"Birthday girl" - 6 months!

Yesterday Júlíana was 6 months old.
We tried to celebrate this remarkable event last weekend.

First of all, Verónika was very released to get rid of her tripp trapp chair (ajustable chair which fits all sizes from baby to adult), and announced, that she is a big girl now and can sit on a normal chair. She happily cleaned her old highchair with a wet sponge and lots of lather, and afterwards we ajusted the seat together for Júlíana. Verónika was so proud of fixing the screws and cushions with me. And she was allowed to decide where Júlíana should be placed at mealtimes; of course at her side!
On the picture we were beginning to eat dinner. Everything on the table has to be out of Júlíana's reach, because the old classic game "throw down - pick up" is extremely popular.

In the afternoon I planned to bake a cake, but unfortunately Júlíana didn't sleep very well during the last night and was fighting against falling asleep again, that I just had no other choice than walking with her in the pram. When she finally was sound asleep, I decided to pick berries and cook marmelade instead of baking. I was rummaging through the bushes in the neighborhood, picking the last edible blackcurrants (yes, they are growing in Iceland!) and mashed a nice yummi jam. 60% fruit, 40% agave syrup, agar agar - nothing else. Simply delicious!
After that, there was still laundy to do, baking granola musli, preparing dinner... No more celebrations that day.

In the evenings, she loves to exercise on our big bed. Now, she's already very wiggly and squirming over the matress:


starting on her back, then rolling on her tummy...



...bottom up and resting for a while, before starting over again.

Yesterday, we had our 6 months-check at the clinic and and a shot again. Jóhanna went with me and was a big help: while she was distracting Júlíana with "peek-a-boo", the doctor injected the vaccine. When everything was over, Júlíana first realized that something hurt her, and was only whimpering a little.

The new numbers, for those interested:
length: 69,5 cm
weight: 7,795 kg

She really is tall, heavy, strong and very active. No wonder, because she is claiming food! When I had my breakfast this morning, she grabbed (again) into my bowl and still wasn't satisfied when I gave her a pearbite to munch on. When I gave her porridge, she was shrieking and giggling contentously - but the table and her shirt were a whole mess afterwards. Well, that's part of the fun!
She has already four teeth, and eats
- vegetables: potatoes, fennel, carrots, celeryroot, yellow and red peppers, cucumber
- fruits: pear, apple, banana, grapes, plums, blueberries
- grains: rice, barley, oat

In the end, a nice picture of all of my girls, cuddling in Júlíana's cot in birthday evening.

Fun in the bathtub

Now I found out how to post videoclips. Here is the first try; watch Júlíana bathing in her little tub! Usually she splashes even more, so that I'm completely soaked and the bathroom is more or less under water, but she is still sceptical about the camera and doesn't act normal when she sees it approaching. But things get better! This video was made sept. 28th, Júlíana almost 6 months old. Enjoy!

5 1/2 months

Today I went with Júlíana to the clinic again, for her next baby check and her shots.

Length: 68,5 cm
Weight: 7,810 kg



Since roughly 3 weeks we have now our new au-pair girl Julia from Germany. She is simply brilliant, she fits phantastically into the family and is a great help! The girls loved and respected her directly.



She took directly part in our family's every-day-schedule, babysits Júlíana, takes Jóhanna and Verónika to their respective schools, and is a real kitchen fairy! (me and my tiny, messy turn-on-the-spot kitchen! now it's shiny!)



And: me and Julia finally managed to capture Júlíana laughing on a picture! Take a close look and you'll be able to make out both the two upper and lower front teeth.

Tooth no. 4 finally arrived

Now we can feel both upper front teeth and I hope nights are getting calmer again... *yawn*

Summer in the City

Summer in the city - june to august 07

Hot town summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirt and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city
All around people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk hotter than a match head

So Joe Cocker sings... Well, I have to admit that summers are not THAT hot in Reykjavík, but this time it has been the warmest with most sunny days since weather measurings began (so they say in the news).
Take a look at the new album to see what we did at home after we cancelled our flight to Germany. (And there are a few older photos in the beginning I wanted to share with you as well.)

Tooth no. 3 ...

broke through today! Drooling, nagging, biting little miss!
Unbelievable, she looks so grown up sometimes...

We tried a lot to catch a moment, when she´s laughing to take a picture of the two teeth in the lower jaw. Not ONE possibility, because she always looks quite puzzled when somebody appears with the camera (what strange thing is that where Mom is hiding?!) and takes pictures with flash...

Schäubles großer Lauschangriff...

... oder: der Bundestrojaner.

Der absolute Hammer. Da will der Gute doch tatsächlich jeden einzelnen Computer ausspionieren. Wie war das doch mit Meinungsfreiheit und Schutz des Privatlebens?

Wie dem auch sei, ich habe eine absolut geniale Webseite zum Thema gefunden, richtig schön süffisant und fies:

Bundestrojaner.net

Du hast nichts zu verbergen? Also, dann sei auch Du ein guter Patriot und lade Dir den Bundestrojaner freiwillig herunter, um die freiheitlich demokratische Grundordnung der Bundesrepublik aufrecht zu erhalten!

(Es geht abwärts mit Deutschland, das ist der neueste Beweis...)