Jungle-good times!

New video: Dziadziuś Piotruś bouncing Leo to sleep

Proof that the effectiveness of the yoga ball bounce convinces even the biggest skeptics!

Morning in the in the Trumbic-Wozniak household

"Good morning, World!"

New video: Auntie Paula with Leo

New pictures: Leo week 6

Leo in his new monkey bathrobe

An exciting time for little Leo, with Grandpa Piotruś, Grandma Stamenka and Grandaunt Milica all visiting their favorite (and so far, only) grandchild. Leo's also got to hang out with his peers, the lovely Iliana and his buddy Miguel (9 and 2 months, respectively), visit a new doctor's office, and, last but not least, unleash his "Leo smile" on the world!

Check out the full gallery here.

Leo's first smile!

This was a good day!

We've had a couple half-smiles, a lot of crooked smiles while Leo was working on a "project" and this morning I could have sworn Leo gave a big smile while I un-swaddled him (I'm not sure because I was still half-asleep). But then there was no missing it this time - the Little Guy just lay there in his chair, smiling away at the birds hanging above him. Long enough for me to whip out the camera and take a good couple of shots.

Now we hope we can see this toothless grin more often! :)

Dziadziuś Piotruś is in da haus!

Dziadziuś Piotruś with his first grandchild

Finally after 5 weeks Leo got to meet grandpa Piotr (aka Dziadziuś Piotruś). And sure enough, Leo welcomed his grandpa the best way he knows how to - by crying less :) Turns out that Dziadziuś Piotruś has a bit of a magic touch that can calm Leo and put him to sleep within minutes. Sure, it does not always work, but then again there is no magic recipes for this little guy.*

* other candidates include bouncy ball and Mommy's chest

New video: Leo loves his Yugoslav music

Tea found some old-school Yugoslav kids music on YouTube and, to her joy, Leo seems to love them!

New Video: Leo swinging

When we first put a crying Leo into the swing and the crying magically melted away we thought the swing was a miracle! Unfortunately, as with all soothing techniques Leo soon got used to it and the magic disappeared. But then we found the middle ground, and as long as he's not wailing often times the swing will soothe him, or at the very least keep him occupied while we eat or do something else. Every now and then he'll even spring us a nice surprise and fall asleep there!

New Video: Leo in Violet's swing

Went with a visit to Shannon and Dan's place last Saturday, and while his little friend Violet was sleeping in her bassinet Leo got to try her "rollercoaster" swing. He liked it too, by the looks of it!

New Video: Leo slow dancing to sleep

This is not quite as effective as we'd like it to be, but both Leo and Mommy seem to be enjoying it :)

New Pictures: Leo's 5th week

It's been an exciting start to the 2nd month! Nana Stamenka came back and found Leo grew a lot and looks much more like Kriss now ! We also started going out more and even made it to a restaurant twice!

Today we saw some first real smiles and "gu, ge, ga" sounds. It's exciting!! He is much more interactive with his eyes and focuses on toys and faces for much longer than he used to. I (Tea) also found a YouTube video playlist that has 20 Yugoslav children's songs which Leo loves and stops crying almost immediately when they start playing. Definitely makes me nostalgic!

Looking forward to the next few weeks with the Polish grandparents! But first this weekend: Nana Stamenka, Milica, Dziadziuś Piotruś and auntie Paula will all be in town so we have a busy social schedule! These visitors are coming from 4 different countries just to hang out with Leo so we hope he behaves (France, Italy, Poland and Argentina)!

Full gallery here

Strollin', strollin', strollin'...

Enjoying the nice and warm day (yes, Tea's coat came off soon after this picture was taken :) we took Leo out for a stroll as we ran a few errands. He was a little champ, not so much us uttering a squeak through all this, making Mommy and Daddy very proud and happy!

Out at brunch!

