March 12, 2006

 

I apologize for the three months gap in the reporting.  We have finally solved our hosting problem.... for now.   Well our move to Sweden is officially under way.  I have moved and started my new job in Sweden.  The Saab is on M/S Atlantic Companion, 4 days east of New York.  Jen is holding down the fort in the US for another eight weeks before the crew makes the voyage across.

 

This is going to be one massive logistical nut to crack.  I will not bore you with the details, but needless to say it eats up a massive amount of time for all of us.

 

Lots of kudos to Jen & Tess for their hard work.

 

From a snowy but lonely Sweden

 

- Father far away.....

 

Glad Lucia!!!

Well long time - no write... Not much going on. Sold the house, moved to a small apartment, rented storage, twins turned one, Tess got flea bites... just the regular stuff...

We are very happy that the house sale happened. It obviously created a lot of work. Hats off to Bengt & Anders who came out and did a lot of the packing and moving. The helped us night and day for 8 days and we couldn't have done it without them. Also hats off to Jen who carried the heavy load as I had to divert my attention to my job.

We have rented two apartments at Korman Suites (http://kormanresidential.com/meadowbrook/photos.php). Tess has her own that doubles as kids play room during the day. The rest of us are squeezed in to one. We are enjoying it, but it is quiet a change.

The double headed monster turned one. They are so full of life and I can't imagin what will happen when they start to walk/run around. They got cup cakes to dig in to during the big day, and dig they did.....

Cheers for now - Father of Three

 

Beautiful autumn!!  We have had unbelievably nice weather so far during September.  Fairly dry and low 80’s make this the best time of the year.  It sure will be a shock, weather wise to move back to Sweden.  Yes we have finally decided to move to Sweden.  The boys are driving this decision, since we want them to grow up in a safe and healthy environment.  We bought a house on Lidingö that we rented out until we get our things in order over here.  So we will head across the pond in 9-20 months time.

 

Gustav started back in school again.  He is in a new class, with new teachers and new kids.  He is not the easiest when it comes to transitions, so we are having a few emotional periods during the morning drop-off.  I'm sure he will be enjoying it more in a week or two.  He is growing up quickly, and his sense of humor is a delight.  I'm not the one to laugh at anything, but this kid cracks me up.

 

Carl and Rikard are developing their own personalities.  Carl still spends 80% of the time with a big smile on his face, and Rikard still prefers to be held.  They are crawling with an astonishing speed.

 

We had our first open house to sell the house and we were amazed how many people showed up.  The weather was perfect and all the work that we had put into it really turned out well.  It was a great day. 

 

Well back to life, back to reality.  Vacation has come and gone and it is back to long hours in the office for Göran.  In fact he is away this week in Jackson Hole with his company.  Now they tell me he is working hard, but he is at the Snake River Lodge so you tell me. 

 

We had a great time at the Loeb family reunion.  I think Gustav had the most fun of all.  He loved playing with his cousins, eating candy, cookies and cake every day and he loved the activities with mom and dad.  It was a great time.  Because he learned to ride a bike for the first time while in Oregon we were forced to get a bike for home.  So Gustav has been really enjoying his new bike with his Harley Davidson helmet and arm and knee pads.  Trouble here we come.

 

Of course now we are suffering the effects of this great time.  The scale is tipping the wrong way, and we are going through sweet withdrawl (well Gustav and I are) and of course the boys are wondering why they can't be held 24/7.  But everyone is good and is happy, if somewhat cranky because they want to be held NONSTOP. 

 

The house is getting ready for its revolving door routine again.  With Göran gone for a week, Tess's mom and her husband coming for a week, Tess leaving for a week, me leaving for a week and Helen helping us out through all of this and then leaving herself.  Phew, I am tired just thinking about it.   And just to add to the chaos Gustav is home from school and summer camp and then he starts school again.  Wow life is busy in the Cederwall household, but would you expect any less?

 

Don't forget to checkout updates on the other pages.  Chow Jen

 

Today is a day of firsts.  Today for the first time Gustav went to school in underwear.  Yup, he is a big boy now.  He was so cute when he got to school he announced loudly to the whole class "look I have underwear"  and proceeded to drop his drawers to show anyone and everyone.  We shall shortly see how this first school day in underwear worked out.  We took lots of extra clothes just in case.

