Tina's blog

Happy New Year - Welcome 2011

2011-01-09T04:33:00.000-08:00

Wow, once again its been a while but one of my new year's resolutions is to be better at updating the blog!

In September we had a new little edition to our family, Ole and Johanne had a boy - his name is Olav. We talk on the web all the time since we live kind of far away from each other right now. When we do see them, Jonas want to "hold" Olav and he is so sweet to him - I am sure those two will have a lot of fun when they get a bit older.

Jonas with Olav

In October Jonas, Jesper and I went to Spain with Jesper's parents and his sister + boyfriend. We flew to Barcelona and drove to a little city called Peniscola where Jesper's parents had rented a house by the ocean. We had a really good time and the week went by way too fast.

Jonas with his good friend, Postman Pat

November and December were all about Santa. He took up a lot of our time, talking about him, visiting him at various places etc. At Christmas Evening (24th here, where we get presents) Jesper left the house and dressed up as Santa. The kids were so excited and I am pretty sure they had no idea that it was Jesper.

Jonas just before Christmas - we had a lot of snow and still have!

In December Jonas also started a new kind of daycare. Before he was in a small "in house" daycare where one lady takes care of four kids. Now he is in a big daycare "center" where they have a total of 36 kids aged 0-3 years old. Right next to the daycare center there is a kindergarten with kids aged 3-5 years, so that's where he'll go next. He loves being there and he learns so many new things. He talks like a waterfall, most of it we understand:-)

We go swimming with Jonas once a week or twice a week - on Thursday he really made his mom proud. He swam with one of those water snakes and I did not have to help at all. I know a picture would have been nice here but I did not take one, so that'll be next time I guess.

Last, I want to welcome 2011- I hope it will be possible to find a good weekend for an IU reunion!

SUMMER '10

2010-07-18T05:58:00.000-07:00

We are in the middle of my three week holiday. We are touring Denmark this year, currently at Jesper's parent's house. And of course it brings back memories of last year where our wedding was held close to here. We went to Aaroe yesterday, that litte island just on the other side of the wedding site - it was a great visit.

And we have been lucky with the weather, nothing but sunshine day in and day out. We have introduced Jonas to the beach, and he loves it. He is usually a pretty careful boy but being at the beach and wandering into the ocean does not seem to scare him at all. I think he really enjoys spending time with the both of us and getting 100% attention.

We are heading back to home next week some time and then it is back to work again.

Summer time!

2010-06-06T11:23:00.001-07:00

Well, it looks like summer has FINALLY arrived. After a long and very cold winter the sun may have come to stay for the summer - or at least that's my hope.

My dad bought a little World Championship outfit for Jonas since the soccer turnament is about to be kicked off - a little too big, but nevertheless a cute thought.

For those of you that don't know this, Jonas will get a little cousin in September - Johanne and Ole are going to be parents - we are of course so excited to meet this little new guy!!

A visit in Haderslev

2010-05-29T23:56:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago all three of us had a nice long weekend in Haderslev at Jesper's parent's house. Jesper came straight from Germany and even though Haderslev is not that far away we all enjoyed a nice little get-away. On our trip to Haderslev Jonas and I travelled by train - it got kind of late and I thought I'd put Jonas to bed in his carrier, but I was wrong - he literally entertained two coupes of the train (and it was packed since we had a national holiday the following day) and all I could do really was to watch - made no sense to start to play tough mom at that point....

Jesper and I got to go out one night. As some of you know, Haderslev is not the largest town even seen, but a new cute little place had just opened and we decided to eat dinner there. It was great food, good wine - we had a Tina wine - and very nice with an adult night out.

Now all the national holidays are over and we are looking forward to summer vacation. In Denmark everyone has at least 5 weeks a year, and most companies want employees to take at least three weeks in July/August. We don't have any crazy plans for our vacation - I wish we could have gone to the States (it has simply been too long and Anne's wedding would have been the perfect occasion). I miss the States all a lot still which I find strange (will that ever go away?). I mean, it has been 7 years since I returned to Denmark now and still it comes back to me - I do miss it! I have a secret dream to go live there again for a couple of years - don't know if it will ever happen - but it is my little dream:-)

Oh, and yes, the little guy has started to talk quite a bit - so cute how he repeats words that we say.

