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School of blocks: Gas station

~ daddy's little girl, legokool

schoolofblocksAll kiddo and her dad spend their days doing is building with Legos. They come up with all sorts of fun projects – sometimes Ladybug wants to build a discotheque, sometimes they build train stations, more often than it’s princess castles etc, etc, etc. We came up with the idea of them taking photos and me posting them here on the blog so from now on they have a category of their very own – Ladybug and daddy’s school of blocks. 🙂

First up are the cool gas station and truck they built yesterday. 🙂

// Sisuliselt ainus, mida printsess ja papa päevad läbi teevad, on Legodega ehitamine. Nad mõtlevad igasuguseid vahvaid projekte välja – mõnikord nõuab neiu diskopõrandat, mõnikord ehitavad nad rongijaamu, ükspäev kõrguvad klotsidest printsessilossid ja teinepäev mängitakse autoremonditöökoda. Meil tekkis mõte nende vahvad ehitised üles pildistada ja blogisse üles riputada, niisiis on neil tänasest alates blogis täiesti oma rubriik – Printsessi ja papa klotsikool. 🙂

Esimesena demonstreerime teile eile valminud uhket tanklat ja rekkat. 🙂schoolofb2A gas station with four pumps, one of which (pump number two) is black because it’s for diesel. The young man in the photo is part of the personnel and is in uniform. The shop clerk looks exactly the same. 😀

// Nelja tankuriga tankla – tankur number kaks on musta värvi, sest selles on diiselkütus. Noormees pildil on tankla töötaja ja kannab sama töövormi, nagu tanklas sees istuv kassapidaja. 😀schoolofblocksschoolofb1A state of the art car wash with spinning brushes.
// Viimase peal pöörlevate harjastega autopesula .schoolofb

schoolofb3

 

Yippeee! We turned three!

~ daddy's little girl, kroonprintsess: kasvamine, kroonprintsess: sünd, motherhood

sünnamumm
At this time today, three years ago, I was standing on our living room floor in the downward facing dog position and realizing that it was definitely time for my firstborn child to arrive. Today, three years later, I can honestly say giving birth to that kid of mine at 6:55 p.m. was the greatest, most joyous achievement of my life because she’s been an absolute blessing to everyone she’s ever met. Happy birthday, my darling daughter! I hope you never lose your kind, loving, selfless nature and your fabulous sense of humor – it’s what makes you so incredibly special.

We’re off to go pick up her birthday cake and run some errands, have a special birthday lunch and then come back home and prepare for a few guests to arrive. I’m not exactly in the best possible shape to host a huge party, but I can’t very well rob my daughter of a decent birthday celebration because of my sneaky uterus. 😀 Talk to you later!

// Täna, sellel kellaajal, kolm aastat tagasi seisin ma allavaatava koera asendis meie elutoapõrandal ja olin just aru saanud, et päris kindlasti on aeg meie esiklapse ja troonipärijanna sünniks. Täna, kolm aastat hiljem, võin täiesti kindlalt öelda, et tema ilmale toomine oli kõige mu elu kõige suurem saavutus ja kõige elumuutvam sündmus, sest ta on kõigile ümbritsevatele inimestele olnud üks suur hingeõnnistus. Palju õnne, mu kallis tütar! Ma loodan, et sinu lahke, armastav ja isetu loomus ning vaimustav huumorimeel saadavad sind läbi elu, sest just need omadused teevad su nii ebamaiselt heaks ja eriliseks inimeseks. 

Nüüd lähme toome neiukese uhke sünnipäevatordi ära ja ajame veidi asju, sööme ühe erilise sünnipäevalõuna ja naaseme siis koju, et külaliste saabumiseks ettevalmistusi teha. Ma pole küll suure peo korraldamiseks sobivas vormis, aga ma ei saa oma salakavala emaka pärast ka lapselt sünnipäeva tähistamise rõõmu päris ära võtta. 😀 Niisiis tulevad mõned armsamad ja lähedasemad sõbrad ja sugulased meile siiski külla torti sööma. Kuuleme hiljem!

