New video: Leo grabbing Žana Žirafa

The latest development is that over the past couple days Leo finally figure out what these "hands" are for and started grabbing things - here is this morning's exercise with Žana Žirafa (ie. giraffe by the name of Žana)... oh, and while I was writing this Tea put a pacifier in the little guy's mouth and he held it there with his hands to fall asleep (it's only maybe the 3rd or 4th time he's fallen asleep with a pacifier, ever!). As Tea rightly put it: "times, they are a changin"...

New video: Leo's morning excercise

This is what a happy Leo is like in the morning!

New video: Leo loves his Jungle Gym

With all this kicking we think Leo has quite the career in soccer!

Happy morning baby

Leo is always in a really good mood just after he wakes up!

"tickle tickle..."

New video: Leo loves his socks

New pictures: Leo's 13th week

Check out the full gallery here

Leo: "Who is this pretty lady?"

This past week was full of adventures for our little guy. On Saturday we went to not one but two baby parties! The first one was a baby shower for our friend Janet, whose little angel Bianca came early and so they waited with the party until she was big enough to participate without being too fussy. At three months it's already clear that she's going to be a stunning young lady one day, and duly she caught Leo's eye :) The second party was for Rita's son Mateus who turned three years old, which was a proper kids party complete with snacks, toys, running around in the back yard and a big Thomas the Tank Engine cake.

Then, on Monday it was Leo's 3rd Monthday, but before we could celebrate we had to go to Dr Van Vleck for a regular checkup. Leo was in high spirits... until a long wait in the waiting room tested his patience, but once the good doctor came in he was his usual charming self. He even then took a nice long nap, allowing his parents to grab lunch next door.

In the evening we celebrated his Monthday with some yummy cupcakes (from left: toffee-vanilla, chocolate-raspberry and pistachio), which Leo also greatly appreciated later on :)

Also, as Leo grows bigger and more curious, we are trying to adjust our routine to allow him to explore more. The latest change is that we tried to "flip the baby" 180 degrees in the Snugli carrier such that now he can look forward and see all that we can see. While it'll take some getting used to (not seeing us for more than 10 minutes makes him a bit cranky), it's great that Leo now has enough neck strength such that his head does not bob left to right as we walk around :)

Check out these pictures and more in the full gallery here

Happy 3rd Monthday Leo!

It's crazy how quickly time flies - it feels like just yesterday we brought this little package home which could hardly open his eyes, yet here we are with Leo turning 3 months today! Hope you all join us with wishing the little guy all the best, quick growth and less reflux (which is luckily already the case), and many, many more amazing discoveries in the coming months!

Happy Monthday Leo from Mommy, Daddy and your special candle friends!

P.S. Those cupcakes are for Leo, they will just reach his tummy through an indirect route :)

3rd month doctor visit

"Let's see what's going on inside"

Today we went to Dr Van Vleck (I know, cool name!) for the 3rd month checkup, and our little guy passed with a strong A minus. Why the minus? That's for not being able to hold his head up still, but otherwise he impressed the good doctor with his keen visual attention, chattiness and especially height (length?), where at 26 inches (66 cm) he is over the 95th percentile! His other measurements were 13 pounds 12 ounces (6.25 kg) in weight and 16.5 inches (42 cm) head circumference, which put him in the 60th and 80th percentile, respectively.

Leo discovers his huggie-toy, the Lion

I love my little Lion

New pictures: Leo's 12th week

See here for the full picture gallery

Leo meets his future crush

This past week was a big one for the little guy. First, on Saturday the three of us went to visit Ksenija, Tom, Luka and little Luana, only to find that Luana is not so little anymore. What she is, though, is a jumping bundle of joy and energy, especially when she's in her exersaucer! Leo finally got up the courage to come up and say "agooo" (OK, so Mommy had to hold him), but for now Lulu is quite a bit bigger so any further courting will have to wait for now :)

Seriously, how awesome are these?

Then on Saturday night Daddy's friend Sohan came and stayed the night, for Sunday morning was the Formula 1 race in Turkey. Leo thus got his first introduction to the sport he'll be champion of one day, as the three men watched the race together. He also got an awesome pair of Puma sneakers from Sohan.

