Second Oscar

The second friend I would like to introduce you to is somewhat special. He lives in our house, but't he doesn't really share our space, so to speak. You see, he lives in a world that is paralell to ours! There are gates to his world in several places in our flat, one is the door of the cupboard in our room, this picture is taken there. This friend is very special to me, but he is also somewhat annoying. He always dresses like me, and copies everything I do. My parents call him Oscar, just like me, and I think it's rather bold of him to copy even my name. In fact I am careful not to show him my friend Bjalla, for I'm sure he would like to have her all to himself, for that's how he is. But he is fun too, so I shouldn't be complaining too much. When I go to sleep he sometimes calls me through the second gate to his world, which happens to be just above my bed (you can see that on the second photo). Then we play a bit, or until I'm tired and go to sleep. I don't know if he ever sleeps, for everytime I call him, he is there ready to play. Unfortunately he doesn't want to leave the paralell world to come and play with me in Oscarlandia, where all my toys are (there is no gate there), but sometimes when we go somewhere he comes with us!! I don't think my mum realizes, but sometimes I can see into his world as we pass a shop, or go to a bathroom. I don't tell my mum that he's there with us, for maybe she wouldn't be happy that he has followed us, I just smile secretly to him, and then we talk about it next time we meet at home!

Miss Bjalla

In the next two blogs I would like to introduce you to two of my friends that I love very much and that always bring a smile on my face.
First of all there is Bjalla, the beatle. I found her in my mum's old lab sitting on a shelf, under an increasing layer of dust. I got so excited when I saw her that I started shouting and my mum didn't know what was happening until she followed the fixing of my eyes and saw that I was communicating with Bjalla. She asked me to save her from the lab and be her friend, which I happily did. Once I was at home my mum washed away all the dust and I got to kiss and hug my new friend. Since then we are inseperable. Sometimes she is off to mind her own business, and I play on my own, but then she calls me in our secret language and off I go looking for her. She is very playful, and sometimes she hides under pillows or chairs so that I have to look for her, but then we laugh and hug once I manage to find her. I must hug her at least 20 times a day, normally I just throw myself over Bjalla and squeeze the breath out of her, like you can see on this picture. Then we chat and play until it's time to do something else. Bjalla has also introduced me to the meaning of jealousy, for if I find my mum or dad hugging my friend I go bananas and claim her all to myself! Well, if it wasn't for me, she would be bored to death on that lonely shelf in the lab! My mum bought her years ago but never thought of bringing her home, so I can't see why she should be so good friend with her!

New passion

Did you worry for me when you read last blog? I got a bit emotional when I was writing about the subject, I admit it, but maybe I exaggerated slightly...and I wouldn't want you to worry for me without a reason! Anyway, one thing replaces another (see, I'm getting philosophical about things) and so I'd like to introduce you to my latest passion. The swing!
I had tried the swing with my parents many times in the past, but I'd never liked it so they were reluctant to let me try it alone. But few weeks ago they gave it a try, and as with the kangaroo-bag it was love at first try! I laughed, I giggled, I snorted, I chuckled, I sniggered and I didn't want to leave the swing at all! Since then, we go to the playground at least 2 times a day and I get to swing all I like. Actually I get all excited when we start to see the playground and sometimes I cry when we leave it. But it's also nice to see the other children playing in the playground and sometimes I steel smiles and compliments from the other mum's that are there. So the good side about beeing too big for the kangaroo-bag is that I'm big enough for the swing.

End of an era...

I feel too young to be sad, too happy to cry and life is too beautiful to be completely paralyzed by the events, but I can't help it. When you arrive at crossroads in your life it's difficult not to stop for a while, reflect on the past or as in my case, take a dive into an ocean of nostalgic memories.
I've arrived to the end of an era. It was not completely unexpected and we have actually astonished ourselves for how long this era has lasted, but still the end was more abrupt than we had imagined. I know we have the backpack, and I'm actually looking forward to using that -but it's not the same. Judging from my parents talk I'll soon be walking -although I feel that my feet are still a bit too shaky to carry me around- and then I won't really need it any more. But still! Nothing will ever replace my dear old kangaroo-bag! I've used it daily since I was around 3 weeks old. It has brought smile to my face more often than any other object in my posession. It has brought me to more places than I would have imagined existed. I've dreamt about it at night and I guess I will for some time on, although it is now parked in the box of things no longer in use. I don't know whether it's me that has become too heavy or my mum too weak (I bet it's that!), but the fact is a fact and nothing to do but to accept it. My mum says it's a good practice, there are some bigger changes planned in our immediate future, such as kindergarten and (hopefully) moving to a new place. It's all part of that growing up thing...but hey, I'm in no hurry!!!

