä" (nose in Finnish). And at that we had to laugh. So I went to put her back down to sleep but noticed that she was awfully warm. So this was her first fever! yippee...not! Luckily I had brought some baby medication from Canada so I know what I am giving her. The only options I have here seems to be suppositories! And who wants to do that to a little baby...not me. So instead, she can have a cherry flavoured paracetamol...yum. It was also strange that before bed she didn't drink any of her bottle (again something that is unheard of) so she must have also been hungry. So I gave her a bottle...which she gobbled up...and luckily that was enough to get her back to sleep. But that did not prepare me for Saturday night.

Taneli had gone to Kuopio to get our winter tires that were stored at his grandmother's house since we don't have any room and I was home with Isabella alone. She seemed a little better on Saturday but the night was not good. I think that I must have woken up every 30 mins or so...maybe even more sometimes. The poor little girl has her first cough as well- yippee, another first. It is a deep, rattling smoker's cough. It is the thing that mostly woke her up at night. The other thing was the stuffed nose that doesn't allow her to keep her soother in her mouth...which is always a reason to wake up. So life is conspiring against her (and against me) so that sleep was pretty much impossible. I hope that tonight is better...

On a much brighter note, Isabella seems to be more willing to take steps. Today she has accidently walked a few times and only when she realises does she quickly head south. She was entranced by the TV today a couple of times and let go of my leg and walked towards it. Very funny. She is also walking when I am holding her hands (normally she just goes all floppy) and walking behind her. So there is definitely progress on the walking front. She has also started saying (or rather copying) "What's that?" It is very funny. It isn't entirely articulated but it is definitely "What's that?". I am sure that there will be a video showing up here at some point. Speaking of videos, I tried to get one today of her singing along to a music video. I have no idea what song it was...not one I have heard before and a Finnish one if I remember correctly but it was cute. She was sitting on her knees rocking side to side and singing with incoherant words. But my phone video camera makes such a lound beep when you start it that she always stops what she is doing. I really need to figure out a better way.

More 'Official' Photos

On Sunday (the day after Isabella's birthday) we were invited to my friend Irena's house again to take some more photos. The first ones turned out so lovely that I thought that it would be a great way to commemorate her big milestone. Luckily for her, her apartment has large windows so she is able to take advantage of the little light there is in Finland's winter. We also went outside for a few photos but there was a little drizzle and we were on a tight schedule to get my Mom to the airport. It was amazing that she was able to get these to me the same evening! I can't wait to see what else she managed to get in such a short time...and with a slightly unco-operative (read: hungry) subject!

Birthday Madness...Are you ready?

I never thought that planning a first birthday party would be that difficult. I never thought preparing for a first birthday party would be so much hard work...but it was! I figured out that it is the same amount of work as any other party you would have at your house...only through sheer hard work! I spent some days during the week cleaning up little areas here and there and then Friday there was a real push to get stuff clean as Grandma was coming and we had to pick her up from the airport at 3pm. Then the two of us did some preparing for the party the next day...then Saturday came and there were a million things to do! My goodness, next year it will be a potluck! A lot of effort went into this but it was worth it since everyone had a good time and Isabella got to visit with many Aunties, a couple of Uncles and all her cousins. It was a full house and at times you couldn't hear yourself think but it was nice to have so many people together.

In the morning Isabella opened the gifts that were here already...well, she did a little and we got to open most of them, so it was like having another birthday or Christmas...not bad. She, like others before her, got enthralled by the wrapping and by the first gift she opened and it was hard to get her back to the task at hand. Once the guests arrived we all ate some food and opened the gifts. She got some lovely presents...there was the little walking chihuahua a la Paris Hilton, a couple of large hard books in Finnish that will help both if us learn, a large stuffed Eeyore that she instantly fell in love with, a Hello Kitty hat and glove set and a onesie with a photo of Isabella and her Uncle/Godfather Tuomas of the two of them in France. Earlier in the morning we opened other gifts and there were many pieces of cute clothes and a book and her very own Muumin laptop (not that I believe for one second that it will stop her from playing with mine while I am trying to type!)












But first we had to get the party hat on her...that was fun. But in great motherly fashion I was able to distract her with another hat while putting one on her head. Then she forgot it was there. When the cake came out, she managed to get her fingers in it first...but I guess that it was her cake!


























We sang Happy Birthday in English (at my request) which was nice since I have no idea what it is in Finnish. I guess that we could have sung it in both had anyone had the mind to suggest that. The sparkler, once we got it lit, was mesmerising. The rest of the time was spent catching up and playing. It was good that so many of Taneli's siblings could make it...there were 6 Lallukkas all tolled. And as I mentioned before, all the cousins were together.















In the evening we were able to relax and enjoy a bit of fun. Grandma and Isabella had a great game of tickle as you can see from the photo!