Life lessons: the importance of fatherhood

~ daddy's little girl

IMG_1296

I first wrote this two months ago, but hesitated to post it. Bear in mind that it truly is just a thank you letter to life rather than a criticism of anyone else’s parenting.
// Ma kirjutasin selle juba kaks kuud tagasi, kuid kõhklesin seda postitades. Pidage siis meeles, et see tõepoolest on ainult tänukiri elule, mitte kriitikanool kellegi teise pereelu suunas.

Me and Ladybug took a looong well-earned nap (both being pregnant and being a toddler are exhausting jobs) and woke up to the sound of our apartment door closing – H had come home from work. My still sleepy little baby got up fast as lightning, looking a little heartbroken, asking: “where did my daddy go?” You should’ve seen her face light up when I told her he didn’t go anywhere – that he just came home from work. H came to bed and Ladybug got to wrap her loving little arms around his neck and push her cheek against her daddy’s, looking so blissful it was almost a little funny. “I love you, daddy” kiddo told her father and he told her she loved her too. They had been apart, what… two and a half hours since lunch?

I couldn’t help but think about all the dads who don’t get, and what’s worse, want to be near their kids. If you would’ve asked me what I thought about the importance of a father figure in a kid’s life when I was pregnant or when kiddo was a little baby, I would’ve said it was minuscule. I may even have ridiculed it a little, implying that a mother is a kid’s primary caretaker and mothers know best anyway. How could I have known better? I’ve never had my dad hold me, prioritize spending time with me or tell me he loves me. I know now because H has taught me by being the dad he is.

A mom isn’t enough. I’m not enough. Knowing how many fathers have to or choose to be away from their families for whatever reasons and how many kids there are who’ll never bond with their dads the way my kid has… I know now how sad that makes me. The relationship between a child and her father can never be close if there isn’t time – one on one quality time, equally divided between both parents. Play time, bedtime stories, observing cars driving by on the street, teaching each other values none of us knew existed, fighting over existential matters like which dress kiddo gets to wear at home (dad always gives in and I wake up to Ladybug running around the house in a ballgown), standing up for each other when Bad Cop (also known as mama bear) strikes… it’s all very necessary.

This is in no way a judgement of any family’s chosen lifestyle or a provocation that should lead to a discussion about whether or not people need to be away from their families for the sake of a better quality of life. I kind of just wish all kids had what my kid has. It gives me a certain sense of comfort and security, knowing that my kid has someone who adores her just as much as I do, maybe even more.

// Tegime koos printsessiga piiiiika auga välja teenitud lõunauinaku (üsas loote küpsetamine ja väikelapseks olemine on mõlemad väga rasked ja väsitavad ülesanded) ja ärkasime selle peale, et korteriuks sulgus – H tuli töölt koju. Veel unine väike printsess kargas ülehelikiirusel püsti ja tema väikesed silmad täitusid sõnuseletamatu kurbusega: “kuhu minu issi läks?” Te oleksite pidanud nägema, mismoodi tema väike nägu särama lõi, kui ma teatasin, et issi ei läinudki kuskile vaid hoopis tuli koju. H istus voodile ja tütreke sai oma armastavad väikesed käed issi kaela ümber panna, oma põse issi oma vastu suruda ja nägi sealjuures nii õnnis välja, et see oli isegi natukene naljakas. “Ma almastan sind, issi” teatas printsess oma isale ja viimane vastas samaga. Nad polnud teineteist lõunast saati näinud… kaks ja pool tundi?

See pani mind mõtlema isadele, kes ei saa ja, mis veel hullem, ei taha oma laste lähedal olla. Kui te oleksite minult eelmise raseduse või printsessi beebiajal küsinud, mida ma isarolli olulisusest lapse elus arvan, oleksin väitnud, et see on minimaalne. Ma oleksin seda võib-olla isegi pisut naeruvääristanud väites, et ema on lapse peamine hooldaja ja et emmed teavad ja oskavad niikuinii paremini. Kuidas ma oleksingi saanud midagi muud arvata? Mul pole kunagi olnud isa, kes hoiaks mind kaisus, peaks minuga aja veetmist prioriteediks või ütleks mulle, et ta armastab mind. Ma tean nüüd, kuidas asjad päriselt käivad, sest H õpetas mulle seda olles selline isa nagu ta parajasti on. 