Mother's Day

2010-05-29T23:51:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day came in May and my sweet little kid had of course remembered this day - he walked in with red roses and a cute little balloon.

A visit to the Zoo

2010-04-30T10:49:00.000-07:00

Jonas and I went to the Zoo in Copenhagen today with my parents (Jesper is in Germany with work). It was Jonas' first visit with us (he had already been with day care). I knew I should not expect too much, but really... His favorite "animal" was a chicken. We showed him gorillas, girafs, camels and what not...

But he chose to run after a chicken. And me, I got a little nervous being around the chicken, so I just tried to stay away and take a couple of pictures instead.

General Prayer Day

2010-04-29T11:16:00.000-07:00

I am up for a little vacation - well vacation may not be the right way to put it but tomorrow it is a national holiday here - called General Prayer Day (Smitty, sorry if you don't know that word either). And that's why spring is so nice here in Denmark - lots of national holidays where there is no work! The day before General Prayer Day it is a tradition to eat wheat buns - looked like Jonas like them.

Still need to take some pictures of our little house - gotta be the next post.

A little of this and a little of that...

2010-04-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

Hello!!

It's time for an update from Copenhagen. Here is a recap from the last couple of months.

March:

Went to Paris with Jesper for a long weekend. It was a great little get away. We had both been before so no turisty things that we needed to see. Must admit it was really nice with some Jesper-and-Tina-only time. Paris is one of my favorite European cities and I have not been there for the last time.

Went to Budapest with work for something called TNS University. It was a lot of classes on different kinds of market analysis - sounds interesting, right:-) Spring had just started in Hungary and we did get to hang out in the city. It was not the greatest city in the world (the call it Eastern Europe's Paris actually, but I just didn't feel it), but it is always fun to see a new city and hang out with good colleagues.

April:

Easter came and Jesper's parents were here - we are now done with our little yard and we are ready to cook out on the terrace when the Danish weather will allow it.

Jesper got at new mail box for his birthday - yes, we have a house now.
To celebrate Jesper's birthday we went to an American Steak House called MASH. Don't really know if it exists in the US but it was so great. Usually, I am not much of a meat eater, but nevertheless I had a good steak and best of all, a real American caesar salad.

Oh yeah - heaven forbid I forget to mention the little one. He is doing fabulous. Here are a couple of the latest pictures

Fastelavn

2010-04-02T03:49:00.000-07:00

Many of you guys may not now what this means, and that's totally OK since it is Danish. I did not know the English word so I actually had to translate it for this post and here we go: Shrovetide.

In Denmark we have a tradition around Shrovetide where the kids are dressed up in costumes, kind of like the American Halloween. So the good moms sew their kid's costumes, but since I really have no idea how to do that (do not even have a sewing machine) I bought two outfits for Jonas - Winnie the Poo and Spiderman. Jesper got the final word on which costume Jonas had to wear for day care when celebrating Shrovetide there and Spiderman it was. Here is a picture taken right before we left.

This took place in February, and yes, it means that I am late with my posts.
More updates to follow since we have moved into our new house as well!

Trip to Vienna

2010-02-09T10:29:00.000-08:00

My weekend in Vienna went by so quickly - had a great time with collegues and clients!!Just getting to the hotel was awesome.

My closet and the bar right next to it:-)

First night was pretty easy going - went to a traditional Austrian beer house, their specialy was weiss bier. Although it is not my favorite kind of beer I of course had to try one from their own brewery - and yes, it was good! The menu card itself was a huge beer - see picture below.

On Saturday we saw some handball since that was really why we were there in the first place. After the Danish match the girls decided to go shopping and wow, did we do some shopping!Saturday night was out at a great sushi place in the middle of Vienna. Here is my dessert - yum!

Sunday was sightseeing by bus - and also time for a small nap for me. Later Sunday we saw the final game between Croatia and France ending up with France as the winner. Flew home very early Monday morning and then back to work - great trip!

Leaving on a jetplane

2010-01-28T10:56:00.001-08:00

Just for a short trip - going to Vienna to see European Championships in handball. Handball is a big sport in Europe and I am going with my work to see the boys play in Vienna. I am of course excited to see the games but also to see Vienna - it is supposed to be a great city!

This is also my first time away from Jonas. I am sure I'll miss him while gone but I must also admit that I am looking forward to getting a couple of nights sleep without someone calling in the middle of the night:-)

Jonas will be with dad all weekend:-)

Work is going really well - I guess it has taken a while to get back into it after my maternity leave, but I am getting there.

