Forgot the "after" photos!

The funniest photos of Leila from the UK wedding are the "after" shots. Here's what she looked like when the party was over...and then the next day when she was still worn out. So sweet!!!

Wedding in the UK

On July 23rd, we attended a family friend's wedding in the UK in Manchester. My parents and honorary aunt and uncle were there, too, which was great! The journey itself was quite an adventure because Matt was at a training in Stockholm and couldn't travel over with me and Leila. So Leila and I flew from Helsinki on our own, and Matt met us there.

Although we had already taken a longer flight from the US, I was more hesitant about this one because I wouldn't have another pair of hands to help out. Plus, this time, Leila was a "lap child" and didn't have her own seat. I was not sure how comfortable I would be when I couldn't put her down for the duration of the flight.

That said, all went well once we got checked in. Check in was a bit challenging because of all the gear I had to juggle- suitcase, car seat, stroller, carryons, tickets, passports, etc. However, once I got rid of everything but the diaper bag and my purse (and Leila), it was manageable. I used the baby carrier (Baby Bjorn-type thing) so I'd have free hands, and it went well- AS LONG AS I WAS MOVING. The minute I stopped walking, bouncing or swaying, Leila would cry. So I just had to bounce my way through the airport and the line to board, etc. I looked a bit silly, but it worked!

On the bus to the plane, Leila actually fell asleep in the carrier, which was great. Then a really nice, older Scottish man carried the diaper bag and put it into the overhead compartment for me. He even came back to help me get off the plane in Manchester. That was a real help!

Leila slept in my lap for two-thirds of the flight, then nursed and was content and alert for the remainder of the time. She only had a meltdown once we got to baggage claim. However, as soon as I was able to get the stroller and start pushing her around, she went to sleep!

My parents picked us up at the airport, and we went along the curvy, English country roads to the hotel. After checking into the hotel, we went to meet the families of the bride and groom at the local pub. Luckily, Leila slept through all of this, including the rowdiness at the pub!

The wedding was in a quaint, little country church, and the reception was in our hotel. There was nothing out of the ordinary in terms of the celebrations, except that we had to keep popping out to tend to Leila. However, it was just nice to see our friends.

We spent Sunday hanging out with my parents and aunt and uncle before heading back to the airport. Luckily, for the flight home, Matt was with us so it was a little more relaxing for me knowing that I had backup when needed...

Attached are some photos of Leila in her wedding finery!

The "Olympics" of Daily Life, Part II

Okay, here's another installment of the friendly competition between Finland and the US. (I had planned to finish it before the Olympics ended, but with the baby and traveling to the UK, I couldn't get to it until now...) It looks like people are enjoying this section because I've received a bunch of comments about the entries. Keep it up because it's great to hear everyone else's perspective on the topics...

Plastic storage bags: US, GOLD; Finland, BRONZE

It's funny that something so simple could be so different across continents. Apparently, people in the US use self-sealing plastic storage bags (i.e. Ziploc) a lot, whereas most people in Finland still use the "old school" kind with twist ties. In fact, it's hard to even find a zipper storage bag in the stores here! The very largest stores sell the largest size, but I've yet to find the sandwich size. Very strange!

Flavored sparkling water: Finland, GOLD; US, BRONZE

I've thoroughly enjoyed the flavored sparkling water here. In the US, the range of flavors is limited (comparatively speaking), and often they are sweetened, too. In Finland, there is a huge range of interesting, unsweetened, lightly flavored waters so I'm really enjoying trying them. They're much healthier than soda but still taste more interesting than plain water. To give you an idea, here are some of the tasty flavors I've tried so far: blueberry, grapefruit-cranberry, pear, and black currant!

House numbers: Finland, GOLD; US, BRONZE

Another seemingly trivial item but a useful one. In the US, people put metal house numbers next to their doors, or sometimes they're painted on the curb. In either case, they are often hard to see, especially when trying to find them in the dark. I thought of this tonight when coming home from a friends' place in a taxi. As the taxi neared our place, Matt was pointing out which one was ours. It was then that I realized that the house numbers here are actually on little lights that are attached to the walls of the buildings. So they are easy to see because they are lit up- how ingenious!

"Swiss" cheese: Finland, GOLD; US, BRONZE

You probably have to be a cheese lover to properly appreciate this one. While Swiss-style cheeses are not the most interesting cheeses available, a good one can be quite good. The ones here, especially the aged ones, are really tasty and much better than any I've had in the US. I wonder why??

Allergy labeling: Finland, GOLD; US, N/A

Products in the US do sometimes carry a generic warning like "May contain traces of nuts," but they don't have the extensive information that nearly all products in Finland have. For instance, foods are usually labeled to show which are low lactose or lactose free, gluten free, vegetarian, etc. even on restaurant menus! Household products are labeled to show which are approved by the national allergy association for people with chemical allergies. It's really quite cool!

Toaster ovens: US, GOLD; Finland, N/A

Can you believe that one cannot find a toaster oven in Finland? Standard toasters weren't even that popular until a few years ago, but it seems that the benefits of toaster ovens remain a mystery here... We have found some mini ovens, but they're pretty rudimentary and don't have an actual toast function. Instead, you have to put it on a bake setting and remember to watch it- hah, right! I miss my Cuisinart combination toaster/oven/convection oven!!!