Emast ei piisa. Minust ei piisa. Teadmine, kui paljud isad peavad või otsustavad oma perede juurest ükskõik, millistel põhjustel eemal olla ja kui palju on lapsi, kes oma isadega kunagi nii lähedaseks ei saa, nagu minu oma enda issiga… ma tean täna, kui kurvaks see mind teeb. Isa ja lapse vaheline suhe ei saa iialgi olla lähedane, kui ei ole aega– omavahel veedetud kvaliteetaega, mis on vanemate vahel võrdselt jaotatud. Mänguaeg, unejutud, aknast mööduvate autode jälgimine, teineteisele väärtuste õpetamine (millest pooled saame selgeks teineteisega koos kasvades), eksistentsiaalsete argiste dilemmade lahendamine – milline kleit on koduseks kandmiseks kõige paslikum? Viimases küsimuses jääb issi tahe alati printsessi omale alla ja mina ärkan hommikul tütrekese ballikleidi sahina peale. Aga selle jaoks nad teineteisel ongi – hoiavad kokku, kui Paha Politseinik (tuntud ka kui kuri emahunt) hambaid näitab ja lõbusat keelab. See kõik on hädavajalik.

See ei ole ühegi perekonna jaoks sobiva elustiili hukkamõist ega provokatsioon, mis peaks viima diskussioonini selle kohta, kas inimesed peavad parema elukvaliteedi nimel oma peredest eemal olema või mitte. Ma lihtsalt natukene soovin, et kõigil lastel oleks see, mis minu omal on. See annab mulle tohutu hingerahu ja kindlustunde – teadmine, et mu lapsel on veel keegi, kes teda sama palju jumaldab nagu mina. Võib-olla rohkemgi.

First snowman

~ daddy's little girl, kroonprintsess: areng

WP_001150Daddy took pooch and Ladybug out to play in the snow while I got to sleep in. They came back with these photos in H’s phone. First snowman – check!
// Papa viis koerakese ja printsessi õue lume sisse mängima ja mina sain kaua magada. Tagasi tulid nad nende piltidega H telefonis. Esimene lumememm – tehtud!
WP_001152 WP_001151

Father’s Day breakfast

~ chit-chat, daddy's little girl, family, snapshots (pildipostitus)

IMG_9838H loved his surprise breakfast consisting of bacon, scrambled eggs, crêpes, coffee and orange juice. Yum!

If there’s one thing that’s good about waking up to pee every couple of hours, it’s being able to get out of bed before everyone else wakes up to prepare a surprise breakfast to someone who’s without a doubt the best dad in the world! Like with many other aspects of life, preparing surprises isn’t what it was pre-child so about halfway through frying the pancakes I heard a loud squeal coming from our bed – Ladybug had woken up and was afraid I had gone missing. I tried to get her to join me in the kitchen and let daddy sleep, but the minute she heard today was a special day for daddy, she wanted to go give him a kiss. We handed him his present and by the time he got out of bed, I was almost done setting the table. A sturdy breakfast is just what we need because I have a day full of adventures planned for them.

