We had an amazing weekend at the beach! We stayed with Jen, David and Abby at a hotel on the beach itself, to have easy access with the kids. This was an ideal time of the year to go: it was warm but not scorching hot, the sand powder-soft and white, the water was emerald-green and clear, warm enough even for me and without waves, so that the kids could walk into the ocean by themselves (Nikolas liked it this time--he didn't pull back from the water as he did in Santa Barbara). We spent a long Saturday afternoon at the beach and then again all morning on Sunday before the game. We have to come back here!
Unfortunately we didn't take any photos--we didn't want to worry about the camera at the beach, we wanted to freely enjoy the ocean and long walks along the water.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Latest developments
We have regular reading sessions in the afternoon. Sometimes he'll point at an object and wait for me to name it first and then try to repeat it (often doesn't sound anything like what I said). If it's the animals, he will do pretty well: he'll make corresponding animal sounds, and he is pretty good with 'muu' (cow), 'vau, vau' (dog barking), 'iiiihhhi' (horse), 'mai' (which is supposed to be meow), sometimes a kind of a duck sound, etc.
Deka tought him the word 'nos' (nose), and he will touch the nose when asked (ok, not exactly touch it, but rather stick his finger into your nose!).
Milk plus swing, life is goooood :)
Mommy didn't get me a banana when I asked for it, so I grabbed it and ate it myself! (look at the peel at the end, he ate all the way through it!)
We are testing the entire playground in the Westside park:
Saturday morning at the Haile Farmers' Market:
Deka has taught Nikolas to walk hand-in-hand.
Mommy's little helper, pushing the stroller:
We took a walk around Lake Alice on UF campus, the one that has signs all over to be ware of the alligators...we haven't seen one yet. Deka was amazed how far Nikolas walked, actually ran. Just in February when baka and deda were here, we carried him all the way.
Nikolas reached an apple and, before mommy realized it, ate quite a bit like a big boy. So far I've only been feeding him pureed apples, but apparently he's got biting and chewing with 6 teeth under control!
Here is Nikolas telling deka everything he knows about USB cable:
He knows the meanings of 'vau, vau' (dog), 'deko', 'ptica' 'lopta' 'avion' 'pape' (slippers), 'ball' (yes, in English although I'm teaching him Serbocroatian), 'svjetlo' (light), 'fan', etc.
He often says 'nani' (which we think means 'daj mi' (give me)), etc.
He is able to tell us when he wants to go out to play. He'll bring his shoes and put his feet forward. He'll also say 'pape' (slippers) as he hands me the shoes!
He often says 'nani' (which we think means 'daj mi' (give me)), etc.
He is able to tell us when he wants to go out to play. He'll bring his shoes and put his feet forward. He'll also say 'pape' (slippers) as he hands me the shoes!
One funny thing is that he started telling me when he poops: he says 'kaka' with such a matter-of-fact face that I find hilarious! I guess it's time to start potty training.
Deka tought him the word 'nos' (nose), and he will touch the nose when asked (ok, not exactly touch it, but rather stick his finger into your nose!).
He loves to give hugs, not just to me, but also to daddy, deko and Abby--he'll give a hug or to put his face against our face or arm or leg, whatever is closest. We get a lot of cuddle time every afternoon--it's become a tradition.
This loving little boy can become extremely possessive with toys when Abby visits....he hasn't learned yet to share his territory, but we are working on it. When we are at Abby's place, she gets more authoritative, but at our place, Nikolas is the one who wants to be in control over all the toys, especially the ones that Abby touches. He'll cry loudly as soon as she takes something and won't give back right away.
Physical developments have been impressive over the past couple of weeks:
This loving little boy can become extremely possessive with toys when Abby visits....he hasn't learned yet to share his territory, but we are working on it. When we are at Abby's place, she gets more authoritative, but at our place, Nikolas is the one who wants to be in control over all the toys, especially the ones that Abby touches. He'll cry loudly as soon as she takes something and won't give back right away.
Physical developments have been impressive over the past couple of weeks:
- Just a week or two ago it was a project to walk past a couple of houses down the street. I had to make sure that he didn't eat acorns, trip over the curb, lose his balance as he went down a sloped driveway and planted his face onto the concrete, etc. Now he walks fast, runs in fact, chases after a ball, climbs the doorstep and curb by himself, he is independent and I barely ever have to pick him up and carry him. He'll entertain himself with birds, squirrels, dogs, wooden sticks and airplanes.
