March 2016
13/52
12/52
Jochberg, Easter - there is a little reflection in the window
After a few days in Vienna we head to our place, Jochberg. Where we feel so much at home, it is hard to describe. I could never skip this trip, though it was a little exhausting with overly full trains for Easter. There is still some snow covering the fields in this mountain village, but when the sun shines it is getting very warm. So it happened on Easter Sunday, when this picture was taken. Do you recognize Antonia and me in the window reflections? Mama, as always, decorated the houes nicely, this time in Easter style. During the week, we walk regularly our "Schradl-Dorf-Runde", meet with family, go skiing. Antonia is overly happy to see all her cousins and aunts, her uncle, granny and babushka and deduschka. And to walk around in the garden. She surely is a Tyrolean girl :)
Breakfast Arrangement
Breakfast in Vienna - from the scratch
We just arrived in Vienna and had our first breakfast - a mischmasch of items we had in our bags and stuff i bought quickly at the supermarket. I love those first meals, there is somethings special in it (non routine, yesterday late pizza as well). The light is also beautiful in this rented flat which adds to the overall mood. Which is .....yes, really good....
Self-cultivated Mushrooms
Mushroom goulash tastes yummy especially when cooked self-cultivated champignons
I presented my niece for christmas a set to cultivate button mushrooms (champignons) at home. Partly i satisfy with such presents my own curiosity and need to discover things, partly it is because of her - she likes "do-it-yourself" actions and traditionally we create/generate something together. So it was time for a mushroom cultivation. I bought it via Amazon, and it came in time and without any problems. The present was well received and expectations were high. There was not too much to do, other than filling soil in a box and adding the mushroom-infected substrate on top. The hard part came then - we (she) had to wait. And we had to trust my mother, that she would indeed water the soil/substrate regularly as promised. Nothing happened within the timeframe indicated, which was 3 weeks. Nothing happened in 6 weeks. And we were close to putting an end to the experiment (one of our few failures) when suddenly, after 2 months (!) 2 large champignons grew in record time. What a joy! I could not see them, unfortunately, but was told everything in detail. And rush, rush, knives sharpened, they were processed in a mushroom goulash by mother Karin (without permission, though :)). Apparently the taste was very intensive, better than the ones from the supermarket. Yuhuu! Now we wait for the second harvest, which should happen soon, but has not happened yet....below some pictures, taken by a phone.
11/52
Vienna we are coming!
We are finally traveling really to Vienna. The trip was planned for a long time, but until the end we were not sure if we can manage - luckily we did. As a result this week was quite busy if not stressful and i had lots to work and plan and pack, and i rarely had time to take pictures. This picture was taken in the airplane on the way to Vienna on saturday when i started to breath again and had time to look forward to this trip. She kept us busy throughout the flight, but it wawe ok because we were so happy to travel. More pictures to come from beautiful Vienna and Tyrol :) I want to note down as well that this week marked the 70th birthday of my mother (it was on monday) and of course we skyped with ehr on that day. The presnt from us children was of course a photo-book.
10/52
Painting, one of her favorite things and me exploring the light of the balcony door
Sometime I manage to get a picture with Toni & me, with timer, which is even somehow sharp and not so bad. So I thought I chose it for this week, which was otherwise little bit empty week. Tanya went to St.Peterburg on wednesday and in the following days, i was chasing our little girl. Chasing her while painting and running around with the black marker which is a dangerous toy, really. Cannot figure out yet how many strokes we have already on the floor. She also climbs up every chair and runs around without a break. I was obviously quite tired on sunday and very happy when Tanya returned. She has some connection with the kitchen chair where she stands with pleasure. Only, no food please. I really hope that Anne-Mari will be satisfied with her weight next week when we meet her.
Self-made Soap
Last week i finally decided to participate in the soap-making course the local evening school offers. It has been on my to-do-list too long, and i have to remember my desperate trials last year for Antonia's Christianity. Here I was, in a course completely lectured in finish, among wives, mothers, and woman like me. What should i say, it was fun in the end :). And i actually like the product i created. What do you think?
9/52
Body-painting children art
This week half of our family was ill. First Antonia got sick and when her fiever reached 39.5 ° C we even went to the hospital. Ear infection, antibiotics, 1 week at home. Aaarrhhh. Poor girl for some days she was really feeling miserable, very tired and not interacting at all. On top of that, Tanya fell sick as well during the middle of the week and I played nurse at home. This was really not fun but I managed. Only by the week-end things got better and we even met Nina & family on Saturdays. Sundays we played memory and painted. I told her not to paint on the furniture, wall and clothes - apparently i forgot to mention her body in this list.
February 2016
8/52
Maybe one of my favourite pictures so far
It looks like she is very thoughtful, in fact she was watching a snow mobile shoveling snow from the street. Whatever, it is a typical Antonia face. She was again painting this week in the Kindergarten, and they were also singing. Apparently, Antonia loves singing. Well, she does not talk, but sings. It is not true, she DOES talk, simply nobody understands her. But she interacts and babbles, and often imitates that she talks on the phone. With a bread or something holding to her ear. Very nice, when we picked her up once this week from Pikku Pietari, they said again that it was a good day, and that she is an “iloinen tyttö” which means “happy girl”......so true. This week had incidentally also another theme, which was "color red".
7/52
6/52
Antonia sitting at our window
Antonia’s new habit is climbing. She climbs everywhere, preferably to the window and on the chair and table. Best places are the ones she is not allowed to. She is not so much interested in books, more in moving. She was a little sick this week, with a nasty cold and some fever, followed by Mama Christina who was alying for 3 days with high fever. So the week was a little shaky, but ok. Unfortunately it has impacted on her apetite, so she is not eating very well any more. We aso received the first post card of our daughter, a valentine’s card with a cute bear on it which she painted herself (well, she placed the colors i think).
5/52
Antonia on the children’s playground in Kuopio
Antonia was 4times in daycare this week, and it went fine. She sleeps well there, usually over 2 hours, and she continues to eat well, what a relief. She was painting a card for Valentine’s day for us, wich we hopefully receive next week. I think Maarit, her kindergarden aunt, likes her very much, Antonia talks now also a lot, simply nobody understands her :). But “Mama” comes already quite clearly and loudly already, sometimes also demanding. Just to note down: she has now 4 more teeth, all together 8. On sunday we went to play on the playground.