Buoyed by the success of taking Leo outside, the little guy getting his first shots and, honestly, missing a proper Sunday brunch, we decided to go out to Logan Tavern. So far so good, the little shrimp is sleeping nice and sound in his stroller, while the ladies are deciding on their mimosas and Eggs Benedict :)

Leo still sleeping on our way out

UPDATE: On behalf of Tea, Stamenka and myself I would like to thank Leo for being a really good boy and sleeping soundly through the whole brunch without so much as a squeak :) 

Out on a stroll

We've taken out Leo for a stroll, taking advantage of the amazingly warm weather (23C). Right now we're getting some gelato while the little guy is sound asleep :)

WeightWatchers alert!

Updated including today's weighing of 4.93kg

At the 1-month checkup (updated)

We went to the doctor's today for the 1-month checkup and first vaccinations (Hep-B). As usual, Leo was weighed and measured - he's now 4.93kg, 57cm long and his head is 39cm in circumference (all around the 75th percentile). While he clearly did not like the shot and was not afraid to let us know about it by crying like crazy, he then rewarded it by being a little angel when Tea strolled over with him to the World Bank.

New video: Leo's Third Bath

A.k.a. "third time's the charm", Leo finally enjoys his bath as a baby with Mediterranean roots should!

And to prove that was no fluke, here's a picture from bath #4:

"Oh yeah, me likey!"

New pictures: Leo days 25 to 29

"No pictures, please"

It's been an exciting couple of days for little Leo, with visits from some very young friends, more baths and a LOT of bouncing on the yoga ball (performed with the help of Mommy and Daddy, of course). Check out the full gallery here.

Leo and friends

This past week Leo met some more friends. Haik came to visit on Sunday and hung out with us for a few hours while Leo slept the whole time. He woke a little bit later to give him a wink and Haik said he looks like a cool baby. We were impressed with Haik's knowledge of babies and definitely approve him as a future baby sitter!


On Wednesday, Leo's one month birthday, Rita came to visit with her 6-week old son Miguel and her mother in law. Again, Leo slept for most of their 2 hour visit. I was asking Rita about strategies to calm a fussy baby and she thought I was inventing the problem because Leo was on his best behavior and sleeping like a little angel. He did wake up before they left and gave a sample of his best cry. Rita tried to calm him down using the techniques she knows from her 2 children but in the end the only thing that worked was daddy jumping on the ball!

Lesson learned - Leo sleeps well with visitors around so we hope that we get more soon. We have also started going for daily walks in the neighborhood and the fresh air seems to do the whole family good! We are looking forward to spring and more time outdoors with our little boy who is getting bigger every day!

WeightWachers alert!

From now on we'll bring you a regular update on Leo's weight gain, as he grows from a little (ok, big) shrimp to a big baby boy! On last weighing, this past Thursday, Leo clocked in at a respectable 4.67 kg, thus explaining why our arms hurt after all the rocking :)

New pictures: Leo days 21 to 24

A few new pictures, check them out here

Saturday visits

Leo had more visitors this weekend. Our friend from LSE, Ana Zadornova, stopped by for a visit and brought Leo some goodies from Harrods - Cashmere socks and a bib (see photo). In the afternoon, Charlotte stopped by to say hello to the little one. She brought a gift for mommy instead - at home spa set! Looking forward to using that soon. Since the weather was sunny and warm, on Saturday we put Leo in a stroller and went for another walk, which this time he seemed to enjoy although he slept through most of it. He has been having some difficulty after eating but we started him on some medications so we hope he will soon be much better. We are looking forward to his 1 month birthday which is coming up this Wednesday.

Friday treat

This past Friday, Alejo, Ana Maria and Fredo came over for lunch and brought lunch with them - lasagna, salad and some yummy ice cream. Although I have been keeping a healthy breast feeding diet of steamed vegetables and chicken, I actually made an exception and ate lasagna and ice cream- it tasted so good!! And Leo didn't seem to complain any more than usual so maybe the end of steamed chicken is near? I also discovered the non-dairy section at Whole Foods - Coconut milk ice cream, soy yogurt, almond milk and rice cheese. The rice cheese was terrible but the rest are delicious. Now if only I can find caffeine and dairy-free chocolate!

