We moved into our new apartment at the end of October. My dad casually mentioned in an email, "Can't wait to see it. Wish we could help you move in!" Oh Dad, you can! So my parents came over for 12 days to help us move in and watch Linnea while we unpacked and went on a babymoon!
While they were here I wanted them to meet our friends. I didn't do a great job of preplanning get-togethers with my friends so I tried to throw together a last minute "fika/meet Kara's parents" get together. There were a couple of problems with the plan or lack of plan. We just moved into a new apartment, which was a disaster, with hardly any furniture (no dining room chairs) and we weren't sure how to get it all organized and ready for a get-together. I was talking with my friend Chelsea and she suggested we have the get together at her place. It was super thoughtful of her to offer but it felt weird. We just bought our own place, so why wouldn't we want to host our friends here? We decided to take Chelsea up on her offer (which I later learned was me actually trying to get in the way of a plan she already had in place). I don't know all the details but apparently, Chelsea started planning this baby shower (with some help from Jake) before I came up with the idea to get all my friends together to meet my parents.
I wanted to be a good "host" even though Chelsea was offering to do it all. I wanted to make treats, bring drinks, paper goods, etc. Well, it turns out Chelsea was already organizing a surprise baby shower for me so every "great" idea I came up with to "help" actually became an obstacle that she and Jake had to figure out how to overcome without giving away the surprise. I told you I was difficult to surprise.
A few other memorable moments before I realized what was going on: We originally set the start time for 2:30 pm but we run late and almost all of our friends arrive 30-45 minutes early to EVERYTHING. I still don't understand how that happens but it does. I REALLY wanted to make sure we weren't late to the get together I was "hosting" at Chelsea's house so I pushed the time back to 3 pm and that meant Chelsea had to talk to all my friends about changing the time too. We almost missed the connecting bus but I convinced the bus driver to wait for Jake and my mom who were pushing Linnea in the stroller.
Egg free cookie dough balls, chocolate cake, cookies, banana cake, and lots of other awesome food which my friends helped bring because they are awesome!
When we got to Chelsea's at 3 (because she wouldn't let me come earlier to help which annoyed me, sorry Chelsea!) I knew that at least 3 of our friends were already there and I was annoyed. I HATE being late (but apparently not enough to actually stop being late to things . . . ). We walked in and when I turned the corner there were all of our friends in Stockholm singing a made up song about Happy Baby Shower to You. I was SO CONFUSED! This get together was close to Jake's birthday so I had already talked to Chelsea about having a cake (which she offered to make, seriously she is the best) and singing to Jake since all our friends would be in the same place at the same time which hadn't ever happened. It took me a while to figure out why and what they were singing and then it all clicked. This was a surprise for me and I about lost it. My face definitely turned red that is for sure!
My Dad recorded us walking in which was fun to watch since my brain was spinning when it actually happened!
I hadn't realized until the song clicked and I saw the baby shower balloons and decorations that I hadn't even thought about having a baby shower for this baby and I was instantly grateful that Chelsea was thoughtful enough to throw one for me while my parents were in town and able to come. Plus it was so great having all of our friends in one place to meet my parents. Here are some pictures from the shower!
From Left to Right: Alyssa (William), Mona (Adele), Meltem, Angela, Maggie, Me, Debbie, Riandi, Chelsea.
While we are on the topic of these friends here is how I met them:
Alyssa is my newest friend in Stockholm and we met in a pretty unconventional way . . . through this blog. Ha! Even typing that sentence is just weird. Alyssa and her husband Brian are from the US and after they found out they were moving to Stockholm for work she googled " Giving Birth in Stockholm, Sweden" since she was pregnant with baby #2 and found my blog. She quickly figured out we have similar personalities and her oldest, Emma, is 5 days older than Linnea. The craziest part is that she refreshed the blog accidentally once and realized we were moving back to Stockholm. She messaged me on Facebook asking a few questions about where to find things in Stockholm and we hit it off! Our girls have a great time playing together and I've definitely leaned on her (and will continue to) since becoming a mom of two is right around the corner!
Mona is Tim's wife and Tim works with Jake. Our oldest kids (Florian and Linnea) are 3 months apart and our second kids will be about a year apart. We went to the archipelago with Tim and Mona when Linnea was 6 weeks old and Florian was 4 months old.
Meltem, Angela, Maggie, Riandi and I all met at a Mommy Fika meetup group. Technically I was 36 weeks pregnant with Linnea when I met them and they all had one kid each. Those 4 ladies made life as a new mom, in a foreign country, significantly less lonely and so much more fun! We've been able to pick up right where we left off and I LOVE it!
Chelsea and I started working together the first time we lived in Stockholm and since I'm back at that same school we are working together again! She has a little boy named Ethan and we often hang out together on the weekends eating dinner together and playing games after the kids go to sleep!
One more note about friendships while abroad. Friendships are key to feeling less lonely (duh) but especially in a foreign country away from the deep friendships and family connections that you are used to having. Jake and I lived in Stockholm relatively happily without friends (except one another) for a while but when you add genuine friendships to the mix with a group of people who truly care about you it makes all the difference in the world!
One more note about friendships while abroad. Friendships are key to feeling less lonely (duh) but especially in a foreign country away from the deep friendships and family connections that you are used to having. Jake and I lived in Stockholm relatively happily without friends (except one another) for a while but when you add genuine friendships to the mix with a group of people who truly care about you it makes all the difference in the world!
Singing Happy Birthday to Jake
Pretty sure Linnea is trying to kiss Florian here. We might be in trouble with these two!
One of us is 27 Weeks Pregnant . . .
Random sidenote: See the ball pit in the corner? When we go to Johan and Chelsea's house to hang out on the weekends Linnea sleeps in the ball pit (without the balls). She's almost too big for it but it works for now!
I'm so thankful that Chelsea was thoughtful enough to plan this and to power through when I tried to ruin it :). I'm also really grateful to have so many friends and such a great support system here in Stockholm. Of course, I miss my friends back home but I've realized it is a blessing to have close friends in every stage and season of your life. I still can't believe that all of these friends were all in the same room at the same time and my parents were able to be there to meet them!
I can't wait to introduce Pizza Roll to all of our friends (in Stockholm and the US)!
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