"Wake up, BumCheeks." Lying on my left side, I opened my eyes to a wide-eyed, sunlit, smiley face Miss C-Jaz staring at me. I closed my eyes thinking that maybe she would let me sleep a little longer.
I felt little fingers stroking my right cheek (of my face). "Wake up, BumCheeks," she said again with a giggle and a grin. We broke out in laughter.
In our family of four (J, me, Miss C-Jaz, and Bo), we have many nicknames for each other. One of Daddy's nicknames for Miss C-Jaz is 'Nana BumCheeks'. When I ask her, "Who calls you 'Nana BumCheeks'?" She always smiles and says, "Daddy."
It was definitely a bright and sunny day early in the morning when we woke up, which usually means that most of the day in Hammarby has the potential to be just as bright - not necessarily warm but sunny. We had our usual morning of washing up and breakfast, then we headed out the door to walk to Sickla Galleria, but of course we didn't make it out as quickly as it sounds.
I think I found the quickest most direct route to Sickla Galleria with as minimal gravel routes as possible. We had a really good day, and Miss C-Jaz stayed awake the whole time, though it meant that she would have a later nap. We walked the mall, which was unusually busy with kids and parents because this week is Fall Break for the schools in Stockholm. I guess it's like a Spring Break. The whole education and school system here is a whole other story for another day.
The weather made for a really nice walk, and we even played a rhyming game on our walk, which was a first for Miss C-Jaz. I'd give her a clue then she'd point to the object or name it aloud.
"I spy with my little eye something that is blue." (A street sign.)
"I spy with my little eye the letter P." (A parking sign.)
"I spy with my little eye something that is green and purple." (A store sign.)
"I spy with my little eye something that is orange." (Leaves on the ground.)
Miss C-Jaz was really good at it. Of course, I kept it simple enough giving her clues about what she knows well: colors, shapes, letters, and numbers.
On our Sickla adventure we had our treats for the day. When we arrived at the gallerian, Miss C-Jaz and I had our Shake It! smoothie, then we had a chicken nugget Happy Meal that came with a book (so much better than a toy) before we left. We went in and out of stores, walked out to Willy's, and we even found for Miss C-Jaz 2 cute outfits for Halloween at H&M: a pink blouse for her Guitar Hero 5: Playboy Playmates' "Risky Business" character and a fairy-like pink and white skirt of layered toule flower petals and glittery butterfly wings with a matching wand for her butterfly character. I just have to make her a Guitar Hero 5 guitar.
It will be a quiet Halloween with family and friends far away, but it will still be a festive one. We've been decorating our place and making crafts, and I've got a candy hunt planned for her. I don't think Halloween is all that big of a deal here in Sweden, but I want her to be able to have some Halloween fun. I was excited last night because I thought today was Halloween, but that's tomorrow. Stay tuned for pictures.