- Climbing is an old sport already. It takes Nikolas a second to be up on a chair or the couch.
- He dances and sings.
- He learned to jump lifting entire feet off the floor (not just the heels) while not holding to anything.
- Somewhere he learned to turn around a couple of times to get dizzy, and he loves the feeling! Then he usually winks at me to make sure I registered what he did.
- Still likes to play with sticks, to toss a ball back and forth, to climb and stand on his truck--now he also enjoys pouring water from one cup to another in the bathtub, and similar with sand in the park.
- He got his first shoes with solid soles.
Milk plus swing, life is goooood :)
Mommy didn't get me a banana when I asked for it, so I grabbed it and ate it myself! (look at the peel at the end, he ate all the way through it!)
We are testing the entire playground in the Westside park:
Saturday morning at the Haile Farmers' Market:Deka has taught Nikolas to walk hand-in-hand.
Mommy's little helper, pushing the stroller:
We took a walk around Lake Alice on UF campus, the one that has signs all over to be ware of the alligators...we haven't seen one yet. Deka was amazed how far Nikolas walked, actually ran. Just in February when baka and deda were here, we carried him all the way.
Nikolas reached an apple and, before mommy realized it, ate quite a bit like a big boy. So far I've only been feeding him pureed apples, but apparently he's got biting and chewing with 6 teeth under control!
Here is Nikolas telling deka everything he knows about USB cable:
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Deka (great-grandpa) is here
Deka arrived last night!
He walked into Nikolas's room with me this morning where Nikolas was already up and jumping, and when he saw deko he lay back and gave him a shy smile, but as soon as I picked him up he warmed up to deko.
New developments:
He pretends to read--he'll pick up a book and nest himself in my lap on the floor, flip through pages, point at pictures and babble.
Walking has improved to where now he can handle slopes and small steps. Now he is ready to climb! He'll stand up on his truck seat, either without holding the handrails at all or holding them while he forces the truck to move back and forth. I have yet to see him fall of the truck or the tricycle when he does his acrobatics. This is not the end of his climbing attempts: he figured out that he could carry the Lego table and use it as a step to get onto a couch or chair or to reach the bar. Nikolas is now tall enough to reach the top of dining room table. I have to be careful to keep the edges of the table clear. So, this is the beginning of the fun time when the child is able to get ANYWHERE!
Nikolas knows exactly how to communicate what he wants: recently Robb picked him up in the middle of the night when he suddenly woke up. Nikolas pointed to the door so Robb took him out of his room; then he pointed to the kitchen, so Robb brought him into the kitchen; Nikolas pointed to his water bottle that was sitting on the counter and Robb offered him water, which Nikolas drank like he hadn't had water in days and immediately afterwards was happy and went back to sleep.
Oh, and when it comes to milk, which he should be drinking now that he turned one, I've been trying unsuccessfully to get him to drink it until I finally blended it with banana--this did the trick!
Our new king of the kitchen:
Two bottles at once, yeahhh!
A walk through the neighborhood with deka:
A big hug for deka for putting shoes on Nikolas's feet:
New developments:
He pretends to read--he'll pick up a book and nest himself in my lap on the floor, flip through pages, point at pictures and babble.
Walking has improved to where now he can handle slopes and small steps. Now he is ready to climb! He'll stand up on his truck seat, either without holding the handrails at all or holding them while he forces the truck to move back and forth. I have yet to see him fall of the truck or the tricycle when he does his acrobatics. This is not the end of his climbing attempts: he figured out that he could carry the Lego table and use it as a step to get onto a couch or chair or to reach the bar. Nikolas is now tall enough to reach the top of dining room table. I have to be careful to keep the edges of the table clear. So, this is the beginning of the fun time when the child is able to get ANYWHERE!
Nikolas knows exactly how to communicate what he wants: recently Robb picked him up in the middle of the night when he suddenly woke up. Nikolas pointed to the door so Robb took him out of his room; then he pointed to the kitchen, so Robb brought him into the kitchen; Nikolas pointed to his water bottle that was sitting on the counter and Robb offered him water, which Nikolas drank like he hadn't had water in days and immediately afterwards was happy and went back to sleep.
Oh, and when it comes to milk, which he should be drinking now that he turned one, I've been trying unsuccessfully to get him to drink it until I finally blended it with banana--this did the trick!