To whom it may concern: happy Father’s Day! Thank you for loving and taking care of, therefore setting an example for your sons and teaching your daughters their true worth. I, myself, haven’t really had what I today consider real men as role models growing up (edit: I wrote this forgetting I have two most caring and kindhearted uncles) so I’m twice as thankful that Ladybug does. 🙂

// Kui iga paari tunni tagant pissihädaga ärkamise juures üldse midagi positiivset on, on see igatahes võimalus enne kõiki teisi ärgata, et maailma parimale isale üllatushommikusöök valmistada! Nagu paljud teisedki asjad siin elus, ei ole üllatuste ette valmistamine enam see, mis ta oli enne lapsevanemaks saamist – kuskil poole pannkoogipraadimise pealt kuulsin magamistoast valju ruiet, sest printsess oli ärganud ja kartis, et mind on röövitud. Ma proovisin teda kööki endaga hommikusööki valmistama meelitada, et H magada saaks, aga kohe kui ta kuulis, et täna on eriline issidele mõeldud päev, oli tal vaja issit musitama minna. Me ulatasime H’le ta kingituse ja selleks ajaks kui ta voodist välja ronis, oli mul laud juba peaaegu kaetud. Toekas hommikusöök kulub meile täna hästi ära, sest mul on neile seiklusterohke päev plaanis. 🙂

Kõigile asjaosalistele soovin igatahes kaunist isadepäeva! Aitäh, et te armastate ja hoolitsete ning olete oma poegadele seeläbi eeskujuks ning õpetate oma tütardele nende tõelist väärtust. Minul isiklikult ei olnud lapsepõlves eeskujuks ühtegi sellist, keda ma täna tõeliseks meheks pean (edit: ma unustasin seda kirjutades mainida, et mul on kaks maailma kõige hoolivamat ja heasüdamlikumat onu), nii et ma olen topelttänulik, et mu tütrel on. 🙂

A family of two-year-olds

~ daddy's little girl, family, kroonprintsess, kroonprintsess: kasvamine, kroonprintsess: pildid, kroonprintsess: sünd, motherhood, snapshots (pildipostitus)

bday2HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEETEST LADYBUG! Technically it’s our birthday too, we’ve been mum and dad for two years now. We started our day with unwrapping presents in bed – our birthday girl got two sets of Lego Duplos and a robo-fish. She loves those! Then we had a pancake breakfast and now it’s time to clean up our home and cook delicious food for our guests. Our whole entire apartment is covered in balloons and we’re feeling very festive. Have a wonderful day, you guys!

// PALJU ÕNNE SÜNNIPÄEVAKS, MAAILMA KÕIGE KALLIM VÄIKE PÕNN! Põhimõtteliselt on täna ka meie sünnipäev, sest oleme kaheaastased emme ja issi. Alustasime oma päeva voodis piduliku kingipaberi lahtirebimisega – neiu sai sünnaks kaks komplekti Lego Duplosid ja ühe robotkala. Ta arrrrmastab robotkalu! Siis sõime ära suure taldrikutäie pannkooke ja nüüd on tagumine aeg kodu läikesse lüüa ja peagi saabuvatele külalistele maitsvaid roogasid vaaritada. Kogu korter on kaetud kümnete ja kümnete õhupallidega ja meeleolu on väga pidulik. Kaunist päeva ka teile, sõbrakesed!
 bday6“HOOOLAAAY!” // “HULLLAAA!”
bdayWhat’s a birthday morning without pancakes? // Pole sünnipäevahommikut ilma pannkookideta!
bday4Birthday flowers // Sünnipäevalilled
bday3The night before, presents waiting on a shelf above the bed for the little one to wake up in the morning. // Sünnipäevaeelne hilisõhtu, kingitused ootavad voodi kohal riiuli peal pisikese hommikust ärkamist.

Post-Christmas snapshots

~ christmas, daddy's little girl, family, snapshots (pildipostitus)

snappies11We went to visit the annual Christmas market in town square. // Käisime iga-aastasel jõuluturul Raekoja platsil. 
snappies12♥
snappies21Ladybug got a penguin-shaped gingerbread cookie. // Printsessil õnnestus nabida pingviinikujuline piparkook. 
snappies15She wasn’t exactly unhappy about it. // Ei saa öelda, et ta selle üle rahulolematu oleks paistnud.