Pumpkins, chip cigarettes, a boy? and the first Santa sighting!

So many things have been happening this week. Poor Bella has been struggling with her first real cold this past week. But I guess that we have been lucky...she is almost a year old and she hasn't had any infections (much to the disbelief of the Dr) or real colds/flus until now. But she has been upbeat most of the time...she is takin' it on the chin and is being a real trooper. The pumpkin was bought because I made a fabulous Nigella pumpkin curry recipe a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to make it again in the future but since pumpkins only come out once a year, I decided to buy one, chop it up and freeze it. I hope that works! So Bella got to play with the pumpkin a little first...it was huge. It weighed just over 9kg...about the same a Bella herself!





Sunday was Father's Day here in Finland and almost everything was closed...but one furniture place was open and even though the last thing we need is more furniture, we went for something to do since it was not a very nice day. First we had a gourmet meal at a Finnish fast food place, Hesburger, and Isabella was allowed to have one small french fry...and she seemed to be most comfortable holding it like a cigarette as you can see...maybe something we have to keep an eye on when she is a teenager!



She was also able to wear her now outside outfit. I bought this lovely blue one because the other choice was brown and orange and I wasn't ready for her to be some kind of advertisment for the 1970s. But the inevitable happened and she was referred to as a boy by one salesman at the furniture store...won't be buying anything there anytime soon. hee hee















When we arrived there, we had our first Santa sighting. I always wondered what he did in his 'down-time'. Now I know...he welcomes people with candies at stores.

There has also been some developments on the walking front. We still are holding out hopes that Bella will 'walk' before her birthday...on Saturday...are we just hopeless optimists? You be the judge...

First Steps and Screams

As Isabella inches towards being a year old, so does she inch towards walking. This past week has seen her progress so fast that I wonder if she will be walking before her birthday in a week! She took her first step last weekend when she let go of my crossed leg and took one and a half side steps before purposely going to the ground. I was amazed! She has been walking around the furniture for quite a while and I was beginning to think that she would never begin the actual walking process as every time I tried to hold her up on her feet, she refused to straighten her legs and would go all floppy. Cheeky girl! Another trick she does is to stick her legs straight out in front of her so all you can do is sit her down...or crawl away like you can see from the first photo! ANYTHING not to stand up and walk. But this past week seems to be seeing changes. She will now take an extra between furniture to get there without crawling and today when she was doing her circuit of the kitchen (her daily exercise) she had to get around me and was able to do that with only the lightest of grip on my trouser leg.

It is so funny but she has now taken to giving a little scream of excitement every time someone comes in the front door. You can hear her as you open the door...there is a yelp of excitement like she has been waiting FOREVER for you to come home. Makes you feel welcome! She does it in the morning as well...maybe I mentioned it in a previous post...but as soon as I acknowledge that she is awake by saying her name in the morning, she gives a little squeal of excitement. She is a delight. She is also a multi-tasker as you can see with the photo of her reading in her jumperoo...not only reading but reading a book that is in Finnish AND Swedish! Wow...that is my little girl! Mama is proud!





The two of us have also been practising saying Grandma during the past week in anticipation of her visit for Isabella's birthday. You can see how well she is doing in the video...

October 31st...what day is that again?

I made Isabella a Halloween costume. After seeing them in a couple of store all over the €20 mark, I thought that I could make one. They were just made out of fleece (which I know means no edges to worry about) so for about €4 I went to the fabric store and bought enough to make the ladybug costume I thought was so cute. It went fine and I was able to stitch it together by hand the night before while watching many episodes of House. I was worried about how I was going to get it on her as I figured that she might protest...an extra layer is not easy to put on her sometimes...especially if it has to go over her head! But there really wasn't a problem. She wore it happily for a lot of the day...and she even didn't fuss when I put the hat part on. That I was not expecting! I decided that Isabella should probably meet some other kids also. So we went to the day care near my house that is a place you can take your kids to play (they have everything there: toys, highchairs, a kitchen, craft area, etc) but the catch is that you have to stay there with them. But that is ok. They get to play and be with other kids and you get to socialise. So when I checked the schedule (as it is usually only open half of the day- sometimes mornings, sometimes afternoons). They also do different activities...so Mondays and Wednesdays are musical...blah, blah... you get the point. And it was Friday and it said "Theme Day". I figured since it was Halloween and all (although they don't really celebrate Halloween...they sure do have enough stuff in the stores for it like face paints, costumes, etc) that Halloween might just be the Theme on Theme Day. So I get there with Isabella and nope...I don't even see a sign of any kind of theme at all. So Isabella was the only one in a costume (not that she seemed to mind). Actually I think that some of the kids were jealous that she got to wear it...we know kids like to dress up. But she was a little cutiepie as usual...she just can't help it.