 

Today is also a first for Carl.  He rolled over from back to front.  Both Carl and Rikard have mastered the front to back roll, because they don't like being on their tummies but today it was the all important roll that takes him one step closer to freedom (crawling).

 

Other then that the Cederwall household is in its usual revolving door mode, waiting for our next visitor, which will be Farmor in less then a week.  Farmor will get the pleasure of Gustav's company while his school switches from regular school to summer camp.  Twelve days of activities with Gustav until he starts summer camp.  Then a little R&R for Gunilla when Gustav goes to camp and she is with us for an additional week.  Hopefully our bathroom will be finished and the pool will be warm by then, but my guess is at least one of those two things won't happen.  Call me a cynic

 

The concert theme continues this month as we just learned today that Live 8 a simultaneous concert between Philadelphia, London, Berlin and other venues will be taking place on July 2nd.  This is following on the Live Aid format of 1985, but this time it will be a free concert on the Parkway in the heart Philadelphia.  This concert will be insane.  We are already trying to find a babysitter, which won't be easy as every young person (or not so young person) with an ipod will be in attendance. 

 

Well time to go pick-up the big boy in his Thomas the Tank underwear.  Jen

April 27, 2005

Well April has come and almost gone.  Gustav turned 3 and Carl & Rikard are almost 5 months old now.  It is amazing how time flies.  Our new AuPair Tess joined us 2 weeks ago and the babies couldn’t be in better hands.  Helen will leave us tomorrow and return to Sweden.  We will all miss her very much, but look forward to having her back here in the fall, when (we hope) she will begin college.  It has been a real treat having 2 such capable girls helping us out the last two weeks.

 

Gustav had his 3^rd birthday party last Sunday and it was a BIG hit.  There were 15+ kids between the ages of 2-5 running around like mad.  The Little Gym was a success and the kids had a great time.  Gustav got enough presents to last a lifetime and we will be picking up toys for equally as long.

As usual the Cederwall household is expecting a visit soon.  Farmor will be coming to see the newest additions and will be taking care of Gustav between the end of school and the beginning of summer camp.  Now that is what I call bringing in reinforcements.  We are all looking forward to her arrival in June.

In the meantime we are finally turning to our bathroom and expect to have that up and running by Farmor’s arrival.  What a novelty it will be to not have to walk through the house in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.  We are also opening the pool on May 2^nd and are hoping and praying that the weather turns warm immediately thereafter, as Gustav keeps asking when he gets to swim again.  It might be a little hard to explain to him that the water is too cold for swimming as he seems to be oblivious to how cold the water is.  Just goes to show he is truly Nordic at heart.   

Life is crazy but full of fun and love.  We look forward to seeing and hearing from all of you soon. Jen (mom of 3 boys)

 

Well it looks like we have a new aupair!  Yippee!!!  Her name is Therese Blombäck.  She is supposed to arrive on April 11th, which will give her time with Helen to learn the ropes.  We are all so excited.

 

Gustav is getting ready for spring break and will be home with mom, Helen and the little ones for a whole week.  It will be mom's last week on maternity leave so we will try and make it fun.  I will miss my time with my boys but I am looking forward to being a working person again. 

 

Well as we begin to shake off the ice and snow and thaw out we are looking forward to a visit from Farmor in June and then family vacation in August to a family reunion in Sunriver Oregon.  We can't wait to take off the hats and mittens and open the pool.

 

Happy Valentines Day!!  Well Mormor and Morfar are back in Oregon.  We miss them terribly.  It was so wonderful to have them here.  Gustav asks about them all the time and we keep telling him that he will see them in Oregon come August.  He has kept up the tradition Morfar started of playing hide and seek and he is really getting good at it.  It is so much fun to see how he has developed as a result of their visit.  We had parent teacher conferences last Friday and they said that Gustav has changed dramatically and now plays well with the other kids and is very social.  They say they are finally getting to see his sense of humor.

 

The next visitor to the Cederwall Inn is Farfar, who is coming in the beginning of March.  We can't wait, as we have lots of projects from him.  Hee-hee!! Actually we can't wait to see how Gustav interacts with Farfar.  I'm sure they will have a blast.

 

Helen is fitting right in to the family again after an 18 months absence.  It is so nice to have her back.  I am sure she is wondering what she got herself into with these three wild boys. Especially with Gustav who talks non-stop and runs around with boundless energy.  She is a great help and is even cooking one night a week.  How lucky are we!!  What a difference it is to have her here. 