New pictures: Leo's second bath

Training before the summer in Croatia

The second proper bath was a major improvement on the first one, Leo only spent half of the time complaining, as opposed to the whole time the first time around :) Check out the full gallery here.

Little Leo has more visitors!

Two-and-a-half Men

Leo had some more visitors in the past 2 days - first Luis come to check in on the little guy, and found him to be, well, asleep most of the time. I have since been asked by Leo to apologize to Luis for his behavior, and promise more time he'll be more awake :)

Someone's a natural :)

The following day Sarah came with a visit, and immediately proved her babysitting credentials. Who says taking care of babies is not like taking care of puppies? Now we know who's getting the call when we need babysitting help :) 

"It'll get better, than it'll get worse, than it'll get better..."

This advice from a friend rings very true in our ears now that Leo is nearing on 3 weeks. It seems that just last week we figured out Leo's gas problems, when this past Sunday night he had a huge fit - he cried for 3 hours non-stop, which not only tested our nerves but also broke our hearts as we felt there was nothing we could do to help him. But we kept our heads and from the morning we implemented a stricter anti-colic routine: setting a strict breastfeeding diet for Tea, ensuring Leo burps and keeping him upright for 30 minutes after eating, limiting excitement in the evenings... so far so good, he seems to be much better off, keep your fingers crossed it continues!

New pictures: Leo days 16 to 20

"How cute am I?"

Some long awaited new pictures: full gallery here  

New pictures: Little (Sleeping) Prince

The newest gallery with the little sleeping prince (view full gallery)

New video: Leo likes his country!

Just like his Mommy and Daddy, Leo loves his country, and is not afraid to show off some moves!

BiaGaia's arrived!

Miracle cure?

We're hoping that this little bottle (5ml total) will help our little guy regulate his gastrointestinal system - apparently only 5 drops daily (containing some 100 million live bacteria!) are meant to make a huge difference. We just gave Leo his second serving today so it's too early to say, but we're hopeful!

New gallery: Leo days 14 to 16

Happy Feet

And so another couple of joyous days have passed, with Leo being his usual adorable self, and literally growing in our eyes. In this gallery Tea gets to wear the little guy, Leo does his best impersonation of Yoda, we capture the wonder that are his little feet and finally, Kriss and Leo choose the breakfast together. (see full gallery)

Leo's first book

I'm reading my favorite book, The Witcher, to little Leo. This way he gets some quality time with daddy, gets exposure to the Polish language and I get to re-visit a book I loved as a teenager.

Leo's first bath

Today Leo had his first proper bath. Wish we had pictures to show for it, but it was a bit of an ordeal and both Tea and I had our hands full throughout. The poor little guy was cold and clearly did not enjoy his first taste of water, but I'm sure that will change soon, with his Croatian blood and all :)

Leo's second visit to the pediatrician

Update: Pediatrician visit went very well - Leo gained a pound! He is now 9lbs 10oz (4.37 kg) and the doctor was very impressed. As for the gas, we'll have to cope with it until his intestines develop and there's not much we can do about it. He did make the nurse laugh when he pooped so much that it went out of his diaper and all over his clothes and the changing table. Good thing our baby bible told us never to leave the house without a change of clothing!

Finally!

A beautiful baby belly button

After a long wait the umbilical stump finally fell off, making way for a perfectly-shaped little belly button. The upside is that now we can put on onesies (Leo can't wait to try each and every one of them) and initiate some tummy time - it's time to bring out the jungle gym! (more pictures later)

New gallery: Leo's 13th day

Just chilling at home on Kriss' birthday, we pick up our first book, Leo teaches Daddy how to roar and tries on new onesies now that the umbilical stump is gone. Check out the full gallery

New gallery: Leo's sleepy photoshoot

Our little sleeping angel's photoshoot, as well as his new favorite sleeping position in the evenings when we're watching a movie - full gallery here.

Extra pictures in gallery: Tea as a Baby

Nono Davor did some digging back at home in Paris and came up with these great pictures of little Tea. Seems she was as smiley then as she is now :) Enjoy!