4 years

It has been 4 years since I arrived here.

In Spain I left my professional career, friends and family.

It was indeed a tough decision, but I do not regret it. My family and friends are still there for me and, although I had to make a twist to my professional career, changes have been always welcomed to my life.

In all this time I have learned that the timing is different up here.

Autumn starts in August.

Winter knocks our door at the end of October and says good-bye at the beginning of May.

Spring comes from one day to the other and it goes as suddenly as it came. Maybe this is the reason why it is one of my favourites moments of the year.

Watching how everything changes from black and white to a profusion of colors is one of the most beautiful things of the world.

End of June is the middle of Summer. A period of time that you must enjoy 100%, as darkness is approaching fast.

I have learned that the word cold has not the same meaning for everybody and that the quality of the clothes is much more important than the amount of them.

At the beginning we were two. Now we are three.

At the beginning we were alone and now we have plenty of friends.

My Spanish blog started with the idea of telling  family and friends how was our life in this cold land.
My first post was about a snowy day and it has been thousand of them like it.

And in the meantime, many people have joined us in our journey. First in the Spanish version of this blog and some of you, here, where I try to translate what it is going on.

It is amazing to think how fast everything has happened, how many things we have learned, how many experiences we have lived.
 

I would like to celebrate it. Blow up candles, eat cake and open presents.

I would love to make you a present, but I do not have one for every of you, so I have decided to do a giveaway.

You only have to let a comment in this post or in its Spanish version and, next Sunday, an innocent hand will choose two of you.

As present, there are two options:

1. A printout of one of my photographs.

You can find them in this blog, in the Spanish version or in my flickr account.   The winner can choose one, all except my family photos.

2. The second choice is a story.

You send me one or two of your pictures, explain me something about them and I will prepare you a story.
 

This is a picture of Pol in his first birthday. You can see here what he liked and what he didn't like at that moment of time.
Things have changed since then.

Let's blow the candles together, because there are plenty of things to celebrate.

Notes.-
1. The pictures for this post have been taken during those four years. It is amazing to see how much I have learned since the beginning.
2. I am NOT a professional photographer, but photography has given me many things during these 4 years. This is the reason that photography will be involved in the giveaway.

The sledge

Last week it started snowing.

It snowed during the day

,but also during the night.

All day long snowing.

 

So this weekend, we weren't able to go anywhere with Pol's pushchair. It was like trying to push it in a beach full of sand. No way.

At the beginning we were considering let him walking, but after half an hour and only 10 meters covered, we decided to come back home and try the sledge.

 

Of course, the sledge was the best solution, as every Finish knows.

 

We walked, we played  and after so much exercise, we decided to make a break having a coffee.

 

We parked outside and just enjoyed the moment.

Pol talked to everybody. I am sure he was explaining how marvellous day he had had in his own language, this that nobody is able to understand, but it is so funny to hear.

Regata is one of the most picturesque places in Helsinki. Although it appears in all travelling guides,  it is always full of local people. There are people enjoying a coffee after some cross-country skiing, people sitting outside enjoying winter sun at -10ºC temperature or like us, people relaxing after ten minutes of exercise.

I would love to show you pictures of the interior of the cafeteria, but the little one was very tired and we have to come back home.

 

Another day I will invite you to a virtual coffee. It's a deal.

In the meanwhile, here it is the milk.

 

For this weekend

I had plenty of things planned:

1. Cook stuffed potatoes for "El Club del tupper"

"El Club del tupper" is a cooking project of 11 Spanish bloggers. We cook the same recipe every month and share our experiences with everybody that wants to read us.

Last month we cooked sweet bread that it is very typical for the "Three wise men" day. It was delicious.




This month Lucía has challenged us to cook stuffed potatoes in the way her aunt does, but we haven't had time to look for potatoes suitable for being stuffed. Finish's potatoes are usually too small for this matter.

Following the link, you can see the recipe.
Of course, it is in Spanish, but I can translate it for you if you want it.
Just let a comment telling me.

2. Buy and sledge and enjoy sliding in the snow.

Pol loves playing with the snow and I am sure all our falls will deserve his happy face (plus sliding is one of the funniest things in this world)

3. Going out and take pictures of our beautiful winter, so I can share them with you.

This picture was taken from my office's window.
It's the closet we have been from the snow, I mean both together.

Result: 0 of 3.

We have been doing practical stuff: shopping boring things, cleaning and so on, so the best part of the weekend can be summarised like this:

Come up, let's read tales here in bed.

This is our last favourite book. It is from Marion Billet. 

It is called Nature and the illustrations are beautiful. 
It has a small buttons in each page that reproduce sounds from nature and Pol loves to play with it.

When mommy is tidying up, I have to do it too.

Now that his little hands can open every drawer and reach any high surface, his favourite toy is the cutlery drawer.
I have removed everything that it's dangerous for him and now it's full of  tops, plastic spoons and wood cooking utensils.

 The paradise.

Having a nap together:

This happens to me almost every time I try to get him to sleep, but this time is just pretending.
It is my second picture with him for my "52 moments with mommy project"
Do you want to join me?

Oh, look at that! Outside it's night again.

Ok, let's have a coffee and relax!

52 special moments

I have been a lazy person, I know.

I have been posting only in my Spanish blog and not here, but as a New Year's resolution, I will try to keep both updated.

Promised.

Last year's resolution was to document a whole year of my baby boy through, at least, a picture per week: 52 pictures that explain everything he has learned, enjoyed and laugh during 365 days.

I made the collage using Bighugelabs, an easy tool that can be used when you need something easy and fast, as today.
In flickr you can find all the pictures, together with other angles, making offs and images that I would like to remember for ever.

It is so magic to see all this moments in a same shot,  that I have been smiling and laughing while I was preparing the collage. (Some tears appeared as well, I admit)

The whole set can be seen here: 52 semanas con Pol

For this year, I was thinking on another angle for the project and it became clear when Rosa and Carol invited me to join a new flickr group called 52 moments with mommy and daddy.

I am always the one behind the camera, almost never in front, so I decided that it is time for a change.

Do you want to see my first picture?



From here I invite you to start your own project. You do not need to be a good photographer or have plenty of time. Your point and shoot camera, your mobile phone or a fancy camera, everything is ok to capture small bits of life that you will remember always.

It deserves it, I promise.