We get the keys to our house on February 1st - did I mention that already? If yes, it is just because I am so excited. Jesper's parents will be in Copenhagen to help us with painting etc. And even though the house is not that big, it has a couple of extra rooms so there is a very good reason to visit Copenhagen (hint, hint you girls out there!)

Guess that's it from now - next update will be with pictures from Vienna - yeah.
Have a great weekend everyone!

PS: the bird is just a toy, not a real one for those who might have thought that

Walking...

2010-01-22T02:51:00.000-08:00

Jonas is still not all that stable on the legs and he uses his arms to stay balanced.

Yesterday Ole and Johanne wanted to see Jonas walk on webcam - well it was not all that hard, having an opportunity to get to the computer he ran towards it as soon as I opened up the lap top. On the picture below he is having some problems getting by
the computer cords.

Jonas 1 year!

2010-01-17T11:20:00.000-08:00

This week we celebrated Jonas' 1st birthday. Can't believe that one year has passed already, even if I know it sounds more like an old cliché than anything else. I think Jonas enjoyed all the birthday singing most that day - and hopefully the layered cake (a Danish tradition) I had made as well.

We moved out of the apartment just before the New Year and this means that we are staying at my parents this month. We get the keys for our new house on February 1st, then some painting etc. to do and hopefully we'll be able to move in mid February.

Some more random pictures of the little guy. He is walking now, still seems to be a little nervous about it and it looks really cute I think.

Apartment sold!

2009-12-04T22:06:00.000-08:00

It finally happened - our apartment has been sold and we have to be out of here no later than January 3rd. Our plan is to move between Christmas and New Years though. We think we have found the house we want but it takes a while to settle a deal, so we'll see. Until then, we'll move in with my parents for a month or so - I am sure that will be quite an adventure.

Jonas is good. He is not walking yet - seems a little nervous to let go of the things he is holding on to; it looks very cute. We really like his day care and below are some of the latest pictures.

Back to work

2009-11-04T10:37:00.000-08:00

I am back in business again. What a change in the everyday! It is good to be back at work but of course I also miss Jonas during the day. We are trying to find a routine in our little family, so far it seems to work out well:-)

And now a little picture of Jonas in his woolen underwear. He is getting so big and every day he is able to do new little things - it is amazing to follow a little guy like that.

It's been way toooo long...

2009-10-09T05:31:00.000-07:00

So just a little update from Copenhagen - it really has been too long sinced I have blogged - however, I have promised myself that I want to try and be better, because what's a blog with no updates!

Since the wedding time has gone really fast. It used to be months before I was going back to work - now we are talking weeks. Luckily, I am looking forward to going back. Jonas has slowly started daycare and it is going well! Jonas is everywhere these days, especially all the places he is not supposed to be, so I wish them good luck at daycare:-)

I have started to swim on our masters team again - it sure is not pretty but I try to go as often as possible so hopefully it will get better... crazy to think that once we did this every single day and most of the days twice a day.

That's it for now. I will be back again soon though....

A wonderful wedding

2009-09-03T05:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't really know where or how to begin, so I have decided just to post some pictures. However, I would like to thank everyone for travelling all the way to Denmark, and not just Copenhagen, but Aaroesund, a "city" in the middle of nowhere... It means so much to both Jesper and I that you came to share our wedding with us.

The summer is here - finally!

2009-07-08T06:44:00.000-07:00

Well, the summer has finally come to Denmark...and it has been really hot. Air conditioning is pretty much nonexistent except for some stores, hotels etc. Jonas has taken the heat pretty well even though it has been a little tough to sleep at night.

Here are some of the latest pictures:

American Pancakes - Help!

2009-06-18T23:32:00.001-07:00

I have a problem...

I love American pancakes, preferably with chocolate chips. - most of you know that. I make them every now and then even though you cannot buy the good mix in Denmark. But I get those packages from Maggie, Kristy and other of you nice ladies where there usually is a "little" Aunt Jemima pancake mix in. This Wednesday I was making breakfast to my family, Ole was leaving for Afghanistan again and I thought I'd make a little treat with breakfast. The first ones I made looked fantastic - but already on the second batch (is that what you call it, I am lacking words) they get somewhat black. They are not terrible, but they are not great either. I am not sure what I am doing wrong. But right now, I have to clean the pan every time before making a new batch. I always cover the chocolate chips with dough so that’s not why they get all ugly.