Just in case...

I thought I'd show you a picture of the unwanted toy that I wrote about in a previous blog. And I'd like to warn you, if you're a mum and will recieve a huge parcel from my parents, with compliments and all...you know what's in it! Or if you read in the newspaper that aUFO was seen flying over Pavia, and as a proof they publish a picture of a suspicious green thing travelling with the speed of light over the cathedral, you know that my mum has finally thrown the toy out of the window. But if nothing of this happens, and the toy remains in our custody (one doesn't really want to own something like this), then maybe my mum should remove the earplugs -for they might be the reason she doesn't understand me when I'm talking!

Talking

Can someone explain to me what happens as words travel through air? Is there some mechanism that mixes them up so that no one can understand them? Well, I find it somewhat puzzling that
when I say miao my parents understand that I'm imitating a cat and reply Miiiaaaooo, when I say iiihhh, they recognize the horse,
when I say vooohh they think I'm a dog...or well, my mum does -my dad insists that dogs say bau, wherever he gets that idea from-
when I say quaqua they play a duck
and when I say dudu they make the sound of the train that passes behind our house.
But when I say loud and clear Dear parents, my stomach is empty like a black hole, in other words, I'm really really hungry, would you be so kind to give me something to eat,
they say yes, we shall go and read a book for you
or
yes, mum loves you very much too Oscarino.
I don't get it, was I not being clear enough?? I do my best to understand the mumblejumble that my parents say, although I'm somewhat confused by the difference in the words that they use -each of them has their own words for everything, which goes long in explaining my father's bau-business. But maybe they just aren't trying hard enough to decipher what I'm saying...or maybe the words do get changed as they travel through air...

Last Saturday we went to visit friends of my parents. They've got twins that are a bit bigger than me and I had a lot of fun playing with them. Then when we were going back home, the twin's mum said she wanted to give me one of their toys. My mum said it was not necessary, but the other mum insisted, so off we went with one of the twin's toys. We could see the other mum smirking as everyone exchanged goodbye kisses, but we didn't "get it". We still didn't get it when we heard the twin's parents open a bottle of expensive champagne as we left or when we saw the lights from the fireworks as our car moved towards our home. Once we were home my parents put the toy on the center of the floor and I got to play with it. It is one of these toys where you can press a million buttons and turn things or open and close and they will make sound. Only that this one makes horrible sounds. Horrible-horrible-horrible! I actually like noisy things, so the first time I played with the toy we were all like: yippie...what a fun..haha!!! and we tolerated the noise quite well. Already the second time I used it, the noise started to get to my mum's nerves (daddy was lucky to be at work!). The third time I played with it my mum started looking for the off button.

BUT THERE IS NO OFF BUTTON !!!

One even has to use a screwdriver to remove the batteries!! My mum got histerical...
And that's when finally we got it!!!
Luckily for my mum the noise also goes a bit on my nerves, so I don't play so much with the toy. Otherwise she would be looking like the lady on the photo. And well, I guess my mum will be as happy as the twin's mum when she will be able to relay the toy to the next innocent parent-baby pair. Marghi...Francesca....Barbara...?

Three quarters

Yesterday I had lived three quarters of a year. This means that I've spent as much time inside and outside my mum's belly and I've transformed from what seemed just a small bean to become a sweet little boy. Isn't that quite amazing? I didn't celebrate the event, except that I got some extra kisses and cuddling from my parents, which was nice, and today I've taken a step into the tenth month -and who knows which adventures await me this month!!!

Something white and wet

Come october, come autumn -well, if that is what this is. This morning when I went for the daily morning walk with my mum, everything was changed! The houses, the trees, the cars, everything was covered with something white and wet. I wanted to touch it to see what it felt like, but the closer we got to it, the further it went away as if it was trying to escape from us! When we passed the rice-fields we couldn't see the trees that are on the other side, but I know they were there for I could hear the birds singing in the trees and greeting me like they do every morning. It just appeared as if they had been eaten by a big white and wet monster, that was lying there digesting the tree truncs and laughing. When we went to the bridge to say hello to the river, like we do every day, we couldn't see where the river came from or where it was going. We just saw a small piece of river flowing under the bridge before it melted into the white and wet thing. I wish someone had goven me a warning, for this change was far too drastic and far to sudden for me. Then suddenly the sun appeared and wiped away the monster in just few moments, and I could see (to my great relief) that everything was just as it used to be. My mum calls this monster "FOG" and tells me that if the weather is going to continue to be the typical Po-valley weather we're going to see a lot of it this winter. Hm...! I just checked the weather-forcast for the following days, and I guess we WILL be seeing a lot of the fog in the days to come (see the bars in the last column!). My mum is not so happy about it, she finds the fog a bit depressing. But I just told her to go out without her glasses and try to focus mainly on the beautiful colours of the leaves on the trees and if she gets sad I'll just sing her a song that I invent and that makes life a ten-million-times more sweet for her :)

International dinner...