 

The twins are getting huge.  They had their 2 month appointment on the February 7th.  Carl weighed 11 lbs. 5 oz.  and was 23.5 inches long.  Rikard weighed 10 lbs. 9 oz. and was 23 inches long.  They are both doing really well and they are developing very different personalities.  It is fun to see how they change.  Rikard is a real snuggler, while Carl is a happy go-lucky child.  They are amazing.  Well time to get some sleep while I can - two hours until the next feeding (if I am lucky).  Jen

 

 

Well, it will be SOME Christmas this year.  The house is full of people.  Where did everyone come from??  Barb & Lou and their dachshound George are out back in the RV.  Their living space can also double as a freezer when the temp dips below 10 Fahrenheit.  Lou should be happy that he is clean shaven this year, or the icicles would have formed overnight.

 

The next group is Gustav & his dog Blue-blue.  G has a lot of energy now that he is off from school for a few weeks.  He is turning in to a really nice little boy that has that special humor that very few of us are born with.  Blue-blue on the other hand is longing for the spring.  He prefers to be outside for less than 10 seconds.  It is hard to do all your "business" that fast, so we have had a few accidents lately.  BAD DOG!!!

 

Carl & Rikard have the best life of all of us.  Sleep, feed and diaper changes.  This cycle repeats eight times every 24 hour period.  Mom is battling to keep up, since there are two of them.  That means 16 feedings, diapers etc every day.  Puhh...  They are both doing well after some initial struggle with temperature and oxygen intake.  They are as different as you can be.  Carl looks like Gustav and Dad,  Rikard is a copy of his mom.

 

Mom & Dad are doing good.  Not much time for R&R, but rest is overrated isn't it??

 

ZZZZZzzzzz  Göran

 

Hello World!!!!

 

Two healthy babies arrived late last night at Abington Memorial Hospital.  The time was 11:37 PM and first out of the gate was Carl Christian.  He weighed 6lbs 3 ozs and was 19 1/2 inches tall.  His brother Rikard Felix arrived a minute later (6 lbs 19 inches).

 

Mom is doing well and is expected home on Saturday.  We arrived at the hospital around 10:00 PM and a quick scan by the Doc showed that if we wanted a C-section we better hurry.

 

Carl swallowed some fluid, so he is a little "gurgley".  Rikard heart is beating a little fast, but he is probably just adjusting to the new world.

 

Dad is about to go down for a nap.  Our life as a family of five (+ a dog & AuPair) has just begun.....

 

Cheers  Göran

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

 

The turkeys had a bad day yesterday.  Millions of these birds got consumed by the savages all over the country.  We had a 20-pounder that filled our house with that traditional Thanksgiving aroma.  Nine adults and four kids had gathered around our table this year.  We had a good time as usual, with extra kudos to Barb & Lou for slaving in the kitchen and Adrianne for entertaining Blue-blue all night.

 

Jen is now 10 month pregnant according to the stomach size chart.  The twins are about 6 lbs each and seem to be doing well.  Their mother however is starting to pray for an early delivery.  Swollen hands & feet and pain in almost every body part including the tongue make life slightly miserable..... for all of us.....

 

Cheers  Göran

 

It is only a couple of days to Halloween and Gustav has his costume ready.  He is going as a green and purple dinosaur.  If Halloween is anything like it was last year it will be a rousing success.  This year we have Farmor with us so that should make it all the more fun.

 

Well Farmor is here to help us entertain Gustav while Malin is on vacation, traveling around Florida with her family.  Gustav loves the extra attention (and the goodies that go with Farmor).  We had a great time meeting Malin's family and Gustav loved Ophelia, it was so adorable.  We only wish we could have spent more time with them.

 

Well it is about to be an exciting couple of weeks and months visitor wise.  We are expecting a number of visitors beginning with my sister Julie the week before Thanksgiving and she will stay 8 days.  Lou and Barb arrives a couple of days before Thanksgiving and stay until the first week in February.  Then Helen (our first au pair) will come in February to stay with us for 3 months.  So as you can see there is going to be a lot of different people around to help us enjoy the holidays, Gustav and of course the twins.