Does anyone have some good advice for me? I may just add that I do not have one of those fancy pancake pans (the flat ones), but I should be able to make them anyway.

Other than the pancake problem (some might add, that it is a minor problem, and I tend to agree) things are great here. I am very excited to see so many of you guys this summer in Denmark. We still have some details left to figure out but all in all I think we are on track. For those of you that don't know, the currency here in Denmark is Danish Kroner. One USD is about 5,3 Danish Kroner. We do not have the Euro but most places you can pay with Euro anyway and you can pay with VISA or similar credit cards almost everywhere.

If you have any questions for your trip, please ask and I will try and help.

Baptism and almost 5 months

2009-06-11T04:57:00.000-07:00

So, its been a while.

Last weekend we had Jonas baptised. Ole was the godfather and the one to carry Jonas in church. The gown Jonas wore had been on both Ole and me more than 30 years ago - made me feel somewhat old:-)

Everything went fine and when we came out of church the sun shined. Afterwards we had a lunch at our apartment - it was a close fit with 24 people sitting down at two tables, but all in all a really great day.
And now the fun part - pictures....

Ole and Jonas in church
The actual baptism

Outside the church with all our guests

Jonas with his new little jacket

Rolling from back to tummy

2009-05-04T22:09:00.000-07:00

Last week Jonas rolled from his back to tummy for the first time - he looked so cute and was really surprised himself. He seems so much more alert by now and he is more fun to play with.

He discovered his voice a while ago but it seems that he forgets it again and when he rediscovers it, there is a lot of happy "screaming" in the apartment.

Jonas - 3 months old

2009-04-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

Last week Jonas had his three month "birthday". Here are some new pictures of the little guy:

The wedding site

2009-04-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

Jesper, Jonas and I went on our first trip to visit Jesper's parents right before Easter. It gave us a chance to go to the place where our wedding will be held this summer. It was a beautiful day so we took a couple of pics - hopefully the sun will shine in August as well.

The first picture is the actual place the wedding is held

This picture is taken from the hotel - Haderslev Fjord is just near by

And more baby...

2009-03-25T23:40:00.000-07:00

The last couple of months have been all baby posts and I am afraid that this post will continue with more updates on Jonas.

Last week we went baby swimming for the first time.

Both Jesper and I were in the pool with him. It was a lot of fun and Jonas even got his head under water.

Afterwards we had a very very tired baby...I can only recommend this if you need a quiet afternoon:-)

On the last picture Jonas wears the right colors - IU colors - and the onesie even has his name embroidered on it - so cute, thanks Smitty.

A new life for the Gretster

2009-03-01T06:34:00.000-08:00

Boy, how life changes with a little one. We just went to visit my colleagues at my company this week and I realized how far far away work is right now. The days go by so quickly and it has been almost three months since my maternity leave started.

This week Jonas and I also started to after birth gym - it felt SO GOOD to do some real exercise again and even though I felt sore the day after it was definitely worth it. After exercise there was "tea hour" for the moms talking about baby stuff and I actually really enjoyed it - yep, I guess it is fair to say that new stuff and conversations (I did not think I would have!) are filling up my days.

Jonas' 1 month birthday

2009-02-17T07:35:00.001-08:00

This Saturday Jonas celebrated his first birthday - he turned one month.

On Sunday Jesper and I went out for a late Valentines brunch and Jonas' grandparents baby sat for a couple of hours. When we came to pick him up again, my parents had guests visiting to see the little guy - I guess it is not wrong to say that something happens with parents, when they turn into grandparents.

2009-02-07T05:37:00.000-08:00

A couple of new pics from Denmark.

Jesper started work Monday so Jonas and I hang out by ourselves during the day. We go for long walks with the barnevogn - Jonas sleeps and I try to loose some weight - keep walking people tell me:-)

2 weeks old

2009-01-28T02:38:00.000-08:00

Pictures of the J-man!

Welcome to little Jonas!

2009-01-18T14:02:00.001-08:00

So he finally arrived - little Jonas.

He was born on the 14th at 6.53 pm; weight: 4,128 kg and he was 53 cm long. Everything went just fine and we got home from the hospital yesterday. It feels very good to be home again!.