Our new king of the kitchen:
Two bottles at once, yeahhh!
A walk through the neighborhood with deka:
A big hug for deka for putting shoes on Nikolas's feet:
Friday, March 28, 2008
Easter
Jen and David invited us over for Easter dinner. Nikolas had his first egg hunt. Abby knew what she was doing and filled a whole basket, but Nikolas too managed to find a couple of eggs!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Naples
We headed down to Naples over spring break to spend a week with Grandma and Grandpa. A new place and extra attention always do wonders to his independence and learning. He particularly enjoyed playing in the kitchen, pulling all the pots and pans that he could reach out of the cabinet. The other spot that he often visited was the swinging armchair that he shared with Grandpa. He quickly learned how to move to get the chair to go back and forth! He liked the outside patio--he became a pro at crossing the door step and stepping down to the patio level from the living room. The front yard was a great place to explore plants, birds and airplanes.
He still never misses to spot a ceiling fan or a light fixture and to point at it. He clearly said 'light' as much as I've been repeating 'svjetlo' to him. He also says 'look' when he points.
Some other new words and imitations of sounds are: 'daddy' (he's been saying 'dada' until now), 'baka', 'miii' for any animal sound, 'wow' (when we say wow at a surprise), 'ah-oooh'.
We took him to the beach but the water was cold so he didn't enjoy touching it but he loved walking on the sand (and was very good at it!), collecting shells and chasing seagulls.
Nikolas eying Grandpa's coffee.
We offered him some pineapple that he loved! However, the next day he woke up with a rash around his neck. It was hard to say what he reacted to, but as long as we gave him pineapple the rash was there, so it was probably the fruit...
He still never misses to spot a ceiling fan or a light fixture and to point at it. He clearly said 'light' as much as I've been repeating 'svjetlo' to him. He also says 'look' when he points.
Some other new words and imitations of sounds are: 'daddy' (he's been saying 'dada' until now), 'baka', 'miii' for any animal sound, 'wow' (when we say wow at a surprise), 'ah-oooh'.
We took him to the beach but the water was cold so he didn't enjoy touching it but he loved walking on the sand (and was very good at it!), collecting shells and chasing seagulls.
Nikolas eying Grandpa's coffee.
We offered him some pineapple that he loved! However, the next day he woke up with a rash around his neck. It was hard to say what he reacted to, but as long as we gave him pineapple the rash was there, so it was probably the fruit...
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Oranges
We walked around the farmers' market with Jen and Abby and stopped to try some oranges. As I tasted a piece of orange Nikolas demanded that he had some! He was about to make a scene if I didn't give him a piece. I expected him to cringe at the acidity, remembering his reaction to the orange-flavored vitamin drops that he hated when he was 6mo old, but I was in for a surprise: Nikolas devoured that piece of orange like it was the best thing he had ever had! I had to ask the farmer for a couple more samples to keep Nikolas happy (and of course we bought some--my first purchase on kid's demand!).
Saturday, March 1, 2008
First birthday!!!
February 23rd, Nikolas's first birthday, and for mommy, whose own birthday last week was overshadowed by Nikolas's, it is the first anniversary of the greatest job accomplished!!!
Baka and deda flew from LA the day before. We thought the house was filled with toys--ha, we haven't seen FILLED yet, until now! Legos, legos, legos.... and more building blocks, books, balls, all sorts of things that will send you flying and falling flat on the floor if you weren't paying attention where you were stepping! Daddy treated the birthday boy with a baseball, football and a couple of long swords (Nikolas loves to play with long sticks). So far his favorite ball is the football! Legos interest him: he spent some 15min straight watching me and trying to stack them properly, which is an amazingly long concentration time for a kid!
The party was on Sunday. We spent a few hours playing with friends at the house. Nikolas also took an opportunity to indulge in food as if we weren't feeding him enough! I couldn't finish a piece of 'zeljanica' as he would demand it as soon as he saw one in my hands. Plus, he devoured an adult portion of his birthday cake. Jen and Abby arrived after everyone else had left, and then all except for the dads took a nice long walk so the kids were completely exhausted by the end of the day. It was a fun, fun day!
On Monday we took Nikolas for his 1-year doctor's appointment:
Height: 29.5"
Weight: 21 lbs
Dr. Grooms and her staff commented on his huge personality :) What a flirt this boy is--can't take him anywhere without having random people stop to check him out or talk to him!