Ok, ok, someone does read my blog, there are already some comments, and some people that have talked to my mum have said: hey, am I supposed to comment on the blog..ah? Which means they read it but would never comment on it. Anyway, maybe I shouldn't be bothered at all if someone reads this or not...in the end this blog almost serves as a diary also for me so...hey..here I am -happy as ever :)
I must say also that internet IS very useful for us. We search information, read news, and most importantly, we keep in contact with people! My parents have friends all around the globe, and of course half my family is in Iceland - so if today was, say, 25 years ago (come to it..10-15 years back is enough), either my parents would be writing snail-mail-letters every day, or they would loose contact with all those wonderful people. With internet we can keep in touch as if we were all living in the same street. There are no limits to what we can do actually!
Last night for example we had dinner with a friend of my mum that lives in Canada, isn't that awesome?? It was a kind of dinner where it was difficult to exchange food between plates, so to speak -everyone had to bring their own meal (and it really wasn't dinner time in Canada), but it was great. If you've got skype (and can't make it for a real dinner with my family -to which you are kindly invited) then please contact us on skype at dinner time, and we will be happy to share our meal with you.

Is there anyone out there?

No, I'm not looking for aliens. I'm just checking if anyone ever reads this blog. There are never any comments to my writing and I don't have a counter on my site, so how can I know? If no one reads this I might just as well stop writing...so here's my deal: I'll blog once for every comment I get from you...ok? So if you don't hear from me again...it's because I didn't hear from you!!!!!

Less extreme...!

Those who read the past two blogs probably think that we, the "italian-trio", are a bit extreme on certain things. If you know my mum, then you're probably thinking
well, yes, hmmm... they are...!!!
and maybe we are, from a certain point of view -although we are mainly just practicing what my mum calls heilbrigda skynsemi (healthy intelligence!). Only that it is sometimes bloody difficult in practice!
I'll take an example. As you may well know in these modern times, together with the inhabitants of the Linfen-region of China and Ranipet in India, babies are among the world greatest ecological monsters. Before we learn to control our weewee and poopooh we consume/produce several tons of diapers and the experts say that it takes something like 500 years for them to break down in nature!!! I don't think parents in general go around throwing the used diapers in nature -not even curious parents like mine (just to check how long it really takes them to break down), but they don't go around very proud of what they are doing to mother nature either. So, if the parents are a bit aware of these things, like mine are (or were..!!) they do something about it. So how do you think that my parents spent the evening of 28 of december, the day before I was born -their last childfree day for years and years. Candlelit dinner? Cinema? Romantic walk in christmas-decorated Pavia? No, theese geeks spent the evening on internet searching among the offers of re-usable diapers!! Then a couple of days after I was born and was desperate for my parents attention, my mum sent my dad some 80 kilometers away to spend a lot of money (those modern re-usable diapers are not really cheap!) to buy the chosen brand of diapers! Then my mum treated the diapers with some kind of wax to make them softer and dried that thing off with a hairdrier, then she washed them all and hung them to dry in their bedroom (our flat IS small). The thing scared the shit out of my parents when they woke up to my crying during the night, for the diapers looked like 20 dead chicken hanging on a line! The instruction said the diapers would dry in about 8 hours, but with the humid january-weather in Pavia, it took a lot more for them to dry and my mum almost refused to eat chicken after this fearful experience. When finally they dried, my mum folded them up neatly and put them in a big bag, ready to use. To make a long story short, that's exactly where they are still today!!! My mum only made one trial to let me use the diapers. I was 1 months old, and no matter how one-size-fit'em-all these diapers were meant to be, they fitted me just like a king-sized bedsheet would have done!
What's more, they completely blocked my below-hips-mobility and made me look like a pear -and I was NOT ready to face the pear-shape complex yet! You can see it on the photo. On the left I'm using the straitjacket-diaper, on the right I'm using a normal one (I'm only crying on the one on the right because my mum said she would make me wear the re-usable one again!). Just as good they didn't continue to use them, for I wouldn't be the happy crawling-standing-climbing rascal that I am today, if I'd continued to use them!!