More updates and pictures to follow - just thought I'd share one of the first pictures taken of Jonas.

Just waitin'...

2009-01-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

A short update from Copenhagen where absolutely nothing is happening - no baby yet and I am getting SO impatient!! Thank you for all the sweet notes and messages.

Over and out - hopefully there'll be a new post soon:-)

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-02T11:01:00.000-08:00

2009 has come and I am one day from my due date - no news yet though....

I went on maternity leave in early December which meant that I had lots of time to do the Christmas shopping and bake Christmas cookies - nice! We were at Jesper's parents for Christmas and then back to Copenhagen again on the 26th.

New Years Eve was very calm on our part - we did get to see some nice fireworks though at midnight.

Now the waiting time has kicked in... it is difficult to make plans but at the same time it makes no sense to just sit and wait. Everything is ready to for the little guy, even the hospital bag has been packed. To top everything off, Liz sent the cutest Indiana stuff - something that was totally missing. This soft teady bear has a central place in our apartment and I am sure that the little guy will like it as much as I do.

Hopefully I'll be able to post some news pics soon of the baby - all depends on how long we have to wait:-)

Finally a new post..

2008-11-09T05:42:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's been a while since my last post - but here it is!!
Just got this picture taken yesterday - I am in my 33rd week and still doing fine.

I am starting to get really curious about this little guy's entrance into the world. This week we bought a "barnevogn" which is sort of a carrier (see picture) that every mom has in Denmark. We also got a lot of all the other "need to have" things. Still have a little bit of shopping left but we have most by now.

In less than four weeks I am going on maternity leave. Looking forward to having all of december to shop christmas gifts and do a lot of baking:-)

A fantastic US visit

2008-09-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

My trip to the States was amazing - it was so good to be back!

We all had a great time at Kristy and Matt's wedding and it was very nice to spend some time with everyone.

At the end of the trip we went to do a little sightseeing (and a lot of walking) in Boston. We saw the US Constitution and afterwards Pat and Meg drove me to the airport - thanks for taking me (and finding the way) to Boston airport:-) I guess the sightseeing part wore me out a little as I found myself waking up in the airport just before my flight left.

It's a boy

2008-08-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday this week Jesper and I went to the second scanning. The little one seems to be fine which is very nice to know. At first, they would not tell us whether it is a boy or girl, but at the end the nurse was certain of what she saw and said that it was a little boy:-)

Knowing this, I am able to go to Kristy's wedding in Boston and do some baby clothes shopping as well.
Can't wait to see many of you - its been way too long - hopefully you'll still be able to understand me even though my English is a little rusty. I have tried to prepare and refresh my English watching a lot of American movies, recently one with Arnold Schwarzenegger, so hopefully I am ready by now...:-)

Summer update 2

2008-07-30T11:56:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we went to a place called Bakken to eat dinner and see an annual show "Cirkusrevy" with my parents.

On the picture you can see that I am definitely gaining weight now. I am in my 17th week....

Summer update from Copenhagen

2008-07-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

So my short vacation is over and although we did not do a whole lot it was nice to be off work for a while. We went to visit Jesper's parents in Jylland for a little week and then we just stayed at home for the last week.

We have been sailing when the wind allowed it - our boat does not like windy weather at all which can be a challenge, since it is usually kind of windy at sea:-)

This weekend I layed out with Mette and we captured the moment with a picture.

Having a baby...

2008-07-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

So I am pregnant - just entered my second trimester as I am 14 weeks along today. I am feeling great, no nausea or anything, but of course a little tiredness in the first weeks.

The little one is due first thing in the new year, more specifically on January 3rd 2009. We don't know whether it will be a boy or girl yet, hopefully we'll find out in a months time or so. A couple of weeks ago we went to the first scanning and saw him/her and heard the heart beat - it was fantastic!

And then a "Smitty": Yes it was planned and yes, Jesper is the farther:-)

Isla Margarita March 2008

2008-06-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

Even though it has been a while, I wanted to share a couple of pictures from our trip to the Caribbean island Isla Margarita. We went for a two week vacation around Easter and of course we had a fantastic trip. We did not do a whole lot of sightseeing and mostly we enjoyed the sun and the nice beach right outside our resort.

A cute little fisher town with a very beautiful sunset.