 

Oh I almost forgot to mention the twins are scheduled to make a guest appearance on December 14th, if they don't decide to surprise us before then.  The count down has begun so keep your browsers set to this site for frequent update.  Jen and the two "kickaroos"

 

Glad Midsommar!!!

 

We celabrated Midsummer three weeks early at the Swedish-American Museum.  It was actually really nice.  we helped raise the pole and Gustav danced with the other kids for a few minutes.  They served some good food and even the weather was a little Swedish (Cloudy and on the cold side).

 

Well I think that the big news is out for the most part.  Gustav will become a big brother x 2 in the beginning of December.  Yepp, that's right, "The Twins" are on their way.  We both figure that if we can get 5 minutes extra sleep per night for the next five months, we'll do fine..... NOT.   It is going to be an exciting Christmas this year, that's for sure.  Gustav is listening to their hearts every night and he probably have no clue what will happen come December.

 

Our Sweden trip is only five weeks away, and we are looking forward to some well deserved R&R.  We hope to see you at Vallersvik between the 6-19 of August.

 

Cheers for now  /  Göran

 

Hey May!!!

 

Spring has finally arrived to "the land of the free".  The pool cover has been removed and a new lawnmower has been purchased and used twice already.  Allergy season is also in full bloom.  We are all suffering and Gustav's eyes look red and swollen.

 

The Volvo is in the shop after a three car pile-up.  It will be traded in for a new one this summer.  This will hopefully coincide with our visit to Estockholmo in August.  We are planning a two week R&R @ Vallersvik which hopefully will include crayfish, golf and fishing.

 

Gunilla is coming for a three week visit on May 17th.  We are looking forward to her company, as well as an extra set of hands to be put to good use.  Gustav will most certainly enjoy it.

 

The Flyers finally has a realistic chance of winning the cup this year.  We all of the big teams knocked out, they need to take the bull by the horn and get it done.  This town needs a major championship after two decades of near misses.

 

Cheers for now  /  Göran

 

Happy new year!!!

 

Wow, another two months flew by.  We have been running around at warp speed trying to catch up with our responsibilities.  So what has happened as of late. Well lets see.

 

On the AuPair front Lisa left for Sweden in mid December and was replaced by Malin about 10 days ago.  Gustav is taking the change in stride, but he has decided to play his mom for a sucker.  He is a sweet boy to everyone except his mom.  Malin's arrival saw a dramatic change in Blueblue who thinks he has died and gone to heaven.  Needless to say that Malin is good with animals.

 

We had the pleasure of spending almost three weeks with Mormor & Morfar, who filled in as experienced Au Pairs during Christmas.  They did a fabulous job and are welcome back any time.  They also made the holiday's a family "thing" for Gustav which we appreciate.

 

First week in January was spent with visitors from Sweden.  The Degerth family delighted us with their presens.  Lina (soon-to-be four) became Gustav's favorite and he still asks for "Ninni".  Blueblue took to Hugo and they became best buddies.

 

We now have a cold spell here on the eastern sea board.  Golf season seems far away, but have faith.....

 

Cheers for now  /  Göran

 

Another month went by and we have all been super busy.  Gustav's Farfar came to visit for 10 days.  He was a BIG help around the yard and he played with his two Grand kids Gustav and Blueblue.  We had some good weather, so we hit the links for three rounds as well.

 

Halloween came and went and Gustav really enjoyed it this year.  We continued our tradition and spent the evening with Jen & Joel in Blue Bell. Gustav was eager to receive candy at each house and is looking forward to next year already.

 

We have two house projects going on right now.  Our HVAC guy is spending a few days to upgrade our ducts to see if we can't cut our heating bill down a little.  Right now we are rivaling a few African nations when it comes to GDP.  The master bath will hopefully kick off before not too long.

 

Cheers for now  /  Göran

 

Another two months went by and we have all been super busy.  So what has happen since our last report.  Well Helen said goodbye and Lisa said Hello.  Gustav now has a new Au Pair that he can torture.  I think they are getting along well.  Blue-blue will be her biggest challenge.   We all went and saw Sweden-North Korea and were happy to see the blue-yellow come out on top.  We will all be watching Sunday to see if they can bring home the gold.

 

Gunilla spent the better part of September with us.  She was a big help as usual and Gustav truly misses her now that she is back in Sweden.  Gustav's Farfar will arrive in another two weeks, so we are looking forward to that as well.