After this frightening trial, my mum put the diapers away and planned to try again when I had grown a bit -which I did pretty quickly, but she never gained enough courage for a second try. Sometimes my dad asks my mum what happened to the diapers, and then my mum feels a bit ashamed and a bit guilty, so she says that she is just about to make another try. Then she never does because they take too long time to dry. Or, because our flat is too small to house a bin with dirty diapers waiting to be washed. Or, our flat is so small, and the weather is so unstable that we can't count on drying the diapers outside, and we can't have 20 dead chicken hanging all the time in our bedroom -with the baby and all......and so one (you get the picture?). Each time a new excuse -and my father sees his great investment gone up in smoke -and the last childfree evening for years and years, gone wasted. Let's face it, the ecological-monster-diapers are so handy and simple, that once you get used to using them, there's no going back to the washable ones! I guess my mum would not have made it in the good old boil-the-diapers-in-a-big-pot-on-the-stove days!
So you see, being extreme might be noble and worth a try...but it can be bloody difficult in practice.

P.S.
The diapers are for sale...anyone?

Additives addicted

I didn't finish all I had to say about food-flavouring the other day. You got the message that we don't like vegetables with vanilla flavour. Well, that's only half the story, for a part from the strange combination, it's the fact that they add flavouring at all, that worries us a bit. Why do they do it? In Italy, well, all of Europe, come to think of it, it's forbidden to add colour and food-preservatives to baby-food, but that's it, you can add just whatever else you like to the food (except maybe pesticides or something). And actually, if you want your baby to eat healthy and to stear away from other food-additives, you should not give him food meant for babies, for they are terrific. Next time you go to the supermarket, check the baby-yogurt for example. Read carefully the description of the ingreadients. Almost certainly you will find that most, if not all, contain artificial flavouring (if it's natural flavouring they specify it), extra sugar and if you're lucky...some real fruit and some yogurt.
I don't know if you heard in the news lately that food-additives can cause hyperactivity in children?

“A mix of additives commonly found in children’s foods increases the mean level of hyperactivity,” wrote the researchers, led by Jim Stevenson, a professor of psycology at the University of Southampton. “The finding lends strong support for the case that food additives exacerbate hyperactive behaviors (inattention, impulsivity and overactivity) at least into middle childhood.”

This is no new knowledge, people have known for years that they don't do us any good. There are also indications that food-flavouring can cause worsening of the symptoms for children with Tourette syndrom and there is probably no end to the list of what these additives can do to us.
The only reason that I can find for the producers of baby-food to sell these chemical-cocktails for small babies is making us addicted! Like for smoking..you start smoking before you know it's not good for you -well, or you think that you are going to live forever anyway...or that old age is so unappealing and so far away, that some smoking can not possibly matter -then bang, you grow up, are addicted to the golden dragon and have stained your lungs black on the inside!
Maybe the food-additives are not as bad...but what do we know? If it's possible to eat just normal, natural food...then why shouldn't we?

Vanilla-vegetables

Can I ask you something? Well, I'm a baby and although I've got my ideas about a lot of things, I might not get them right all the time. So here's my dilemma. If you are offered mashed vegetables with some meat for lunch (it might not happen to you often, but imagine being a baby and being offered this practically every day) would you prefer it with the taste of vanilla or just the simple natural vegetable and meat taste?
(please leave a comment to let me know what you think!)
Well, the reason I ask you is that a couple of weeks ago my mum bought the cereals to add to my food. At the supermarket there were only two brands, Nestle and Plasmon, and my mum brought home one box of Rice from Plasmon. On the box it's written that one can use it either to add to the vegetable broth or to milk and since Plasmon advertises a lot on TV (grow up healthy, is their slogan) she thought it was quite a good choice. The surprise came when she added the cereals to my food. First she thought that her nose was playing tricks on her, but then she had no doubt: the rice was vanilla-flavoured! A quick glance on the box revealed that Plasmon had added flavours to the cereal, but not a word about vanilla! My mum was rather disgusted, and wrote a letter to Plasmon to let them know what she thought. After a while the reply came

Dear Mrs. Valgardsdottir
We excuse the late reply to your request, and would like to inform you that vanilla flavour has been added to all our cereals after several taste-trials among a group of our clients, who judged that the taste of the cereals with added vanilla-flavour was better for their babies. Furthermore, the sweet taste helps the babies to get accustomed to more savory tastes during the first steps of weaning.

blablablablabla..! Now let's say that there are parents that prefer vanilla-flavoured vegetables and meat (I would be curious to hear them actually) -but wouldn't it be fair to KNOW what you're buying? Now take a look at the picture of the Plasmon-cereals! Can you see written anywhere that vanilla-flavour has been added? If you buy biscuits from Plasmon you can choose between Vanilla, Chocolate or No-flavour biscuits as clearly evidenced on the box. But if you buy the cereals, you get vanilla...or, well, you buy another brand...which is just what my mum did.