Just as one set of grandparents was about to leave, the other set of grandparents arrived :)
Grandma and I took Nikolas to the park where he loved the swing--he had tried it before and wasn't very thrilled with it, in fact he cried last time I put him in one, but this time he refused to get out! He is still afraid of the slide and grabs onto the side of it as he slides down.
While he sat on the swing I blew him kisses and after a few he blew one back at me for the first time! He showed some attitude in the park that was pretty interesting. He brought one of wooden chips that cover the floor of the playground into his mouth, so I shoved my finger to get it out. He really didn't appreciate me doing this--he immediately bent down and grabbed as many chips as he could in both hands and then shoved them both into his mouth, out of protest!!!! I had to carry him back to the car as he wouldn't stop!
More presents :)
It's been a week or so that he's been exhibiting separation anxiety. I've heard that this could have started in the 9th month, but Nikolas has been very independent and friendly this whole time. Now, when I leave him at the gym daycare he cries for a few minutes after I'm gone, and also at home he sometimes just wants to be picked up and held. He'd point at things and talk or put his head on my shoulder and be happy as long as he was in my arms.
Another change that I've noticed in the same period of time is in his sleep pattern. He is starting to take one long nap a day instead of two shorter ones. So far ideally he'd nap around 10am and again sometime in late afternoon, and both naps would be 45-60min long and very light. Now when he goes down in early afternoon (1-2pm) he can sleep for 2 hours or even longer, and he seems to sleep more deeply. I can make noises around the house without worrying that the slightest noise will wake him up.
Baka and deda flew from LA the day before. We thought the house was filled with toys--ha, we haven't seen FILLED yet, until now! Legos, legos, legos.... and more building blocks, books, balls, all sorts of things that will send you flying and falling flat on the floor if you weren't paying attention where you were stepping! Daddy treated the birthday boy with a baseball, football and a couple of long swords (Nikolas loves to play with long sticks). So far his favorite ball is the football! Legos interest him: he spent some 15min straight watching me and trying to stack them properly, which is an amazingly long concentration time for a kid!
The party was on Sunday. We spent a few hours playing with friends at the house. Nikolas also took an opportunity to indulge in food as if we weren't feeding him enough! I couldn't finish a piece of 'zeljanica' as he would demand it as soon as he saw one in my hands. Plus, he devoured an adult portion of his birthday cake. Jen and Abby arrived after everyone else had left, and then all except for the dads took a nice long walk so the kids were completely exhausted by the end of the day. It was a fun, fun day!
On Monday we took Nikolas for his 1-year doctor's appointment:Height: 29.5"
Weight: 21 lbs
Dr. Grooms and her staff commented on his huge personality :) What a flirt this boy is--can't take him anywhere without having random people stop to check him out or talk to him!
Just as one set of grandparents was about to leave, the other set of grandparents arrived :)
Grandma and I took Nikolas to the park where he loved the swing--he had tried it before and wasn't very thrilled with it, in fact he cried last time I put him in one, but this time he refused to get out! He is still afraid of the slide and grabs onto the side of it as he slides down.While he sat on the swing I blew him kisses and after a few he blew one back at me for the first time! He showed some attitude in the park that was pretty interesting. He brought one of wooden chips that cover the floor of the playground into his mouth, so I shoved my finger to get it out. He really didn't appreciate me doing this--he immediately bent down and grabbed as many chips as he could in both hands and then shoved them both into his mouth, out of protest!!!! I had to carry him back to the car as he wouldn't stop!
More presents :)
It's been a week or so that he's been exhibiting separation anxiety. I've heard that this could have started in the 9th month, but Nikolas has been very independent and friendly this whole time. Now, when I leave him at the gym daycare he cries for a few minutes after I'm gone, and also at home he sometimes just wants to be picked up and held. He'd point at things and talk or put his head on my shoulder and be happy as long as he was in my arms.Another change that I've noticed in the same period of time is in his sleep pattern. He is starting to take one long nap a day instead of two shorter ones. So far ideally he'd nap around 10am and again sometime in late afternoon, and both naps would be 45-60min long and very light. Now when he goes down in early afternoon (1-2pm) he can sleep for 2 hours or even longer, and he seems to sleep more deeply. I can make noises around the house without worrying that the slightest noise will wake him up.
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