Still stuff I didn't tell you

And then we attempted another Stadtwanderweg...a city hiking trail, but we got lost. So incredibly lost that after 4 hours of hiking, we can't really say that we completed this particular trail, as we were blazing our own path most of the time.

But Vin enjoyed his toys made of rocks and sticks.

He likes to move the dirt from one side of the log to the other.

Hey there, buddy.

Pals.

Bird's eye view.

Somewhere along the trail we found a big playground where Vin enjoyed some more swinging.

Other stuff I didn't tell you

Then we enjoyed a day at the pool...

Vin and Pa gettin' wet n'wild.

The fam.

My boy.

More stuff I didn't tell you

Vin has mastered turning, sitting, crawling, standing, but has decided to invent a new method of travel before he moves on to normal, boring walking.

He finally figured out what those things on the side of his sippy cup
are for...but hasn't figured out the helpful nature of gravity on liquids yet.

Little Maestro plays us a little melody every day, a few times a day.

Here is some general cuteness for you. Vin's new elephant robe.
I love it. He hates it.

Aww, look how cute!

He wants it off!

At another baby club meeting, Vin chooses trucks over kids every time.

Vin's Slovenian buddies.

Stuff I didn't tell you

I take you back now to September 2. We had returned from Croatia and spent the long weekend in Slovenia where Vin enjoyed outdoor bathing, hikes and chocolate.

Naked buns heading on up the stair.

Bathing in the sun in a bucket built for a babe.

Chocolate!

Three monkeys on a hike, complete with a banana and a bunch of grapes.

A quick recap

Vin and I went to the new doctor on Friday and Vin got stuck with
a needle full of goodness, but this doctor has amazing train sets,
cars, trucks and blocks so it was all well worth it.

We decided to go to Starbucks so I could feel at home.
Vin flirted with everyone and climbed an entire flight of stairs.

The whole famdamnly headed out for a little hike on Sunday,
and Vin wore his best frat boy outfit.

Mouth full of potatoes, heading home from the hike.

Tractor Love

We had our weekly baby club coffee morning today. And when I say weekly, I mean that Vin and I have missed about 4 months worth of these. But we made it today. All the babies were on blankets in the middle of the floor, but Vin was more interested in a great new toy he found.

Tractor!!!

After lunch and yoga, Vin and I went to check on the house, but so far no progress. Hmmm.

Vin took a bit of a nap on the way there.

Music, Yoga, Zoo and Slovene

I love this photo! Vin was simply practicing his excited yelling,
but it looks like he is totally freaked out by the lizard. Love it.

We had our first ever baby music class on Tuesday and Vin seemed to really enjoy it. About seven parents and babies came, and our Princeton (oh la la) trained teacher had us all singing and rolling around on the floor like little preschoolers. The best part for the boy was the boxes of bells and rattles and drums and scarves he got to play with. He was even encouraged to yell and clap and crawl around like a hopped up sugar junky.  Vin seemed to also appreciate his fellow classmates, and was running after them poking them near the eye, trying to bite their faces and then stealing their instruments while they were seeking comfort in the arms of their parents.

Vin putting away his bells.

Just after class we made it to the UN for Vin to have lunch with Ying and Yolanda and the old Papi and I snuck off to the first yoga session for the semester. Directly after that, we met up with Hazel to head out into the warm afternoon sun for a fun trip to the zoo. Hazel is a zoo aficionado and showed us lots of new exhibits and animals I had no idea were even on display...I always choose to wonder aimlessly rather than follow the map. I suppose there is a point to following the map, as I have missed just about half of the exhibits with my meandering ways.

Vin and Haze intently watching the swinging monkeys.

A nice ice cream treat for the kiddies.

These two are crazy for each other.

Zeeeeebras!

Ha ha ha ha ha.

Then after the zoo we rushed home for the great baby hand off so that I could pack up and head out to my first ever slovene class at the Slovenian Institute in the first district. There were only two other students at this class, and a great teacher. I think we will end up with a lot more students, but I liked the pace of the class with only three of us, I can now say this: Ime mi je Mollie. Stara sem 34 let. Imam druzino. Imam enega sina. Govorim anglesko, nemsko in ucim se slovensko.

Manic Monday

Apes!

Today we made an impromptu trip to the zoo where we met Edgar and Nayeli for a bit of play. Edgar had the feeding schedule all mapped out so we were able to hit the Elephants just as they were getting showers and getting their breakfast. While we were waiting for them to get all showered up, Vinny was showing off his standing skills to Nayeli and he took one back step and fell smack down face first into the floor and we all experienced his first real bleed. Poor boy, blood on his gums, lips, chin, on my neck and on my shoulder. He snapped out of it relatively quickly, but it was a bad scene for a short amount of time.

Vin is now shaking his head 'no' (but I don't think he knows that it means no yet, we suspect he just gets a bit dizzy and likes that feeling), he is clapping a bit, he is climbing stairs, and he grunts and responds to grunts in a caveman sort of back and forth conversation. It is cute.

After the zoo, we hit the UN for lunch, then headed home for a really quick rest and then were off again to the Slovenian institute, where I will be starting Slovene courses tomorrow night. Woo hoo.

Second helpings

I'm at the BEACH!

A fun photo of our parking spot. Do you catch the goats in the background?

Cheese.

Working his way into the water.

Vin playing with his favorite toy.

Magnum P.I.

They are wayyyy out there.

Notice my death grip on the boy?

We are excited to get there.

Sea, Sand and Standing

Buns of glory.

After months and months of looong days of work, we all decided it would be a great idea to pack up and head down to Croatia for a couple of weeks to relax and to celebrate Andi's birthday. In the past these vacations have been a great escape where I am able to sleep a lot, read a lot, swim a lot, etc. This vacation was a bit different. Instead of blasting through 4-5 books, I got through 3 magazines and not a lot of sleep. A certain young man was a busy bee, practicing standing, flirting, swimming, digging, all of it. I was able to enjoy a bit of swimming in the shallow surf, but mostly watched out for this guy on his many Croatian adventures.

Here you find Vin attacking a young Polish girl.

Here you find him flirting with a young Slovenian medical student.

Here you find him coaxing more tomatoes and wine
from our friendly neighborhood Croatian Oma.

Here I am protecting Vin from being buried alive.

Here Vin is narrowly escaping collision from
toddlers manning battery operated vehicles.

And here Vin is enjoying the sea and surf, mostly by
shoving entire salty rocks into his chipmunk cheeks.

We had a really great time with just a few hiccups caused by excessive heat (solved by the purchase of a fan) and many mosquito bites (solved with citronella candles and acceptance). The mornings consisted of coffee on the terrace with an Oprah magazine for me, playing with tractors and ants for Vin and organizing photos or searching for any wireless internet for Andi. Then after some light shopping in town, we would cook lunch, feed Vin, and as he napped, we packed up. As soon as he was up, we would head out and hit the beach where Vin would inevitably pee on each of us and strategically time wonderful poo packages either in the sea, or next to a neighboring sun tanner. I surprised myself with my ability to spring, in mere microseconds, from a prone and relaxed position to a ready to 'catch' stance complete with plastic baggy.

Vin especially liked the taste of salty sea rocks, delicious cigarette butts and anybody else's food. We would stay on the beach until after sunset and then V would fall asleep on the ride home and we would have a leisurely evening.