 

Thanksgiving will soon be around the corner, but first it is time for Gustav's second Halloween.  He went as a lion last year, so we'll see if he can squeeze into the same outfit this year, or if we have to come up with something new.   Cheers for now  /  Göran

 

We have been very bad at updating our site lately.  I guess that is what happens when you mix two busy jobs and a 16 month old.  Yes, Gustav is now 16 months old and is learning how to run.  He hasn't really gotten good at walking yet but that isn't stopping him, he is off and running which means a lot of scraped knees and foreheads.  I finally got brave and gave him pasta the other day and if you look at the picture of the week you will see the result.  It required an immediate bath. 

 

We are about to say good bye to Helen and welcome Lisa Olsson into our home.  We will be sad to Helen go but we are also looking forward to meeting Lisa.  Lots of things going on these days we will try and keep you up to date.  Jen-

 

Life in the fast lane!!

 

Tomorrow is travel day.  A quick car ride to Newark followed by SAS to Arlanda.  Let's hope that Gustav enjoys 8 hours of Boeing.  Sweden here we come.

 

Cheers  Goran

 

Hello - We are back.

 

We are at war with our ISP since our web service is not working properly.  Apperently so are 3 million other people so the customer service response time is about 3 years.  Well, well excuses-excuses...

 

So what has happen the last month and a half.  Well lets see if I can recall a few events.

Helen went to Mexico for two weeks and had a faboulous time.  She wont miss the camping part, but turning 21 during the trip meant that no money was left when she landed at PHL.

 

Gustav turned one and we had a small birthday bash in his honor.  It rained for about a week but the morning of his birthday the sky cleared and we had 24 C and the best spring weather of the year.  He got lots of nice presents and he was in a great mood.

 

Gunilla joined us for four weeks in April to take care of Gustav in Helen's absence.  I think she had a good time with her grandchild, because he smiled every morning when she came down to releave me.  Her only complaint was a sore back the last week after carrying Gustav who still refuses to walk on his own.  However he still has until July 1st to beat his dad or else he will be the slowest walker in the family.  By the way Blue-blue is in the lead....

 

May saw the arrival of the famous painter Nikitas Kampanis.  He spent two week helping us paint portions of the house.  He brought a lot of life and laughter to the house and he is truly missed, especially by Blue-blue.

 

Goran made another career move and is now the Director of Finance for Chelsea House Publishers.  Jen works harder than ever and will be visiting Florida this month since her clients are conveniently located in the sunshine state.

 

We are looking forward to meeting our Swedish friends during our visit in June.

 

Cheers  Goran

 

After a few technical difficulties we are back on line and now we have Farmor with us!  Yeah!!!  Helen is in Mexico for two weeks and Gunilla has been enlisted to help out.  Gustav is in heaven having Farmor around.

 

It seems unbelievable that in less than a week my little boy will be 1 year old.  I look at him and he is a little boy in every way except in my heart.  Now I understand why people always say such weird things to little kids, saying "oh how big you have gotten," and "I remember when."   I feel like saying that to Gustav every day. 

 

I really can't believe I am the mother of a 1 year-old, but he is so unbelievably cute and now so much more interactive that it is really fun, if maybe a little exhausting.  This weekend Farmor taught him how to climb stairs and now it is non-stop climbing stairs.  I guess gates just moved up to the top of the list of things to do. 

 

The gates are even above "replace entire bathroom."  Unfortunately, our master bath has decided it is time to remodel.  The decision was made when water came pooring through the ceiling on the first floor while Goran was showering.  I would say that was a pretty big sign that it was time to do something.  Unfortunately our choices were tear out bathroom floor or tear out roof in living room.  Either way we are in trouble.  Last weekend we hauled 1,300 lbs of concrete and tile out of the bathroom and that was just two shower walls.  I don't even want to think about what is left to remove out of there, but one step at a time.

 

Goran and I have decided to join a golf league together on Thursday nights.  I guess it will be our date night.  It is a good excuse to get out of work early at least once a week.  Work has been crazy busy and so I need the excuse to leave.  I am enjoying it more than I expected and so far so good.  Of course it has only been 4 months.

 

Well I should go figure out where the boys are, it has been far too quiet for too long, not a good sign! :c)  Jen-