What we do during the day

People have been asking me what the kids and I do during the day so I figured it was a good subject to post about.  I made up a slide show to go with the post.  First of all, we spend time at home playing.  Lucas likes to taste anything and everything he can get his hands on and Annalise loves to take care of her bubu and play dress up.  Lucas and Annalise pretend that the laundry basket is a boat; okay Annalise is pretending it's a boat and Lucas just loves to be near Annalise!  One of Lucas' favorite things to do is to pull all of our shoes off the shoe rack and chew on the laces and soles!  Annalise and I have also been doing lots of art projects and making cards for all the people we miss in the states!
Sometimes we walk Ray to the bus stop and then take our own bus to Kulen, which is an open preschool in Lund.  Lucas usually rides in the stroller on the bus and Annalise sits in a seat by herself sometimes and rides in the stroller sometimes.  In the picture below Annalise is holding on to her bubu but a few minutes after the picture was taken she left bubu on the bus!  It was a big drama but we got bubu back thankfully!
Kulen is one of my favorite places in Lund so far.  Open preschool is a really neat concept.  Even though it is called preschool the majority of the kids there are under the age of two.  It is a school that parents bring their children to and the parents stay.  There is two teachers and all the typical preschool like activities.  Because of the great parent leave here there is usually more dads with kids than moms with kids! There is an art room, a gym room, a room with lots of toys and a slide, a kitchen area with a large table, and a large area to gather for music time.  Lucas loves to taste all of the toys at Kulen and Annalise loves to get her face painted!  We like to get there in time for music at about 10:15.  I love to sit in the circle and listen to to the swedish children's songs.  The ones that are repetitious and have gestures are somewhat easy to understand.  They have their own version of Itsy Bitsy Spider and another one where you clap different parts of your body.  There are also some simple dances that we participate in.  The other day I overheard Annalise singing one of the swedish songs to bubu; it was very sweet.  After music there is play and fika.  Below is a picture of Lucas in a high chair at Kulen.  Fika is awesome!  It is a coffee break that the whole country participates in.  I'm probably not describing it as well as I should.  You should just come visit us in Sweden and experience it.
Another activity we do during the day is play at the park.  There is a great park called Stadsparken, translated The City Park, that is about a 20 minute walk from our apartment.  We have met some friends already so sometimes we meet friends there and sometimes we just go by ourselves.  We also go to the library, called Stadsbiblioteket, where there is a great children's section with books in English and many other languages as well. Below is a picture of Annalise pointing to the Engelska sign.  I have heard that there is also adult books in English but I have not had a chance to explore that part of the library.
Annalise started school yesterday and so our days will change a little bit.  From now on she will be in school from 9-2 and Lucas and I will be going to Kulen and exploring the city on our own.  It will be great for Annalise to have a chance to play with kids and learn Swedish and it will be great for Lucas and I to have some time to enjoy each other one on one.
Although there are still ups and downs we are getting settled and we are all very happy to be in Sweden.  But we miss all of you and think of you often!  We wish is was a little warmer here but we are happy.

Sending love and hugs from Sweden!