snappies17 snappies16Give Estonians a reason to barbecue and they will – even if it’s at a Christmas market… // Anna eestlasele võimalus grillida ja ta haarab sellest kahtlemata – isegi kui tegu on jõuluturuga…
 snappies20We bought the Häagen-Dazs four-pack and tried different flavors. My absolute favorites are Macadamia nut brittle and Vanilla caramel brownie. Because I’m an omnomnomnomnivore! // Ostsime Häagen-Dazs’i nelipaki ja proovisime nelja erinevat maitset. Minu lemmikud olid Macadamia nut brittle ja Vanilla caramel brownie. Sest ma olen omnomnomnomnomnivoor!
 snappies18Me and Ladybug cuddled and watched TV wrapped in H’s mom’s brand new, heavenly soft blankie. // Mina ja pärijanna tõmbasime H emme uue ja imepehme teki sisse kerra ja vaatasime kaisus telekat.
 snappies19 snappiesLike we hadn’t had enough to eat for a whole year during the holidays, we decided to restock our fridge, freezer and kitchen cupboards. // Nagu me poleks juba pühade ajal terve aasta eest söönud, otsustasime me külmkapi, sügavkülma ja köögikapid sööki täis laadida. 
 snappies2Guess what I did! // Arvake, mida mina tegin!
snappies3Made truffles, of course. What did you think? // Trühvleid, muidugi. Mida sina siis arvasid?
snappies4Both the truffles and roasted spiced almonds were meant to be Christmas gifts for H’s relatives who we were going to visit over the weekend, but me and Ladybug decided to suffer from a nasty stomach virus in stead. Joyful, joyful! // Trühvlid ja pildilolevad röstitud mandlid olid mõeldud jõulukingitusteks H sugulastele, kellele me pidime nädalavahetusel külla minema. Mina ja noor daam otsustasime selle asemel täiesti rämeda kõhuviiruse käes kannatada. Ristirahvas, rõõmusta!
snappies5Godzilla (also known as the Ladybug) was watching TV so H had time to build a train station before tragedy struck and the whole place was torn down by incredibly quick little hands. Ladybug has three new sets of Legos so we’ve got quite a collection now. // Godzilla (kutsutakse mõnelpool ka minu tütreks) vaatas parajasti telekat ja H’l oli piisavalt aega, et ehitada uhke rongijaam enne kui ebamaiselt kiired käekesed selle maha jõudsid lammutada. Väike preili on viimasel ajal saanud kolm uut Legokomplekti, meie kogu kasvab jõudsasti. 
 snappies6Ladybug’s Christmas-themed bedding. // Tütrekese jõuluteemaline voodipesu. 
 snappies7Mommy brought me fresh interior design mags from the future (January 2014, I suspect she may have a DeLorean time machine that I’m not aware of). We’re planning to remodel our living room in February and those magazines gave me a ton of inspiration and iedeas! // Emme tõi mulle tulevikust (jaanuar 2014, ma kahtlustan, et tal on kuskil DeLorean-ajamasin, millest ma midagi ei tea). Me plaanime elutoaremonti ja nendes ajakirjades oli nii-hiiiii palju häid ideid, mis veebruaris käiku lähevad!
 snappies8Ladybug stood for Sunday night dinner. Whatever it is, it involves a ton of cheese and both the Ladybug and I loooove cheese! // Troonipärija vastutas pühapäevase õhtusöögi eest. Misiganes see ka pole, sisaldab see ohtralt juustu ja tütreke ning mina arrrrmastame juustu! 
 snappies9Two best friends that anybody could have! // Piltidelt võib tunduda, et printsess peedistab koerakest, aga tegelikult on nad teineteise vastu väga-väga head ja armastavad. ♥
 snappies10H saw this photo and called me his personal “cuteographer”. 😀 // H tituleeris mu seda pilti nähes oma personaalseks “nunnugraafiks”. 😀  

Stockhome in November: Snapshots

~ adventures, daddy's little girl, edevus, family, kroonprintsess, kroonprintsess: areng, kroonprintsess: pildid, meik & nahahooldus