I love IKEA

My dad sometimes says that the first time my mum felt at home in Italy was when he brought her to IKEA. Then she could be the practical scandinavian surrounded by practical scandinavian things!! I'm only half-scandinavian and I've never been to IKEA, but I still love them -for guess what, they know exactly what my tastes are!!! I don't know how they know where I live, but when we had just come back from Iceland they sent me 372 pages of a delicious catalogue. I still can't believe my luck. Page by page I'm tearing apart the catalogue, strapping every sofa or table or whatsnot that's on my way. If it wasn't for the fact that occasionally my mum feeds me with other brochures and journals I would have finished it already. First I thought my mum would say nei nei nei when I started strapping it, but to my surprise she didn't (she only does if I actually try to eat the pages). Then I found out that she has her own copy hidden somewhere (wait till I find that one..!) -she stole it from our neighbours' mailbox, but they are never at home (or not after the police came looking for them this summer), and usually they throw all publicity that comes to their mailbox on the street in front of our house -so, if you ask me, just as good that my mum saved it!

The world is my playground

Ah...life IS beautiful. When I wake up in the morning I play a little in bed and check that my toys have had a good night sleep, then I stand up and look over my parent's bed to see where they are hiding. First I can't see them -but there are strange landscapes under the bedsheets. Then I do my wakeup-call, and tell my parent's how impatient I am to start the day. That does the trick. They never fail to stick their heads out of their bedsheets when I start calling them. Well, at least my mum. My dad is better at hiding. Mum says that he's at someplace called work and I still haven't figured out where that is -which is strange, for our flat is really small. It's just a small hole really.

When my mum comes out of her hiding place I start jumping up and down in my bed, for I'm so excitied -I can't wait to start playing. Usually we start the day by playing a bit in my parent's bed, or maybe my mum reads me a book or two. Then when I start to feel that my stomach is a little empty I go and explore the milk-tanks. I need a lot of energy for all the playing to come. The world (our flat) has become my playground! I figured out how to crawl in the end of july, in Akureyri (boy, was my mum excited) and just a few days later I stood up for the first time. Since then I'm constantly on the move. I crawl, I climb, and have conquered almost every furniture there is in our small flat. My parents bought linoleum flooring (is that what it's called?) with the map of a town, and have covered the floor in the living-room with it. I'm supposed to play mainly there, but it's much more fun climbing the sofa, or under a chair, putting my hands in the VCR or catching things I'm not really supposed to play with -such as the remote control and my mum's cell phone! Why should I stick to the designated area when the rest of the flat is much more fun? When I go to places where I'm not really supposed to be, such as in the kitchen or try to climb the radiator my mum says nei nei nei nei and gives me the worried look. I know what it means, and do stop what I'm doing for a while, but then curiosity has better of me and I continue. Then my mum says again nei Oscar nei, and then she gives me a short lecture on why I can't, it's hot, it's dangerous, it's ullabjakk and so on -as if that makes me any less curious! Well, I'm young, and there is a world out there to discover...!

(Don't) mind the gap..!

I know, I know...! I haven't been blogging enough lately. It's just that I have a tiny problem with a big gap. I didn't blog for about 3 months, and every time I want to restart, this gap of 3 months is proofing to be like a grand canyon that I can't cross! I had planned to tell you all about what I've been up to the last few months, but since I came back home so many things have happened that every day I'm torn by the decision of whether to write about the summer (enough to fill a whole book) or just concentrate on that particular day....and in the end I just don't write anything at all! Would you call this a writer's block or a trivial-dilemma?

But enough is enough...I've decided to never mind the gap (maybe you'll get it in small pieces in the following blogs) and start to tell you what I'm up to these days.

Meez and meez dad

"

Meez and meez mum...

Happy birthday great-grandmother

My only great-grandmother is 80 years old today. I don't really understand how much that is, but hope that I will acquire first hand experience! Me and my parents didn't manage to go to celebrate with her and other relatives in Iceland, but I would like to send her all our best wishes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY "LANGAMMA"

On the picture you can see me with her in Iceland this summer.