Leo makes some new friends

Not to lose momentum little Leo later on Sunday hosted Sara and Ondrej for brunch, who were in town for the weekend. I would like to take this opportunity to give a shout out to them, as they're avid fans of this blog, and I'm happy to report they liked the real live version as much as the digital one!

Monday and Tuesday Daddy had to go to NYC for teaching training so Tea stayed home alone with the little guy, but true to form she had a little bit of help from her friends - on Monday our new nanny, Cheryl, came over, and on Tuesday evening first Vicky, and then Valerie and Valentina came in to lend a hand (and yes, people whose names start with letters other than "V" were also allowed to visit, it was just a coincidence :)

See here for the full picture gallery

Leo the green smurf...

The Green Smurf

I know it's been a while since we posted pictures (and believe me, we have quite the backlog of those), so in the meantime to tide our regular readership over here's a picture of Leo on his way to WholeFoods with his Tata today - the green hat, along with its blue and red brothers, make Leo look like a little green smurf, even cuter the usually (if that's possible!)

Meet Cheryl - our nanny

Kriss is in New York for two days doing a teacher training workshop. So we decided to ask Miss Cheryl, our new nanny, to come help out for an afternoon. She doesn't start full time with us until June 6. We had a great time chatting while Leo slept - often in Cheryl's arms but she didn't seem to mind. We also did some successful tummy time, gave Cheryl a tour of the neighborhood, found the little hidden park between 9th and 10th Street, taught her how to use the stroller (although she seemed quite skilled with it without any help!), and generally just hung out with Mr. Leo. He seemed really at ease with Cheryl and so we think we will be seeing a lot more of her! I will miss Leo when I go back to work but at least I'll know he's in good hands!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day message from Leo in which he promises to be a good boy! Also attached to this was a hot stone massage certificate. I am so looking forward to more messages like this from him (and to the massage)!

It has been the most wonderful experience to become a mother. It still feels strange to think of myself as someone's mom and I often look at Leo and cannot believe that he is really my son! He is so sweet and I am enjoying every minute I get with him. My maternity leave ends this Wednesday and I cannot believe how quickly 12 weeks passed! I still remember the day, the hour, and the minute he was born! I overheard someone say the other day that with children the days seem long but the years are quick. He is almost 3 months old! I wish I could slow down time but at the same time I look forward to every milestone!

New video: Leo in the big boy bath

Leo is growing quickly and started kicking the sink walls when we gave him baths, so we decided its time to put him up in the big boy bath. As you can see, he loves it, and it's a place full of new discoveries!

New pictures: extra pictures in Week 10

Leo's fashionable new hairstyle

Some missing pictures from week 10, enjoy! See the full gallery here

New Pictures: Leo's 11th week

See the full gallery here

A busy fashion week for the little guy as his parents decided to start switching him over to big boy clothes and Mommy ordered some fashionable new hats (that make him look as cute as a Baby Smurf). Also, as Leo grows we decided to switch him over to the big boy bath, which he loves because now he can kick around without restrictions :) Also, the switch to his big new crib continues and Leo is loving it, especially the fascinating new mobile!

Yesterday we also went on a hike to Great Falls with Vicky, Matteo and little Martino, which was great as it allowed the parents to stretch their legs a bit and the little ones to breathe some fresh air.

New video: Leo doing "tummy time"

Since parents these days are told their babies should only sleep on their backs, what happens is that the little ones don't develop neck strength as quickly as they would back in the day when they slept on their tummies. To counter that parents are encouraged to do "tummy time" with their little ones - watch and observe :)

New video: Leo's new crib

Since Leo is now a big 10-week old boy who barely fits into his old bassinet Tea and I thought this would be the perfect time to start transitioning him into a baby crib. One IKEA trip later Leo's room is (mostly) set up, and the process of assimilation to the new environments has begun. So far so good - Leo really likes spending his time there during the day, which has a lot to do with the great mobile we got from Madalina (plays Mozart, Bach and Bethoven, unfortunately no Chopin...)