This post has been sitting and waiting in the drafts for a couple of days now – I just have too much on my plate at the moment. All fun projects, but also time consuming ones. But here I am, regardless, giving you a quick overview of our short little mini-vacation visiting my mom in Sweden.
1I’ve been planning to take outfit photos for god-knows-how-long now. Every time I dress up, do my make-up and bring along the camera, we simply forget and have fun in stead. We’re lousy at taking outfit photos, but here’s at least proof that I sometimes wear clothes!
 2The ball pen on the cruise ship was clearly a major hit! 
 21The little one has grown very fond of doll strollers and lucky for her, my auntie G (one of mom’s best friends) gave her her daughter’s old stroller. All she does these days is run across the apartment with all her little plushies in the stroller. 
 4Enjoying caviar in the ship’s buffet restaurant. Give the girl anything that tastes like fish and she’ll binge eat until she’s in a food coma, pretty much. Judging by her love of seafood, we’re probably not even related – I don’t eat fish! 
 27Here’s the explanation to the earlier fish-paradox. Notice how I’m having brownies and cake for dessert, the Ladybug has a bowl of ice cream in front of her and – what is it I see on H’s dessert plate? Sushi! 
 7When we drove off the boat and started navigating towards my mom’s house, we called her on the way and asked for breakfast. When we got there, there were eggs on the stove, bacon in the oven and oatmeal with fresh strawberry jam waiting for us. <3 There’s no place like home!
 5Mommy even got fresh flowers for our arrival – how sweet is  that?
6A huge cardboard box was waiting for me in my room. What could it possibly be?
17We had breakfast, watched a couple of cartoons together on mom’s hypersupermega-HD TV and then headed to… well, you can probably tell, where…
16Mom and I went a teeeensy bit crazy, but now at least we have everything I wanted for Christmas and some stuff we needed for our home. There’s also a chance that Santa may be bringing our Ladybug a play kitchen with all the little porcelain, pots and pans and utensils she could possibly need for doing all the cooking she likes. She loves playing kitchen so I’m sure she’ll be thrilled when she unwraps her presents!
 15 14On our last day at mom’s house we went to do some more shopping and then went to get pizza and the huge sandwiches you see in the picture above. They’re made with freshly baked bread, mine was with chicken and H got one with shrimp. It’s fresh and juicy, the dressings are absolutely amazing… Swedish junk food really is something extra!
 20Our little girl playing with daddy while I was packing and before it was time to head back to the ship again to head home. 🙂
 9 8We traveled back in an ambassador suite, which is so much more comfortable than a regular double-bed cabin. It’s spacious (separate living room and bedroom), has bath robes, a larger bathroom, a mini bar and fruit basket etc. 
 10As you can see, the little one was more than thrilled with the fruit basket. 😀
11 12I unpacked all my beauty essentials and decided to take a nice, long shower and get prettied up before it was time for dinner. 
23Selfies had to be taken…
13… even tough H had me covered anyway.
19Ladybug’s number one favorite activity on the ship or anyplace else that has elevators, really.
22The view from our cabin window at night
25At our breakfast serving in the morning before arrival – this one’s on me. We’re both super-prepared for being photographed. Lucky for the Ladybug, she looks adorable even when she’s caught off guard.
 26The view from our cabin window right before arrival. Back home in Tallinn!

Rolling on the floor laughing: You put your kid’s socks… where?

~ chit-chat, daddy's little girl, motherhood

Imagine the following situation: you’re about to put some clothes on your child’s back after she’s had a bath so you bring her a diaper, a pair of pants, a shirt and some socks. You dress her in a diaper, shirt and pants and start looking for the socks. You look under the chair, you make sure you’re not sitting on them, you ask your kid, you go back to where you brought them from. They’re nowhere to be found. So you shrug and get a new pair. All done, you’re ready to head out of the house!

Bedtime, three hours later. The father of your child is undressing her in the other room and suddenly you hear someone shout something like “WAIT, WHAT?!”. Your man brings you a pair of orange little socks that are soaking wet. “Guess where these were?”, he asks. They smell like pee so I’m a tad bit confused. Then I get it. My child has gone for three hours with a pair of socks in her diaper.

Yup.