Ceca and Marko's visit

We had lots of fun with Ceca and Marko last week. The boys played together, which is new for Nikolas who so far has been interested in older girls and not so much in boys his age.

Here is baka, reading to the boys:

Nikolas, going for a big hug:

An evening at the L.A. Zoo....

Picnic after checking out the animals (the favorites by far were giraffes and gorillas):

A beautiful day in Santa Monica:

Visiting deka in Banning

We spent a week in Banning with deka. Besides daily walks around the neighborhood and in the little park in the community, we went out a couple of times with deka's friends and family. Nikolas was on the mission to impress older ladies so he behaved great--he tried to be as cute as possible that everyone loved him: ogling the ladies, sipping through a real straw, tilting his head and smiling cutely, etc. He also impressed us with his appetite when on one of the nights we all went to a pizza place where he was too hungry to wait for pizza so I offered his some spicy chicken wings that he demanded, figuring he wouldn't eat them, but he cleaned his plate of 3 pieces! He apparently didn't mind the spiciness. Then he finished 3 pizza slices....all he needed on top of it all was beer....

New activities in LA

With more open space for running than what we have alotted to Nikolas back at home, he is free to sprint and jump. I think he is forgetting to walk, he just wants to run! I see the little legs are getting more muscular, and overall he is getting bigger and stronger. Growth spurt might have something to do with it too. Even his teeth are growing. During our flight to LA I noticed all four little protruding molars, and just a week or two later I noticed the canines as well. And finally, his fourth bottom tooth (of the four front bottom ones) is out too.

In the mornings he usually plays with baka and deda, we take him to the backyard to run on the grass too, and by 9:30am he is ready for his nap. All this extra running and fresh air wears him out quickly. We go out to the backyard in the afternoon too, so by 4 or 5 pm he could really take another nap if he wasn't too excited to sleep as it happens on most days.

His favorite games:

• Balls: he leads a ball with both feet like a pro--our future soccer star. Tossing is just as good--he makes me duck every time, not really showing him a good example. If he finds an apple, a small watermelon... he'll toss those too. His aiming and distance are impressive:



• Run and jump: he'll run and throw himself into my arms while I'm on the floor with him. Then he'll slowly walk backwards saying in a monotone 'va-va-va-va' (which I think is his way of counting), pause for a moment, and run and throw himself into my arms again (repeat, repeat, repeat--until I start feeling a bruise on my back).



• Water: it's not enough that we placed an inflatable kiddy pool in the backyard for him. He found a drip of A/C condensation, and I found him showering underneath it--and playing with the mud the water created. He'd run around the sprinklers if I didn't make sure he was inside the house every morning when they went off. The pool was a great idea: he'll entertain himself in it until his chin begins to shiver, and even then we'd have to fight to pull him out of the water. He dips his forehead into the water and stands up letting the water drip down his face--there is something in this process that he finds extremely amusing.





• Climbing: up and down a step/slope/short wall/truck.... he is practicing going down a step forward like an adult. We aren't encouraging him, on the contrary, but he is persistent.



• Charming older girls and ladies.... that's a good one. Not once did we go out to a restaurant or beach, when he didn't scan the area for girls older than himself and stared at them, smiled, approached them (if he wasn't strapped in a high chair), until he had their full attention. He'd move on to peekaboo, talking and pointing to various things he was 'talking' about...
  

Other notes:

He loves to go outside: he'll bring you shoes and say 'go', pointing out.
He never misses the sound or a view of an airplane ('a-mo').
He's been devouring blueberries ('bobas') every morning by request.

He started playing with kids his age. He calls Kiki by his name. Here they are together:

LA

We are in LA!

The first part of the flight was great with an extra seat next to me for Nikolas and people behind us entertaining him the whole time. The second half, e-hem, wow... definitely the worst so far.... Nikolas sure doesn't like overstaying his bedtime OUTSIDE of his bed. I've never seen him scream and wriggle so much pulling my glasses and scratching my face in rage....

Anyway, we made it safe and sound (with only one real scratch on my face) and as soon as we strapped Nikolas in the forward-facing carseat for the ride home, he was fully alert again and completely happy as usual. He couldn't take his eyes off of what he saw outside the windows: the cars, the lights, etc.

It took virtually no time to recognize and reconnect with baka and deda during the ride home!