We spent Sunday afternoon at Oliver’s three-year birthday party, out in the countryside. Ingrid met mosquitoes for the first time in memory, as well as stinging nettles, and was not happy about either experience. She also fell face first onto the arm of a wooden chair while climbing on it, hard enough for a big bruise. I think the other guests will remember her as “that kid who was screaming all the time”. Ingrid, on the other hand, will probably have more positive memories. She might remember the singing potty, or the digging in the dirt, or the book about Little Red Riding Hood with all the movable parts, or all the incessant snacking.

(By the way, she’s gotten used to mosquitoes by now and swats them away with barely a comment.)

Monday we were my father’s country house and it did not go too well, so we’ve been in Tartu since then. Unfortunately this has coincided with a heat wave, and Tartu lacks Stockholm’s wading pools, so I’ve really struggled to come up with things to do. We’ve ended up spending a lot of time with Rahel and Katariina, mostly on various playgrounds and at their place. Katariina is just that little bit ahead of Ingrid (in age and in development) that Ingrid is really interested in anything Katariina does, and likes to follow her around and copy her actions.