The "Olympics" of Daily Life

In the spirit of friendly international competition, I thought I'd conduct a little comparison between the US and Finland in some of the areas of daily life that I've encountered since our arrival. Here's what I would award, if I could...

Public transportation: Finland, GOLD; US, LEAD maybe?

Not only is the transit network fabulous and convenient, but I learned when we arrived that, if you are an adult traveling with a baby carriage/stroller, you ride for FREE! That means that anywhere I go with Leila in the greater Helsinki area, whether on a train, bus or tram, I don't pay anything. That just boggled my mind and is just totally fantastic. 

In addition, the transit runs impeccably on time. Matt told me that people are furious and complain if a train is 2 minutes late. Also, instead of dropping your money into a machine inside the vehicle, you just hold up an electronic debit-type card to a scanner and push the appropriate button to deduct the cost of your ticket. If you (or the transit police) hold it up to the machine, it shows when you paid and how much. (By the way, if the transit police catches you not having paid, it's an 80 euro fine! Most people here don't dare try to cheat the system.)

The transit here is unbelievably efficient and convenient. The US doesn't even come close to competing in this area...

Recycling: Finland, GOLD; US, BRONZE

Parts of the US, like California, do pretty well at the recycling gig, but Finland does it better. Your household garbage can has multiple compartments for compost, paper, cardboard, and then general waste. Bottles and cans are recycled at the grocery stores, where you get your deposit back in the form of a voucher to use at the store. 

Apartment flooring: Finland, GOLD; US, BRONZE

Almost all apartments in Finland have wood floors or laminate at the very least. Rental apartments in the US usually have some variation of beige or brown carpeting (ick). I gotta say, wood is so much nicer!!

Bathrooms: US, GOLD; Finland, BRONZE

Here's one area where the US excels. Bathrooms there are, in general, palatial and spacious and esthetically pleasing. Finnish bathrooms are very functional. They have their plusses, like the drain in the floor that makes cleaning the floor a cinch and the towel bars that are heated by the hot water pipes that pass through them (very nice on a cold day!), but they are generally small and kinda ugly. Our bathroom has the added plus of having a sauna in it, but I would still love some windows, a bathroom fan, a big tub (or at least a decent shower head instead of these stupid handheld ones) and a stylish tiling job...

a) Toilet flushing mechanisms: Finland, GOLD; US, BRONZE

It seems funny that something like how you flush a toilet could be so different. In the US, toilets have one way to flush. Generally, the flush is powerful and uses lots of water. Here, the flushing mechanism has two parts: a kind of half flush for No. 1 and a whole flush for No. 2. You just push the button that corresponds to the type of flush you want. It's a great way to save on water consumption if you don't need a powerful flush every time.

b) Toilet paper: US, GOLD; Finland, SANDPAPER

The US definitely has the world's best selection of soft toilet paper. The stuff all over Europe (Finland included) is coarse and scratchy. I think it has something to do with being more environmental and not using so many resources to create pretty, bleached white and soft toilet paper. However, sometimes my rear end could care less about those issues!

Clothes dryers: US, GOLD; Finland, N/A

Dryers in the US work well and generally get your clothes dry in about an hour. In Finland, dryers are either non-existent, or they take like 2+ hours to actually get things dry. Some apartments (like ours) do have these "drying rooms" where you hang your clothes on a clothesline in a room with a machine that blasts hot air through the room. It's kind of like a sped up version of drying your clothes on a clothesline outdoors. However, it still takes about 8 hours to get everything dry... Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have laundry facilities. I don't know what I'd do without access to washers, but it would be so nice to have an effective dryer, too. Can't Finland import some good ones from the US??

To be continued...

Leila is two months old!

Leila is now two months old so here are a few new photos of her. She just started smiling soon after we got to Finland so I tried to take a couple shots of her smiling. It's tough to catch a quick baby smile on camera fast enough, but she's almost/kinda smiling in two of these. In the third, she is just being admired by her Oma (Matt's mother) and her cousin, Veronika.

More summer evening photos

Here are a few more highlights from our evening strolls. We went for a walk and then to dinner with some friends and their kids. In the first photo is Matt pushing Leila and talking with Timo and one of Timo's sons. (Timo's wife and other son were walking next to me when I took the photo.) Then you can see Senate Square and the Church of Finland. 

On another night, we went out for dinner with Matt's sister, Helena, her fiance, Antti, and our neice, Veronika. Afterwards, Leila got hungry so we stopped to feed her and took some photos. As you can see from the pictures, Veronika is very excited about her new little cousin!

Captions for photos below...

Here are descriptions for the photos below, in order:

1. Strolling down the Esplanade (with everyone else!)- Matt is in the photo towards the right pushing Leila in the stroller...

2. The stage on the Esplanade where a jazz band was playing

3. Kappeli (Chapel)- a famous coffee house on the Esplanade- with its terrace packed with people.

4. Kids getting rides down the Esplanade on miniature ponies!

5. A statue on the Esplanade with some kids playing in the shrubbery (see the one in the green shirt at the base?)