Groovin' on a Tuesday Afternoon

Isabella really likes dancing. I don't know if all kids are like this, but any music played anywhere will start her grooving. Even a commercial on TV or a phone ringing. It is so funny. It happens many times a day and luckily I caught this one on my phone. What a cutiepie!

DVDs, Pumpkins and Fun in the Bath

I have to say that I have been a little lazy these past two weeks when it comes to the blog. The problem has been that I have been addicted to watching the first three seasons of Grey's Anatomy and picking up the DVDs that Isabella takes off the shelves many times per day. She seems to like to take them off but doesn't seem to put them back. We will have to work on that! I think that we go through this process about 5-6 times per day. But I guess since it keeps her entertained, I can handle it. You may be thinking "Wow, you mean she doesn't get into those other cupboards?" And the answer to that is that they are all taped shut except for that one with the DVDs.

























We also carved a pumpkin here. And not only was that the first time for Isabella, but Katriina had never done it before either! So I gave some pointers and we had a good time scooping and cutting. We decided to make it a scary pumpkin...just to scare the people outside who are not used to having a jack o'lantern staring at them.














Isabella also got a new set of bibs that cover more than the average. Which is good when she we let her feed herself. These photo don't do justice to the destruction that Isabella wreaked on the table.




We also caught up with Isabella's youngest cousin (who, if you can't tell from the photo, is 6 months younger). He is almost the same size and weight as Isabella despite her being twice his age! When Samppa weighed the two of them, there seemed to only be about 400g difference...or about 14oz. It was strange to see such a big baby that can't hold up its own head or sit up. He is a lovely quiet baby who drools a lot...he is also quite smiley.

And finally, oooh the fun we have had, Isabella decided to christen the bath for the first time (took her long enough) and she pooped in the bath! Luckily it was Taneli's turn to bath her...hee hee.

Enjoying Autumn

Now that most of the leaves are on the ground and the weather has been pretty good, Isabella and I have been able to enjoy a little time outside. On Sunday we went for a walk to where there is a little 'village' of little summer houses. It is an enchanting place that we stumbled upon in the summer. It looks like a place where hobbits live since all the houses are so tiny (I think that they average is about 20 sqm (about 200 sqft)! These places are only about 500 hundred metres from our place and I would love to own one. It would be great to have a place in the 'country' so close to home! I guess that it is kinda like an allotment but you can stay there in a nice little house and you have a good-sized yard rather than just a place to grow veggies.



Isabella has been lucky enough to play in the fallen leaves. The caretaker of the building had kindly (and unbeknownst to him) blown the leaves into a nice pile for us to frolic in. Her reluctance at first was quite cute and she did a very good job of not putting all the leaves in her mouth.



I did try to get her to crawl in the leaves...and got down into them myself... but she didn't really go for that. It would have been nice to go back to play more but it has been raining.





















I just wanted to share these photos with you. Katriina and I took them near a cafe we visited. It is funny because she is sitting on a small cliff...all alone. Exactly where all babies should be. hahaha

A couple of videos

Here is one video we made yesterday evening and one that was made a while ago:

Isabella's Words

This morning while having breakfast I will swear Isabella said "cheese". Although there was no actual cheese in sight, she had given a cheesy grin and I said "cheese" and then she copied me. I swear! So I tried again and nothing...just smiles then. But on a more regular basis she seems to be saying other words...like mama and dada...sometimes papa...but I think that is just a sound. She tends to copy many sounds now. Katriina was trying to get her to say "napa" but no luck...she can say "na" and "pa" but prefers to just repeat them together rather than mixing and matching sounds. For quite a while she has been able to say "vauva" which means baby in Finish...not sure if she has meant it but she has said that for months now. Same with "hyvä". I will try to find/make some footage and I will let you make up your own minds! That may take a day or two though. And in lieu of that for the moment, I will just add a few recent photos that represent the past week...

first we have:




"the great diaper escape"




then there is the



"Haha, I got away...oh, I better smile, the camera's on me"








we have the



"no, I didn't do anything"








and the last one from when we went to the park on the weekend...



"hey Dad, is that you up there?"

"Professional" Photos

On Sept 10th Isabella and I went over to my friend Irene's house and took some photos of Isabella. I had admired the photos of her children on her Facebook page and when she told me that she had done them and offered to take some of Isabella, I was very excited. The professional photos we had done of Isabella (and us) when she was 6 months old were, for me anyway, a complete disappointment. Not only that, the photographer put her on one of those sheep wool rugs and caused her eczema to flare up! So let's just say that I was excited that we may get some quality photos from Irene! And as you can see, I have not been disappointed! These are great photos. I even managed to get into a couple of them...heehee.